Limited edition/availabilty

[Blood Axe]

Ive seen the road crew will get an adventure not available to others. There is a limited edition adventure for preordering now too. Kind of bummed about this concept. Its a really big turn off for me. I bought just about every single DCC rpg book out there, what about your other fans? Why cant these things be avail as a PDF? You still give a reward while not excluding your other loyal customers.
Im a compleatist, I like to get all, or most of the books when they are out. Things that are "collectible" like Magic cards , just aren't my thing. Id hate to se Goodman Games get like that.

[Mazkarel]

I'm with you on the Well of the Worm one for sure. I was interested in two upcoming releases anyway, so it had little effect on me, but I agree that I'll be disappointed if they continue to go this route. It's already impossible to find several releases (Doom of the Savage Kings, the "Gold foil" edition). I guess the rarity is cool if you've got them, but I'm gladly pay Goodman cover price for these things but they're all gone.

Regarding the Road Crew release, I'd totally love to get my hands on it and it sounds sweet, but I don't have the time or energy to sneak out and run games right now. But in the Road Crew section I believe it says that these individuals will also have access to special free adventures from time-to-time, so, to me at least, they put it out there right away how that was going to work. Just my two cents.

[Blood Axe]

The road crew could get physical copies, and they could make a PDF available for others. That is still a special reward. Im betting a lot of these "rewards" will be on Ebay at inflated prices. Not something Im a fan of. It does not give me that "old school rpg " feel.

[Ogrepuppy]

The road crew could get physical copies, and they could make a PDF available for others. That is still a special reward. Im betting a lot of these "rewards" will be on Ebay at inflated prices. Not something I'm a fan of. It does not give me that "old school rpg " feel.

Sadly, I have to agree 100% on this. At least allow us a shot at PDFs.

[tovokas]

I think that the special promotions Goodman Games supports to encourage actual game store activities are valuable tools. There really aren't that many ways available to get folks out the door, and hard to obtain physical items are a great way to encourage just that.

I agree that making PDF versions available at a later date (as they did with Doom of the Savage Kings with their Facebook promotion) is also a great way to keep everybody happy.

[beermotor]

I don't have a problem with the promotions, I think that stuff is good to try invigorate the (F)LGSes, but ... I'm 36, and between practicing law, raising two kids under age 5, gardening to keep sane, and keeping the wife reasonably happy, I'm lucky if I get to game every other week with a few friends. I'm as big a fanboi as the rest, but I just don't have the time to devote to the road crew stuff, sadly. Running my forum game is ideal, since it doesn't have such a huge time block commitment. But no awards for that!

[Blood Axe]

There really aren't that many ways available to get folks out the door, and hard to obtain physical items are a great way to encourage just that.


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I disagree. First off, the person getting the rare item is already playing the game.
Second, if DCC RPG is such an awesome fun game, you don't need to "encourage" people to play.
The new players aren't joining so that the GM gets a rare adventure. They are playing for fun & cuz the game is cool.

[Ravenheart87]

I live in central-east Europe, which makes getting collector's item a bit hard and/or expensive for me. Heck, I already pay a lot for shipping and handling.

[finarvyn]

I think that the concept is that in-store demos can be done with a standard module that can't be bought otherwise is kind of a good one. It means that the GM doesn't have to worry that a player has already seen the material. I've run modules with players who have seen them and it's no fun for me, for the player, or for the rest of the group.

Many of the classic TSR D&D modules were GenCon tournament dungeons later converted into a product for sale, but certainly at the time they didn't want anyone to be able to just wander into a store and buy one.

My guess is that this stuff won't stay forever "secret" and there will be ways to obtain copies later on.

[Crimsontree]

I buy as much DCC product as I can afford & own most adventures that have been released. As a European fan of DCC I'd have to preorder 2 modules & pay the shipping from the US to get this module as it is not available from German or UK online retailers I use. I wish Goodman Games would think of a way to make the module availble to retailers that non North-American fans use.

It is now June & the World Tour promotional material is still only being made available to US/Canada fans & there is no way I as an avid DCC fan can get it. It isn't being posted out to the referees outside North America. Is there no way to remedy this?

[funkaoshi]

Yeah, I find it hard to get worked up about stuff like this. They're trying to encourage people to come out and actually play the game, not collect modules. That seems like a laudable goal, and this seems like a good way to do that.

The limited edition module from the first collectors edition of the rules is now available as a free PDF, so who knows what the future will bring as well.

[Colin]

I'd have happily pre-ordered two more modules + the Well of the Worm, but it'd have set me back $30 for the three modules, $20 more for shipping two of them, and another $10 to ship Well of the Worm later. $60 in total for three modules just wasn't a price I could justify. I can wholly understand the drive to promote US-based pre-orders and demos, so ultimately being a "collector" of all things DCC isn't something I'd obsess over; that way lies madness and great expense unless you live in the USA. In terms of official DCC releases, I'll stick to those released mainstream for the sake of my sanity and wallet.

Colin

[Ravenheart87]

We need Europe only releases!

[Skars]

I can certainly empathize being someone eager to play the splotter-spellen games released at Spiel in Essen each year along with the ravensberger and Alea titles...it's not usually until right about now that we see the games from the previous October release, if they make it at all.

[tovokas]

I disagree. First off, the person getting the rare item is already playing the game.
Second, if DCC RPG is such an awesome fun game, you don't need to "encourage" people to play.
The new players aren't joining so that the GM gets a rare adventure. They are playing for fun & cuz the game is cool.

The goal is not to sell adventures directly, but to encourage the culture of gathering at and supporting game stores. Obviously many of us now do most of our gaming/buying online, but stores remain a critical resource for many that can uniquely grow the hobby, benefiting everyone. I think Goodman Games' efforts to support our seeminky perpetually struggling FLGS's is laudable.

[tovokas]

I'd have happily pre-ordered two more modules + the Well of the Worm, but it'd have set me back $30 for the three modules, $20 more for shipping two of them, and another $10 to ship Well of the Worm later. $60 in total for three modules just wasn't a price I could justify. I can wholly understand the drive to promote US-based pre-orders and demos, so ultimately being a "collector" of all things DCC isn't something I'd obsess over; that way lies madness and great expense unless you live in the USA. In terms of official DCC releases, I'll stick to those released mainstream for the sake of my sanity and wallet.

Colin

It's interesting that it's often actually cheaper in many areas to print things POD at an online printer close to the customer and have the product sent directly to the buyer than it is to do 'cheaper' larger print runs and then have to deal with the insanity of international shipping. Hopefully at some point the advantages of both methods will blend together as the technology improves, and inexpensive locallized bulk printing (and distribution) spreads.

Having the ability to say 'print 50 copies of my adventure in Australia, and send them to these 25 game stores and individual buyers' at a reasonable cost would be really cool.

[Blood Axe]

Im not saying its not a laudable goal, but I think there are others ways to do it besides excluding others.

[goodmangames]

Hi everyone,

First, thanks for the concern. Having fans who are enthusiastic enough to be frustrated at limited-edition products is a problem many companies would love to have!

We've been producing "play-focused" modules for many years. At each Gen Con, we'd run a multi-round tournament adventure that had never been published before. Most, but not all, of these modules were eventually published for general sale (see http://www.goodman-games.com/tournaments.html ). The tournament judges always received secret hard copies of the adventures before the con. Ironically, some of the secret copies have wound up for sale on the internet afterward at crazy prices, even though the module is freely available. For example, check out this copy of the secret first printing of Crypt of the Devil Lich at Noble Knight Games: http://www.nobleknight.com/ProductDetai ... _GenreID_E_

There are big advantages to giving judges a chance to run a module before it is released for sale. This is how we were able to keep the Gen Con tournaments "fresh" every year. The tournaments wouldn't be nearly as much fun if they ran from a module already in print.

For a long time I have tried to find the right way to apply this same model in a way that supports retailers. The Road Crew idea coupled with shared adventures seems to get pretty close. Tower Out of Time provides judges an adventure that none of their players have ever read. This resolves the biggest complaint I get from Road Crew judges, which is that their players have already read all the modules. And it gives retailers a chance to offer something available nowhere else -- a unique play experience that can't be acquired online.

If I were to release Tower Out of Time in broader channels or as a PDF at this time, it would undermine all the reasons I'm producing the module. We'd be right back to judges running a module their players have read. The best model for encouraging exciting DCC RPG play in stores is "the Gen Con tournament model." Down the road, a broader release of Tower Out of Time is a viable option that won't affect the play experience.

In my mind, Tower Out of Time is not about collectibility. It's about a reward for the gamers who take the time to "evangelize" DCC RPG through public play. It also helps create a great play experience for existing DCC RPG gamers -- an adventure they haven't seen yet, with all the mystery that we collectively remember from our childhood dungeon delves. Goodman Games doesn't profit from collectibility. It profits from a lot of people playing DCC RPG. That's what Tower Out of Time is about.

As for Well of the Worm, I've had many, many requests to convert 3.5 modules to DCC RPG. Well, here's your chance. This adventure has nothing to do with collectibility or limited-edition status. It's a pre-order promotion, and for this particular pre-order promotion I decided to see how many people will "put their money where their mouth is" when it comes to all those requests I get to convert 3.5 modules. It's funny being a publisher...I get a lot of requests for all sorts of things...but it's different when the customer is finally asked to pay. Well, if you're one of the people who wanted 3.5 module conversions, it's time to ante up. If this one goes well you may get more.

[Blood Axe]

Im sure most people would be happy if these "limited" adventures were eventually released as a pdf for sale to everyone.

[Ogrepuppy]

Im sure most people would be happy if these "limited" adventures were eventually released as a pdf for sale to everyone.

true.dat

[finarvyn]

Im sure most people would be happy if these "limited" adventures were eventually released as a pdf for sale to everyone.

To all of the folks who are concerned about "how can I get a physical copy if I don't run a demo" I might point out that this limited module appears to be PDF only, and not a physical copy. In other words, you're not missing anything on your shelf that any of the rest of us might have.

Once some time has passed and the "road crew" folks have had a chance to run this module in public, I can see Goodman Games selling the PDF as a general release. I don't have an inside track on this, but am just guessing that it will work out that way.

[Rostranor]

pretty noncommittal for a minster of propaganda!

[Blood Axe]

Im sure most people would be happy if these "limited" adventures were eventually released as a pdf for sale to everyone.

To all of the folks who are concerned about "how can I get a physical copy if I don't run a demo" I might point out that this limited module appears to be PDF only, and not a physical copy. In other words, you're not missing anything on your shelf that any of the rest of us might have.

Once some time has passed and the "road crew" folks have had a chance to run this module in public, I can see Goodman Games selling the PDF as a general release. I don't have an inside track on this, but am just guessing that it will work out that way.

Its available in print for $9.99

[finarvyn]

Once some time has passed and the "road crew" folks have had a chance to run this module in public, I can see Goodman Games selling the PDF as a general release. I don't have an inside track on this, but am just guessing that it will work out that way.

Its available in print for $9.99

Are you sure? I think that the print module being released is DCC #76.5: Well of the Worm, but the "road crew" module Joseph mentioned was talking about is DCC #77.5 Tower Out of Time.

Maybe I'm confused here.

[Blood Axe]

Special Offer: The Tower Out of Time is a free shared adventure for six level 2 characters. Available as part of the DCC RPG World Tour, The Tower Out of Time is provided in PDF to any judge who runs a road crew event in June or July! We encourage you to run your event on Free RPG Day at a participating store, but any road crew event in June or July qualifies. Here’s how to get your copy:
• It’s easy! E-mail us with the date, time, and location of your event; an online link to the event; and your contact info.
• The event must be in a game store, at a game con, or at another public location. Make sure the event is in June or July.
• We will send you a PDF link for The Tower Out of Time. Your event will also be eligible for all the awesome DCC RPG swag, as shown on our World Tour page.
• For participating road crew judges, an upgrade to print is also available at a cost of $9.99 plus shipping (visit our online store). Please note: you must run the road crew event to purchase a print copy. The print copy may not arrive in time for your event.
Adventure Summary: From out of the past comes an ancient evil to plague the present! A mystifying tower crowned by a blinding blood-red light has appeared in the forest, arriving as a never-before-seen comet burns in the sky above. Is its arrival a harbinger of terrible times ahead? Only those heroes brave enough to confront what lurks behind the inexplicable walls of the Pharos of Scales can solve the mystery of the tower’s puzzling arrival!
Rules Set: DCC RPG

Resources
•Pregens: Download six ready-to-go pregenerated characters for Tower Out of Time!

Related Products: Visit the DCC RPG launch page for complete information on every DCC RPG release!

Writer: Michael Curtis
Cover art and Cartography: Doug Kovacs

GMG50775, 16 pages, PDF free with scheduled event in June or July, $9.99 in print