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."

 

[codo]

What again?!

I am not quite sure what you are asking, but if it was about the palladium taking donation to stay afloat, it's true. I don't remember all the details, but if I remember correctly, about 10 years ago, there were accusations that an employee stole a bunch of sci-fi memorabilia that were in the palladium offices (the details on this were pretty vague), and they were forced to solicit donations from their fans to keep the light on.

 

[Mistwell]

Why are you doing PR for a greedly corporation?

Why are you bashing an ordinary corporation in a forum built for fans of their products?

They don't need to price rip off their their customers, they made 150 million in profits from D&D last year alone, they aren't hurting for money.

Their costs went up while their prices had not, and their parent company is absolutely hurting for money. There is no rip off here - costs went up by more than the price is going up. That's the definition of not a rip off. It's a luxury entertainment product - why are you acting like they owe you a lower price than their costs warrent?

They aren't increasing the price to cover inflation

Yes, the are. If you have proof otherwise, let's see it. You don't though.

growing popularity already did that, they are doing it to take more of our money to give to those who already have everything, the shareholders.

You think shareholders "have everything" when MOST stocks are held in ordinary 401K plans of ordinary middle class workers? Sounds like you have an unwarranted chip on your shoulder.

 

[Warpiglet-7]

Actually, I strongly disagree. I find that voice chat without video actually strongly encourages role play. People aren't embarassed or shy when they can be a little bit anonymous. Having video on tends to make people, IME, much more inhibited and less likely to engage. It is certainly not an "inferior imitation".

But, in any case, this is largely beside the point. The point is, RPG companies have not spent anything on actually trying to branch out into virtual space play. I certainly don't mean that they should be doing it to the exclusion of tabletop. It's mean to be in addition to tabletop.

Think about it this way. How much time and money do RPG companies spend on doing the convention circuit? Doing game demos and trying to evangelize their games. But zero time in trying to build an online community around a game. It's such a lost opportunity.

I am an “n” of one.

Due to illness my friends had me info FaceTime ona stand over the board. I could see folks but not up close.

I enjoyed it as much as in person for the most part. So many laughs and yelling and d20s…

However I am an anomaly. I am not really into vtt so I am an outlier.

 

[Warpiglet-7]

Why are you bashing an ordinary corporation in a forum built for fans of their products?



Their costs went up while their prices had not, and their parent company is absolutely hurting for money. There is no rip off here - costs went up by more than the price is going up. That's the definition of not a rip off. It's a luxury entertainment product - why are you acting like they owe you a lower price than their costs warrent?



Yes, the are. If you have proof otherwise, let's see it. You don't though.



You think shareholders "have everything" when MOST stocks are held in ordinary 401K plans of ordinary middle class workers? Sounds like you have an unwarranted chip on your shoulder.

I also go back to the fact many people don’t even use supplements beyond core.

If you “just want to play cheap” 5e is going to be close to free when the new books get in circulation.

 

[abirdcall]

I know that this has already been covered, but I think people forget. So, let's recap, using DMGs but starting from the LBBs with the final number the 2023 price adjusted for inflation-

LBBs $10 (1974) - $64.24

1e DMG $15 (1979) - $65.76

2e DMG $18 (1989) - $49.26

2e DMG $20 (1995 Black Cover) - $39.65

3e DMG $30 (2000) - $52.90

3.5e DMG $30 (2003) - $49.22

4e DMG $35 (2008) - $49.26

4e Essentials DM Kit $40 (2010) - $54.98

5e DMG $50 (2014) - $63.68

As you can see, in 2023 prices, we've almost always been looking at a band between $50-$60. It makes sense, if you're planning on holding prices for a while, to price it at or above $60.

IMO.

One thing not captured here is that most of us no longer need to pay MSRP for things.

The standard price for a 5e hardcover at my FLGS is $53-55 CAD. The MSRP is $68 CAD. They regularly have 10% off sales too for another $5 off.

Amazon is sometimes even better than that.

 

[Hussar]

I am an “n” of one.

Due to illness my friends had me info FaceTime ona stand over the board. I could see folks but not up close.

I enjoyed it as much as in person for the most part. So many laughs and yelling and d20s…

However I am an anomaly. I am not really into vtt so I am an outlier.

Oh I totally get not liking vtt play. No problems understanding that.

What gets my back up is claims that vtt play is inherently “inferior “ instead of just different.

 

[Micah Sweet]

I have to agree. It comes across as less advocating for what you want, and more as advocating that other people should not get what they want, just because you don't like it. We are all pushing for what we like, but pushing for other people not getting what they like, just reads as selfish and petty. I hope that is not what you are advocating, but that's how it comes across.

I'm sorry TSR went under. I loved that company's work, and they put out a lot of stuff I loved. Without 2e's body of work, I might not even still be playing RPGs anymore. I am convinced that, had the company made better business decisions, they would have released far less content, likely entire lines of product would have never been published, included a lot of D&D novels I read and enjoyed multiple times as a teenager, and the world of fantasy RPGs would have been far poorer as a result.

I wish there was a way for all that to still exist without TSR having to collapse; I certainly wouldn't wish unemployment on anyone, and TSR was from all accounts a terrible place to work for a lot of people. But I try to appreciate a creative work for its own sake, and not base my opinion of its merit on who created or published it. I'm not going to say I wish TSR had been less prolific during the 2e era, but I certainly wish they had been kinder to their employees.

 

[Parmandur]

One thing not captured here is that most of us no longer need to pay MSRP for things.

The standard price for a 5e hardcover at my FLGS is $53-55 CAD. The MSRP is $68 CAD. They regularly have 10% off sales too for another $5 off.

Amazon is sometimes even better than that.

I'm getting Bigby's for $54 from my FLGS.

 

[Warpiglet-7]

Oh I totally get not liking vtt play. No problems understanding that.

What gets my back up is claims that vtt play is inherently “inferior “ instead of just different.

No. One of my good friends “prefers” it’s clarity and mechanical precision.

I like minis and terrain he does not. Not really able to say who is “right” at all.

Third pal likes theater of the mind all the way!

 

[codo]

Oh I totally get not liking vtt play. No problems understanding that.

What gets my back up is claims that vtt play is inherently “inferior “ instead of just different.

I sorry if I came across that way. I didn't intend to. I wasn't so much talking about the Idea of playing on a VTT, but rather the various software and internet issues that I experienced when actually trying to use them. My experience with them has involved a lot of fiddling and trial and error. You have to admit that none of them exactly have a great UI experience.

I have also lived in areas without a great internet connection before. I can see having a better experience if everybody had a reliable high speed connection. I have actually played using a vtt in person, just using it as a map and tokens. It actually works pretty good.