Pathfinder 1E Paizo no longer publishing Dungeon and Dragon

[Presto2112]

At least 20 times in this thread, I have read the phrase "punched in the gut".

At least 15 times in this thread, I have read something similar to "it feels like my best friend just died".

This is far too often to be considered hyperbole.

Dragon and Dungeon have an immensely loyal following, and WotC are taking that loyalty, cutting it into little bitty pieces, and flushing it down the toilet, so they can appear fresh and revolutionary.

 

[Ranger REG]

Well, this sucks.

Now I HAVE to steal someone else's credit card to subscribe to WotC's online model (which I happen to disagree vocally).

 

[Crysmalon]

I'm saddened

Don't even know what to say. I'm one of those that consistently has enjoyed the magazines and has subscribed for 10+ years. I feel like a kid again when I get them in the mail and read 'em front to back. Now what? I'll wait and see what Pathfinder and the Necro deal turns into.

 

[trancejeremy]

My initial shock and sadness aside, Pathfinder seems great. I was a little concerned about the price, but reflecting on the amount of material and considering that there are no ads within; 96 pages of goodness, available both in PDF and print for $15 for subscribers (less than a WOTC module) plus with awesome authors, sounds like a very good deal to me. I will just have to cut back a bit on my WoTC purchases.

Considering it's not really a magazine anymore, but an monthly supplement, the price isn't too bad ($20 for a 96 page book is pretty standard these days). However, what I liked about Dungeon was it had several adventures. Chances are good you'd find at least 1 you'd like in an issue. With this, you only get 1 adventure, and part of a big story arc. I know a lot of people like adventure paths (which I guess is why they are doing this), but they never did much for me.

 

[Steel_Wind]

So....

At the height of Dungeon Magazine's quality and its Golden Age... during a Rennaissance of Dragon and its Silver Age...

WotC pulls the plug on Paizo and destroys two monthly periodicals which have significant goodwill attached to their resepective brand and have never, ever, been better.

To Erik: Wow. Just....wow.

To James, Jason and all the staff at Paizo. You are now being penalized for being too successful. That has to be a bitter pill to swallow indeed.

And so they are not accused of bad faith - WotC switches to an online format. So
Paizo is not accused of bad faith or breaches some non-compete - they go to a monthly "book" (meaning - I guess - no advertising).

What a farkin farce.

Shame on WotC and Hasbro for this. You just alienated - at a stroke - the hardcore gamer. Your best customers. You just pi$$ed on them.

Say what you want about Lorraine Williams - even she would not have done this.

WotC and Hasbro: your hardcore customers and your evergreen business will NEVER EVER forgive you for this; nor should they.

Stephen R. Donaldson once wrote: If you want to hurt a man - take something he loves and give it back to him broken.

He was right.

 

[Erik Mona]

Like I said. Paizo is going out of business, or at least there's a very high probability of that happening now.

Paizo is emphatically NOT going out of business. 2006 was the most profitable year in the company's history and we have several revenue streams other than the magazines. So far the positive reaction to Pathfinder suggests to me that we may be able to continue serving a significant portion of our current customer base, which is great.

We have 27 employees, the internet's largest hobby retail store, bookstore distribution, a successful line of GameMastery accessories, a successful line of deluxe board games, and a new line of classic fantasy and science fiction novels.

And the greatest fans in the world, apparently.

We're not going anywhere.

Also, this totally explains why they stopped responding to people's query submissions and the like months ago.

The two are completely unrelated, actually. Part of what made the magazines so special is the intimate connection the readers had to them, and that included the chance to get some of their own great gaming ideas published. We therefore have hundreds and hundreds of submissions every month, and we've been behind on getting back to them for as long as Paizo has existed.

Anyhow, I'm excited to see what WOTC pulls out of its hat now.

Me too!

--Erik Mona
Publisher
Paizo Publishing, LLC

 

[Kae'Yoss]

In truth, it doesn't surprise me, either: Most of the company representatives who regularly visit fan forums were either fired or left WotC for Paizo and other 3rd parties, leaving only Mike Mearls and a one-handed count of others who actually speak to their customers regularly.

A couple of the FR guys regularly answer questions in a special thread. But those are the exception it seems.

I used to hang out a lot in the minis boards, until I was basically called worst offender for being bitter about my whole continent not being supported properly (mind you, that was on the same boards where apparently novels were banned as a topic because people have been personally insulting and threatening the authors). Those minis people spend more time posting on other websites than on their own company's website.

 

[JoshuaFrost]

I'm thinking about the small publishers and product manufacturers who used to advertise via Dungeon and Dragon magazines. Now they've lost a hard-copy, print venue for their advertising. I don't know about you guys, but I don't click on online ads for s***. Don't trust 'em. I have a friend who was planning on advertising via Dungeon & Dragon and is now scrapping that idea.

Your friend shouldn't scrap that idea. As I stated in my letter to my advertising clients this morning:

"These final issues will be highly collectible and we expect the sell-through on them to sky-rocket. If you have a 2007 release, these issues are still the best place to announce them and advertise them!"

If your friend is releasing something by the end of the year, Dragon and Dungeon are still the best place to advertise them.

 

[Presto2112]

You look up phone numbers in the Phone Magazine?

The phone book gets dropped off at my house. I don't subscribe to it. Heck, I don't even ask for it. It just shows up.

 

[AdmundfortGeographer]

It's not like this is unexpected. WotC had that survey a few months ago asking whether people would subscribe to an online service that duplicated so many of the things in Dragon and Dungeon as well as their free online material.

It is clear that the must have been enough people who said they would willingly sign up for the service.

This isn't unexpected, this is the other shoe dropping.

And it sux.

I don't have any confidence that WotC will publish material set in Greyhawk the way Paizo has been, or that WotC will go out of the way to publish material for retired settings the way Paizo would on rare occassion.