kroh
First Post
Hey there...
You craft some great products. I say craft rather than something else because you put a lot into what you do and it is obvious by the measure of success and notoriety (boy did I butcher that word) you have achieved.
That being said, I'll echo what others have said in that a product that just details new spells or equipment or even a new character trick or two, while fun and helpfull to those that don't have the time to create such a thing, seems like it has been done and thus the problem that you are having.
Why not create something that will revitalize or envigorate d20 fantasy or at least your taste for it? There is a LOT of stuff out there for d20 fantasy. But how much of it is really usefull or even desireable. When products like..."Von Hiccup's Guide to Musk Rats" are the average faire of those that buy Fantasy PDF's ...I think we have either hit a ceiling or we have guppies trying to swim with the sharks. How many books on new feats or rules or mechanics about how to hold a pencil do we need before we realize that with every rule or extra dice role we burden an already complex system?
I think this is a great thread as more publishers should actively try to get in touch with their audience like this. You want to be sold on d20 fantasy? Craft something that we can all say ...."WOW" about. If you write just another product ...then it will join the other "just another" products out there. But if the product makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up... Most likely it will do the same to us too.
Some suggestions from a long time game addict with no publishing cred...
*Cloak and Dungeon: A fantasy Spycraft Treatment is a great idea... Why not do a product called Fantasy UNLEASHED where you take classic non-fantasy genre's like the espionage settings, and give GM's and Players alike the tools to bring their favorite flavors into the worlds of spells and swords.
* When GM's Attack A tool box to give GM's the basics of GREAT story telling and adventure design. A section to catapult new GM's into greatness would be helpfull too.
*You want Fries with that A series of side adventures and quests to beef up any campaign. We've all played in those adventures where a side quest was presented as possibly a leveling tool or something to break up the monotony of saving the 134th princess this year but the players just didn't bite because it didn't have the drawing power to pul them away from the main mission. Some good side dishes would be neat. ...Being hired to compete in an ariel race aboard magic carpets through a winding canyon while fighting it out in the air...Clues during the current adventure leads the PC's into sneaking into a wizard's lair to spoil the massive vat's of potion he has brewing that will infect the kingdom...or steal a sample while doing so to sell to the highest bidder...Did we mention the poisionous mage was a (insert nasty poison creature here...My pick was something creapy like the Yuan-ti) who created the poison from hsi own venom!... Finding the side room off the main vault where another team is hiding to steal the treasure from you once you've stolen it... This could be a fun product of mini-adventures and side quests to bolster that "so-so" adventure that only needed a little something.
*Shock and Awe Random encounter tables with full write ups that will thrill and kill the PC's. Goblin indirrect fire team supporting some bandits...Oh my...Nothing says loving like goblins with artillery...
*Monsterous Locales Monsters and lairs that make sense.
So just a few to tickle or treat. I hope you find your fantasy muse and that it kicks the other PDF Broker/Makers in the pants so that we will never see another "Magic Cod-pieces and their Uses!" type product. Good Luck!
Regards,
Walt
You craft some great products. I say craft rather than something else because you put a lot into what you do and it is obvious by the measure of success and notoriety (boy did I butcher that word) you have achieved.
That being said, I'll echo what others have said in that a product that just details new spells or equipment or even a new character trick or two, while fun and helpfull to those that don't have the time to create such a thing, seems like it has been done and thus the problem that you are having.
Why not create something that will revitalize or envigorate d20 fantasy or at least your taste for it? There is a LOT of stuff out there for d20 fantasy. But how much of it is really usefull or even desireable. When products like..."Von Hiccup's Guide to Musk Rats" are the average faire of those that buy Fantasy PDF's ...I think we have either hit a ceiling or we have guppies trying to swim with the sharks. How many books on new feats or rules or mechanics about how to hold a pencil do we need before we realize that with every rule or extra dice role we burden an already complex system?
I think this is a great thread as more publishers should actively try to get in touch with their audience like this. You want to be sold on d20 fantasy? Craft something that we can all say ...."WOW" about. If you write just another product ...then it will join the other "just another" products out there. But if the product makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up... Most likely it will do the same to us too.
Some suggestions from a long time game addict with no publishing cred...
*Cloak and Dungeon: A fantasy Spycraft Treatment is a great idea... Why not do a product called Fantasy UNLEASHED where you take classic non-fantasy genre's like the espionage settings, and give GM's and Players alike the tools to bring their favorite flavors into the worlds of spells and swords.
* When GM's Attack A tool box to give GM's the basics of GREAT story telling and adventure design. A section to catapult new GM's into greatness would be helpfull too.
*You want Fries with that A series of side adventures and quests to beef up any campaign. We've all played in those adventures where a side quest was presented as possibly a leveling tool or something to break up the monotony of saving the 134th princess this year but the players just didn't bite because it didn't have the drawing power to pul them away from the main mission. Some good side dishes would be neat. ...Being hired to compete in an ariel race aboard magic carpets through a winding canyon while fighting it out in the air...Clues during the current adventure leads the PC's into sneaking into a wizard's lair to spoil the massive vat's of potion he has brewing that will infect the kingdom...or steal a sample while doing so to sell to the highest bidder...Did we mention the poisionous mage was a (insert nasty poison creature here...My pick was something creapy like the Yuan-ti) who created the poison from hsi own venom!... Finding the side room off the main vault where another team is hiding to steal the treasure from you once you've stolen it... This could be a fun product of mini-adventures and side quests to bolster that "so-so" adventure that only needed a little something.
*Shock and Awe Random encounter tables with full write ups that will thrill and kill the PC's. Goblin indirrect fire team supporting some bandits...Oh my...Nothing says loving like goblins with artillery...
*Monsterous Locales Monsters and lairs that make sense.
So just a few to tickle or treat. I hope you find your fantasy muse and that it kicks the other PDF Broker/Makers in the pants so that we will never see another "Magic Cod-pieces and their Uses!" type product. Good Luck!
Regards,
Walt
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