Weird rumor concerning "Book of Vile Darkness"

[mearls]

Re: Re: Re: Weird rumor concerning "Book of Vile Darkness"

Ok, fair enough -- maybe what I mean is, why would WotC feel it a worthy or necessary addition to their stable of products. Obviously they think it will sell.... Hmm, so maybe my real question is "who does WotC see as the potential customer of this product?"

One of the big mysteries in RPG publishing is how to get people to buy stuff.

Sure, I buy lots of stuff. If you're reading this, you probably buy lots of stuff too. But you, me, and everyone reading this board is a small fraction of the total 2 million people who play D&D every month.

Of those 2 million, only a very small fraction are active consumers. Most people buy a PHB. Something like a quarter of them buy a DMG or a MM. Perhaps 10% buy anything else.

So, if you could come up with a product that 20% of the people who bought a PHB wanted, you'd double the sales of almost every other supplement released.

I think the Book of Vile Darkness is a great idea, because it's something that hasn't been done before. Human sacrifices, dark fantasy, stuff luck that, is a part of almost every D&D game I've ever played it. It's refreshing to see a publisher tackle something that most people include in their game but that many companies have shied away from.

Following the old formula obviously won't induce people who don't buy RPG books to start buying them. It didn't work before, and I don't see that suddenly changing. It behooves publishers to seek out new types of products or topics to handle.

 

[Oberton]

Re: Re: Re: Weird rumor concerning "Book of Vile Darkness"

"who does WotC see as the potential customer of this product?"

The VAMP crowd?

Perhaps! Don't you think WOTC would love to get the Vampire Roleplaying crowd too...

 

[BiggusGeekus]

Didn't the demographic survey show that the people who purchased RPGs were older than the 15-year-old sterotype? Like around 25 or so?

Anyway, according to EGG, sales quadrupled when D&D was the tool of the devil back in the 80's. Perhaps WotC is considering commiting blasphemy all the way to the bank.

 

[Monte At Home]

So I guess first quesiton is -- is this true?

No. Sorry, Eric. It was a "secret project" because WotC has this policy not to talk about a project until it's in the catalog. It all started when someone asked me what I was working on (on line) and I said "a big project for WotC that I can't talk about, but it's something that people have been asking for for a long time" (referring to the stats for demon and devil lords, which really haven't existed since 1E).

Someone here on ENWorld noticed the statement and started speculating on what the "secret project" might be in fun. Anthony Valterra came in and started giving hints, mistakenly thinking that it would be announced far sooner than it would be.

There was thus never any intention to aggrevatingly tantalize people with those details. It just worked out that way. It was never referred to as my "secret project" by anyone but the posters here and on my boards.

Second question -- if it is, is this what folks were worried about when Hasbro bought WotC way back when?

Hmm. Nope. People had a lot more tangible worries on their mind then than this. That was also long before the book was anything but an idea I had.

Third -- is such a product even really necessary? (I guess I'd have to know lots more about what's inside to know for sure.)

I suppose you could ask that about any non-core product. This is a big book, and it covers lots of topics and material. I imagine more and more of the details of its contents will be forthcoming. I have no idea if, in WotC's collective mind, I've already said too much.

Fourth -- Whose brainchild was this product, anyway? Who had to be "convinced" in order to get it even on the schedule? What were the parameters and where did they draw the line when it was in development?

It was my idea. This was one of the rare instances at WotC when someone conceives of, and then creates in its entirety, a product of this size. The people that had to be convinced were the business/brand managers for D&D, who have to be "convinced" about every product idea. It wasn't that hard. In fact, it was they who really pushed the idea to have it contain some material which was beyond what WotC would normally publish in a core D&D book. The whole "mature audiences" angle. This is based on the realization that the hard core of our audience (no pun intended) averages around college age.

I think in the end it might not be as "edgy" or--as someone else mentioned here previously--as "Black Dog" as they envisioned, but it's got plenty of "so nasty it's cool" sort of material, if you see what I mean. Rules, for example, for what you get if you sell your soul to Asmodeus, or spells that you have to be under the influence of an addictive drug in order to cast.

 

[coyote6]

Wait, I thought Monte had two different secret projects -- one the Book of Vile Darkness, the other written with Sean Reynolds -- it was the latter that was on uncertain ground at WotC. (Yeah, Monte talks about it on his boards, here.)

Are you sure that Book of Vile Darkness is the subject of this unrest you're hearing about? Could it be the Cook/Reynolds collaboration?

Edit: Heh. I suppose if I just hit "post" 5 minutes sooner rather than looking for that link, Monte could've just answered himself.

 

[Thorntangle]

Re: Re: Weird rumor concerning "Book of Vile Darkness"

Rules, for example, for what you get if you sell your soul to Asmodeus, or spells that you have to be under the influence of an addictive drug in order to cast.

Wow. That could be as agitating as it is interesting. The christian right could have a field day. Really, with balloons and carnival rides and everything.

Jack Chick is sharpening his pencils as we speak

 

[Green Knight]

Well, personally I'm looking forward to this book, and am glad they're making it.

And hey, if anyone's worried this book might be bad for WoTC's image, then WoTC can alway make a "Book of Exalted Deeds", like someone else here suggested. I wonder what they'd stick in THAT book!

 

[BadMojo]

Re: Re: Weird rumor concerning "Book of Vile Darkness"

Rules, for example, for what you get if you sell your soul to Asmodeus, or spells that you have to be under the influence of an addictive drug in order to cast.

I must admit, it sounds alot more interesting when Monte describes it. When I read the WotC catalog blurb, I was luke-warm at best about this book. Sounds like it could be interesting to use in my planned (kinda) Freeport/Dragonstar game.

 

[Nightfall]

So answer me this Monte, can you state for a certainty that THIS book will have the Demon Princes, the Arch Devils AND the Almighty King of Hell himself in it? Is a d20 product or just a WotC product (meaning the chance for using Divine Rank might occur...)

 

[Simon Magalis]

I also wonder if this will interfere with what Necromancer is doing with the Tome of Horrors (Creature Catalog) because I have heard that there will be no crossover monsters between this and any WOTC product. I wonder if this is news to them about the Demon Lords because I just can't imagine a Necro. supplement on monsters WITHOUT Orcus and the others.