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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Jer" data-source="post: 7804683" data-attributes="member: 19857">This would be terrible because I would drive their business into the ground.But if I were King of Wizards for a bit, the things I'd make them do would be:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Get all of their back catalogue - every single game and novel and other print item that they have the rights to - into the proper PDF form so they can be Print-on-Demand.  This includes obscure stuff that nobody except for weirdos like me care about - like the old Amazing Engine books or the DragonQuest RPG.  Nothing they own the rights to should ever "go out of print" again.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Work with the DTRPG folks to develop a print-on-demand option for boxed sets and board games, so they could also release every board game and boxed set they've ever produced as a POD product.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Release actual OGL SRDs for BECMI, 1e, 2e and 4e so that folks who want to develop for those systems can.  Open up DM's guild so that products for those systems can be published there.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Release "edition neutral" books for every setting they own the rights to.  And I mean EVERY setting - including things like Gamma Terra, the Galactic Frontier, Dark*Matter earth, Urban Arcana earth, Star*Drive, all of the Amazing Engine settings and so on.  These books should contain the maps, geographic and political info, major NPCs and organizations, plot hooks, and big ideas - all of the stuff you get in a campaign setting book except for the rules.  And lots and lots of artwork to get the visual feel of each setting.  The more niche ones would be PDF only releases, but the major ones (Dark Sun, Planescape, Ravenloft, etc.) would be nicely designed hardcovers.  Follow each of them up with a free PDF of rules for using the setting in 5e, and eventual 5e specific companion sourcebook releases for the settings where it makes sense to do so.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Open up publication for all of those above campaign settings that Wizards still owns the rights to on DM's Guild.  Under any edition of the game.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Produce an updated version of Urban Arcana as a Starter Set to be put onto major retailer shelves.  Follow it up with an sourcebook/adventure campaign taking characters to level 10-12.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Do a search for a new setting.  Doesn't have to be a setting search competition like they did for Eberron, but actively work to develop a new setting of some kind.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Start publishing novels again.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Produce a boardgame version of D&D that is a simpler game than the Adventure System board games.  Something along the lines of the old HeroQuest board game that Hasbro/GW partnered to create in the early 90s, but using D&D rules as the basis instead of Hasbro's special d6s used in that game and Heroscape.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Also while were at it, put Heroscape back into production.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Partner up with smaller game companies to get their games in front of a wider audience.  Get a few more RPG boxed sets onto the shelves at Target.</li> </ul>That's about it, I think.  Nothing in there that would change their fundamental business models or shake up game design or anything like that - like I've said before, I think the official D&D rules going forward should change about as much over time as the rules for Monopoly or Risk have, and that future "editions" shouldn't change much from 5e.</blockquote>

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