Baptism of Fire has been a HUGE success. But of course people who hate me are desperately trying to find excuses to put it down...
#dnd #ttrpg #osr
Aren't they always?
I have discovered that there are two D&D-related tabletop rpgs called Baptism of Fire available on DTRPG and that the two games are not at all similar to each other. Anyway, the Polish one has already sold more copies than a large majority of products on DTRPG will sell in their entire lifespans. I am also reminded of the dismal fact that something like 70% of all products on DTRPG will not reach 51 copies sold and only 201 out of over 100,000 products have sold 501 copies or more.
Quote from: yosemitemike on May 06, 2024, 05:37:09 AMI am also reminded of the dismal fact that something like 70% of all products on DTRPG will not reach 51 copies sold and only 201 out of over 100,000 products have sold 501 copies or more.
Small correction:
- Only 201 out of over 100,000 products have sold
5000 copies or more.
- About 63% of products havent sold more than 50 copies.
https://amazing-tales.net/2019/01/27/drivethru-rpg-metal-tiers/
But I'm not sure these numbers are current; I notice my book Dark Fantasy Basic has reached platinum (after many years...) but is not included.
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/229046/dark-fantasy-basic-player-s-guide
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/metal.php
Missed a 0 there. Still, it's a depressing number. According to their website, it's around 60% now which is an improvement but still a bit depressing. 51 copies sold is a pretty low bar. That's not even considering that products only have to be priced at $0.20 to count towards a metal tier so you could essentially buy yourself copper tier for around $10 (and then increase the price) if you wanted to game the system
Quote from: Eric Diaz on May 06, 2024, 09:30:28 AMhttps://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/229046/dark-fantasy-basic-player-s-guide
Hey. there's a bundle. I'm a sucker for a bundle.
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/306824/dark-fantasy-everything-bundle
Quote from: yosemitemike on May 06, 2024, 05:37:09 AMI am also reminded of the dismal fact that something like 70% of all products on DTRPG will not reach 51 copies sold and only 201 out of over 100,000 products have sold 501 copies or more.
That's because most of that stuff is garbage. There is almost zero effort required to publish electronic stuff, so a lot of people with grandiose ideas and little talent crank out nonsense. This has always been true in RPGs, and hobbies in general, but at least in the past you had to have some actual balls and spend some money to get your 500 copies of "FU Gygax: Improved D&D Rules" printed up. Now you can just have AI generate 90% of the text and images, slap on some woke horseshit inclusivity preface, and be done with it.
Sturgeon's law applies to DTRPG, certainly...
And AI could make things 10 times worse, just because it is so fast (but it could improve RPGs if people use it well).
Also some people just do it for fun or because they don't understand the demand for RPGs (which is quite limited and specific).
OTOH there is some very good stuff in there too.
Sometimes better than WotC... which is all we can require from average RPGs, really, since this is the most popular.
Back when I played 5e, I remember having to buy DM's vault stuff to make their campaigns work better.
BTW, congrats to Pundit for the success!
Quote from: yosemitemike on May 06, 2024, 11:04:06 AMMissed a 0 there. Still, it's a depressing number. According to their website, it's around 60% now which is an improvement but still a bit depressing. 51 copies sold is a pretty low bar. That's not even considering that products only have to be priced at $0.20 to count towards a metal tier so you could essentially buy yourself copper tier for around $10 (and then increase the price) if you wanted to game the system
Quote from: Eric Diaz on May 06, 2024, 09:30:28 AMhttps://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/229046/dark-fantasy-basic-player-s-guide
Hey. there's a bundle. I'm a sucker for a bundle.
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/306824/dark-fantasy-everything-bundle
You are right about that... The system could be gamed - and I think some people might actually do something like that to always stay on top.
I try to get a similar result with e-mails, sales, etc., but only works for a few days after release.
Thanks for mentioning the bundle!
Man I found the reddit thread, some of those guys are so high on haterade it is unbelievable.
Quote from: yosemitemike on May 06, 2024, 05:37:09 AMI have discovered that there are two D&D-related tabletop rpgs called Baptism of Fire available on DTRPG and that the two games are not at all similar to each other. Anyway, the Polish one has already sold more copies than a large majority of products on DTRPG will sell in their entire lifespans. I am also reminded of the dismal fact that something like 70% of all products on DTRPG will not reach 51 copies sold and only 201 out of over 100,000 products have sold 501 copies or more.
Yes. I recently realized that I have probably got more bestsellers overall than almost any other designer, just by the virtue of the large number of products I've made and their popularity.
Quote from: yosemitemike on May 06, 2024, 11:04:06 AMMissed a 0 there. Still, it's a depressing number. According to their website, it's around 60% now which is an improvement but still a bit depressing. 51 copies sold is a pretty low bar. That's not even considering that products only have to be priced at $0.20 to count towards a metal tier so you could essentially buy yourself copper tier for around $10 (and then increase the price) if you wanted to game the system
Quote from: Eric Diaz on May 06, 2024, 09:30:28 AMhttps://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/229046/dark-fantasy-basic-player-s-guide
Hey. there's a bundle. I'm a sucker for a bundle.
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/306824/dark-fantasy-everything-bundle
I don't know how "depressing" it is, it's just par for the course with publishing. Look at Amazon, see how many books they have, and then realize just how many books barely sold anything. In almost every category.
Quote from: Venka on May 06, 2024, 02:29:54 PMMan I found the reddit thread, some of those guys are so high on haterade it is unbelievable.
Yeah, it's pretty pathetic.
Quote from: yosemitemike on May 06, 2024, 05:37:09 AMI have discovered that there are two D&D-related tabletop rpgs called Baptism of Fire available on DTRPG and that the two games are not at all similar to each other. Anyway, the Polish one has already sold more copies than a large majority of products on DTRPG will sell in their entire lifespans. I am also reminded of the dismal fact that something like 70% of all products on DTRPG will not reach 51 copies sold and only 201 out of over 100,000 products have sold 501 copies or more.
Should have called it Blood Reich like I suggested...
Quote from: RPGPundit on May 07, 2024, 09:21:04 PMI don't know how "depressing" it is, it's just par for the course with publishing. Look at Amazon, see how many books they have, and then realize just how many books barely sold anything. In almost every category.
Yeah, and the alternative before this was having a few publishers who decided what deserved to be published or not. I much prefer the new "anyone can publish for next to nothing" model where the public gets to decide what's trash or not. Maybe 90% of the books out there fail hard, but we decide that, not a small group of "experts".
Quote from: yosemitemike on May 06, 2024, 05:37:09 AMI have discovered that there are two D&D-related tabletop rpgs called Baptism of Fire available on DTRPG and that the two games are not at all similar to each other. Anyway, the Polish one has already sold more copies than a large majority of products on DTRPG will sell in their entire lifespans. I am also reminded of the dismal fact that something like 70% of all products on DTRPG will not reach 51 copies sold and only 201 out of over 100,000 products have sold 501 copies or more.
Wow. That's very telling.
Quote from: yosemitemike on May 06, 2024, 05:37:09 AMI have discovered that there are two D&D-related tabletop rpgs called Baptism of Fire available on DTRPG and that the two games are not at all similar to each other.
When I searched, I found Pundit's game and a WW2 d20 RPG from 2011. Is using d20 your criteria for "D&D-related" or is there another Baptism of Fire that I missed?
Went to Reddit and found some guy bashing Pundit and saying he had no influence on the game and claiming he had proof. I responded with a quote from the 5E Basic thanking contributors and said he must have done something to be considered as a contributor.
Moderators rejected my post for mentioning Pundit in a thread about Pundit. Reddit's a shit-filled dumpster fire.
Quote from: Ruprecht on May 10, 2024, 08:45:50 PMWent to Reddit and found some guy bashing Pundit and saying he had no influence on the game and claiming he had proof. I responded with a quote from the 5E Basic thanking contributors and said he must have done something to be considered as a contributor.
Moderators rejected my post for mentioning Pundit in a thread about Pundit. Reddit's a shit-filled dumpster fire.
Did you mention Zak S? Because that's probably why, he's blacklisted, though I'm not for some reason.
In any case, I've seen those claims, they're stupid claims. They were also trying to say I had no input on the Doctor Who RPG. Yeah, right. It's only thanks to me that they used a 2d6 system (the author was originally wanting to make it 1d6), and that the initiative system works the way it does (which all the storygamers out there think is some amazing storygaming type mechanic, when it's actually a modification of the B/X initiative order by type-of-actions).
Quote from: Man at Arms on May 10, 2024, 05:35:21 PMWow. That's very telling.
Mainly this is due to lack of advertising.
No one is going to buy something they do not know exists..
Quote from: HappyDaze on May 10, 2024, 07:49:28 PMWhen I searched, I found Pundit's game and a WW2 d20 RPG from 2011. Is using d20 your criteria for "D&D-related" or is there another Baptism of Fire that I missed?
It's mostly where it says rules system: Dungeons & Dragons in the product description
Quote from: Omega on May 11, 2024, 12:45:27 AMQuote from: Man at Arms on May 10, 2024, 05:35:21 PMWow. That's very telling.
Mainly this is due to lack of advertising.
No one is going to buy something they do not know exists..
I don't usually do literal ads for my games, though occasionally publishers do. In this case Mad Scribe spent a lot on advertising, but ironically there was some kind of error and the ads did not go out, so all of BoF's success was purely on my own social media name recognition.
Quote from: RPGPundit on May 10, 2024, 09:25:26 PMDid you mention Zak S? Because that's probably why, he's blacklisted, though I'm not for some reason.
Yes, I copied the additional Consultation by from the 5E basic set and the text included Zak S name. I think you are right because Zak S and Alexander Macris (who I didn't mention) were listed as part of the reason my comment was rejected (your name wasn't mentioned). I should resubmit the point with Zak cut off to see what they'd do but the pettiness of the rejection makes me want to avoid the sight entirely.