[UPDATED] Has ADVENTURER'S HANDBOOK Been Cancelled?

Today's official announcement about the Elemental Evil storyline mentioned Princes of the Apocalypse, a new DM screen, miniatures, video games... but not the Adventurer's Handbook! This could mean nothing, of course. The book was first announced last year, back in August; but the below screenshot from Edelweiss shows it as cancelled. The mystery deepens!

UPDATE: WotC's Mike Mearls answers "We can't cancel a book we never announced!" So that sounds like the Adventurer's Handbook will definitely not be appearing. WotC certainly wrote ad copy and designed a cover for the book (see below). Mike added "we've played things close to the vest is that it's a huge, open question on what support for the RPG should look like... we do a lot of stuff that may or may not end up as a released product. For instance, we now know that the high volume release schedule for 3e and 4e turned out to be bad for D&D. It wasn't too many settings that hurt TSR, but too many D&D books of any kind. lots of experiments ahead..."

Here's the cancellation screenshot. Now, that could mean a number of things - maybe it's been pushed back, maybe it's been renamed, or maybe it's just an admin error. Princes of the Apolocaypse has been pushed back from March 17 to April 7.

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What do we know about the book? We have a description from August 2014 and a more recent cover image. Right now, anything could be true; I haven't heard anything about a cancellation or a pushed back release date. If I do, I'll be sure to report it.

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Adventurer's Handbook (March 17, 2015; hardcover; $39.95) -- A Dungeons & Dragons Accessory. Create Heroic Characters to Conquer the Elements in this Accessory for the World’s Greatest Roleplaying Game​ Not inherently evil, elemental power can be mastered by those with both malevolent and benign intentions. The Elemental Evil Adventurer’s Handbook provides everything that players need to build a character that is tied directly into the Elemental Evil story arc, with skills, abilities, and spells meant to augment their play experience throughout the campaign. Additionally, valuable background and story information provides greater depth and immersion. An accessory that expands the number of options available for character creation for the Elemental Evil story arc, providing expanded backgrounds, class builds, and races meant specifically for this campaign. Provides background and setting information critical to having the greatest chance of success. Accessory design and development by Sasquatch Game Studio LLC.​ ​

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[Viking Bastard]

Ninja Turtles will never again be where it was in the late 80's. The movie did okay, but I wouldn't put ot up there as a blockbuster. Also, the Ninja Turtles took off during the late 80's at a level not all IP's get to. Let's not forget this is the Turtles 4th or 5th go at trying to make the name popular again.

It's the highest grossing TMNT movie.

My Little Pony isn't really a blip on the radar to be honest. It has a cartoon and some toys but let's not sugar coat it more than it is.

MLP is pretty darn popular for what it is. It's no Transformers, but you don't need to be Transformers to be considered successful.

 

[IchneumonWasp]

Tabletop Roleplaying games like D&D are never going to get mainstream popularity, even if the brand of D&D is becoming more well known and popular (through movies and computer games etc.). Look at what happened to Marvel. Even though their movies are in almost every way a huge success and characters like Iron Man that no one knew 20 years ago are now widely popular and well known, but it hasn't translated in comic books becoming widely more popular too. In fact, looking at what critics say, the comic books are now more and more seen as just a way to advertise for the movies, since that is where the money is and the content and stories suffer due to that.

As a role-player and comic book reader I don't like this one bit, but this is how it is.

 

[dream66_]

Sure, if you hate Barbarians and Bards and Druids and Monks and Gnomes and Half-Orcs, that's a great way to get into 4e.

I keep being told 5e core is a complete game that I don't need more books yet I don't have Warlords or Psionics, so yeah sounds fair.

 

[Zaukrie]

I want adventures you can play in 3 or 4 sessions. I am not all that interested in 300 page paths. I am a very busy adult, I would like to buy them, rather than make them up. For 4 decades they supported this model. I miss it.

 

[MonsterEnvy]

It's not being cynical, it's being realistic.

No it's called being Cynical. D&D is selling very well right now and it's movie rights are being fought over. If they make a Drizzt movie or something and put the right amount of advertising, budget and a good studio behind it. It could do very well.

 

[Iosue]

It's already been there and done that.

Been where and done what? What does that even mean?

Ninja Turtles will never again be where it was in the late 80's. The movie did okay, but I wouldn't put ot up there as a blockbuster. Also, the Ninja Turtles took off during the late 80's at a level not all IP's get to. Let's not forget this is the Turtles 4th or 5th go at trying to make the name popular again.

This is ridiculous. Turtles merch made Nickelodeon $475 million in 2012. The movie, with horrible reviews and nominations for all the Razzies, made $477 million worldwide, $191 million of that coming from domestic box office. And sold a crapload of toys. It's a huge moneymaker.

My Little Pony isn't really a blip on the radar to be honest. It has a cartoon and some toys but let's not sugar coat it more than it is.

Also ridiculous. MLP is a Core Brand at Hasbro. That means it pulls in at least $50 million in revenue -- the target that 4e D&D aimed for but could not reach -- and it probably makes more. It was a lame duck line, limping along since 1992, and actually discontinued in the States from 1999 to 2003. And it had "been there and done that" -- a TV series and movie that no one remembers. Then, Friendship is Magic comes along, a quality show by all accounts, and BOOM! The line takes off again and gets Core Brand status.

Okay they are making a Jem movie, so? Jem has never had a movie so it's bringing something that jas never been a film.

It's a cartoon from the 80s that no one cared about for 25 years. Now Hasbro and Universal think they can make some money off it. Will they? It'll probably move some merch. And the point is, if there's earning potential in Jem, for crying out loud, there's earning potential in a D&D movie produced by Universal. Not just in movie revenue, but in action figures, video games, books, and a host of other merchandise. It would put a bump in the RPGs sales.

You aren't comparing like for like to be honest.

I'm comparing a nostalgic niche IP to nostalgic niche IP that were parleyed into money-making brand franchises. I'm presenting an argument, you see, using facts, figures and examples to make a projection. As near as I can tell, all you seem to be doing is saying, "Nuh-uh," to the point of saying that currently successful multi-million dollar franchises are not popular or "a blip on the radar".

 

[Doc_Klueless]

My Little Pony isn't really a blip on the radar to be honest. It has a cartoon and some toys but let's not sugar coat it more than it is.

I don't know you so I don't want assume anything about you, so I'm asking: Do you have a teenager in your home? Because if you do, ask 'em about MLP. Especially if it's a female teenager. Places like Hot Topic, etc. are STUFFED with MLP crap. My daughter and her friends geek out over it. Whenever I drop my kid off at school or go to a school function there is a surprising amount of MLP merchandise staring me in the face. Anime expos are crawling with MLP Bronies.

A movie of MLP would do quite well, I suspect, just from the high school students who would flock to it. Would it be GotG big? No. Avengers big? No. Very profitable? Yes, I suspect it would be.

I'm very, very surprised at how popular it is within that culture.

 

[dream66_]

I hope you all realize that people are fighting over the rights for a D&D movie not because they think it's going to make so much money, they're fighting over it because the court case is going to change the difintion of the word sequel.

The ruling will effect far more than just D&D.

People aren't paying attention to get that sweet D&D money, they're seeing if Disney can take Spiderman back from Sony.

 

[steeldragons]

All this 80's talk and the "Jem" movie revelation [which I did not know/hadn't yet heard], as much as I would like to see a "good" [i.e. LotR level] D&D movie [we've waited 40 years, we dserve it!], but I would pay cash money for a decent Masters of the Universe/He-Man movie. With the level of CGI/FX tech we now have, they could do it on a LotR scale and have it (and everyone in it, cuz some of them just aren't doable with make-up) visually amazing.

Neither here nor there for the conversation at hand. Just a thought that ran through my heard.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled thread.

 

[Parmandur]

I hope you all realize that people are fighting over the rights for a D&D movie not because they think it's going to make so much money, they're fighting over it because the court case is going to change the difintion of the word sequel.



The ruling will effect far more than just D&D.



People aren't paying attention to get that sweet D&D money, they're seeing if Disney can take Spiderman back from Sony.

That is for sure part of the broader industry interest; but Warner Bros. really wants an evergreen, never ending Marvel-esque replacement for the Tolkien movies: they really do believe they can leverage D&D into billions of dollars of Jacksonian schlock, and Universal thinks so as well. Hasbro wants a bigger part of the pie.

Just because Sweetpea is incompetent, does not mean that the folks who loved the Hobbit movies wouldn't love Tanis Half-Elven or Drizzt in a movie. It doesn't have to be particularly good, Peter Jackson has proven that amply.

And yes, people get I to TTRPGs through video games; I did. And while we don't have the stas on that, Sailor, guess who does? WOTC, who are making the decisions to support the brand.