Just got the WotC 2008 Summer Catalog

[Fifth Element]

Hmm....does the inclusion of 4 six-sided dice in the premium dice set mean that ability scores will still be random-roll?

If that's the case, I hope they include the point-buy alternative in the PHB this time, rather than the DMG.

 

[Fifth Element]

The gift set is $0.10 more than the 3 books bought seperately? I understand there's a slipcase included, but unless the set also includes a free adventure, that's ridiculous. Giving a price break would encourage more people to buy all 3 books.

 

[thalmin]

Any product images?

Sorry, while the catalog has some color images, I am without a scanner.

 

[thalmin]

$34.95 for a 224-page DMG?

A bit...pricey that.

We have seen Wizards change the page-count and/or the price on items listed in these catalogs before. A lot can happen between December and June.

 

[thalmin]

The gift set is $0.10 more than the 3 books bought seperately? I understand there's a slipcase included, but unless the set also includes a free adventure, that's ridiculous. Giving a price break would encourage more people to buy all 3 books.

The 3.5 Gift set also cost more than the 3 books. The set still sold, in fact when forced to break up some sets due to being out of some of the books, we quickly sold out of the slip covers at $5 each (we only had 1 cover last more than 1 day!)
Especially marketed as a gift set, they will sell.

 

[Thornir Alekeg]

Just got my hands on the new catalog, covering May through August. I'll start with the rpg stuff.

D&D Premium Dice
This product contains a dice bag and a complete set of dice for use in the Dungeons & Dragons Roleplaying Game: one 4-sided die, four 6-sided dice, one 8-sided die, one 10-sided die, one percentile die, one 12-sided die, and one 20-sided die.
June 17, 2008 $12.95

The 12-sider survives!

 

[Imaro]

The 3.5 Gift set also cost more than the 3 books. The set still sold, in fact when forced to break up some sets due to being out of some of the books, we quickly sold out of the slip covers at $5 each (we only had 1 cover last more than 1 day!)
Especially marketed as a gift set, they will sell.

I thought the 3.5 gift set was cheaper...I believe $89.95 while the three core books were $89.97. I might be wrong though.

 

[Baumi]

The biggest price Offender for me are the Adventures. 25-30$ for a 96 page book that will likely be used only once?

 

[mhensley]

Strangely, the gift set isn't listed on amazon.

 

[Imaro]

Strangely, the gift set isn't listed on amazon.

Yeah I saw that too, but I decided to check the WotC site and saw that the gift core set for 3.5 was actually cheaper than buying the books seperately. I think 4e should be the same way, and feel this is the type of thing that makes people less likely to DM and more likely to be just players. I myself am leaning in this direction for 4e.