Over the years, I bought a number of products, some good, some not so good. Earlier this week, I was talking about the cost of RPGs. With Adamant Entertainment pricing all its PDFs for 1.99 (full details and announcement) , I really am of two minds on this topic.
First, I am very happy that for 12$ I can get 6 supplement. That’s the good part. As a consumer, I like the idea very much. But soon, I begin to wonder “why are such products so cheap?” It seems like a desperate attempt to dump low-or-bad quality material out there. I’m not saying Adamant’s stuff is crap (it’s not), but it makes me expect less from what I get… after all I only paid two bucks for it.
As a writer, this annoys me a little. A lot of work goes into writing these supplements, a lot more than it seems. 1.99 seems low to sell certain quantity of work.
Things I am very happy with buying for 2$ are small elements (such as a race or a class) that to plug into a current project or campaign, short adventures, even a series of feats/ abilities. Another category of items include old versions of books and books that are about to be reviewed. That way I know I am getting an older document.
Things I would not be willing to buy for that price include complete, high-quality campaign settings, elaborate campaigns and major sourcebook. The price I would be willing to pay for them varies greatly, but I think that a cap around 10$ gives the product value and gives it a level of assurance. I mean with Paizo’s Pathfinder RPG for 10$... If you price something beyond that, it better rock my world!
All that said, I hope it works for them, but it tints my view of their stuff negatively…
JP
So, nay suggestions on what products to get? I'm not all the familiar with Adament's products.
ReplyDeleteI am not very familiar with Adamant's material. What I've seen from them leaves me very ambivalent. Some of their stuff is great, some not so much.
ReplyDeleteTheir Victorian seems very well done, though I would prefer to play the era using Basic over 3.5/OGL.
JP