Who Is Going to Pony Up for the Early OGL?

[Henry]

What I'm asking is on the Paizo board Erik Mona is claiming that he still hasn't made a decision on 4th ed. either way until he sees the OGL. Meanwhile on this board Necromancer Games claims both they and Paizo are in conjunction and have already decided to go "IN" on 4e, and will have products for GenCon. I'm not a Necromancer fan but I enjoy Paizo's stuff and am wondering has a decision really been made by Paizo, and if so why is Erik Mona denying it?

If you read Erik's and Clark's statements carefully, there's nothing that says it's Paizo ponying up the Phase 1 cash and license. Clark's been gung-ho about 4E for months now, I wouldn't be surprised if Necromancer bought the license and Paizo may wind up using it in conjunction, instead of the other way around.

Or, Erik could just be more cautious with his language than Clark is being right now.

 

[dmccoy1693]

Well take a look at Necro's announced products:

1. Tome of Horrors 4E (an alternate monster manuel, some of which, WotC may publish at a future point in time.)
2. Advanced Player's Guide (additional classes/races that WotC plans on putting out at a later point in time)
3. Tegel Manor. (adventure)
4. Winter's Tomb (free adventure).

Its an easy guess that 1&2 will sell better then 3&4 (esp considering 4 is free). If the new OGL doesn't allow for 1&2's creation (which is possible), then I am guessing that Necro will change their mind about 4E (and I have the same guess for Paizo, since they're working on a campaign setting).

 

[JoeGKushner]

Privateer probably won't. They've got enough of their own stuff to put out this year. It isn't worth throwing $5000 at WotC and hiring new staff/taking staff off existing products just to take a risk on the third party 4e market.

And in the new mag, they mentioned 3.5 for the rest of 2008 already.

 

[Glyfair]

And people work really far ahead; companies like Green Ronin already have a fairly full schedule for 2008, and won't be able to take advantage of the 4e book trade in 2008 because they had to have all that information back in October.

Plus, Chris' position right now is:

Naturally, people want to know what Green Ronin's plans are for 4E. All I can tell you right now is that we are still debating internally. When WotC gets us the new OGL, we have to review it and see what we can and cannot do under it. So while I was hoping that this news would make our decision easier, our path is not yet clear. It may be that the smart play is just to put all our muscle behind a A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplay and push that like mofos. We'll see.

(from his blog)

 

[Erik Mona]

I never said that Paizo will have editorial control over Necromancer. What I'm asking is on the Paizo board Erik Mona is claiming that he still hasn't made a decision on 4th ed. either way until he sees the OGL. Meanwhile on this board Necromancer Games claims both they and Paizo are in conjunction and have already decided to go "IN" on 4e, and will have products for GenCon. I'm not a Necromancer fan but I enjoy Paizo's stuff and am wondering has a decision really been made by Paizo, and if so why is Erik Mona denying it?

We are moving forward, in conjunction with Necromancer, on the Phase 1 process. Clark is absolutely certain that the 4e Tome of Horrors is coming out in August, and I strongly agree with him that said book will be a huge blockbuster seller. So we'll be doing that book pretty much no matter what.

The question of when (or whether) to convert Pathfinder and the GameMastery Modules to 4.0 is a somewhat stickier issue, especially since we haven't seen the rules or the OGL yet. We want to produce these products in a way that will be popular with their existing audience, many of whom are subscribers.

So while I can say "yes, we're working with Necro on a Tome of Horrors no matter what the OGL looks like," I can't yet say that for the product lines that are the backbone of our entire business.

I am pumped to see the rules and the new OGL, though, and I am hugely optimistic.

--Erik Mona
Publisher
Paizo Publishing, LLC

 

[Dias Ex Machina]

I so wish I could. When I read the announcement, I felt like someone had worked the groin with a garlic press.

The problem is that our budget had already been set aside and invested in formatting and art and us smaller companies don't have the capital reserved for such a cost.

Though we had spent two years writing and playtesting rules, I was prepared to abandon it all if given the chance to compete with the bigger companies on this front. Looks like our March release in 3.5 sticks and hope there are enough loyalists to 3.5 to earn enough income to snatch up the phase 1 in time, else we wait until 2009.

Here for those seeking quality. (Raises glass)

 

[DonTadow]

Considering there are a few weeks, couldn't a few companies form a partnership or 4e publishing partnership and come up with the money. Tech companies seem to do this all the time to skirt FCC regulations.

 

[Bacris]

Considering there are a few weeks, couldn't a few companies form a partnership or 4e publishing partnership and come up with the money. Tech companies seem to do this all the time to skirt FCC regulations.

It depends on if WotC would allow such a thing. There is some debate over if it is or is not allowed. Confirmation of either way hasn't been received yet, to the best of my knowledge.

 

[BadMojo]

We are moving forward, in conjunction with Necromancer, on the Phase 1 process. Clark is absolutely certain that the 4e Tome of Horrors is coming out in August...

That's some good news. I'll definitely be in line to by a 4E Tome of Horrors. That's actually one of the few good things to come out of the poop-sandwich that is the new "OGL".

 

[danir]

Considering there are a few weeks, couldn't a few companies form a partnership or 4e publishing partnership and come up with the money. Tech companies seem to do this all the time to skirt FCC regulations.

While it will make me very happy- I have a product that was delayed from 3.5... I doubt it. It doesn't make sense for them - why pay 5000 USD, when ten publisher can just band together and pay a tenth of the price?