FunGuyFromYuggoth Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 (edited) I'd like to make a suggestion on this open forum to Chaosium, which I also e-mailed to Dustin, but present here in more detail and invite your feedback. Call it Chaosium Prime or Chaosiumflix. Here it is in larvael form. Be gentle, it's a youngin'. A subscription based or fee based model for Chaosium to help with cashflow and to assure BRP products continue to arrive: A subscription based alternative (not substitution) to the usual transaction online or at the FLGS. Or think of it a a cross between Amazon.com and the "monograph of the month" (deliverable by PDF or mail). The benefits of such a model: Chaosium provides free shipping domestically. Free or deep discount shipping internationally. A guarantee new monograph every month or a discount/first in line priority for new publications by Chaosium or a partner. To my way of thinking: This helps to promote BRP by getting the product out to the public on a regular basis with less complaints to Dustin (every month he ships the same thing to everyone on the list) Assists Chaosium with their cash flow problem Creates a steady stream of revenue that Chaosium can use as an add-on to their licensing agreements with other BRP publishers Incentivizes Chaosium to tap into their deep library of products from the past 30 years to share with gamers who want to try BRP in a variety of genres Supports monographs that may otherwise get overlooked Hopefully let's Dustin hire an assistant So how about it Chaosium? Edited July 18, 2008 by FunGuyFromYuggoth Quote Roll D100 and let the percentiles sort them out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Empty Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 Disclaimer: I have never read any of the monographs so this is not a criticism of content, quality or anything like that. Might work if it was affordable. A quick look at the monographs currently available in PDF from Chaosium put the average price at a little over $12, that seems kinda steep for a monthly subscription where I'm "buying a pig in a poke" with no idea if the content will be interest or use to me or my players. Helping the out on a cash flow crunch is something I could get behind, as long as it didn't put me and mine in one as well. My $0.02 Mark Quote Abusus non tollit usum "Abuse is no argument against proper use" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FunGuyFromYuggoth Posted July 18, 2008 Author Share Posted July 18, 2008 (edited) Yes, I think Chaosium never really has an idea if its monographs would sell at any given time. If they knew upfront, the usual business school response would be an ability to cement the relationship with customers, push the BRP brand out as being ultra versatile that anybody can pick up and run, allow them to drop the prices of the monographs (especially if PDFed), create an immediate ability to give feedback on monographs ("It's great" or "Omigosh that was awful, what's the matter with you"). Keeps the customers happy and Chaosium on their toes and doing what they should be doing: publishing games and making money and promoting pen & paper games to survive the storm by inviting gamer driven content. Think of as a gamer driven creative partnership with Chaosium using BRP as the toolbox (and driving sales of the core product BRP rulebook, Call of Cthulhu next edition, etc.). Or I could just be totally wrong. Been before... :ohwell: Edited July 18, 2008 by FunGuyFromYuggoth Quote Roll D100 and let the percentiles sort them out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Empty Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 Would still need to be a fairly sizable subscription base to get the cost/benefit ratio to work out. Can't say what my own cut-off would be for sure, as I've got no experience with monographs. But as a SWAG (Scientific Wild-A$$ Guess) I'd have to say that I probably wouldn't consider it unless it cost less than $10/month. Anymore than that and my wife would kill me. Mark Quote Abusus non tollit usum "Abuse is no argument against proper use" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrk Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 (edited) $10 bucks a month means they have a continuous stream of content to justify someone paying every 30 days-- Could Chaosium could even keep up the demand? Now maybe a yearly membership would work were everyone is up to date with new changes and some additional content but I think that's about it. Besides, I one don't really want another bill biting at my wallet at the end of every month. Edited July 18, 2008 by mrk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORtrail Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 A monthly schedule would be a killer for Chaosium to maintain, and that $10/month still seems a bit much for an unproven commodity. I'd rather see them do 4-6 issues of BRP Worlds a year, at $10 each or $7 for a PDF version. Or a subscription fee of $40 a year, for at least 4 issues or $50 for 6? Price is a secondary issue compared to having a workable publication schedule, so the 4-6 issues per year is the main thing to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FunGuyFromYuggoth Posted July 19, 2008 Author Share Posted July 19, 2008 $10 bucks a month means they have a continuous stream of content to justify someone paying every 30 days-- Could Chaosium could even keep up the demand? Now maybe a yearly membership would work were everyone is up to date with new changes and some additional content but I think that's about it. Besides, I one don't really want another bill biting at my wallet at the end of every month. You're probably right. Amazon Prime and Netflix are really using two different models. I'm also throwing in a concept of the monograph of the month/quarter--though after a few hours of thinkng about this...didn't Steve Jackson' Games do something similar a while back or was that just their Pyramid Magazine I'm thinking about? :ohwell: Quote Roll D100 and let the percentiles sort them out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickMiddleton Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 QLI did a subscription model for Traveller material, called the "Moot" or some such, and it has foundered on precisley the issues others have mentioned - sustaining a volume of content commensurate with the subscribers financial committment. I'm with ORtrail - a "house" magazine / digest via PDF and PoD (not entirely unlike Palladium's Rifter) could work. But actually, what I'd MOST like to see Chaosium do is tighten up the criteria for them to publish a monograph. People just don't grasp the way chaosium describe the moonographs and expect them to be full Chaosium books that Chaosium has exercised a degree of editorial control over. So make them that, and in additin do some sort of "fan publication license" that allows fans to publish material in PDF or POD for a modest return provided Chaosium can also sell it via their website. Cheers, Nick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trifletraxor Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 Like the idea, but for me it would have to be printed, and the shipping cost across the pond might cost. :cool: SGL. Quote Ef plest master, this mighty fine grub! 116/420. High Priest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conrad Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 I'd like to make a suggestion on this open forum to Chaosium, which I also e-mailed to Dustin, but present here in more detail and invite your feedback. Call it Chaosium Prime or Chaosiumflix. Here it is in larval form. Be gentle, it's a youngin'. So how about it Chaosium? But is Chaosium even listening? Will Dustin reply to your suggestion? Or do we waste our time in suggesting things to our favourite games company?:ohwell: Quote http://www.basicrps.com/core/BRP_quick_start.pdf A sense of humour and an imagination go a long way in roleplaying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FunGuyFromYuggoth Posted July 19, 2008 Author Share Posted July 19, 2008 Yes, Chaosium is listening and Dustin responded that while my idea was interesting, truly the best way to help Chaosium alive is to buy their books. :thumb: Quote Roll D100 and let the percentiles sort them out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conrad Posted July 20, 2008 Share Posted July 20, 2008 (edited) Yes, Chaosium is listening and Dustin responded that while my idea was interesting, truly the best way to help Chaosium alive is to buy their books. :thumb: That is good news. Edited July 20, 2008 by Conrad Quote http://www.basicrps.com/core/BRP_quick_start.pdf A sense of humour and an imagination go a long way in roleplaying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheShadow Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 Another idea which might be easier to implement is for Chaosium to have a "grab bag" or Xmas bag similar to Palladium's. You pay a fixed sum and get a random assortment of books, say 3-5, with limited control over what you will get. That way Chaosium can include some of the items that aren't selling so well, and also move larger numbers of books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
christopherhouse Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 I love the grab bag ideal! honest, some time i want to get ome books but budget restraints and other issues stop me short of bank rupting my family! so if it here a christmas grab bag my wife or shildren can order it for dear old dad-> hint - hint! and Wht i get is a suprise because they cant give it away- my six year old twins cant keep a secreat to save thier lives! LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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