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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Kramodlog" data-source="post: 6615537" data-attributes="member: 55961">They have multiple constraint that do affect the quality of their APs. Like having to be generic, not taking risks, having it all set on the Sword Coast (too much of a good thing...). Tie-ins aren't really the problem.Yup, the video games are central to their business plans and dictate the location of the APs.Yes. DragonLance, Greyhawk, Planescape. The adventures aren't very realmsy. Althought what is realmsy? A "feel" is hard to qualify and quantify.Name recognition and some of the more known/popular characters. Drizzt comes to mind for some reason. Elminster probably at some point. They really want Sword Coast Legends to be a success. Putting Drizzt in it the video game and make him central to the promo is very telling.Rage of Drizzt will have a tie-in novel written by R.A. Salvatore. "Archmage" I believe it is titled. With their limited staff I think it took them some time to get their tie-in model up and running. Now that the core rules are done, they can spend more time on other things and it shows with Rage of Drizzt. They started the promo way more in advance than with Elemental Evil. Why? Probably because it is already done or close to be done. We thought they were holding things close to their chest because they were being secretive just to be secretive. It was just that they wanted to make sure their product was going to see the light of day. Digital platforms are announced the day they are released because they want to avoid vaporware like Dungeonscape and 4e's VTT again. Sword Coast Legends is already announced probably because they have more confidence in it and it probably is central to their business model (thus why the APs are all set there). Maybe it is that triple A game they want. The APs? Cause the storylines stand alone. Even Paizo does that. Except fot Shattered Star that was connected to Rise of the Rune Lord, they all stand alone. This way you do not need to buy all the APs to play one. A campaign guide is what ties it all up.Making storylines central to their products and having all sort of tie-ins is a good idea. It isn't why their APs are bland and generic though. That is the choice they make. Paizo ties its organize play, novels and cards with its APs and it works fine. They still do experimental, non-generic APs. Generic is a conscious choice WotC makes. Part of the disatisfaction we get from 5e's business model right now comes from two elements. Focusing only on the AP when it comes to the RPG is part of the problem. No AP, splatbook or source book will sell as much as the core books. But by selling only APs they aren't getting money from players who are more interested in splat or campain settings. It is like refusing to catter to two thirds of customers (ok their are some people who just buy everything, but you get what I mean). Splat and settings can also be tied-in to storylines. So, I'm not sure I get their strategy for the PnP RPG, unless it is really secondary. That the AP is just a legacy product that gives a little credibility to the storyline. Maybe they see the RPG as more of a liability than a source of revenue past the release of the core books. The other part of the problem is that they want generic storylines because the lowest common denominator sells more. At least that is generally corporate logic. Mixing technology and magic in an AP and in a video game might be too weird for the general public (at least this is what WotC might be thinking), so an AP like Iron God that Paizo wrote is out of the question. Too much Realms specific fluff or too much D&D multiverse fluff might turn people away. So generic it is.</blockquote>

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