Is All Still Quiet on the SRD Front?

[Erik Mona]

I've had a few conversations with folks since Gen Con and I know they're working on it, but I don't expect to see anything until after the holidays either.

I used to think it would be coming "tomorrow" every single day. Now I am taking a much more zen approach. It will come when it comes, and Paizo will plan accordingly as we must.

 

[BASHMAN]

They've (Goodman Games) been producing C&C and 1E materials for more than a year. They haven't jumped ship.

Correct-- its been at least 2 years. I happen to be one of Goodman's freelancers who works on conversions to C&C, and wrote the Palace of Shadows module for them. Hopefullly they'll keep it up-- they put out some great stuff and should weather the edition change. What will be funny is how the shoe might go on the other foot after the edition change, where freelancers get hired to convert C&C modules to 4e D&D! [PS I don't have any knowledge that such a thing would happen, it was just a hypothetical idea].

 

[Ranger REG]

I'm pretty sure that "Sooner is better than later" is pretty obvious.

But even if the 3rd party people got them 1-2 months before launch, that would be no better than they were distributed for 3e.

I agree. Sighs.

It really doesn't matter when the publishers get them. It's still up to the publishers to make good use of the material and turn it into an appealing product, whether it is released within 12 months or 2 years later.

So, I don't know why some posters here are getting all antsy about the 4e SRD. I want to know what ulterior motive they have for wanting it early.

 

[dmccoy1693]

Thank you for the update, Pramas and Mona.

 

[Shroomy]

So, I don't know why some posters here are getting all antsy about the 4e SRD. I want to know what ulterior motive they have for wanting it early.

I say that some are fans of the third party companies and honestly want to see their 4e compatible products, but I do get the feeling that many of them just want a copy of the SRD for themselves so they don't have to buy the rule books.

 

[Hussar]

Well, isn't that part of the reason for the SRD and the edition change in the first place? It allowed WotC to pick the brains of the competition for free (since rules based on the SRD are pretty much the property of WotC, thanks to the very hazy wording of IP in the SRD concept), and see what new system ideas could come up .... and then, by switching editions, they can really put a spoke in the wheel of the competition.

Yes, I know all the stuff about how they did it for the good of the hobby, blah blah blah. The truth of the matter is that they're a business, out to make money, and if a business has the chance -- whether by accident or design -- to torpedo a good portion of their competitors, who were foolish enough to place themselves and their product lines at the mercy of the 'industry leader,' I doubt that too many business decision-makers are going to flinch at pushing that button and sending the 'torpedo away.'

If this kills half the industry, WotC will smile. Just like the small presses would if they could kill WotC and take its stuff. Except that WotC has the power and the opportunity. At best, they just aren't going to give a dang what happens to the ones riding on their coat-tails; at worst, they're giggling hysterically at the thought of getting their foot firmly on the neck of the competition.

The problem with this idea is that 3rd party publishers aren't more than a drop in the bucket. They are not "competition" in the traditional sense since they haven't made even a dent in WOTC's market share. Let's not forget that the last couple of years before the announcement of 4e saw a fair number of the bigger 3rd party publishers get out of the D&D biz. Mongoose, AEG, and I'm sure others. Green Ronin does some D&D stuff, but, it's only the module line AFAIK. Have they released anything else over the past couple of years?

The idea that WOTC would do this deliberately to sabotage 3rd party publishers would imply that 3rd party publishers are any sort of threat to WOTC's bottom line. While I know that's a popular point of view on EN World, I'm not so sure how realistic it is.

 

[MojoGM]

Name three.

Don't mean to derail the thread, but you wouldn't happen to be a YES, PRIME MINISTER fan, would you?

I only say this because that reminded me a quote from an episode:

Sir Humphry: They say lots of people want to know why so much power is centralized in my hands.

Minister: Lots of people? Nobody's ever heard of you. But if he DOES say lots of people want to know, ask him to name 3. He'll never be able to think of more than 1 or two.

Anyway, sorry for the tangent...

 

[Pramas]

The problem with this idea is that 3rd party publishers aren't more than a drop in the bucket. They are not "competition" in the traditional sense since they haven't made even a dent in WOTC's market share.

You shouldn't conflate the situation now with how things were at the height of the d20 boom. Between all the various d20 publishers, millions of dollars of books were sold to D&D fans. Hell, Green Ronin alone sold books in the hundreds of thousands. I have always found it difficult to believe that all these sales did not impact WotC. Now I don't think that WotC is holding back a new SRD as part of some evil corporate plan or anything, but I do think that they are going to be a little more careful this time around and I can't really blame them for that.

 

[Rechan]

You shouldn't conflate the situation now with how things were at the height of the d20 boom. Between all the various d20 publishers, millions of dollars of books were sold to D&D fans. Hell, Green Ronin alone sold books in the hundreds of thousands. I have always found it difficult to believe that all these sales did not impact WotC. Now I don't think that WotC is holding back a new SRD as part of some evil corporate plan or anything, but I do think that they are going to be a little more careful this time around and I can't really blame them for that.

At the same time, there were lots of things sold that WotC simply did not touch, so that money wouldn't have went there in the first place.

M&M. Jade Dragon and Hungry Ghosts. So on.

 

[DaveMage]

At the same time, there were lots of things sold that WotC simply did not touch, so that money wouldn't have went there in the first place.

Maybe, but I think that your assertion presumes an unlimited gamer spend. So even though WotC didn't make adventures (at first), a gamer with a max of $30 to spend still has to choose between an adventure (or two) from a third party company and a WotC sourcebook.