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Message: <blockquote data-quote="delericho" data-source="post: 6210949" data-attributes="member: 22424">There's a lot I agree with here. But...Well, except that there are apparently, what, 50,000 DDI subscribers? I rather doubt that they're all DMs.TSR worked out a long time ago, and every publisher since has followed, that there's a lot more money to be made selling books to players than to DMs, especially if those books will allow those players to make a "better" character. (Where "better" usually means "more powerful", but could also mean "closer to what I intended", "more detailed", or some other descriptor".)It's also easier (and therefore cheaper) to create new material for players - once they'd worked out the format of kits (and then prestige classes, and then powers) it became easy for them to churn them out in great numbers for each individual class; where creating setting and adventure material (especially good material of those types) is harder... and where each individual adventure, setting, etc is pretty much unique, where crunch can be made to various formulae.That said, there is an economic reason to inspire DMs - an inspired DM is more likely to mean inspired players, meaning they're then more likely to buy product.Perhaps ironically, back when 4e was being developed, the Rouse said that they intended to eventually bring back all the settings. The reason it didn't happen was quite simple: by the time "Eberron" and "Dark Sun" were out, it was evident that they weren't selling well enough - WotC then returned to FR, breaking their previous "three books and out" model, because there was more money to be made there.I can't see things being any different with 5e, although they could leverage DDI to provide better support for old settings... of course, they could have done that just as well with 4e.</blockquote>

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