Whatever happened to Necromancer Games?

[Greg V]

Is there an overview of Slumbering Tsar available anywhere? I don't own the first module and I'm very tempted by the hardback, but that's an awful lot of cash to hand over on a campaign without some idea of where it's going...

Dark Mistress did a pretty thorough review of ST 1 here on EN World back in March. It's still there in the reviews section if you scroll back a few weeks.

 

[Wicht]

Quite honestly I was thinking what happened to Goodman Games?

Theres no DCC Tournament this year and Joseph said on the GG boards that they won't be at GenCon.

I find that really surprising that they won't be at Gen Con. I just looked at their planned releases for the year and they have plenty coming out. Maybe its just a personal decision for this year, conflicting schedules for Joe Goodman or something. Even if 4e wasn't selling great for them, they have other irons in their fire.

 

[Treebore]

Well, GG not going to Gen Con is not all that surprising. A LOT of vendors last years said they may not be back this year due to Gen Con changes announced last year.

Troll Lords announced today they wouldn't be at Gen Con either.

Glad I wasn't planning on going anyways.

 

[Keraptis]

They have plenty of Stuff comming out but a lot of it was stuff that was supposed to come out last year. From Here To There originally was supposed to come out before GenCon last year and now it's supposed to come out later this year. Death Dealer took forever to come out. And don't get me started on Level Up which was supposed to be quarterly but definitly isn't even close.

Like I said it's weird only because they used to have great DCCs comming out like clockwork. Their later 3.5 stuff was fantastic. I wish they would quit messing around with weird stuff like Crime Pays and Heroes Handbooks and get back to cranking out new DCCs.

 

[Keraptis]

Well, GG not going to Gen Con is not all that surprising.

really? I guess we'll agree to disagree then. considering they said 4e was doing well for them and they have a new DCC rpg in testing I thought they'd be there for sure. Guess I was wrong.

if nothing else I'm very surprised that they cancelled the DCC Tournament. That's huge. A lot of people really like the tournament.

 

[Treebore]

really? I guess we'll agree to disagree then. considering they said 4e was doing well for them and they have a new DCC rpg in testing I thought they'd be there for sure. Guess I was wrong.

if nothing else I'm very surprised that they cancelled the DCC Tournament. That's huge. A lot of people really like the tournament.

Its not about 4E, its about the changes Gen Con made in pay policies, etc... that they announced last Gen Con. Many small vendors were very upset and very unsure if they would be back again this year.

 

[Dias Ex Machina]

From what I understand, Goodman is the publisher for Amethyst, but the creator company (who, I believe, would have been the one to sign the GSL) is Dias Ex Machina Games.

There is this claim, which may or may not be true, that DEM was the first company to sign the GSL. I would say we are most likely the first company to sign to the GSL and follow through with our product line to completion. The GSL came out on a Friday (if I recall). The letter was in the mail Monday.

I read the GSL. A couple alarms were raised. I called a few friends smarter than me. They took away my alarms and asked that I not call them again. I was never worried or concerned that our IP would get stolen...because I know that could never happen. I think the reason Goodman reached out to me was that I stood on my soapbox and said "I'm Spartacus!"

And Goodman is signed onto the GSL. Quick way to know that, check out the massive Dungeons & Dragons compatibility logo we get to put on our products. I have this glossy and brilliant copy of Azagar's Book of Rituals in my hand and that same image is displayed on the bottom right. Amethyst also proudly sports this logo.

You may notice that the first DCCs that were 4th Edition compatible didn't have the logo. Think about that.

 

[Jolly_Blackburn]

Considering Joe Goodman is now on the west coast and no longer in Illinois -- that could have been a huge factor in not attending GenCon.
(Then again he was GaryCon II a few weeks ago...)

No idea really.

I'll be bummed that GG and Troll Lords won't be there this year. I always enjoyed hanging out with them after hours.

 

[Jolly_Blackburn]

You may notice that the first DCCs that were 4th Edition compatible didn't have the logo. Think about that.

Kingdoms of Kalamar (D&D 4e compatible) didn't have the logo either nor did we sign the GSL.

IMO just stating "4e Compatible" was as effective as having the logo. I was surprised how many copies we moved.

Now when we had the D&D 3.5 license havng the D&D logo on the cover of our Kalamar books made a HUGE difference and sold tons of books. But we were the only third party company at the time with such a license (with the exception of one other company as I recall). So it was a huge advantage.

 

[Jolly_Blackburn]

I find that really surprising that they won't be at Gen Con. I just looked at their planned releases for the year and they have plenty coming out. Maybe its just a personal decision for this year, conflicting schedules for Joe Goodman or something. Even if 4e wasn't selling great for them, they have other irons in their fire.

Well based on what I heard/saw at GaryCon I'd say Joe has some really exciting things in the works. He really seems to be having fun with his products.