Jack Colby
First Post
I'd second this, but add every previous edition, not just 3E. Speaking of which, why are the questions/suggestions of this thread meant to only be "from fans of 3E" and not "from fans of earlier editions"?
WotC president Greg Leeds and I!!!
- Thread starter Brix
- Start date
I'd second this, but add every previous edition, not just 3E. Speaking of which, why are the questions/suggestions of this thread meant to only be "from fans of 3E" and not "from fans of earlier editions"?
I'ld think if you are too antagonistic, this is going to be a short conversation. And Greg Leeds will get the impression that reaching out to disgruntled ex fans is pointless.
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Mournblade94
Hero
I agree.
I have switched entuusiastically to every edition of D&D, as it evolved. After I played the new editions and learned them I loved them. I had the same attitude with 4e, until I learned the system.
Bethesda still makes money off of Morrowind.
scruffygrognard
Adventurer
If WotC is worried about piracy, could they at least re-release previous edition books and modules through Lulu?
The books would be more expensive BUT it would cost WotC next to nothing and I'm sure there would be people out there who would jump at the chance to buy those books (again).
Green Ronin is doing this with their 3rd Era line and I applaud them for it.
The books would be more expensive BUT it would cost WotC next to nothing and I'm sure there would be people out there who would jump at the chance to buy those books (again).
Green Ronin is doing this with their 3rd Era line and I applaud them for it.
I second this. To ask Wotc this lulu POD service question seems a very good idea. In fact this question seems so good that I think it deserves more forwarding. I am forking this.
Starbuck_II
Explorer
Yes, adding at least some things as SRD from those books would be awesome.
Just like the DMG/MM/etc (not everything is in from those books SRD): you can keep some things just in the books, but release the rest ofthe parts.
That would lower Pirating. Heck, even though 90% of Expanded Psionic Handbook is in the SRD: people that like Psionics still bought the book because we like having actual things to hold and read.
I'm A Banana
Potassium-Rich
My suggestions for Mr. Leeds?
#1: Make the DDI like unto a God. Put older editions in the compendium. Older rules references. Older books we can read right on the site. Who the heck wouldn't pay $10/month to be able to search every word of text ever printed in a D&D rulebook? To be able to roll on 1e tables right there? To search for "The Escathon, Planescape" and get everything that mentions them.
Mr. Leeds: People would give you piles of money to do this. Do this. Make piles of money doing it. Laugh all the way to the bank and the next shareholder's meeting, and give them all the bird, because they will crown you king of the money pile when you unite some millions of D&D fans under a single roof that channels part of their paychecks to you every month. Every D&D player with a computer will be visiting your website and giving you money.
#2: Stop Being Scared of Pirates. Grow a pair. Absolutely seriously. The pirates can't kill you. D&D (and books in general) aren't the music industry. No one cares if the PHBII shows up on torrent sites a week after it's released. You're never going to get cheapskates and scofflaws to pay. These aren't lost sales, they're more like market data, showing you what people in general are interested in. Most people -- most consumers -- want to give you money for awesome stuff. Let them. Make it easy for them. Let them do whatever they want with what they buy.
#3: Sell A Friggin' T-Shirt Or Something. The D&D brand is much stronger than just the books. Why can't I buy a "Jesus Saves (and takes half damage)" shirt at the WotC store? Why can't I walk around with the D&D logo emblazoned on my boxer shorts? Why can't I buy a print of some D&D artwork and slap it in a frame and stick it up on my wall? Even if I friggin' hate a given edition, I might be all "OMG SEXY ELF POSTER" and get it anyway. If WEBCOMIC ARTISTS can do this, why cant you? Bonus point: this stuff has a huge profit margin, and isn't easily pirate-able, so FRIGGIN DO IT.
#4: Start selling PDFs again, and don't charge more than $10 for them. Remind the brick-and-mortar folks that PDF's aren't books, and that you're giving them shirts and posters and Designer-hosted gamedays or whatever, so they can shove a dice bag in it. It's not your job to keep them in business, it's your job to sell D&D. You do this by selling PDF, 'cuz some folks just won't do it in other ways. And you sell them not for the same price as a hardcover book, because people aren't idiots. For bonus points, this means you'll get a lot of people buying the same book twice, and only grousing about it mildly. "grumble grumble don't wanna will do so anyway" kind of stuff. If they don't want to buy it twice, they don't have to -- they'll find ways around it, and you can let them. A $10 convenience isn't a big deal for most folks.
#5: Embrace Open Gaming. WotC invented that junk, and it rocks. The GSL makes everyone's mouths taste like doodie. Friggin' go OGL already. You don't need to put everything online for free like 3e did, because you don't need an SRD: just designate some of your rules content as open. That's all. Lead the industry again, man!
#6: Gaming Groups are your Recruitment Tool. People get into D&D by joining existing groups, by and large. By meeting folks who already play and thinking it might be kind of neat. Make this easy. I don't know exactly how you go about that, but if you're going to grow your player base, you must do this. Free Idea: link it to the gaming stores, who will then sex you up for giving them fresh customer meat in their physical store.
I am not very diplomatic, so I assume you can put these in less abrasive terms. This is why I am a dude on the message boards and not a CEO. All of these are things the CEO of WotC should be taking into account.
I should also say the Print-On-Demand idea is pretty ding dang good.
Friggin' awesome that you got to do this. Lucky it wound up you and not me.
#1: Make the DDI like unto a God. Put older editions in the compendium. Older rules references. Older books we can read right on the site. Who the heck wouldn't pay $10/month to be able to search every word of text ever printed in a D&D rulebook? To be able to roll on 1e tables right there? To search for "The Escathon, Planescape" and get everything that mentions them.
Mr. Leeds: People would give you piles of money to do this. Do this. Make piles of money doing it. Laugh all the way to the bank and the next shareholder's meeting, and give them all the bird, because they will crown you king of the money pile when you unite some millions of D&D fans under a single roof that channels part of their paychecks to you every month. Every D&D player with a computer will be visiting your website and giving you money.
#2: Stop Being Scared of Pirates. Grow a pair. Absolutely seriously. The pirates can't kill you. D&D (and books in general) aren't the music industry. No one cares if the PHBII shows up on torrent sites a week after it's released. You're never going to get cheapskates and scofflaws to pay. These aren't lost sales, they're more like market data, showing you what people in general are interested in. Most people -- most consumers -- want to give you money for awesome stuff. Let them. Make it easy for them. Let them do whatever they want with what they buy.
#3: Sell A Friggin' T-Shirt Or Something. The D&D brand is much stronger than just the books. Why can't I buy a "Jesus Saves (and takes half damage)" shirt at the WotC store? Why can't I walk around with the D&D logo emblazoned on my boxer shorts? Why can't I buy a print of some D&D artwork and slap it in a frame and stick it up on my wall? Even if I friggin' hate a given edition, I might be all "OMG SEXY ELF POSTER" and get it anyway. If WEBCOMIC ARTISTS can do this, why cant you? Bonus point: this stuff has a huge profit margin, and isn't easily pirate-able, so FRIGGIN DO IT.
#4: Start selling PDFs again, and don't charge more than $10 for them. Remind the brick-and-mortar folks that PDF's aren't books, and that you're giving them shirts and posters and Designer-hosted gamedays or whatever, so they can shove a dice bag in it. It's not your job to keep them in business, it's your job to sell D&D. You do this by selling PDF, 'cuz some folks just won't do it in other ways. And you sell them not for the same price as a hardcover book, because people aren't idiots. For bonus points, this means you'll get a lot of people buying the same book twice, and only grousing about it mildly. "grumble grumble don't wanna will do so anyway" kind of stuff. If they don't want to buy it twice, they don't have to -- they'll find ways around it, and you can let them. A $10 convenience isn't a big deal for most folks.
#5: Embrace Open Gaming. WotC invented that junk, and it rocks. The GSL makes everyone's mouths taste like doodie. Friggin' go OGL already. You don't need to put everything online for free like 3e did, because you don't need an SRD: just designate some of your rules content as open. That's all. Lead the industry again, man!
#6: Gaming Groups are your Recruitment Tool. People get into D&D by joining existing groups, by and large. By meeting folks who already play and thinking it might be kind of neat. Make this easy. I don't know exactly how you go about that, but if you're going to grow your player base, you must do this. Free Idea: link it to the gaming stores, who will then sex you up for giving them fresh customer meat in their physical store.
I am not very diplomatic, so I assume you can put these in less abrasive terms. This is why I am a dude on the message boards and not a CEO. All of these are things the CEO of WotC should be taking into account.
I should also say the Print-On-Demand idea is pretty ding dang good.
Friggin' awesome that you got to do this. Lucky it wound up you and not me.
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I realized it is not as easily to find the old 3.x articles such as "Rules of the Game" on the website. I understand 4E is where its at, but if there were a link to a 3.x page with all of the old stuff that would be nice. Since the information is only being moved, and no new content is being created it should not take more than a few months to create this new page. You put a link to this new page in the lower left hand corner of the 4E main page so it does not distract anyone or you could have it as its own page. I just get tired of having to use google to find stuff. I know the site has a search bar, but it does not work as well as google does. If you are short on web designers give the job to one of the board members. I am sure there is at least one guy that can do html pretty well. I would do it but my skills are about a five on a scale of 1 to 10 when it comes to web design.
The part I want really want Greg to get is bolded. The rest is just me talking to much
The part I want really want Greg to get is bolded. The rest is just me talking to much
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