Basic Fantasy starter set

[xevenwood]

Hey guys, It's xevenwood. I'm coming on here to see what you guys think of me making a physical starter set for Basic Fantasy.

My idea was to put the core rules, an introduction/quick-start guide, pre-made characters, a set of dice, and a beginner adventure in a box. The set would all be freely available online as PDF or ODT files, and the physical set would be sold near cost. This would be for my tabletop gaming business that I'm doing as a class project for high school, and I wanted to run it by you guys before I did anything.

I was also think of maybe making the set as an introduction to my world, so it would include packets about it.

[Metroknight]

This has been kicked around on the forums but nothing has come of it. Legality wise, you will have to get permission from everyone involved in any material you are going to use.

Chris will drop by when he get notified of the thread or notices it and share his thoughts / views on it.

[xevenwood]

Thanks, Metroknight. That's why I wanted to bring it here before I made any moves.

Hopefully I can help something come to fruition, even if it's just the prototype or beta test of the starter set. I think it'd be a really cool way to introduce people to the game, and be a nice shelf piece for those who are already familiar.

[Solomoriah]

I would strongly prefer not to see a boxed set for sale anywhere, unless we do it, and by "we" I pretty much mean me. You can't use the artwork without my involvement, due to the way rights are assigned, except if you get separate permission from each and every artist (since they retain concurrent rights, they can assign them again if they wish).

I'd have done it a long time ago if it weren't for the issue of fulfillment. Right now, no one in the Project has to do any work to sell a copy. If we start making boxed sets, orders have to be made from multiple suppliers, assembly must be done, and shipping, and then there's the issue of collecting payment... and dealing with any returns just adds the cherry on top. If I did do this, I'd have to make a profit just to deal with these issues, and this is something I've always tried not to do.

All of which is why, unless some company comes out that does print-on-demand boxed games, it will likely never happen.

[xevenwood]

Thanks, I now see the trouble that making a starter set would cause. I think I could achieve something similar (making a set of characters and an adventure to help people start) without including the core rules That'd be easier legally, and more likey to be produced by myself.

I'll definitely work on making a beginner's adventure module set in my world, and figure out how to produce it physically so I could distribute it to my local area as part of my business. I'll try to keep you guys posted on my progress.

[Solomoriah]

Okay, I've missed something. What is your business?

[xevenwood]

Sorry, should of elaborated more. I'm starting a tabletop gaming business, which is a project for an entrepreneurial program for high school students.

The business is going to mostly host events and maybe sell some supplies, being like a game shop without the brick and mortar store. I wanted to do this since there are no game stores in the area, and it's what I would want as a customer.

The other part of the business is going to be developing a tabletop game (or supplement) that I could eventually sell. That part is what my mentor says I should do, since he thinks it'd be hard to make money with gaming events (mind you he isn't that familiar with the current tabletop gaming scene.)

So, that's my current problem, trying to find a way to produce a tabletop gaming product without it being exorbitant to make. That's why I wanted to make some kind of introductory set, to have a unique product for my business and have a good way to introduce Basic Fantasy to others.

[Solomoriah]

I think your mentor is wrong, frankly. RPGs are not very good in the profit arena... the main reason for the success (such as it is) of Basic Fantasy is the fact that I don't care about profit. Also, that there are companies that make their living selling books for us. Whereas, there are people right now who get paid to be GMs... you have to be good, and you have to work nights, but evidently it's a real thing.

[xevenwood]

Well, he wasn't talking specifically about RPGs, he was talking about creating a tabletop game in general. I decided that making a tabletop RPG product would be the easiest product to make (in terms of overhead). I know RPGs aren't the most profitable (heck, I'd sell my stuff near cost anyway). I'm just trying to make a product to get my mentor off my back so I can focus on the actual events.

[Dimirag]

Maybe I'm wrong, but a possible way is to create system agnostic and OSR compatible adventures, the tricky part is putting every element without directing to a specific game or rule unless you get specific permission to name that specific game...

A starter or introductory set should be out of the question as one must put rules of a specific game along with that game's name.