D&D 5E Wanting more content doesn't always equate to wanting tons of splat options so please stop.

[Maxperson]

Enough of a trend to be a concern for WotC from a marketing standpoint, though.

Not just your preference....

I think there are enough people who want such content for it to be a WotC concern, yes.

 

[hawkeyefan]

I think there are enough people who want such content for it to be a WotC concern, yes.

Thank you. That's the point I disagree with. Not that there is such a subset of the audience, but that it would be a good idea for WotC to shift their marketing to chase those folks rather than doing what they are now. I think that would not be smart.

I mean...your "needs" as a customer seem pretty severe, no? Beyond the general sense of wanting value for your dollar, with value being subjective. Your specific requirements for them to earn your business seem greater than average. Would you agree?

 

[Shasarak]

Well, three novelists don't make a novel line. That's a pretty sad number of novels. Plus, two of the authors (and their most famous characters) aren't well liked.
They need more authors, but aren't in a great position to find new blood. The last time they tried to expand the number of novels, the best they could do is bringing in people who used to write for D&D 20 years ago.

You only really need one author to do a novel line, so three is more then enough.

The novels situation is tricky. There's a lot going on there. For starters, Realms novels are basically Young Adult fiction, and always have been. But there's a heck of a lot more competition in the YA field. And a heck of a lot more mature, grown up fantasy fiction. Staying competitive on book shelves is much harder now.
Plus the Realms have a HUGE back catalogue of novels. They can make a decent amount of money just keeping classics in print.

Certainly having a back catalogue must get you residual sales. The Crystal Shard ranks as #35,354 in Amazon Books compared to the newly released Hero at #592 in Books. So is it worthwhile to rely on those residuals without having something new for existing buyers to purchase?

Licensing it out to another publisher makes it significantly easier to get new writers. And good writers. Which has always been the issue with the D&D novels. And the other company is likely much more proficient in novel soliciting, distribution, and the like.

I know that Paizo uses Tor Books for their novels now and that does make sense to use a specialist company. Have you heard that WotC is doing something similar?

You mock, but there's something nice about having the people in charge be approachable. You can ask them anything, and not in a "mail in a question and hope it is answered" sort of way. And as people interact with them and talk about #dnd it makes the game visible.

There is nothing wrong with having advertising. I do not consider having advertising to be a "success" though it would be interesting to know how the recent Acquisitions Inc. Live in Theaters promotion went.

And as much as it is nice to be able to tweet directly to Mike and Chris, is that the best use of their time to answer how Gnolls are too Demonic to be a player race? Maybe using that time to create a version that is not too Demonic could have been more "successful".

 

[Azzy]

If you want more content delivered at a faster pace by WotC, posting it here (over and over) is counterproductive. If you actually want your voice to be heard, message Mearls & company on Twitter. Otherwise you're you (peeing) in the wind.

Now, whether there's enough of you wanting a ramped-up schedule for them for WotC to consider doing so is another issue, as is whether it's realistic and feasible for WotC to do so. But that's something that only those at WotC actually know.

 

[cmad1977]

Calm down, please. People talking to each other about their hobbies is not a problem in the slightest. It's neither a binary thing, nor are they required to account to you for how they spend their time.

If the issue is desire for more content that's fits ones game, the answer is either create it or wait for what may never come. Bemoaning the lack of content for ones game on a weekly basis is fine. It doesn't help, but it's fine.
I'm simply pointing out a very simple solution to the OPs problem.

But as I said earlier you can't change anyone's mind.
I look forward to next weeks posts about how little content there is.


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[Shasarak]

If you want more content delivered at a faster pace by WotC, posting it here (over and over) is counterproductive. If you actually want your voice to be heard, message Mearls & company on Twitter. Otherwise you're you (peeing) in the wind.

Then what do we call someone standing down wind?

 

[cmad1977]

Then what do we call someone standing down wind?

Damp?


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[Caliburn101]

Quite the discussion, and unfortunately shot through with a little too much inflexible exchange.

That said, I agree that WoTC would be well served to consider doubling their release schedule.

APs are OK, but they aren't fantastic. They are also far too mico-focussed.

We can only have things officially set in one small part of one particular game world? Really?

Every one has to be a campaign arc in length? OK I guess.

But introducing a bit of this there and a little of that here in large, pricey books unless you just happen to want exactly that type of adventure in your game world, or indeed the Forgotten Realms? Because of a middle of the road, not too successful MMO that is set there? I would doubt that is effective at promoting either.

I have got far more use out of the new Tome of Beasts from the recent third party Kickstarter than I have out of ALL the APs put together, and I am running a Greyhawk Campaign...

THE edition that brings all the editions together? How about something relevantly to the primary game world of the first three? How about giving us something other than APs which require a new campaign be run by the GM each time they want to use the latest product?

I would much rather be regularly using WoTC 5th edition books in my own onto in campaign. I would much rather go to my D&D club and see someone, somewhere running something ther than the doorstop APs that suck up all the creative oxygen.

Give us more that can be used creativel because it was designed that way, not because we retrofit it and had to ignore large sections of it because it was so world specific, region specific, episodically interlinked and massively multilevel.

I hope the new book with extra subclasses et al gives us more to work with, because at the moment, third party publishers are getting much more of my attention, and I think that's is a shame. I would much rather more of that more generally useful and innovative material was coming out of the WoTC team at a rate relevant to the game I play in and the two games I run.

No, my entry here won't change a thing, and I undertstand the alternative points of view on this, but it was interesting articulating what I would like to see, and I can say that a good number of players and GMs I know agree with me.

 

[JeffB]

Calm down, please. People talking to each other about their hobbies is not a problem in the slightest. It's neither a binary thing, nor are they required to account to you for how they spend their time.

That's right. Listen to the Guv'nor. Everyone just calm down. This sucker has to go at least 40 pages so I can win my prize.

 

[Jester David]

I know that Paizo uses Tor Books for their novels now and that does make sense to use a specialist company. Have you heard that WotC is doing something similar?

The only people who would know are WotC and Tor. But something like that wouldn't surprise me. Paizo did it for a reason, so it makes sense WotC might also consider that as an option.