WotC & Their Adventures

[Ghendar]

Well, except that WotC might well be reluctant to okay a 'competing' adventure product.

But isn't Paizo already competing with them by publishing Dungeon Adventures?
I personally don't see it as competing but rather a complement to the line. <shrug>

 

[delericho]

But isn't Paizo already competing with them by publishing Dungeon Adventures?
I personally don't see it as competing but rather a complement to the line. <shrug>

Well, yes. As I went on to say in the post you quoted, it's not really a matter of competition anyway, since all published adventures for D&D/"d20 Fantasy" actually help WotC, whether they publish them or not.

The problem is that the managers at WotC/Hasbro responsible for okaying the AoW hardcover might not understand this. Instead, they may see a book that fills the same niche as what they're putting out, and so exercise the "squash" reflex.

Or, of course, it's possible that they understand it entirely, and just haven't gotten around to okaying the hardcover yet. I wouldn't be surprised; I imagine that sort of approval probably has a low priority in the WotC bureaucracy... and if they were going to say "no", I don't see why they haven't done it already.

 

[delericho]

I also don't buy for a second the argument that putting out adventures reduces the other amount of material that comes out. Not one second. For all we know WotC could outsource adventures or hire people on contract, neither of which reduces output.

It's not just a matter of having people to write the adventures, or even to do all the other tasks associated with putting them out.

Putting out a book costs money, money which the company would expect to recoup of course, but money they need to have to put the thing out in the first place. So, Wizards can only put out a certain number of books per month, and would only be able to only put out a certain number per month even if they had 100 completed books sitting ready to go, and no licensing issues of any sort to worry about.

Additionally, Wizards will only ever want to put out a few books in any month. Each and every gamer only has a certain amount of money available for RPG purchases per month. Putting out more books per month than that amount (averaged across the market) would be absolute folly - it would guarantee that many of those books won't be bought. And then you end up with warehouses full of books that have been sent back, and massive ledgers showing that value of these books as $0.

 

[Glyfair]

But isn't Paizo already competing with them by publishing Dungeon Adventures?

Yes & no.

If you look at the known survey data (links are in the thread on the well-known survey), you'll see it was noted that D&D DMs much more rarely used an adventure from a magazine compared to a straightforward published adventure. So, publishing it outside the magazine is likely to be more of a direct competition.

 

[Razz]

Im more ticked off that theyve sacrificed FR Regional source books for these mega modules

You and me both. At this rate, we'll never see another FR regional book.

Adventures do me no good. I've used City of the Spider Queen and haven't touched it in 2 years since it finished. And the only reason I would ever have to open the book is to use the new monsters in the back that weren't published elsewhere (e.g. Spiderstone Golem, Jade Spider, Orbwraith)

Meanwhile, I continue to open my Monster Manual One or Races of Stone, for example, to this day...see the difference folks?

As I've said before, good they have adventures coming out but BAD that they're blowing out too many in one year.

 

[Hussar]

Razz, I'm sorry, but I totally disagree with you on this. There isn't a single book outside of core that sees as much airplay as a module.

Take a module that lasts for 50 hours of gameplay. Not a huge one, but not a small one either. You have to figure that every player at the table is using that book for the duration. The players are playing it and the DM is running it. For the stock 4 players+1 DM, that means the book is seeing some 250 game hours. Nothing you could buy will come even remotely close to this.

Sure, you run it once and then put it away. But, how many books to you pull one or two ideas out of then stick up on a shelf never to bother with again?

For me, the bestest thing is modules. Particularly the big ones where you get pretty much an entire campaign in one book. I look at the hundred bucks I spent for my World's Largest Dungeon as the best gaming money I've ever spent. 180 in games hours so far and probably another 90 to go. Multiply that by my five players and I couldn't possibly buy any other supplement that could compare.

Gimme ten modules like WLD, Son's of Gruumsh and Red Hand of Doom and I won't have to buy another gaming book for the next decade.

Can I say, "Please sir, can I have some more?"

 

[Treebore]

I've always found modules/adventures to be the best bang for my buck over "source books".

Its why Goodman, Necromancer, and Paizo (for Dungeon mag and their pdf's), are my favorite companies. With Green Ronin close behind for their new module line and the city quarters product. Plus the best source book of all time, Book of the Righteous.

 

[Arnwyn]

Does anyone feel annoyed by this?

Absolutely not.

And in fact, it's the only type of book I buy from WotC.

 

[sckeener]

WotC not allowing Paizo to put out AoW might just be a tactic to get Paizo to license AoW to WotC.

I don't know what kind of licensing deal WotC has with Paizo. It could be that WotC would rather put the material out under their brand and are using the veto power as a bargaining tactic.

 

[Olaf the Stout]

Razz, I'm sorry, but I totally disagree with you on this. There isn't a single book outside of core that sees as much airplay as a module.

Take a module that lasts for 50 hours of gameplay. Not a huge one, but not a small one either. You have to figure that every player at the table is using that book for the duration. The players are playing it and the DM is running it. For the stock 4 players+1 DM, that means the book is seeing some 250 game hours. Nothing you could buy will come even remotely close to this.

Sure, you run it once and then put it away. But, how many books to you pull one or two ideas out of then stick up on a shelf never to bother with again?

For me, the bestest thing is modules. Particularly the big ones where you get pretty much an entire campaign in one book. I look at the hundred bucks I spent for my World's Largest Dungeon as the best gaming money I've ever spent. 180 in games hours so far and probably another 90 to go. Multiply that by my five players and I couldn't possibly buy any other supplement that could compare.

Gimme ten modules like WLD, Son's of Gruumsh and Red Hand of Doom and I won't have to buy another gaming book for the next decade.

Can I say, "Please sir, can I have some more?"

While I agree with almost all of your comment here Hussar I disagree that you would get 50 hours of gameplay out of a medium sized module. I would put the figure at more like 25-30 hours personally. Of course it all depends on how much your group "roleplays" things out and how much they let their swords do the talking for then. Groups that focus on combat tend to run through the modules faster in my experience.

Olaf the Stout