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V for Victory
2010-02-12, 04:13 PM
Hi, I was wondering if you guys had any idea on how to sell your home-brewed dnd settings and adventures. I have been considering trying to get published.

Also, do you guys know if there is still a market for 3.5 adventures.

Reinboom
2010-02-12, 04:28 PM
Hi, I was wondering if you guys had any idea on how to sell your home-brewed dnd settings and adventures. I have been considering trying to get published.

Also, do you guys know if there is still a market for 3.5 adventures.

The market for such creations is not very large at all. When doing research for Victorious Press, I have found many figures and reports pointing to a stark disinterest.

Primarily, the current field of games is heavily fractured. Especially for D&D/D&D style systems. With the advent of 4E and Pathfinder, the community both split and shifted (with quite a few returning to the older styles of games).
This makes it difficult to write an adventure now for any one system and see it take interest.

Further, thanks to the pull back in general funds caused by a recession, available funds that might be focused towards recreation for many people has tightened. If you do not already have a name in the business then it becomes very difficult to get anyone to trust their money into you right now.

There is also the issue of how the adventure is written. If a GM does not feel they could readily place the adventure into their current game, then it becomes difficult to sell it to them. Having an adventure that applies broadly to many GMs becomes even more difficult. Weather hooks, location hooks larger than a single locale, and lasting influence becomes rather difficult to sell due to this.

Gamers are also very scrutinizing in general. If you do get published, you have placed your words in the hands of strict criticism. Make sure you have an editor and many proof readers to ensure you have your writing straight.



After all of this, then there is still the issue of finding a publishing company. Easy ones for this kind of thing are Amazon and RPGNow.

BreathingMeat
2010-02-12, 07:50 PM
I reckon your best bet would be to get a decent reputation for yourself before you start selling stuff. Which means giving away stuff for free, taking feedback, fixing stuff up, giving more stuff away for free, marketing the heck out of yourself, and giving stuff away for free. The Internet's a big place, and the sad fact is that nobody pays for entertainment stuff when they don't want to. Certainly nobody is going to shell out good money for an adventure when they have no idea whether it's going to be any good.

When you've got a decent following you might try asking for money for some of your stuff. Might work.

Tackyhillbillu
2010-02-12, 07:58 PM
Hi, I was wondering if you guys had any idea on how to sell your home-brewed dnd settings and adventures. I have been considering trying to get published.

Also, do you guys know if there is still a market for 3.5 adventures.

Also, be warned. Be very careful with the law in your jurisdiction. WoTC will come after you if you are percieved as violating their IP. The status of the SRD nonwithstanding, you can swiftly find yourself in trouble.

BreathingMeat
2010-02-13, 04:53 PM
Also, be warned. Be very careful with the law in your jurisdiction. WoTC will come after you if you are percieved as violating their IP. The status of the SRD nonwithstanding, you can swiftly find yourself in trouble.

True dat. Stick to monsters mentioned in the d20 srd (http://www.d20srd.org/) or monsters you've designed yourself. Stay away from Forgotten Realms, Eberron, the Shadowfell, Planescape, etc etc, and any of the named Deities. Remember that WotC have more expensive lawyers than you and aren't afraid to use them.