Dungeons and Dragons, a humble suggestion

Only Wizards of the Coast have the resources and the customer base to support a major online initiative for an pen and paper RPG.

Make the D&D website essential, and make the books the key to unlocking it.

Players Handbook

• A character generator that is updated with any and all errata.
  
• A database of characters uploaded by users. Think Spore. Players enter the stats, skills (whatever they call them now), etc. and all characters that meet the criteria come up.
• When errata is issued, players can opt-in to updates. All characters they've got online are automatically updated.
• Using the massive collection of artwork already available, character portraits are available from the entire history of D&D.
  

Dungeons Master's Guide

• When used in conjunctions with the PH, characters may have lists of magic items (assuming items are still in the DMG)
• Map, scenario editor and database Similar database to character editor, allowing players to build and share rooms, lairs, or whole adventures.
• Magic Item editor and database.
  

Monster Manual

• When used in conjunction with the map, scenario editor, monster stats are included as statblocks or whole descriptions.
• Monster editor and database.

Here's the kicker. Don't give it away. Put a code in every book that unlocks that book's content on the site. Players who don't buy Monster Manuals don't get access to the Monster Manual content. Players who don't by Player's Handbooks, don't get the character generator.

Suddenly used books are far less valuable than new books. P2P versions are also compromised.

Releasing a new Monster book? Add some featured content to wet the player's taste, but require the book's code to get all the new monsters in their database. Releasing a Forgotten Realms book with new character content? Do the same thing. Give them a little, but only customers with the codes get all that new content.

Make the D&D website essential, and make the books the key to unlocking it.

-Adam!!!

Great Minds Rip Each Other Off

(Kidding!)

Don't you hate it when you have a great idea. An epiphany, really, and then you find somebody else not only had the same idea, but has already made it happen?

The basic premise of RPG Superstar exactly what I have been thinking about for the last week, though in my fantasy world (as opposed to Piazo's actual real world) the competition was with an assortment of tabletop game types (card games, board games, miniatures-type game, etc.)

RPG Superstar

Perhaps it's time to shoot Paizo an e-mail?

-Adam

Finally an MMORPG to be excited about!

Champions MMORPG

Sure, I played D&D back in the 80's, but Champions was MY GAME. It's the last game I played regularly, and I while I could sell my D&D books and not shed a tear, I couldn't stand to lose my beloved Champions books.

I...can't...wait.

-Adam

Pros and Conventions

,The last major convention we attended supporting Clout was GenCon SoCal last November. The World of Warcraft CCG was being launched, and unsurprisingly they took most of the collectible gaming crowd away from the rest of us. Obviously those folks wanted to play the new 'hot' game. It was easy for the rest of us publishers, who were working just as hard as Upper Deck, to get a bit jealous. I know I was.

Since then I've had a lot of time to consider what makes company sponsored tournament and demo events successful for collectible games at conventions. The format is basically set in stone. Have as nice a booth as you can afford, running demos as quickly as you can for as many people as you can. Run full games in the provided gaming area as frequently as you can, keeping them as full as you can.

The formula is so standardized, the conventions themselves resist breaking out of the format (NO DEMOS IN THE TOURNAMENT AREA!)

If you are a small game publisher, I want to start by writing off the convention gaming areas. They are often crowded, often hot, designed to hold the maximum number of people at a minimum cost. The big players usually have fancy structures, props, and huge banners. The smaller companies have table and floor mounted signs, and sometimes...sometimes...their own tablecloths. If your a small company, you might as well advertise..."Our game is just like theirs, only with fewer players and less cool."

Smaller games need smaller venues. Better venues. Conventions are amazing at bringing gamers together. For standard games (cards, board, and rpgs) they utterly fail at providing a upper-tier game play environment. The average living room is far more comfortable. As a game-publisher, finding or creating an environment that is even better than a player can manage at home should be a priority. If anyone manages to combine a quality game with a quality setting, the results will be staggering.

-Adam!!!