Sell me on creating new d20 fantasy PDFs . . .
- Thread starter philreed
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SpiralBound
Explorer
I don't know if Phil is still reading this thread, (he appeared to stop posting around about when the thread became more about the value of reviews than his original post), but I would also suggest that you scale back your fantasy items, not completely, but to a bare minimum and then release them at an even slower rate than that. For the short term, focus on what pays, even if that is writing cook books and home repair how-to's! 
It really appears to me that as a whole the RPG market is glutted with material that far exceeds the ability of the number of players out there to even know about, let alone buy and use. I personally stopped reading my rpgnow newsletter and the front page of enworld, simply because there was so much being published, that it all started to look the same to me. Technically, there is currently so much material out there, that no one need ever buy again. Having said that, I'm not predicting the "end of rpgs!!", but I am saying that the only way to combat a market saturation is to make the commodity rare again. The only way this will happen in this instance is if the major and midlevel publishers all agree to a slowdown in their publishing for a while. During this time, the mini-publishers will either improve or die off. The players will have a chance to use what they currently have, get to the point of wanting more, and be ready to start buying again. Then, the publishers should slowly step up their publishing, being very careful to not put themselves back into the situation we're currently in of having enough product floating around for five times the number of roleplayers that currently exist.
It really appears to me that as a whole the RPG market is glutted with material that far exceeds the ability of the number of players out there to even know about, let alone buy and use. I personally stopped reading my rpgnow newsletter and the front page of enworld, simply because there was so much being published, that it all started to look the same to me. Technically, there is currently so much material out there, that no one need ever buy again. Having said that, I'm not predicting the "end of rpgs!!", but I am saying that the only way to combat a market saturation is to make the commodity rare again. The only way this will happen in this instance is if the major and midlevel publishers all agree to a slowdown in their publishing for a while. During this time, the mini-publishers will either improve or die off. The players will have a chance to use what they currently have, get to the point of wanting more, and be ready to start buying again. Then, the publishers should slowly step up their publishing, being very careful to not put themselves back into the situation we're currently in of having enough product floating around for five times the number of roleplayers that currently exist.
Matrix Sorcica
Hero
I will just agree with the posters that mentioned Spycraft.
I did try to convince you to do FantasyCraft back when SC2.0 came out. I still very much want you to!
Seriously, judging by the posts on the SC boards, people would really like fantasy products for SC.
So my recommendation is do fantasy for SC. Or even better, create some cross OGL product, such as campaign qualities for fantasy, and guidelines on how to use it with True20 and Iron Heroes and such.
I think that a product that takes some of the cool aspects of one game and make them usable for other OGL systems/genres is an interesting possibility. Look at Mythic Heroes which took stunts and challenges from IH. People on these boards were raving about it.
just my two coppers.
I did try to convince you to do FantasyCraft back when SC2.0 came out. I still very much want you to!
Seriously, judging by the posts on the SC boards, people would really like fantasy products for SC.
So my recommendation is do fantasy for SC. Or even better, create some cross OGL product, such as campaign qualities for fantasy, and guidelines on how to use it with True20 and Iron Heroes and such.
I think that a product that takes some of the cool aspects of one game and make them usable for other OGL systems/genres is an interesting possibility. Look at Mythic Heroes which took stunts and challenges from IH. People on these boards were raving about it.
just my two coppers.
Phillip J. Reed is Famous!
Well, it's a reason! If *I* have heard of a person, they're famous... I remember, after watching Johnny Mnemonic, writing to a friend of mine and telling him I had just seen this movie, with "some guy named Keeanu, or something like that, in it". He wrote back and told me that I might want to keep it a secret that I didn't know who Keanu Reeves was... Whatever!
Anyway, I know your name, so you're more famous, now, than Keanu Reeves was, before The Matrix. Again, whatever! I have also heard of Green Ronin, although I wasn't aware that you were him.
So I guess name recognition counts for something.
I also have a folder under My Downloads\Bookshelf that's entitled "Phillip J Reed", too, and I just got things worked out with the ENWGS so that I could order in the last two months, or so. I've spent almost $40, so far (currently fighting to get my Medicaid back, after being dumped for having "too many financial resources" - living on $579/month)!![:]](http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/devious.png "Devious :]")
I also participated in that thread on Mundane Treasures, a while back, that I suspect might have inspired a couple of .PDF products in a similar vein... not that I'm complaining, or anything (well, except about Medicaid, in the state of Misery)!
Anywho, if I were you (and I'm not!), I'd try doing something besides "101 (X)", "A Dozen (Y)", and other such generalities. Try something far more specific... "A Dozen New (Higher-Level?) Fighter Feat-Chains", "A Dozen New Cleric Feats" or "A Dozen New Cleric Domains & Spell Lists", "A Dozen New Roguish Feats", and "A Dozen New Wizardly Ways". There; the four core classes! Hard to go wrong, with that! I could give you some other ideas, too, but I'd hafta chargeya fer them!
Even better would be to GET AWAY FROM the "101s" and "Dozens", and just select an area to cover, in-depth! As several have said, "101 Feats" isn't too specific. It's too vague, and too general... A book on, say, the new Dragon Shamans, with new Feats, Domains, spells, etc., might do better. I realize "101" and "A Dozen..." are your product branding, but... maybe instead of time to move on from Fantasy, it's just time to CHANGE THE BRAND?!?
Hey, it's an idea. And it costya nuthin'... Sometimes ya get whatcha pay for, sometimes more, sometimes less. My suggestion: More of a THEME to products than a number...
Well, it's a reason! If *I* have heard of a person, they're famous... I remember, after watching Johnny Mnemonic, writing to a friend of mine and telling him I had just seen this movie, with "some guy named Keeanu, or something like that, in it". He wrote back and told me that I might want to keep it a secret that I didn't know who Keanu Reeves was... Whatever!
Anyway, I know your name, so you're more famous, now, than Keanu Reeves was, before The Matrix. Again, whatever! I have also heard of Green Ronin, although I wasn't aware that you were him.
So I guess name recognition counts for something.I also have a folder under My Downloads\Bookshelf that's entitled "Phillip J Reed", too, and I just got things worked out with the ENWGS so that I could order in the last two months, or so. I've spent almost $40, so far (currently fighting to get my Medicaid back, after being dumped for having "too many financial resources" - living on $579/month)!
I also participated in that thread on Mundane Treasures, a while back, that I suspect might have inspired a couple of .PDF products in a similar vein... not that I'm complaining, or anything (well, except about Medicaid, in the state of Misery)!
Anywho, if I were you (and I'm not!), I'd try doing something besides "101 (X)", "A Dozen (Y)", and other such generalities. Try something far more specific... "A Dozen New (Higher-Level?) Fighter Feat-Chains", "A Dozen New Cleric Feats" or "A Dozen New Cleric Domains & Spell Lists", "A Dozen New Roguish Feats", and "A Dozen New Wizardly Ways". There; the four core classes! Hard to go wrong, with that! I could give you some other ideas, too, but I'd hafta chargeya fer them!
Even better would be to GET AWAY FROM the "101s" and "Dozens", and just select an area to cover, in-depth! As several have said, "101 Feats" isn't too specific. It's too vague, and too general... A book on, say, the new Dragon Shamans, with new Feats, Domains, spells, etc., might do better. I realize "101" and "A Dozen..." are your product branding, but... maybe instead of time to move on from Fantasy, it's just time to CHANGE THE BRAND?!?
Hey, it's an idea. And it costya nuthin'... Sometimes ya get whatcha pay for, sometimes more, sometimes less. My suggestion: More of a THEME to products than a number...
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Crothian said:
What's this all about, Crothian? Maybe you should start a new thread, elsewhere, and link to it, from here, so you can tell me about it? What needs doing? Things like looking up download sizes (which I notice are often missing)? I never saw any "Cry for Aid", any place.
Nebulous
Legend
Frukathka said:
I've read the whole thread and realize this is off topic, more or less, and should be in its own thread, but for me, as a gamer Phil, (and DM/GM) one thing i like to see is visual representation. So, even though you do the writing aspect, i like how your work incorporates art, and cool art that is not carbon copy of other people. Christopher Sly, right, doesn't he work with you?
Personally, i'd like to see more of this. For example, if you wrote a book about "weird" locales, i'd like to see each one, something i could actually hold up to players and say THIS is what it looks like. To my knowledge there hasn't been a sourcebook from anyone that expressly had this goal (i haven't seen the Malhavoc book on the planes but they might have done it).
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