Re: [HOE] Epitaph Opinions...(The commentators)

[Dirk <darklord@dark-sky.net>]

Also consider that some of the material will be useful to all three lines. Look
at the adventure in Epitaph 3, Guess who's coming to Donner. It was an adventure
that worked for both DL and HOE. As for D20 stats taking up half the book, no, I
don't think so. Looking at the DL/DLD20 Duel Stat books out so I see that having
the D20 stats only takes up a couple of pages since only the stat blocks are
repeated, most of the material (such as the story!) work for both systems
without being written twice. All of the material may not be useful, but most of
it could be, and on the plus side, all the little stuff we've been begging for
years to see will finally have a home. Also, don't forget that Shane said that
there will still be a dedicated source book or two coming out now and then so
you can still get a book choked full of your favorite line's goodness.

--Dirk
"My Two cents"
"Now waiting for someone to point out the grammatical errors in that last
sentence"

Kai Tave wrote:

> >Well, since you asked so nicely...  I play and Marshal both HoE and
> Deadlands, so the combined format doesn't bother me so much, though I would
> admittedly prefer dedicated sourcebooks.  I can understand Shane's reasoning
> behind the new format  What I don't want is fiction or comic strips like in
> the past Dime Novels and Epitaphs.  I don't have any use for them and
> they're a waste of space, in my opinion.  I think Shane already said they
> aren't going to have fiction in them, which is good, I hope that doesn't
> change.  Otherwise, I'm only concerned about the quality of the material
> that will be presented.  They've covered so much already, I'd rather not see
> books that have just anything in them.  Hawaiian Tiki manitous I can do
> without.
>
> Since the discussion seems to be progressing normally again, I'd like to
> continue it in a more polite manner.
>
> The biggest problem I see with a combined Epitaph format is that not
> everyone is going to collect/play all three Deadlands lines.  It's going to
> be harder for them to justify the purchase of such a product when the
> effective useable pagecount for them is much lower than other products.
>
> For instance, let's say that someone just plays The Weird West.  Nothing
> wrong with that; some folks have all the post-apocalyptic and frontier space
> they want, but they have a serious shortage of supernatural western in their
> diets.
>
> The information we have on the Epitaph says that it's going to be 128 pages
> per "issue" and that it'll cover all three lines.  Let's assume that each
> line will recieve an equal amount of coverage per "issue".
>
> Reserving two pages for title page and credits page, that leaves us with 126
> pages divided three ways, which gives us 42 pages per game line.
>
> Assuming that the 128-page Epitaph costs the same as most 128-page
> sourcebooks released by PEG ($20.00), that is, in my opinion, a bit of a raw
> deal.  $20.00 for 42 pages is a hefty sum to pay.  Even if someone plays two
> of the three lines, that's only 84 pages for $20.00, which is STILL a low
> pagecount/cost ratio by most industry standards (WotC is the worst offender
> I've found with their classbooks, and even those are 96 pages for $20.00).
> Only if you play/collect all three lines do you recieve full value for your
> $20.00.
>
> Would I pay for that?  Possibly.  Would LOTS of people pay for that?
> Eh...that's a toughie.  I know a lot of folks who'd be rather offput by such
> a scheme.  Bad word-of-mouth could help worsen any financial situation PEG
> is trying to alleviate.
>
> Now, this hinges on two things:
>
> 1). That the Epitaph costs $20.00 U.S.
>
> 2). That each Epitaph is a 42/42/42 page split.
>
> I think that one possible idea which might work better is to devote each
> Epitaph to a different gameline entirely, switching off each issue.  For
> instance, one issue is all miscellaneous Weird West material, one is all HOE
> material, one is all Lost Colony material, and it goes back to Weird West
> again.  This method would mean a longer wait between new material per game
> line, but it would mean that those people who only play one or two game
> lines don't have to pay for material they don't want or can't use.  The
> problem with this method is that it may fall under the heading "dedicated
> sourcebook", which Shane says he doesn't want.  This is why I'd like the
> discussion to endure at least until his return; so we can hopefully get some
> more answers from the man in charge.
>
> The magazine format idea intrigues me as well.  Sorta like a Dragon Magazine
> for Deadlands.
>
> At any rate...
>
> --Kai Tave
>
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