D&D 5E The Printers Can't Handle WotC's One D&D Print Runs!

One of the reasons why the three new core rulebooks next year will not be released together is because D&D is such a juggernaut that the printers can't actually handle the size of the print runs!

Jeremy Crawford told Polygon "Our print runs are pretty darn big and printers are telling us you can’t give us these three books at the same time.” And Chris Perkins added that "The print runs we’re talking about are massive. That’s been not only true of the core books, but also Tasha’s Cauldron. It’s what we call a high-end problem."

 

[Hussar]

You can make anything seem affordable if you find the hourly or daily cost that makes it pocket change or the classic route of "for just the cost of a cup of coffee"

Umm isn’t that like the definition of affordability? A Mercedes will not be reduced in this way. You cannot plausibly drive it that much. Flying first class cannot be reduced this way. Playing golf or many other hobbies cannot be reduced this way.

It doesn’t “seem” affordable. It absolutely is affordable.

 

[Stormonu]

Important to remember here that you're not paying $3 or 55 cents an hour, or a day, or a week. You're paying the full price ($60 or $80 or $100) right now. No one buys RPG books on the installment plan. You have to be willing to pay the entire cost all at once, and hope that you spend enough time with the purchase for it to be worth it.

This. There are RPGs on my bookshelves that I bought with the intent to play (and kept them because they're good reads and one day maybe I'll play them - when/if I retire), that I've never played. What's the ROI on those?

 

[Velderan]

This. There are RPGs on my bookshelves that I bought with the intent to play (and kept them because they're good reads and one day maybe I'll play them - when/if I retire), that I've never played. What's the ROI on those?

I mean I could use a TTRPG to flatten a MTG foil card that won't stay flat, but that's hardly the publishers problem how I choose to use the book.

 

[Oofta]

Important to remember here that you're not paying $3 or 55 cents an hour, or a day, or a week. You're paying the full price ($60 or $80 or $100) right now. No one buys RPG books on the installment plan. You have to be willing to pay the entire cost all at once, and hope that you spend enough time with the purchase for it to be worth it.

Or ... in the case of D&D you watch some free videos, download the free version, maybe borrow a friend's copy to try it out. Then once you're convinced it's worth your money you buy it. If it's not an incidental cost for you, set aside a couple of bucks each week and buy it when you can. Maybe you have your friends chip in, especially to buy that new module everyone wants to play.

It's a cheap hobby. Not everyone can afford it, sadly not everyone can afford to put a roof over their heads. But for a non-essential purchase, it's more bang for the buck than most entertainment and you can check it out for absolutely zero cost.

 

[Bedrockgames]

Umm isn’t that like the definition of affordability? A Mercedes will not be reduced in this way. You cannot plausibly drive it that much. Flying first class cannot be reduced this way. Playing golf or many other hobbies cannot be reduced this way.

It doesn’t “seem” affordable. It absolutely is affordable.

It is an old tactic used for all kinds of goods and for subscriptions services. It won't work if it is a one off use like a plane ticket. But you could certainly say golf clubs or a kayak come down to the cost of a cup of coffee a day in the course of a year (golf would be problematic there though because I am assuming there is also a country club fee---don't play golf so no idea what the options are here). They do the same things with gym memberships, expensive martial arts programs (I used to be a trainer and the courses were expensive, and this was exactly the sales tactic that was used), etc. I actually don't have an issue with the tactic, but it is a tactic. If it wasn't you could just talk about the 60 dollars being affordable. It has to be reframed to make it seem more reasonable.

Whether it is affordable is subjective and budget dependent. Perhaps for you 60 dollars is affordable. Perhaps even all three books at 60 for a total of 180 is affordable. I think that is expensive. I may still save up for the right game for 60 bucks. I am not going to spend 180 bucks on three core books. And that is because of household budget. You can frame it however you want. We had this very same conversation when D&D beyond came out and people were saying how affordable it is. For some house holds that additional expense is okay, for others they are trying to keep a budget and trying to keep discretionary purchases under a certain dollar (because it isn't just the one purchase but that purchase among many other purchases).

 

[Parmandur]

This. There are RPGs on my bookshelves that I bought with the intent to play (and kept them because they're good reads and one day maybe I'll play them - when/if I retire), that I've never played. What's the ROI on those?

Even just the reading time can be pretty solid, versus going to see a couple movies in the theatre and buying snacks.

 

[Bedrockgames]

Or ... in the case of D&D you watch some free videos, download the free version, maybe borrow a friend's copy to try it out. Then once you're convinced it's worth your money you buy it. If it's not an incidental cost for you, set aside a couple of bucks each week and buy it when you can. Maybe you have your friends chip in, especially to buy that new module everyone wants to play.

It's a cheap hobby. Not everyone can afford it, sadly not everyone can afford to put a roof over their heads. But for a non-essential purchase, it's more bang for the buck than most entertainment and you can check it out for absolutely zero cost.

Again there is a wide range of conditions between not being able to put a roof over your head and being able to buy 60 dollar game books with no impact on your household budget. Is it a cheap hobby? Fairly, compared to hobbies that require hundreds of dollars of investment, but I wouldn't say it is super cheap if the three core books you need to play are 180 bucks total. That is getting up there. I get that they can't be 10 dollars a pop or 20 dollars a pop. But I think people are dismissing other peoples concerns about a 20% price increase without understanding this is happening in the context of a period where people are having a harder time buying necessities because the price of everything has gone up so much.

I have no objection to others saying they think it is affordable. Fair enough. That is you opinion. But it is a little frustrating being told we are somehow wrong to dislike the price going up (especially when this has been framed as a leader potentially driving up the costs of all RPG books)

 

[Oofta]

Again there is a wide range of conditions between not being able to put a roof over your head and being able to buy 60 dollar game books with no impact on your household budget. Is it a cheap hobby? Fairly, compared to hobbies that require hundreds of dollars of investment, but I wouldn't say it is super cheap if the three core books you need to play are 180 bucks total. That is getting up there. I get that they can't be 10 dollars a pop or 20 dollars a pop. But I think people are dismissing other peoples concerns about a 20% price increase without understanding this is happening in the context of a period where people are having a harder time buying necessities because the price of everything has gone up so much.

I have no objection to others saying they think it is affordable. Fair enough. That is you opinion. But it is a little frustrating being told we are somehow wrong to dislike the price going up (especially when this has been framed as a leader potentially driving up the costs of all RPG books)

Not everyone can afford every hobby or leisure time activity. I fail to see what your point is here. In comparison to many other hobbies it's cheap. One of my favorite summer time hobbies is going for long rides on my 20 year old bicycle. Other than the occasional stop at DQ for a small chocolate Sunday (I have a weakness for bad ice cream and fake chocolate) and occasional maintenance, it's free. Relatively speaking, it's much more affordable than my DndBeyond subscription.

But there are few hobbies where you can get 4-7 people hours of entertainment for what I pay for that DndBeyond subscription. Very few things in life are free, but D&D? It's not even close to what most people spend on entertainment and non-essentials.

 

[Warpiglet-7]

Not everyone can afford every hobby or leisure time activity. I fail to see what your point is here. In comparison to many other hobbies it's cheap. One of my favorite summer time hobbies is going for long rides on my 20 year old bicycle. Other than the occasional stop at DQ for a small chocolate Sunday (I have a weakness for bad ice cream and fake chocolate) and occasional maintenance, it's free. Relatively speaking, it's much more affordable than my DndBeyond subscription.

But there are few hobbies where you can get 4-7 people hours of entertainment for what I pay for that DndBeyond subscription. Very few things in life are free, but D&D? It's not even close to what most people spend on entertainment and non-essentials.

Wow. Many years ago I bought second hand AD&D books (late 80s). I could not count the hours spent…all night marathons, multi day adventuring! Used those same books into grad school.

It is such a cheap hobby comparatively. And we always had a few pals that borrowed books at the table…

I get not liking price increases. I bought food at McDonald’s recently and could not believe what I paid. But this is no crisis or crushing of a fandom.

 

[Bedrockgames]

But there are few hobbies where you can get 4-7 people hours of entertainment for what I pay for that DndBeyond subscription. Very few things in life are free, but D&D? It's not even close to what most people spend on entertainment and non-essentials.

Only if you are spreading that value out over time, which isn't how people make purchases. Sure if I go to several movies a year, that is going to cost the same as a PHB, but each individual purchase of tickets is a small cost. The cost to buy D&D is not 60 just for the player book, and an additional 120 if you want the full game. That is a large initial purchase. I could buy a musical instrument for that and get just as many hours of use out of it maybe more. I could buy Monopoly (also made by Hasbro) for 20 bucks and get just as many hours of use of it. Also D&D is a game that keeps releasing editions every 8 years or so depending on how you average it out, so there is an initial cost, then there is an expected need to buy the books again when the new edition comes out. Contrast that with my weights, which I use because one of my forms of entertainment is exercise and they are all one time purchases that have lasted over twenty years so far.

I am not saying people who are willing to buy a 60 dollar book are shelling out excessive amounts of cash. But I do think this idea that the 20% increase isn't going to be a problem for some people is wrong. And I think people aren't understanding what budgets mean to a lot of households