D&D 5E Pricing question for the DMs and GMs out there

[ByOdinsBeardRPG]

Hi all, I'm finding my way around indie TTRPG publishing.

How much would you expect to pay for a physical copy of an A5-sized 5e adventure module?

• 54 pages
• 10 dungeon rooms
• 6-8 hour for 3-5 level 1 characters
• 20 illustrations
• Full colour cover

I've currently priced it at £17.99 on Amazon and £16.99 on Etsy (free shipping for both). Currency conversion isn't an exact thing so assume it'd be about the same in USD.

How would you feel about those prices, assuming you're into the story and art and dig the preview? Thank you!

Colin
@ByOdinsBeardRPG

 

[Retreater]

I've spent that much on a similar sized adventure to fund through IndieGogo (though also including a PDF). So it's not not too much for me if I liked the preview.
I'd slightly concerned about the amount of content, though. Only 10 rooms? Is that averaging out to around 5 pages per room? Or is there also like a wilderness area, town, and more detailed? (Just asking because what I'm currently writing is like 3,000 words for 6 rooms - so the first level of my dungeon of 39 rooms will still be less than 54 pages in print.)

 

[ByOdinsBeardRPG]

Absolutely fair question. There's a wilderness area and town, with NPC encounters in areas of the town. The dungeon rooms are laid out as follows, with a mini-map on each spread. Takes up a bit more room but was one of the design goals I had in mind.

 

[Retreater]

Yeah, that layout and presentation is extremely helpful. Especially for a new DM potentially running this 1st level adventure as their first game. As someone who has been running games for a long time, I would probably suggest it for a player in my group looking to try their hand at DMing.
But to answer your original question, I don't think the cost is unreasonable compared to other Indie publishers.
Have you considered a Kickstarter or something? It might help lower the costs, but more importantly be good for promotion?

 

[ByOdinsBeardRPG]

Cool, thanks for the feedback. The goal is to be able to just pick up and play. I've got them printed already, but do plan a Kickstarter at some point. Possibly for the follow-up to this one, which is nearly ready to go