What happened to Dreamscarred press?

[zlefin]

I've heard some stuff happened to them, but I haven't been able to find a good explanation of the situation. Google is yielding nothing, and on here I've only seen one line statements which don't really explain much of anything.

So does anyone have, or have a link to, a good thorough explanation of what happened to them?

(PS putting this post in the 3e area since afaik they mostly did PF related products, or at least those are the ones I cared about)

[AmberVael]

Most small publishers (such as the majority of third party publishers) are one person operations; they only employ one person, and that person manages, funds, and generally just runs the business. The writers, editors, and artists that work with these publishers are largely freelancers - they may work frequently and closely with a given publisher, but they aren't running things, aren't technically part of the publishing company. If no one is paying them, giving them contracts, or running their work through the production line, nothing is going to happen even if they're still around and interested.

The salient detail is that most of these publishers have a single point of failure. Dreamscarred Press, as it happened, hinged on Jeremy Smith running the day to day operations.

I don't particularly like delving into people's personal details or sharing them online, but Jeremy made it clear that he was struggling with depression and other issues a few years back. There's a post he made on kickstarter you can hunt down, if you really want the full details he was willing to share. As he spent less time on DSP, it ground to a halt since it couldn't function without him.

[zlefin]

That seems imprudent; it seems like there should be backup plan or some way of 'passing the torch' so that someone else could take over and continue the work. ah well. thanks for the explanation.

[Gnaeus]

First, thanks for original post and explanation, since I was also wondering this.

Second, can anyone give a rundown on where their contractors fled to or if there is any chance DSP may resurface? (I understand the explanation, but for example my wife’s publishing company lapses and re-emerges depending on her health and availability.) DSP was the only 3rd party my group really loved and I would like to support their people elsewhere.

[afroakuma]

First, thanks for original post and explanation, since I was also wondering this.

Second, can anyone give a rundown on where their contractors fled to or if there is any chance DSP may resurface? (I understand the explanation, but for example my wife’s publishing company lapses and re-emerges depending on her health and availability.) DSP was the only 3rd party my group really loved and I would like to support their people elsewhere.

I'm friends with a few former DSP contractors and nearly became one myself years ago. They are moving forward with their lives, still involved in geeky interests and some tabletop stuff, but not currently producing much TTRPG content except for personal use. One exception is a friend who has published through Silver Games. (https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/304154)

My read of it is that if DSP were to resurface, it would be in much the same way TSR is currently resurfacing - absent the people who made it what it was. If at any point those people should elect to work on new projects for distribution, I'll let you know.

[AmberVael]

That seems imprudent; it seems like there should be backup plan or some way of 'passing the torch' so that someone else could take over and continue the work. ah well. thanks for the explanation.

It'd be more difficult than it sounds, honestly. If nothing else, financially it could be an issue - as a freelance writer myself, I can tell you that we're not exactly flush with cash, and commissioning art/writing/etc definitely has costs.


Second, can anyone give a rundown on where their contractors fled to or if there is any chance DSP may resurface? (I understand the explanation, but for example my wife’s publishing company lapses and re-emerges depending on her health and availability.) DSP was the only 3rd party my group really loved and I would like to support their people elsewhere.

I'm in a few different social circles of freelancers and keep in contact with at least a couple of them. I haven't heard of much activity, but I do know that Jade Ripley wrote a book about including Slashers in pathfinder games. (https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/304154/Hatchet-Men-Slashers-in-Heroic-Horror)

[afroakuma]

That seems imprudent; it seems like there should be backup plan or some way of 'passing the torch' so that someone else could take over and continue the work. ah well. thanks for the explanation.

Someone did. There's a lot of story behind there, but I've checked in with friends and the most prudent way to articulate it is "they will not be getting the band back together."

[Nifft]

That seems imprudent; it seems like there should be backup plan or some way of 'passing the torch' so that someone else could take over and continue the work. ah well. thanks for the explanation.

I suspect most game-related work would fall under the umbrella of "imprudent".

It appears to be a tough market with not that much money in it -- d20 boom aside, perhaps.

[AmberVael]

Theoretically, almost anyone could pick up the threads of DSP's work if they really wanted to, with the way the OGL works. Sure you wouldn't be able to call yourself DSP, but if you're expanding the same mechanical set (which you could do, since PoW, Psionics, etc is all OGL content) and potentially even brought a few of the freelancers back, would that matter so much?

But 'imprudent' strikes me as a pretty good word for it. The audience and market for third party Pathfinder content seems to be getting smaller rather than growing, at least from my perspective. Not surprising, given that the system is older, there's a new edition, and 5e is rather eclipsing everything in popularity.

[Gnaeus]

Theoretically, almost anyone could pick up the threads of DSP's work if they really wanted to, with the way the OGL works. Sure you wouldn't be able to call yourself DSP, but if you're expanding the same mechanical set (which you could do, since PoW, Psionics, etc is all OGL content) and potentially even brought a few of the freelancers back, would that matter so much?

But 'imprudent' strikes me as a pretty good word for it. The audience and market for third party Pathfinder content seems to be getting smaller rather than growing, at least from my perspective. Not surprising, given that the system is older, there's a new edition, and 5e is rather eclipsing everything in popularity.

The less connected they were the less likely my group would support. We originally looked at DSP because they were the “official” pf source for our favorite 3.5 content, and then supported them because we liked their balance point. If a company was (a lot of DSP contributors without that guy) I could at least get my group to look at it. If it was just some people doing PoW stuff I’m sure they would be relegated to the general 3pp category.

[afroakuma]

The less connected they were the less likely my group would support. We originally looked at DSP because they were the “official” pf source for our favorite 3.5 content, and then supported them because we liked their balance point. If a company was (a lot of DSP contributors without that guy) I could at least get my group to look at it. If it was just some people doing PoW stuff I’m sure they would be relegated to the general 3pp category.

Oh... yeah, if that's your goal, that would be a no-go.