WotC Names 10 "Adepts" On Their DMs Guild Store

WotC's Dungeon Masters Guild store launched 18-months ago, and was a vehicle for D&D fans to produce material and sell it to other fans in one convenient online mega-store; WotC's version of the App Store, essentially. WotC's Chris Lindsay comments that the store now has thousands of new publishers on the store - something which is both bug and feature. One of the problems with such a large body of content is that it can be tough to find the really good stuff, and WotC has tried to address this is in past with columns highlighting certain products (and, indeed, there are websites which do that very well too, including the ENnie-nominated Loot the Room which posts a monthly Best of the DM's Guild column).

WotC has just launched a new initiative. They have picked ten DMs Guild creators, who they are calling "Adepts", and will be highlighting them in their podcasts and other media going forward, as well as giving them early copies of adventures like the upcoming Tomb of Annihilation so that they can produce content to go with that product on launch day. They even get a special gold badge so you can spot them on the store!

So who are WotC's first Adepts? They are:

• Lysa Chen
• Will Doyle
• Claire Hoffman
• James Introcaso
• Rich Lescouflair
• Shawn Merwin
• Cindy Moore
• Satine Phoenix
• Ruty Rutenberg
• Monica Valentinelli

I did a quick search at DMs Guild and linked to those authors I could find, though I failed my search-fu on three of them. But you can check out the ones which did work.

From what WotC is saying, it looks like this group will change periodically -- "It won’t always be the same group, and the group won’t always be the same number of folks, but it will be fun and exciting to see what wonders they create." There's more information in WotC's announcement.

One of the important take-aways for most is that there will be third-party content for new adventures on launch day.

SaveSave​

 

[doctorhook]

"Satine Phoenix" is obviously a pseudonym.

 

[JeffB]

I don't follow any D&D stars the kidz like these days. I watch Matt Colville's vids, but otherwise clueless. So after watching a Colville vid this morning, I saw a link to a Colville interview with this Satine Phoenix person and I recognized the name from this "Adept" article, so I watched the first half of the video. Frankly, she came off as inexperienced (seemingly "blown away" by alot of common sense DM'ing Matt talked about), and even asked if he used "an army" because he was talking about D&D's wargaming roots and tactical combat (and not in the "big battle scenario" sense either )

Not the kind of DM I would want to purchase (or pwyw) anything from.

 

[Belltent]

The multiple exclamation marks and jocular tone may be a clue as to the fact that Chris Lindsay was making an funney.

Even if he is being tongue-in-cheek it is still literally day one dlc. That's like when people defend GTA by saying it's satirical, at the end of the day you're still beating a (virtual) prostitute to death.

 

[Jester David]

Huh...
WotC surprising us again.

Always cool to see the awesome James Introcaso get some praise and spotlight. He's a cool dude and deserves it.

I was initially dissapointed to see Ms. Phoenix and Mr. Rutenberg on the list.
Nothing personal. Honest! Pretty much solely they haven't written anything for the Guild: writing and acting/playing in a homegame adventure doesn't translate into Guild material. They're an unknown being given a pretty sweet honour. (Crippling envy be a cruel emotion.)
But I imagine the point of including them is allowing them to advertise and hype the Guild on Maze Arcana, which is probably a good thing. More eyes on the material and such.

Reading the actual blurb on the WotC site, this program is meant to address two issues:
http://dnd.wizards.com/articles/news/guild-adept-program

One thing we noticed after watching the platform for a while was that our fan creators weren’t necessarily talking to each other. For the most part, each fan creator has worked in a silo of their own creation, making contributions to the guild as solo artists, and while they have been coming up with some fantastic products, we know from our experience on the D&D team that the best D&D products are collaborative efforts.

How... how does this help with that?
Are they working together? Is there a single product they're collaborating on?

There is the DMsGuild Creator's Facebook group for talking and such, but most of that is just used as an advertising forum. Not a lot of advice and back-and-forth. (Too many creators afraid people will steal their ideas?)
But, some collaborations are starting, as people make a name and begin to network. As people start chatting and networking. I imagine a few might spin out of GenCon.
The hurdles of non-publishers figuring out how to split revenues and share profits is probably another big issue. That takes a level of skill and professionalism better suited to DriveThruRPG than the fan publishing of the Guild. (Not to besmirch the awesome people on the Guild. It's just not anyone's full time job.)

On the Dungeon Masters Guild right now, there is a smorgasbord of delightful designs to sample, and at very reasonable pricing I might add. There are so many adventures and monsters and other awesome stuff up there, in fact, that we’ve gotten feedback from fans that it is sometimes hard to know where to look on the DMs Guild to find exemplars of design.

Adding *more* stuff to the mix doesn't really help...
All it does is add a hierarchy to authors. Adepts. Bestsellers. Everyone else. It's arguably another barrier to getting noticed and making those first few sales.

Okay, it will add some trusted names to the Guild for newcomers still getting accustomed to online purchases. And it's a good place to start (beyond the bestsellers). Between this and Mercer's content, it should be a good way to ease people into Guild content in a controlled fashion. That's good.
I want to believe "a rising tide floats all ships" and getting more eyes on the Guild will help everyone's sales. But my initial worry is that by having "premium" authors, people will prioritize their purchases over other creators, hurting sales...

(Not really worried about myself. With a few Platinum sellers, I'm probably going to keep generating my small amount of monies each month. But people still trying to make a name might struggle...)

 

[Morrus]

Even if he is being tongue-in-cheek it is still literally day one dlc. That's like when people defend GTA by saying it's satirical, at the end of the day you're still beating a (virtual) prostitute to death.

Tough crowd. Maybe you should arrange for a burning of the heretic.

 

[Sacrosanct]

I think this is a clear win for WotC. For one, they are embracing the community creations and fan content. D&D was based off of that; getting the fans involved. From most DMs creating their own game worlds back in AD&D, to the creation of Eberron later on. We gamers are pretty creative, and our a great resource to tap.

Secondly, from a pure business standpoint, it's great because it avoids hiring full time staff (and then laying them off when the market slows). It's more like outsourcing and/or contract work, which is very beneficial to them.

Thirdly, similar to how it was a big boost for your name to appear in content in the old Dragon and Dungeon magazine, this can give a boost to those selected for this program, and help them share their creations and gain a good reputation.

Seems like a win all around.

 

[Jester David]

I don't follow any D&D stars the kidz like these days. I watch Matt Colville's vids, but otherwise clueless. So after watching a Colville vid this morning, I saw a link to a Colville interview with this Satine Phoenix person and I recognized the name from this "Adept" article, so I watched the first half of the video. Frankly, she came off as inexperienced (seemingly "blown away" by alot of common sense DM'ing Matt talked about), and even asked if he used "an army" because he was talking about D&D's wargaming roots and tactical combat (and not in the "big battle scenario" sense either )

Not the kind of DM I would want to purchase (or pwyw) anything from.

She's been gaming *well* over a decade and DMing at Meltdown Comics in LA for years. She has more experience than her stage presence shows.

Arguably, she created one of the first online D&D videos series, waaaay back in 2010 before streaming was on anyone's mind.

 

[Jester David]

"Satine Phoenix" is obviously a pseudonym.

IIRC it's her stripper stage name that became her porn name.

 

[JeffB]

She's been gaming *well* over a decade and DMing at Meltdown Comics in LA for years. She has more experience than her stage presence shows.

.

If she wants to sell anything to people who don't know her, then she should step up her stage presence. She came off as "booth girl" doing an interview.

 

[JeffB]

IIRC it's her stripper stage name that became her porn name.

Now this makes sense. Maybe she should stick to that instead of the DMs Guild.