Elvish Lore
Hero
My question is it setting expectations for other publishers to charge this little?
Everyone kind of expects Wizards of the Coast to price D&D books -- talking published books, not pdfs -- at a price point that takes into account they'll sell a ton of copies. No surprise their most current PHB is only US$50.
Daggerheart core is US$60, a lavishly illustrated large book, and comes with hundreds of cards. A pretty slipcase to boot. And for sure I've seen it discounted heavily.
It's supplement Hope & Fear is US$40, a book filled with art, and also cards... and also a slipcase. These are both fantastic deals.
And any other publisher would most likely be charging significantly more. Like maybe even double.
I get that Mercer and his company have become a dominant multi-media juggernaut now; I'd even hazard to guess that all the money they make from their other ventures is helping underwrite the low-cost of their fantasy rpg.
Is this healthy for the larger industry? I realize DH might bring in more players and maybe (maybe, maybe) those folks buy other games but does it set the expectation that other companies charge far less for their books? I think it does.
I'm not going to mention specific products -- I'm not trying to price shame them -- but there's a number of other publishers who charge $70 or $80 for their hardcovers nowadays, a price that honestly feels like the whole hobby is pushing toward with big core books. And I get it. Worldwide inflation, tariff wars, costs of paper, etc. I'm not complaining about an $70-80 book. I can't afford many of them but I understand why.
What Darrington Press charges for their DH books isn't remotely realistic for most other publishers to charge (whether it's because they are smaller or aren't connected to a multimedia company making millions from other venues).
So I guess what I'm concluding is that the price of DH books is great for their market share but not at all healthy for the industry. And, yea, yea. I know... welcome to capitalism and Darrington has no responsibility to help their competition. But while the people behind Darrington Press have long been champions of the hobby and helped bring in scads of gamers, what they're doing with DH pricing isn't great.
Everyone kind of expects Wizards of the Coast to price D&D books -- talking published books, not pdfs -- at a price point that takes into account they'll sell a ton of copies. No surprise their most current PHB is only US$50.
Daggerheart core is US$60, a lavishly illustrated large book, and comes with hundreds of cards. A pretty slipcase to boot. And for sure I've seen it discounted heavily.
It's supplement Hope & Fear is US$40, a book filled with art, and also cards... and also a slipcase. These are both fantastic deals.
And any other publisher would most likely be charging significantly more. Like maybe even double.
I get that Mercer and his company have become a dominant multi-media juggernaut now; I'd even hazard to guess that all the money they make from their other ventures is helping underwrite the low-cost of their fantasy rpg.
Is this healthy for the larger industry? I realize DH might bring in more players and maybe (maybe, maybe) those folks buy other games but does it set the expectation that other companies charge far less for their books? I think it does.
I'm not going to mention specific products -- I'm not trying to price shame them -- but there's a number of other publishers who charge $70 or $80 for their hardcovers nowadays, a price that honestly feels like the whole hobby is pushing toward with big core books. And I get it. Worldwide inflation, tariff wars, costs of paper, etc. I'm not complaining about an $70-80 book. I can't afford many of them but I understand why.
What Darrington Press charges for their DH books isn't remotely realistic for most other publishers to charge (whether it's because they are smaller or aren't connected to a multimedia company making millions from other venues).
So I guess what I'm concluding is that the price of DH books is great for their market share but not at all healthy for the industry. And, yea, yea. I know... welcome to capitalism and Darrington has no responsibility to help their competition. But while the people behind Darrington Press have long been champions of the hobby and helped bring in scads of gamers, what they're doing with DH pricing isn't great.
