" i've thought that it would be easier and perhaps more lucrative if you published like 10-20 critters and their treasures per Cauldron and put out a Cauldron per month until you felt the list was complete. this would drive Cauldron readership, break the task into smaller, manageable chunks, and allow for reader feedback and editing corrections before being collected into one final, polished volume."
Here is your chance to sound off as I grind away on the book, what do you think?
if Cauldron went monthly, i would love to see it also offered at the RPGNOW site. otherwise sounds like a good idea.
ReplyDeleteI would support this idea
ReplyDeleteCauldron is a great publication but I would rather have a complete monster book sooner. Regardless I would support either solution.
ReplyDeleteI'd rather have one collection, because I'm impatient. Is also easier to reference one volume than a dozen.
ReplyDeleteMaybe spread the net further than LULU ? - how about one complete collection (on LULU/RPGNow) preceded by a PayWhatYouWant PDF taster inc. the Cauldron#1 brief rules and a dungeon plus 10-20 creatures on RPGNow.
ReplyDeletewow, i was quite sure you would do this! (put my post to a vote of some kind) :)
ReplyDeletehowever, i was equally sure that i would come out looking like the villain of the story. i'm very surprised that people are open to this - even though i see nothing wrong with it.
i'm good either way. i think the cauldron route would be better for you, fenway - but i could be wrong. i think it could be better for all of us because once the monsters were collected into a single volume, i'm sure everything in that volume would have undergone more editorial scrutiny.
that said, whatever route is taken, i DEFINITELY want a single volume at some point for ease of reference. i prefer skipping the cauldron route because it puts the single volume in my hands sooner and i wouldn't HAVE to spend as much money (i'm pretty sure i would buy at least a couple of cauldrons just to get a taste of what's coming.)
to simplify my answer, i would prefer the straight to single volume route - as a consumer. as an author, i would prefer the cauldron route.
alternative ideas (such as geordie's are also good). heck, it's all good - no matter what.
by the way, i love the goofy (some might say crappy) goblin picture associated with this blog post. it reminds me of some terrible counters i've seen somewhere...LOL
ReplyDeleteI support this move as well... just as ling as we still get a Monster Book Proper at some point.
ReplyDeleteI'd rather have the compiled book myself.
ReplyDeleteI was reading through the Magi Carta last evening. If the monster book is half as good as that you will have a real hit!
ReplyDeleteOkay, third time's the charm. If this doesn't post, I'm giving up.
ReplyDeleteIf Cauldron is creatively important to you, and this would make it easier to keep up on deadlines, it's a terrific idea. But every issue of Cauldron is a potential unexpected delay to the final release of the book; if you're pretty much done, as a creator it makes sense to me to just publish the darned thing.
Thanks all for the fine feedback and comments! I did not respond before as I wanted to hear all opinions while I thought it all over.
ReplyDeleteThe Cauldron is important to me as part of what makes up Heroes & Other Worlds. Before I can really bring Cauldron to life, I feel there are a lot of core game elements that I want to put into the wild prior to focusing more time and attention on "Interesting but optional" ideas through the Cauldron.
As I can only work on one thing at a time I have to make hard choices, and this is one of them. I appreciate the feedback and support. Even if you disagree with my reasoning, I hope you will still enjoy and use the monster book when it is complete.
I'm going to have to vote for a single book. While I'd love the eclectic mix of stuff we'd be likely to get with Cauldron, I have to side with the person who said they'd rather have one book than have to look through a dozen. That said, I'd be happy with either solution since both have advantages and disadvantages.... ;-)
ReplyDelete