[POLL] On spending money.

Post/Author/DateTimePost
#1

moogle001

Aug 09, 2003 2:34:06
*continues to study Planescape's popularity* *doesn't this board support polls somewhere...*
Out of curiosity, how much would you guys pay for a Planescape Campaign Setting given the option? I'm talking hardcover, full out artwork, and all the material we've promised?

Nothing/Free
1-20
20-30
40+

DO NOT READ INTO THIS. WE ARE NOT SELLING ANYTHING. I'm only curious :D Anyways, what are people's thoughts of the various outlets of the d20 industry (ie. free releases, ESDs, real print-outs)?
#2

zombiegleemax

Aug 09, 2003 3:38:45
Well, I'd happily pay for a full hardback campaign setting book. The material that’s been done so far is brilliant, but it just doesn’t feel quite the same unless its actually a physical book. Price wise, I'd not be bothered how much it would cost (within reason of course), provided it was a complete, properly bound hardback copy.
#3

zombiegleemax

Aug 09, 2003 3:42:47
Well, honestly I'd probaby pay anywhere from nothing to $60, yea you heard me, $60, because...well...OK, I don't have a very good reason. Honestly I can see myself paying basically anything for it that's under $90, but $40 seems most reasonable. It would have to be long and good (and possibly pre-faction war [grumbling]).

NOTE: I'm kind of tired so DON'T consider this to be my actual opinion!
#4

zombiegleemax

Aug 09, 2003 9:51:24
If you guys went ALL out and made it as good and inclusive as the original box set, I would gladly pay 50 bucks. For one hardcover though, I would pay 30.

Free is nice too, but there is an attitude of ya get what ya pay for, and that nothing is free in the long run.
#5

christuschristus

Aug 09, 2003 10:44:26
$40 for a good hardcover is reasonable. Wouldn't really balk at that. If it were more, I'd have to think twice (but might still get it).
#6

zombiegleemax

Aug 09, 2003 14:53:38
40 bucks. If it's as dense with information, filled with good art, and saturated with as much flavor as the original source material, 60 or 70 bucks.
#7

christuschristus

Aug 09, 2003 16:24:15
Originally posted by moogle001
Anyways, what are people's thoughts of the various outlets of the d20 industry (ie. free releases, ESDs, real print-outs)?

I'm a physical, real world object kinda guy myself. While I don't hate web releases, a lot of the material just sits on my computer unread. If I can only get something as an ESD or PDF or what-have-you, then I'm fine. Nice to have something bundled and properly formatted, though.
#8

zombiegleemax

Aug 09, 2003 19:14:11
If it's the same calibre as say the FRCS book (well laid out, plenty of background material, relevant rules material etc) then I'd pay $40 for it. If it's the same sorta standard that 90% of the D20 companies out there produce though, I wouldn't even bother buying the hard back and just hope there'll be a PDF version to print out.
#9

doobiethetrilogy

Aug 09, 2003 23:00:45
If its pre-faction war up to $75 for a real hardcover.

Otherwise no more than $20 for a real hardcover.

If it disregards everything in faction war and includes a free copy of that book with matches and liter fluid to burn it I'd pay up to $100.

If you hadn't noticed yet I hate faction war.
#10

zombiegleemax

Aug 10, 2003 1:40:32
nothing for the simple reason that i have no money.
#11

zombiegleemax

Aug 10, 2003 4:35:23
Hmmm, Around $50... that sound reasonable
#12

zombiegleemax

Aug 11, 2003 3:02:13
40 dollars sounds reasonable given that you guys are doing such a good job and knowing that it can be difficult to get something published without a lot of money up front.
#13

zombiegleemax

Aug 11, 2003 6:30:13
I guess it would depend on the basic factors that apply to most every other book one buys, such as page count, professionalistic layout, harbound or softbound, etc.

A good sized (200-300) page harbound with all the trimmings averages 30-40 dollars. A 150+ page softback averages 15-25 dollars. I would be willing to spend the higher end averages for a good Planescape book, if for nothing else but to support the setting and the setting's designers. On the flipside, I would also spend 1/2 of the cost of a large softbound for a pdf copy of the material, if there were no print copies made, so around 15 for 200 pages or so.

So, I have to ask, is there are particular reason for this question? Or merely curiosity about the fanbase? I didn't think that you were allowed to make a full printed product under your agreement with WOTC, although if it was done 'at cost', I don't think that would be against the agreement.
#14

Shemeska_the_Marauder

Aug 11, 2003 7:33:07
One of every organ I have two of...
#15

zombiegleemax

Aug 11, 2003 8:23:59
I'd pay no more than £30 for it unless it was in full colour and stretched to FRCS standards. However, I do tend to buy campaign settings based on the quality of artwork in them. FRCS was very nice, but having just looked at the Dragonlance gallery I am sorely disappointed: I like art that inspires me to play, not makes me cringe. As such, unless the artwork was of high quality, I wouldn't buy it no matter how good the material inside. I'm talking at least DiTerlizzi standard here people!

Any PSCS 3.5 ed would have to be a recognisable PS product. I think the logo could probably do with a slight makeover - nothing extreme mind you, but there's no decent .PSD version of the logo anywhere I've seen so its difficult to use if you cut n' paste from a scanned product.

I don't know if Wizards keep an official trade dress for Planescape, since - technically - they've never released a PS product, but i love all those little swirly bits used in the setting books.

Oh, and you'd have to keep the cant. No cant = no fun!

As for the material "published" so far. It's alright. Not bad. A good effort. Its not perfect, and it doesn't always fit my understanding of what Planescape is about, but it is made by fans for fans so I shouldn't complain (which I'm not really, I'm merely fronting my own internal musings on the subject of PS3E).

Anyway, rant over.
#16

zombiegleemax

Aug 11, 2003 11:15:47
I wouldn't consider it starting at anything under $40, although you will be hard to get non-PS people to buy a d20 campaign book for much over $50. Many of my friends would purchase the book, as well.
#17

taotad

Aug 11, 2003 11:45:26
$39.99

tops!
#18

sad_raven

Aug 11, 2003 12:38:05
i would gladly pay $40+ if the material is well written. like many others, i enjoyed the forgotten realms campaign book and would hope that a ps book could approach that one in quality.

i had never played forgotten realms, but was somewhat familiar with the setting. i didn't have any of the 2nd edition books for it, ut when i saw the 3rd edition version, i checked it out. at first, the price tag was a little intimidating, but i did eventually buy it and am very glad that i did. i feel like i got my money's worth.

i tell this story to illustrate two points:

1. nothing compares to picking up a hefty book and paging through it. esd's and pdf's are okay if it's the only way to get something, but i don't care for them. while i could print out a copy, it's just not the same.

2. sometimes price tags can make us wary, especially with so many companies producing d20 material. it can be difficult to know (especially for newer players/dms) if you are going to get what you pay for. when the quality is high (and yes, quantity of information plays a part too) a higher price tag is justified.

on an unrelated note, i would also hope that the new version would be pre-faction war, as i have only been able to get some of the early ps releases and am unfamiliar with the changes that have been made to the setting.
#19

primemover003

Aug 13, 2003 15:07:10
Seems many of us are looking at about $40 american. I'm in agreement, especially if it can live up to the quality of the FRCS. That is by far the best product on the d20 market to date, no if's, and's, or but's abou it.

I would gladly pay that for a hardcover, 320 pg, color campaign setting with a map in the back. Sigil and all the Gatetowns could definitely fit into a book that size.
#20

zombiegleemax

Aug 13, 2003 15:46:05
For a full color quality thing--well--umm... I have this shady deal where I can get books for free, not much of an issue with me (not illegal--just very long, convuluted, and hard to explain).

So, whatever the price, I'll be getting it.
#21

zombiegleemax

Aug 14, 2003 4:35:47
If it was released as a full hardcover book with artwork and so on, then i would pay the same as i did for FRCS, £25 plus £15 for any suppliment books that are released.

but if planescape WAS released as a hardcover then i would pay what ever the hell the price tag said...

I would love to see planescape 3e released as books, a downloadable pdf (which i wouldn't pay for) is nice but it is not the same as having the books.
#22

zombiegleemax

Aug 16, 2003 13:28:46
Abot $40 seems right but more if it is Illustrated in color, and has maps etc.

I would rather see a honest to God boxed set like the original.
#23

zombiegleemax

Aug 18, 2003 11:22:29
well considering all the other D&D handbooks are $30, im sure there would be a little more info in them so i guess $40 would be ok. BUT you should offer a discount to all the people that really want it as bad as i do:D . or send out notices to members on the boards and chats and have it where certain people get a discount (me being one of them since i came up w/ the idea.) a $10 discount would be fine and make sure it comes out real soon and that it wont be pushed back for a later release date.
#24

zombiegleemax

Aug 18, 2003 15:21:50
Originally posted by Demajen

Oh, and you'd have to keep the cant. No cant = no fun!

I know I'm OT, but cant can be difficult to understand (and translate) for people that don't speak english as their first language (I'm the first).
Think about PS fans all over the world!! (I hopre there are many...)
#25

Shemeska_the_Marauder

Aug 18, 2003 15:57:53
I believe the Cant is being used selectively. In anything that's purely rules or numbers or 'crunchy' material it's being written largely without the Cant.

However flavor text and blocks of fictions or quotations is being written with the Cant in mind. Depending on the author and perhaps the character in question or POV of the presumed IC author it may be lighter or heavier in Cant content.
#26

primemover003

Aug 18, 2003 21:28:53
How hard is it to translate Leatherhead??? Berk is a pretty english word, so just keep it "Berk" and define it normally in whatever language you speak. Languages grow every year, just add a new word to yours and you can use the Cant. I mean English is ripe with spanish, french, and germanic words, like Tortilla, Rendezvous, and Uber. I think "Swinging from the Leafless Tree," is a pretty visual phrase that could translate into any language fairly easily. If you can't directly translate a word, you add it to your dictionary and then define the concept.
#27

zombiegleemax

Aug 18, 2003 23:05:47
I think that's a good idea. Just try not to overuse it--a few of the 2nd editions overused it to the point at which I just wished they would simply tell me what they meant, not danced around it using the cant.
#28

zombiegleemax

Aug 19, 2003 12:15:16
i think the cant is cool becuz it adds a bit of flavor to things. i can agree w/ you about that they might have used it a little too much but it comes w/ a glossary of all the terms they used w/ it.
#29

zombiegleemax

Aug 20, 2003 19:30:57
I think the mode Shemeska describes is OK.
The sounds of english and italian are very different, so inserting a "berk" or "cutter" or "blood" in a normal sentence sounds very bad (IMHO!).

Anyway, i know Gunvers is the slang for Governers, right? How can I know if there are other slang forms?
I I translate "blood" literally, it's horrible!!

The problems can surely be solved in a way or another... but the mode Shemeska described can alredy solve some of them...
#30

zombiegleemax

Aug 20, 2003 19:54:51
As far as cant goes: All over the net are reasources for cants of differing types also you can pop some cash for Gary Gygax's cant book published by Troll Lord games. The problem is that 90% of cant is taken from English. So translating to other languages would not be easy But, seeing ho all languages have some form of slang or another some reasearch at a library should come up with something.

What about ps3e? Well since it seems to be a primarily american team working in their spare time translations may not happen unless someone translates for them. If by any chance PS3e is picked up by a publisher the chancesare better. But I know little about any of the translating or the ps3e team. So I'll leave it to Moogle to comment more on.
#31

zombiegleemax

Aug 20, 2003 23:17:59
would this just be the players handbook or is there foing to be like a DM guide too? i'm sure that just one would do to get the basics there and i'm sure people would use the MotP as back up. but maybe a cool DM screen would rock if it came w/ it. no one in my group ever uses one but i think i will for my time to DM.
#32

zombiegleemax

Aug 21, 2003 18:45:27
I still lobbying for a boxed set.:D
#33

zombiegleemax

Aug 23, 2003 14:43:38
I would easily spend $40, but would definitely get it, no matter what the cost...
#34

zombiegleemax

Aug 24, 2003 14:39:01
i really dont know. to me, planescape loses it's flavour when you subtract the cant. and when you subtract diterlizzi. so without those previous things intact, i would pay no more than the forgotten realms book. and i would expect the same quality and detail.

i guess i just want second ed. box set part 2. maybe i should go back to playing ad&d... nah

but seriously. 40 dollars seems about right. 50-60 with the cant, at least a cover by diterlizzi, and a dm screen. i actually use my box set dm screen to this day. it looks so beautiful...
#35

factol_rhys_dup

Aug 24, 2003 16:42:29
a DM screen would definitely be a cool addition if this ever gets published, but as I understand it it's not going to be formally published so it doesn't matter. Still, I might copy some tables and try to make my own.
#36

zombiegleemax

Aug 25, 2003 6:27:29
I would pay up to $30 for a single hard-cover. If you could mix the original 4 boxed sets into two... I'd probably pay between $60-$70 here. To be reasonable, the planes of conflict have ever been the hardest to get your hands on.
#37

Shemeska_the_Marauder

Aug 25, 2003 10:52:23
Hard to get, yes, but they're worth it despite having to hunt the set down and pay something obscene on ebay for it. ;)

That said I'm still trying to get my fuzzy yet well manicured and immaculate hands upon a copy of the Hellbound box set. *chuckle*
#38

zombiegleemax

Aug 25, 2003 20:59:53
To be all honest, Hellbound, was only ok. I personally enjoyed Faces of Evil: The Fiends far more. Hellbound makes them sound far more powerful than they are... though mind they are powerful... but it makes them out to be almost like petty gods... as if they could be gods.