You are in charge of what WOTC puts out for DnD.

[glass]

See, look! I'm doing it too!

And me!


glass.

 

[glass]

Campaign Classics series. 320? pg hardcover books covering each of the lost classic campaigns (Dark Sun, Planescape, Spelljammer, Birthright, etc.). These would be released with the knowledge that they would be completely unsupported. They would include the major core/prestige classes and any feats necessary to support the setting, but they would strive to not introduce any new rules, just update the old. They would be mostly setting and content updates, taking the campaigns a few (or many) years into the future.

I was going to put something like this on my list, but in the two-year span given, there'd only be time for two (maybe three) Campaign Classics books and I couldn't decide which two.


glass.

 

[Whisper72]

I was going to put something like this on my list, but in the two-year span given, there'd only be time for two (maybe three) Campaign Classics books and I couldn't decide which two.


glass.

Well.... WotC puts out about 2 books each month. So, over a 2 year timespan, you'd have room for 48 titles.... should be plenty room for a whole slew of Campaign Classics seems to me....

 

[glass]

Well.... WotC puts out about 2 books each month. So, over a 2 year timespan, you'd have room for 48 titles.... should be plenty room for a whole slew of Campaign Classics seems to me....

I was thinking that you'd only want to release one a year or so: You don't want to compete with your FR or Eberron lines.

I know I didn't actually mention continuing those lines in my post, but I would; I just couldn't think of any specific titles off the top of my head.


glass.

 

[RisnDevil]

Well.... WotC puts out about 2 books each month. So, over a 2 year timespan, you'd have room for 48 titles.... should be plenty room for a whole slew of Campaign Classics seems to me....

Yeah, but what about all the other [kinds of] books the publish? You would rather no more monster compendiums, alternate rule systems [like the tome series], no more heroes of books, little Eberron or FR, and all the rest? That is what it would take to publish "a whole slew of Campaign Classics. Not to mention, wasn't the existence of SO MANY different settings attributed to one of the causes of 2ed nearly killing off D&D?

 

[Whisper72]

Yeah, but what about all the other [kinds of] books the publish? You would rather no more monster compendiums, alternate rule systems [like the tome series], no more heroes of books, little Eberron or FR, and all the rest? That is what it would take to publish "a whole slew of Campaign Classics. Not to mention, wasn't the existence of SO MANY different settings attributed to one of the causes of 2ed nearly killing off D&D?

Meh... you're talking about business sense... naturally, then things look quite different. From a business perspective, there are three issues for WotC:
- grow the player base: launch some 'basic' type stuff to get more players into the hobby
- revenue from PHB: time to do a relaunch of an all-updated '3.666' edition of the core rulebooks to give core book sales a new impulse
- continue to grow the 'independent' DDM line, maybe give the whole miniature combat stuff a seperate core rulebook set and a seperate line of additional books specifically for 'mass' combat games using miniatures and without the need of the DnD book line, essentially making it a complete seperate game

These together would (at least as far as my limited understanding of current revenue streams go) increase profits the most...

Now if you talk about what I wanted to do as boss of WotC, because I want to 'pimp my pet projects', then the list looks quite differently....

 

[NiTessine]

If I was in control of WOTC, earlier campaign settings would die. I'm sorry, but, I'd dump them in the crapper. All the mass of 2e campaign settings like Darksun, Ravenloft, etc, would be licensed out if anyone wanted to do them, or left to rot. There are more than enough original ideas out there for settings without dredging up old stuff and then trying to shoehorn them into new mechanics. Let someone else do the work if they want, but, WOTC should be looking forward, not dredging up history.

Eberron is a breath of fresh air after so many clone worlds that varied only slightly. Focus on something that isn't going to be a massive headache as people bitch and whine about how I'm changing canon. Look at all the complaints about the Planar Handbook from the Planescape crowd.

The old campaign settings are dead, let them rest in peace.

Tsk. D&D owes a great deal to its past, and the old settings are still popular, and I don't think there's anyone saying Planescape wasn't an original idea when it debuted. For clone worlds, you may have a point with Mystara, the default D&D campaign setting at one point, but the rest are very different in tone, themes, and rules. Compared to Spelljammer, Planescape, Dark Sun or Ravenloft, Eberron is still very close to basic D&D.

Yeah, look at the complaints from Planescape fans about the Planar Handbook. Those fans are customers. Keeping them happy is pretty much a requirement for successful business.

Calculated Fun - snip

I like the way you think. This would be very cool.

Yeah, but what about all the other [kinds of] books the publish? You would rather no more monster compendiums, alternate rule systems [like the tome series], no more heroes of books, little Eberron or FR, and all the rest? That is what it would take to publish "a whole slew of Campaign Classics. Not to mention, wasn't the existence of SO MANY different settings attributed to one of the causes of 2ed nearly killing off D&D?

Not just settings, but entire product lines. TSR was competing with itself, essentially. So, don't publish them any support material, and you should be fine. I know Greyhawk and Planescape, at least, and probably also Dark Sun have enough of a following that such a book would surely be profitable. Strike the right balance between fluff and crunch (see Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting), and people will buy it for their own games even if they run something entirely different.

But yeah, I'd go for two Campaign Classics books a year, starting with Greyhawk and Planescape. Then, Spelljammer and Dark Sun. An Arabian Adventures book would also be good, now that I think of it.

 

[sckeener]

Not knowing their marketing and just giving my worthless 2 cents:

I'd echo many of the posts above. Two things I did not see that I would do is put every book out in watermarked PDF format and I'd come out with a book about the Far Realm by Bruce Cordell.

here's my wish list (compiled from above)

• New Environment Books: (swamps, mountains, underdark, forests/jungles, etc.)

• Complete Epic (update the epic rules to 3.5)

• SRD the Shadwocaster and make it a core class.

• Age of Worms hc: (license it from Paizo and publish)

• The Campaign Builders Handbook - by Monte Cook

• compendium with a DarkSun, Al Qadim, and Planescape 3.5 (with a HC book on Sigil alone)

• Complete Fey (maybe tie it into Eberron's Fey plane.)

• Giants codex (maybe have ties into the FR and Eberron settings)

• Heroes of Intrigue (politics)

• Deities and Demigods with aspects of them & rules to upgrade them to make tougher CRs

• Races of the Mind

• A complete guide to limbo, slaadi, chaos beats, and slaad lords.

 

[The_Gneech]

1) More adventures.

2) Fix the friggin' Star Wars line already.

3) Fewer (but not none) splatbooks.

4) Fix the friggin' Star Wars line already.

5) Throw money at CodeMonkeyPublishing and build an easy-to-use, non-screwed-up E-Tools.

6) Fix the friggin' Star Wars line already.

7) A Greyhawk splatbook or two (Races of, Magic of).

8) Fix the friggin' Star Wars line already.

...and finally...

9) Fix the friggin' Star Wars line already.

-The Gneech

 

[Stormborn]

OK, first of all let me say that I like DnD and would probablly buy alot of the books people here have been talking about, however now that I have that out of the way if I were really put in charge the last thing I would want to do is churn out more of the same to cater in the increasingly smaller fan base. It would be all about finding new gamers, since the OP specifically mentioned DnD I want speculate on new game lines here.

- Essential DnD: a basic set all in one book/box as others have said and WotC has done; but not marketed to game stores or to gamers. This one goes through Hasbro to retail at Wal-Mart, Toys R Us etc. w/ art and text aimed at ages 12+ and a $20 price point. Not a game specifically designed to get people to pick up the PHB, but a "gateway drug" to get them into the experiance. Probablly with larger title like "Fantasy Adventures" and down play the DnD logo on the box itself. If at all possible have a "boy" version and a "girl" version. Yes it may be sexist and yes it seems anti-DnD but go wandering around the Megatoy Store. It happens and it works.

- Following up on that come the minis, even repaints of what has alread come out but marketed to go with the above or as a standalone game. Essential DnDMinis Lite. Also, have better cards to go with them, not simply utilitarian but actually collectible.

- Find a distributor of manga and anime and start a drive to put DnD based d20 games in with their products. Minigames make the most sense, but if I am building the DnD brand name the best way is with a Basic Rules set that contains a Rules Module add on to adapt the core DnD rules to a more Anime feel. Myabe supplements w/ new base classes more appropriate for various genres. And a new rule set for social interactions (maybe published as someone mentioned earlier as Complete Diplomat and then included here) At first just market with those titles and generes that match well w/ DnD, maybe doing d20 M with some of the others. All of this would likely be building to a new Anime based d20 rules set (Maybe buy and mechanically fix BESM). Cause I know that if you make it anime then a lot of the core audience of DnD will not buy it/ reject it as DnD

- Do my best to push Hasbro into doing some better licensing deals. Eberron based cartoon series on Cartoon Network aimed at boys and girls in their tweens. Straight to DvD movies at a $15 price point for some of the other settings - the ones that sell well can be pitched as series. Delux versions of those movies with exclusive rules content or minis or both for $30.

- Everything gets released electronically following the Green Ronin Model and everything gets released in smaller stand alone pdfs that people can pick and choose what they want to buy. Don't want all the PHB2 base classes? Just buy the Dusk Blade pdf, etc. Want the whole thing, buy the PHB2 pdf.

- Include a special version of the DnD basic rules with any video game release, or make them available for free online with a proof of purchse code found in the game.

- Better looking core set - new art, new edits, better index and launch an add blitz around it. Send preview copies to the New Yorker and the LA Times etc.

- Hire a normal looking, atteractive 20 something year old who both knows the game and knows marketing and get them booked on every talk show and news outlet that we can.

Basically do my very best to target readers of books and players of games - any books and any games - first and trust that hardcore games will come along. If we loose some of them who cares if we gain a bigger market in the process. Pretend for a second there is no preexisting market and create one.

Probablly more than anyone would be allowed to do, but it would be worth a shot.