Pathfinder 1E Stop thinking of Pathfinder as magazine issues

[Treebore]

Sums it up for me. I *really* want to get Pathfinder, but how can I justify spending $200+ in one year for something I'll get very little use out of? Maybe if I win the lottery...

The more I think about it, I wonder why they didn't make Pathfinder a bi-monthly product. That would certainly make it easier for groups to absorb the material. Maybe I'm the exception, but I liked Dungeon when it came out every other month.

That is up to the individual, because only they know how much value they get out of it and if it meets or exceeds the price tag.

I would love to subcribe for every Pathfinder book, but I cannot justify it to myself. I am going to have to look at PAthfinder on a AP by AP basis. Runes have always been of keen interest to me and plays a big part in my current camapign. So I can justify the first six, if I find the content creative and inspirational for use of Runes.

I will be looking closely at supporting Paizo regularly through their Dungeon Mastery line.

Part of why Paizo has to be careful, and therefore put a $20 price tag on Pathfinder, is they do not know how much consumer support they will get. Erik Mona even cited numerical plateaus of 5,000 and 10 to 15,000.

So I am hopeful that at least half of the 40,000 buyers of Dungeon (and presumably Dragon) will regularly support and buy Paizo's Pathfinder.

So if a 20,000 sales average is achieved and maintained for Paizo maybe that will give them the room to give more of a price break to at least subscribers.

After all, the bigger the print run ordered, the lower the per item print cost.

Unfortunately, I am afraid Erik's suggestion of 5,000 is much more likely to be closer to the reality.

 

[TheAuldGrump]

I would prefer it if it were a magazine - advertising would defray some of the cost. And I don't know about other people, but part of the reason I read Dungeon, or at least flipped through Dragon at the news stand was to read the ads, at least they were ads for something that I enjoy.

I will at least look at Pathfinder, but I think that they may have priced themselves out of a bulk of their target audience. I am not at all certain that there is any good way that Paizo could have gone, but I wish them luck.

The Auld Grump
*EDIT* Please people, prove me wrong. I really want to be wrong on this.

 

[Erik Mona]

I agree. Plus Erik even said (inferred?) that they can't do a magazine format for legal reasons with WOTC

In fact, I've said no such thing. Monte Cook speculated something of this nature on his message boards, but he was speculating.

--Erik

 

[Erik Mona]

Guys,

We're keenly aware that a $20 monthly book is a different value proposition than a $7.99 monthly magazine. We've set certain benchmarks to determine whether or not Pathfinder will be a financial success, and of course a significant part of those benchmarks involve conversions of existing Dungeon and Dragon subscriptions. We can't count people who simply convert their excess subscription credit to Pathfinder as true subscribers until they decide to take the month-to-month plunge, so despite a PHENOMENAL conversion ratio at present, the number we're watching very very closely is the Charter Subscribers who sign up for actual subscriptions. LOTS of subscribers have already done so based on the previews we've posted and our past output, which is very gratifying. But it's not something we take for granted.

We know Pathfinder has to be _worth_ $20 a month. In fact, we're going to work very hard to make sure it is worth considerably more than that.

Does the transition between Adventure Paths represent a risk? Absolutely, and we will be working very hard editorially to make sure the largest number of readers possible span the gap between Adventure Paths. Some of that will involve ties from one Adventure Path to another, some of it will involve building interest in the world behind Pathfinder, and some of it will involve the non-adventure articles and columns/series included in the non-adventure half of each issue. Some of it doubtless involves ideas we haven't even thought of yet. But yeah, it's a challenge, and it's one we're aware of and working on.

--Erik

 

[Agamon]

I was only taken aback by the price for a moment or two. Then I realized what I'd be getting for it, and how much I trusted Paizo to do a good job on it, considering their track record with the mags. I see it as a pretty good deal, actually.

 

[fafhrd]

Hey Erik, I'd love to continue to support you guys with my dollars, but I've become something of a slavish Eberron fan, and I'm having my doubts as to whether anything in Pathfinder is going to fit the bill without major revision. Any chance you can shed some light on whether there will be city based or otherwise suitable material in your upcoming products? Thanks.

 

[Treebore]

In fact, I've said no such thing. Monte Cook speculated something of this nature on his message boards, but he was speculating.

--Erik

Well, if the magazine format is successful for you, and you can do a magazine, are you going too?

If not, why not?

 

[Erik Mona]

Hey Erik, I'd love to continue to support you guys with my dollars, but I've become something of a slavish Eberron fan, and I'm having my doubts as to whether anything in Pathfinder is going to fit the bill without major revision. Any chance you can shed some light on whether there will be city based or otherwise suitable material in your upcoming products? Thanks.

A significant portion of "Rise of the Runelords" takes place in cities, so there should be little problem here. I think the Pathfinder campaigns, especially in the beginning, will be at least as easy to convert to other settings as the Dungeon Adventure Paths. In some cases, it will be easier since we won't have to worry about decades of continuity like we did in the Age of Worms. Not that the nostalgia wasn't a big part of what made AoW cool, but some of it probably made the campaign more difficult to convert to Eberron than would have been ideal (just ask Takasi).

--Erik

 

[Erik Mona]

I should also add that our new GameMastery Modules have specific alpha-numeric codes. Any adventure with a U designation (such as U1: Gallery of Evil) will be set in an urban environment.

--Erik

 

[James Jacobs]

Well, if the magazine format is successful for you, and you can do a magazine, are you going too?

If not, why not?

The short of it is that starting up a new magazine costs millions of dollars. Unless you have an established magazine (as was the case with Dragon and Dungeon), or unless you're prepared to wait several years to see a profit. We can't just "take over" the niche that Dragon and Dungeon occupy. The magazine business simply doesn't work that way.