I love Hammerfast. I think it's my favorite 4th Ed. product so far. I love the retro feel and I love how it fits right in with the 4th ed. system. The format was great... $15 for a load of very useful info and a fantastic poster map. When I realized that Vor Rukoth was next in the series of adventure settings, it went right to the top of my must buy list.
Vor Rukoth was great too. It didn't quite ring my bell the same way Hammerfast did, but it's still a great product and made me hungry for more in this product line. Which brings me to my point....
Will there be any more releases in this product line? Looking at the 2011 release schedule, I don't anything like these two.
Please Mr. Mearls, give us the next Hammerfast.
So the line is cancelled and they'll provide similar opportunities in the future through a different format.
Same reason Player's Handbook Races failed: no good for bookstores and comic book stores and game stores to stock them.
So the line is cancelled and they'll provide similar opportunities in the future through a different format.
Why do good lines always have to be canceled because of such prosaic problems? D:
Same reason Player's Handbook Races failed: no good for bookstores and comic book stores and game stores to stock them.
So the line is cancelled and they'll provide similar opportunities in the future through a different format.
I just don't get this reasoning. I mean, Hammerfast and Vor Rukoth were the same size and price as the new adventure modules (Slaying Stone and Stonefang Pass). Does this mean that stores won't stock adventure modules either? If that's the case, WoTC is in big trouble becaue adventure modules are a game designer's bread and butter once the well of design mechanics runs dry.
Bring back Hammerfast style books please!
I just don't get this reasoning. I mean, Hammerfast and Vor Rukoth were the same size and price as the new adventure modules (Slaying Stone and Stonefang Pass). Does this mean that stores won't stock adventure modules either? If that's the case, WoTC is in big trouble becaue adventure modules are a game designer's bread and butter once the well of design mechanics runs dry.
Bring back Hammerfast style books please!
Well, the content is different. Hammerfast and Vor Rukoth are both adventure sites with no fully fleshed out adventures. There are plenty of hooks (esp in Vor Rukoth) but nothing on par with a standard adventure module. The aren't 'pick up and play' so much as sandboxes in which a DM can build their own stories.
So players or DMs looking for an adventure module to drop in to their campaign will either skip over these products or buy them incorrectly assuming that is what they're for.
Well, the content is different. Hammerfast and Vor Rukoth are both adventure sites with no fully fleshed out adventures. There are plenty of hooks (esp in Vor Rukoth) but nothing on par with a standard adventure module. The aren't 'pick up and play' so much as sandboxes in which a DM can build their own stories.
So players or DMs looking for an adventure module to drop in to their campaign will either skip over these products or buy them incorrectly assuming that is what they're for.
I see what you're saying, but that's not really the reason given by WoTC. Is it? When they say "the format is not working for stores" do they really mean that people are confused by what they are buying? Or is it just that sales numbers were really low?
Whatever the reason, it's a shame because this product line adds the kind of fluff that has been sorely lacking so far in 4th ed.
well on a positive note, i see you subscribe to the mags. i dont know how long you have, but there are a lot of good location pieces that behave like hammerfast and vor rukoth. the mithrendain one is pretty darn good, and there are some good pieces on shadowfell locales, as another example. i also enjoy/ed these products and am hoping the nentir vale book comes out and adds to this.
I hope they continue with that line in some form rather than letting sit on a shelf.
The big difference is that the KotS adventures had a spine with their names on it. Hammerfast is invisible when it's sideways.
So, hardbacks or death?
The big difference is that the KotS adventures had a spine with their names on it. Hammerfast is invisible when it's sideways.
So, hardbacks or death?
Heroes of the Fallen Lands would disagree.
Same reason Player's Handbook Races failed: no good for bookstores and comic book stores and game stores to stock them.
So the line is cancelled and they'll provide similar opportunities in the future through a different format.
Augh... I'm already sick of that reason and its only the second time it comes up! Frell...
Ya know the store I shop in uses magazine rack style displays so you can see all the cover. Even the other shop I visit but never buy from (too expensive) has shelves lining the walls that use the same system.
All they need is to select some format with a spine like a floppy soft cover... maybe pocket book sized. Its not rocket science --
Heroes of the Fallen Lands would disagree.
If it sells, then there's still hope.
Heroes of the Fallen Lands would disagree.
Heck of a lot thicker than Hammerfast, and as a trade paperback it has a substantial spine to face customers when displayed spine out.
Regards,
Kalex the Omen
Augh... I'm already sick of that reason and its only the second time it comes up! Frell...
Ya know the store I shop in uses magazine rack style displays so you can see all the cover. Even the other shop I visit but never buy from (too expensive) has shelves lining the walls that use the same system.
+2 for this. I think the whole "it doesn't display well on the shelf" argument is total bull. People who are buying adventure modules don't simply walk away from the shelf because what they're looking for isn't right in their face. If you're browsing the D&D section and you see some books edge on, you're probably going to pull them out to look at them. It takes 5 seconds.
If these items are not selling, I don't think you can blame the shelving. These are high quality products that most DM's I know absolutely love having. I blame the lack of sales on the availability of pirated PDF's. Which is really sad because I love having the printed copy.
Notice how there are NO adventure modules planned for 2011?
I would agree the adventures published to date sit flat in every store I have seen them in and one store is a national bookstore chain. If they thought the space was not worth the money they can make they would not carry them. Feed us another one Wizards.
I've had the opposite experience - All the adventures are stacked face-to-face with their spines facing outward. Most of them have the 'flat' spines to make them more visible, but they're still impossible to see what they are without pulling them from the shelf.
The locations and race books are even less visible, and you can't see what they are at all without pulling them from the shelf. They really aren't eye-grabbers, and thus, will sell worse than products that jump out at you.
WotC would be better served releasing these types of products as collected hard covers. A "Player's Handbook Races" hardcover book, gathering the information from all the PHBR books, would be great however.
If I was more cynical I would suggest WOTC release racial feats in random booster packs.
Bastard!!
Regards,
Kalex the Omen
P.S. - joking of course.
Apparently, it didn't pan out. So WotC has spun the wheel and is now trying boxed sets, a format that cannot be missed no matter which way you display it. If it sells well, they'll stay with it. If not, spin the wheel again!
Live by the sword, die by the sword, I guess.