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Settings - Advancing Timelines, Reimagining, Etc.
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<blockquote data-quote="delericho" data-source="post: 6010275" data-attributes="member: 22424"><p>Settings are a losing proposition, and new versions of a setting moreso.</p><p></p><p>The problem is that when you're doing a new version, you inevitably hit a "damned if you don't, damned if you do" problem:</p><p></p><p>- The majority of your potential sales are to people who are already fans of the setting, and so already have the new version.</p><p></p><p>- If you don't change things, you're just selling the same stuff to the same people, a practice for which they have limited tolerance. You will therefore inevitably lose sales to people who won't re-buy.</p><p></p><p>- Conversely, if you do change things, you will inevitably alienate a chunk of your fanbase, as they liked the setting as it was, they don't like the changes, or even just because otherwise-favourable changes contradict something in their home campaign.</p><p></p><p>Unfortunately, for WotC at least, it appears that settings are borderline-worthwhile products at the best of times. When you add a "second-strike" of supporting multiple settings (where most people don't use <em>any</em> setting, and almost all of the rest use at most <em>one</em>), and a third in trying to sell a new version...</p><p></p><p>At this point, were I in their shoes I would be inclined to support only Forgotten Realms for the next couple of years. Thereafter, I think I would probably do a single additional setting every couple of years, treating each as a limited run special project (probably presenting the setting as it stood at the end of the established timeline with <em>no</em> further changes but with the latest rules). Do a couple of books, perhaps some support in eDragon, and then stop. (Oh, and I would put Eberron and Dark Sun somewhere near the bottom of that list, because they both have near-current versions that you would be competing with.)</p><p></p><p>I would also probably stay well clear anything that is semi-generic fantasy (Greyhawk, Dragonlance, Birthright), and instead assign those resources to FR instead. Sadly, it doesn't make sense to support multiple very similar flavours of fantasy - better to support one intensively and perhaps support other, wildly different, flavours.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="delericho, post: 6010275, member: 22424"] Settings are a losing proposition, and new versions of a setting moreso. The problem is that when you're doing a new version, you inevitably hit a "damned if you don't, damned if you do" problem: - The majority of your potential sales are to people who are already fans of the setting, and so already have the new version. - If you don't change things, you're just selling the same stuff to the same people, a practice for which they have limited tolerance. You will therefore inevitably lose sales to people who won't re-buy. - Conversely, if you do change things, you will inevitably alienate a chunk of your fanbase, as they liked the setting as it was, they don't like the changes, or even just because otherwise-favourable changes contradict something in their home campaign. Unfortunately, for WotC at least, it appears that settings are borderline-worthwhile products at the best of times. When you add a "second-strike" of supporting multiple settings (where most people don't use [i]any[/i] setting, and almost all of the rest use at most [i]one[/i]), and a third in trying to sell a new version... At this point, were I in their shoes I would be inclined to support only Forgotten Realms for the next couple of years. Thereafter, I think I would probably do a single additional setting every couple of years, treating each as a limited run special project (probably presenting the setting as it stood at the end of the established timeline with [i]no[/i] further changes but with the latest rules). Do a couple of books, perhaps some support in eDragon, and then stop. (Oh, and I would put Eberron and Dark Sun somewhere near the bottom of that list, because they both have near-current versions that you would be competing with.) I would also probably stay well clear anything that is semi-generic fantasy (Greyhawk, Dragonlance, Birthright), and instead assign those resources to FR instead. Sadly, it doesn't make sense to support multiple very similar flavours of fantasy - better to support one intensively and perhaps support other, wildly different, flavours. [/QUOTE]
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