Goodman Games

It seems this game will work mostly as a toolbox, given the plethora of sources it's based upon. Which is a plus IMO, I don't like games which have an implied setting (unless said setting is based on some literary source.)
So, the idea: would it be feasible to produce different setting books (perhaps one for each "source" of Appendix N) in a format similar to the old Greyhawk folio?
Just 16 or 32 pages for each setting, a small gazetter really, with a few maps, brief descriptions of each state/kingdom, religion, races, a small bestiary, some notable magic item, and most importantly, notes on how the material in the core book "fits" into that setting (e.g. which races/classes are available, or how they can be "reskinned" for the setting, which spellcasting methods are accessible/more common etc.)
Notable candidates: Hyborian Age, Nehwon, Young Kingdoms, Dreamlands.

The problem I see here is that each of these settings are the intellectual property owned by some individual or organisation. Thus, they will have to be licensed by Goodman Games. Getting an agreement to a license then the cost of that license will impact on profits and that will determine if any setting is viable. I suspect, in order to make a given setting profitable, a series of publications would be needed, not just one. If that's the case, one effectively gets committed to production which may end up diluting other company activities/resources and/or not producing the profits expected.

Time will tell...

Well, you could do it as generic genre settings - Sword & Sorcery (Howard, Leiber, etc.), Planetary Adventures (Burroughs), High Fantasy (Tolkien), Historical (i'm pretty sure the hundred years wars era was a big influence on D&D), etc.

rabindranath72 wrote:So, the idea: would it be feasible to produce different setting books (perhaps one for each "source" of Appendix N) in a format similar to the old Greyhawk folio?

Working on one right now.

Granted it's not Newhon, Hyboria or the Young Kingdoms, but I'm thinking it will be familiar to most. With a good splash of weirdness and some historical elements to boot.

mshensley wrote:Well, you could do it as generic genre settings - Sword & Sorcery (Howard, Leiber, etc.), Planetary Adventures (Burroughs), High Fantasy (Tolkien), Historical (i'm pretty sure the hundred years wars era was a big influence on D&D), etc.

I like the way you are thinking here, Mike.

If one could take the books from Appendix N and sort them into general cateories there could be either a sourcebook or a general set of guidelines as to how to recreate that style of adventure.

For example, Dying Earth has a very different feel to me than does Conan. Conan is a more gritty and dark world but Dying Earth (while potentially dark) comes off as more light and frothy.

I like the breakdown of S&S, Planetary Adventures, High Fantasy, and Historical. These seem to be pretty complete and cover most of the styles in Appendix N.

I've been flicking through Etherscope in my FLGS, and I like the idea of using The Great Metropolis as a pocket plane. I hope there's room for crossover material in the annuals.

(and Dragonmech too - oh, the possibilities!)

geordie racer wrote:I've been flicking through Etherscope in my FLGS, and I like the idea of using The Great Metropolis as a pocket plane. I hope there's room for crossover material in the annuals.

(and Dragonmech too - oh, the possibilities!)

Holy flaming wands of ice storm!

Don't forget Broncosaurus Rex...!

Sounds like a good idea, but I think you are ignoring some of the names in Appendix N...

HP Lovecraft, Lord Dunsany, August Derelith, Manly Wade Wellman...

Even having read most of their works I'm honestly not sure how to classify them in a DCC context... but I wouldn't slot them into any of those mentioned above.

If anyone is wanting to write, playtest and then see their supplemental material published for DCC, I know someone who might be able to help you do that down the road. Shoot me an email at John@bravehalfling.com

Coleston the Cavalier wrote:If anyone is wanting to write, playtest and then see their supplemental material published for DCC, I know someone who might be able to help you do that down the road. Shoot me an email at John@bravehalfling.com

Does this mean licences are already being dished out ?

I'm guessing that nothing official has been agreed upon, but I recall Joseph saying that Goodman Games wasn't interested in being the only company to support the game. He was excited about the potential for 3rd party designers and publishers to get onboard.

John's Brave Halfling company has been known for supporting all sorts of product lines with nice, inexpensive modules. I'm sure he'd love to get onboard with this and would do a great job.

The problem at the moment is that few people have access to the "real thing", rules-wise. That limits the number of folks who could have a publisher-ready product ready by June. However, since beta rules hit the market in June it's very possible to have people write material to be ready for the "real thing" in November!

finarvyn wrote:I'm guessing that nothing official has been agreed upon, but I recall Joseph saying that Goodman Games wasn't interested in being the only company to support the game. He was excited about the potential for 3rd party designers and publishers to get onboard.

It also depends HEAVILY on how GG licenses DCCRPG to 3rd parties. If he doesn't use the OGL, then all the existing OGL stuff would be off-limits for porting to DCCRPG, for example. Just like the release of D&D 4e, WHEN the license is settled on will impact the amount of potential 3rd party support as much as WHAT license is used (modeled on).

That's more legal info than I can process. I just know that Jospeh was excited about the prospect of others writing stuff for the game, and I assume that he has considered the wisdom of using OGL or not.

Joesph seems like he's a pretty savvy businessman.