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<blockquote data-quote="Mercurius" data-source="post: 6367407" data-attributes="member: 59082"><p>OK, I read the fruits of your labor and it is a good post. You speak with a degree of certainty that I personally don't feel comfortable with, as if there are clear answers to all of this - why Pathfinder is succeedly, what WotC needs to do to compete, etc. I mean, I'm not saying you are wrong, I'm just not as certain as you are that you are <em>right.</em></p><p><em></em></p><p>For instance, I think you over-emphasize the importance of 3PP to Paizo. I think they are important, but the main reason Pathfinder has been such a success is because of the positive qualities you mention about Paizo - they just seem to "get" how to run an RPG business. And yes, their success was fueled by the failure of 4E to really thrive.</p><p></p><p>Now maybe I'm wrong, but it seems like with both Kobold and Sasquatch, WotC didn't as much license out products to those companies--otherwise we'd see Kobold's logo on the spines of Tyranny of Dragons, and it isn't (at least not that I remember; it is upstairs and I'm too lazy to go check)--as they did hire the creative teams of those companies as freelancers. This seems mutually beneficial in that it doesn't occupy WotC's small team (at least beyond writing the story bible), and it also gives Kobold some nice advertising and further street cred.</p><p></p><p>Going forward, I imagine that WotC--if they're smart--will take a diversified approach. Not back to the 90s or even the early 00s, but a mixture of both and some other approaches we haven't thought of. How about:</p><p></p><p>- Hire the creative teams of well-established companies to make products for you (e.g. the Kobold and Sasquatch books)</p><p>- Offer a limited Open Gaming License, one that doesn't require an extortionist fee but does have some kind of criteria to be applicable for (so as not to deluge the market with crap like in the 2000-03 period)</p><p>- License out major campaign worlds for other, dedicated folks to work on</p><p>- Create a steady, but slower flow of high quality product in house</p><p>- Revive <em>Dragon </em>to be a community hub--staying in contact with the fan-base--both for new content but also to advertise all of the licensed and 3PP stuff</p><p></p><p>Now wait a minute, all of that is sounding a bit like Paizo. But it works! Why not learn from their success?</p><p></p><p>Another major aspect of Pathfinder's success, that I'm worried WotC doesn't get, is Golarion. Traditionally setting material isn't a big cash cow, at least beyond the first book, but I think the influence of Golarion is far broader than merely profit margins on setting books. It is the glue that brings the whole Pathfinder enterprise together - the context of the adventure paths, that makes them feel like living stories, and of course the home world for all of the iconic characters and other Pathfinder tropes that distinguish it from being merely "D&D 3.5 Revised." 4E lacked this kind of cohesive, setting identity. They teased with it a bit with Nentir Vale, Nerath, and the canonical backstory found in various books. But they never brought it together, so 4E always felt a bit in limbo.</p><p></p><p>So that would be my summary, my advice:</p><p></p><ol> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Take a diversified approach to licensing, 3PP, and product </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Bring back <em>Dragon, </em>in some form or another, to be a community hub </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Center your in-house work on a (new?) campaign setting that glues it all together </li> </ol></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Mercurius, post: 6367407, member: 59082"] OK, I read the fruits of your labor and it is a good post. You speak with a degree of certainty that I personally don't feel comfortable with, as if there are clear answers to all of this - why Pathfinder is succeedly, what WotC needs to do to compete, etc. I mean, I'm not saying you are wrong, I'm just not as certain as you are that you are [I]right. [/I] For instance, I think you over-emphasize the importance of 3PP to Paizo. I think they are important, but the main reason Pathfinder has been such a success is because of the positive qualities you mention about Paizo - they just seem to "get" how to run an RPG business. And yes, their success was fueled by the failure of 4E to really thrive. Now maybe I'm wrong, but it seems like with both Kobold and Sasquatch, WotC didn't as much license out products to those companies--otherwise we'd see Kobold's logo on the spines of Tyranny of Dragons, and it isn't (at least not that I remember; it is upstairs and I'm too lazy to go check)--as they did hire the creative teams of those companies as freelancers. This seems mutually beneficial in that it doesn't occupy WotC's small team (at least beyond writing the story bible), and it also gives Kobold some nice advertising and further street cred. Going forward, I imagine that WotC--if they're smart--will take a diversified approach. Not back to the 90s or even the early 00s, but a mixture of both and some other approaches we haven't thought of. How about: - Hire the creative teams of well-established companies to make products for you (e.g. the Kobold and Sasquatch books) - Offer a limited Open Gaming License, one that doesn't require an extortionist fee but does have some kind of criteria to be applicable for (so as not to deluge the market with crap like in the 2000-03 period) - License out major campaign worlds for other, dedicated folks to work on - Create a steady, but slower flow of high quality product in house - Revive [I]Dragon [/I]to be a community hub--staying in contact with the fan-base--both for new content but also to advertise all of the licensed and 3PP stuff Now wait a minute, all of that is sounding a bit like Paizo. But it works! Why not learn from their success? Another major aspect of Pathfinder's success, that I'm worried WotC doesn't get, is Golarion. Traditionally setting material isn't a big cash cow, at least beyond the first book, but I think the influence of Golarion is far broader than merely profit margins on setting books. It is the glue that brings the whole Pathfinder enterprise together - the context of the adventure paths, that makes them feel like living stories, and of course the home world for all of the iconic characters and other Pathfinder tropes that distinguish it from being merely "D&D 3.5 Revised." 4E lacked this kind of cohesive, setting identity. They teased with it a bit with Nentir Vale, Nerath, and the canonical backstory found in various books. But they never brought it together, so 4E always felt a bit in limbo. So that would be my summary, my advice: [LIST=1] [*]Take a diversified approach to licensing, 3PP, and product [*]Bring back [I]Dragon, [/I]in some form or another, to be a community hub [*]Center your in-house work on a (new?) campaign setting that glues it all together [/LIST] [/QUOTE]
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