Interview with Scott Rouse, Chris Perkins & Bill Slavicsek

[Mark CMG]

Scott Rouse -

Regarding DI and advertising:

(. . .) advertising - which I don't beleive is something that WotC has addressed yet (. . .)

Has this been addressed and, if not, can you, please, discuss if it is something that is under consideration and, if so, what sort of discussion is currently being had?

Thanks.

 

[HeruShango]

Epic Gaming

Greetings,

I hope non-DI and Dungeon and Dragon magazine questions can be asked here.

Can someone give me WotC's "official" reasoning for not outsourcing Epic Level Gaming to other companies? Like Paizo having/had Dragon and Margaret Weiss having/had Dragonlance.

IF it is not a profitable product like I have been hearing, why not license the Epic rules to a company that will provide quality products to the large(not large enough for your profit margins of course, but it is substantial enough to support more content) Epic Community.

They are 2 sites(that I know of), Dicefreaks and UK's site that mainly supports the Epic Community, and if you read the many posts about folks wanting more Epic content it is a great many peolple. On this site as well as Wotc offcial site and many others. Just look at the "Hosted Publishers Forum" here and you see that Eternity Publishing has more posts than the other companies combined. I only say that to point out the great(again not by Wotc standards) interest and loyalty Epic fans have for your product.


I can't stop folks from responding as they wish only make a request, please refrain from negative remarks about the Epic Handbook. This is for the above people I wrote about who truly want more Epic support.

Again, from what I've read AND the fact that Wotc has not supported Epic Level Gaming with 3.5 update books and other means, why can't we Epic gamers get the support we would like from a 3rd party taking over?

Thanks for your time.

 

[Khairn]

I would assume, based on recent WotC comments, that "Epic" content would be put in the same bucket as D20 Modern and other D&D variants that are not as main stream as say Eberron, Forgotten Realms and Greyhawk. Namely that the amount of DI content will be dependent on a balancing act between level of activity and a desire not to fracture the D&D community. I believe the words Scott used was not wanting to "slice the audience too thin".

 

[the Lorax]

Copyright notice

This is something that as come up on another thread.

How will the copyright notices be worded so that DI subscribers will be able to print articles out at a commercial copy location? The current copyright notices on Wizards free downloads expressly prohibit makeing reproductions of the material.

 

[caudor]

One thing I saw in the D&D survey that interests me is the D&D University. I interpret this as being a series that classes where new players can learn game basics, and experienced players can gain a more in depth understanding of the game's mechanics. Self-assessment tests could be used to allow folks to determine where they stand in regards to rules knowledge.

As for electronic tools, like a character generator, I can't imagine that WotC would pull the CMP license without planning to do some kind of replacement. That's why I think we'll see one.

However, if these tools do not materialize, I hope they do something geared toward making the game easier to prepare and play. Even a wiki or some kind of electronic index bringing together a list of spells, feats, etc. would help. The tricky part, is how could they provide such a service without giving the contents of paper sourcebooks away?

I'm hopeful for some online tools, but the reality of how difficult this might be is starting to set in.

 

[Razz]

I agree, I'd really like to see more epic content. Not everyone likes to limit their games to just 20th level, and I though that was the purpose of epic level material. Sure, some epic material needs to be patched up, but I think the system works fine.

I mean, throwing creatures like this at your players can't get any cooler (or could it?) than this: Glacierdrak and Gravewyrm

I'd say a Hecatoncheres is definitely another fun one to throw at them.

 

[irdeggman]

Can someone give me WotC's "official" reasoning for not outsourcing Epic Level Gaming to other companies? Like Paizo having/had Dragon and Margaret Weiss having/had Dragonlance.

Because they don't need to?

The epic rules are in the SRD and any company can use them in anything they publish.

I would hazard a guess that the reason no one has taken up the flag is because they don't see it as a profit making venture.

 

[daemonslye]

*crickets*

Where'd they go?

 

[DonTadow]

I agree, I'd really like to see more epic content. Not everyone likes to limit their games to just 20th level, and I though that was the purpose of epic level material. Sure, some epic material needs to be patched up, but I think the system works fine.

I mean, throwing creatures like this at your players can't get any cooler (or could it?) than this: Glacierdrak and Gravewyrm

I'd say a Hecatoncheres is definitely another fun one to throw at them.

It's a cost wreward thing. It takes a lot of work to make epic level content, because you're essentially making content for people who are gods. YOu have to try to account for too many things. It can be done, but the work put into it will not pay off because not a lot of games go that far and a lot of DMs whom run games that far are better off making their own content considering how many intangibles characters at this level have.

 

[Scott_Rouse]

*crickets*

Where'd they go?

Montana

I took a much needed vacation to visit family in Montana. I took my 4 yo son fishing, did some fishing my self, and never looked at my computer once the whole time.