| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Gary Dallison |
Posted - 13 Jul 2016 : 21:51:12
Im just wondering what experience buyers and sellers have had on the DMs Guild and whether they have found pay what you want useful or not.
As a buyer i tend not to read the free titles unless its by someone i know.
Conversely using Pay What You Want has generated barely enough funds to pay for an image of a creature's little toe, let alone a map or an entire image.
Im just wondering if my experiences are the same as others and whether i should change to charging a nominal fee instead of nothing to help fund improvements.
Plus the DMs Guild seems to be geared towards selling titles |
| 30 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| CorellonsDevout |
Posted - 21 Jul 2016 : 01:30:48
quote:
Originally posted by George Krashos
quote:
Originally posted by CorellonsDevout
Just some stuff concerning the followers of Shevarash. Some elves are particularly embittered by the latest destruction of Myth Drannor, and they start turning to the Black Archer. Now, enemies will include not only drow, but surviving Shadovar as well. I have had this idea for some time. Irennan is helping me with stats and mechanics, but I have been really slow with developing the storyline.
Like minds, Correllon's Devout, like minds. I too have been looking the Black Archer's way in the last month or so.
-- George Krashos
Oh really? Haha. He's always intrigued me, and I got the idea when I first heard about the DMsGuild |
| George Krashos |
Posted - 21 Jul 2016 : 01:22:47
quote:
Originally posted by CorellonsDevout
Just some stuff concerning the followers of Shevarash. Some elves are particularly embittered by the latest destruction of Myth Drannor, and they start turning to the Black Archer. Now, enemies will include not only drow, but surviving Shadovar as well. I have had this idea for some time. Irennan is helping me with stats and mechanics, but I have been really slow with developing the storyline.
Like minds, Correllon's Devout, like minds. I too have been looking the Black Archer's way in the last month or so.
-- George Krashos |
| Adhriva |
Posted - 20 Jul 2016 : 21:02:01
Always willing to help (Mystra knows I have more then enough Elven art to go around) and feel free to steal anything from EE. |
| CorellonsDevout |
Posted - 20 Jul 2016 : 20:57:51
quote:
Originally posted by Adhriva
quote:
Originally posted by CorellonsDevout
I really need to finish my project heh, but I have been busy with other stuff.
what's the project?
Just some stuff concerning the followers of Shevarash. Some elves are particularly embittered by the latest destruction of Myth Drannor, and they start turning to the Black Archer. Now, enemies will include not only drow, but surviving Shadovar as well. I have had this idea for some time. Irennan is helping me with stats and mechanics, but I have been really slow with developing the storyline. |
| Gary Dallison |
Posted - 20 Jul 2016 : 20:40:28
And finishing it always tales longer than you think. Dont rush it, its done when its done. |
| Adhriva |
Posted - 20 Jul 2016 : 19:44:36
quote:
Originally posted by CorellonsDevout
I really need to finish my project heh, but I have been busy with other stuff.
what's the project? |
| CorellonsDevout |
Posted - 20 Jul 2016 : 19:32:44
I really need to finish my project heh, but I have been busy with other stuff. |
| Gary Dallison |
Posted - 15 Jul 2016 : 15:09:33
Ill try and devote some time to maintaining it and see if it helps. |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 15 Jul 2016 : 14:30:16
quote:
Originally posted by dazzlerdal
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by dazzlerdal
I have wondered if we should try and setup some kind of recommended titles page. The dms guild categories are bad and the review system there isnt working so perhaps we could post links and rate them and describe them in brief give an idea about the title, whats good or not etc.
We have a couple threads for that -- one for listing stuff written by scribes here, and one for recommendations. The latter has not, of yet, had any posts.
Well maybe they failed because no one saw a need then, maybe because people that thought they were having problems with the dms guild felt they were in a minority and didnt want to say anything. Maybe they will see more posts now. Then again maybe people just cant be bothered or havent the time.
It didn't help that the links were buried... I just stickied them, to keep them at the top of the DM's Guild section. |
| Artemas Entreri |
Posted - 15 Jul 2016 : 12:46:22
quote:
Originally posted by The Sage
Wait. Krash has Realms stuff on the Guild? That's the first I've heard of this most welcome news.
Finding now, then purchase/download. 
Oh my, you HAVE been gone for awhile.  |
| Gary Dallison |
Posted - 15 Jul 2016 : 06:53:38
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by dazzlerdal
I have wondered if we should try and setup some kind of recommended titles page. The dms guild categories are bad and the review system there isnt working so perhaps we could post links and rate them and describe them in brief give an idea about the title, whats good or not etc.
We have a couple threads for that -- one for listing stuff written by scribes here, and one for recommendations. The latter has not, of yet, had any posts.
Well maybe they failed because no one saw a need then, maybe because people that thought they were having problems with the dms guild felt they were in a minority and didnt want to say anything. Maybe they will see more posts now. Then again maybe people just cant be bothered or havent the time. |
| The Sage |
Posted - 15 Jul 2016 : 04:09:39
Wait. Krash has Realms stuff on the Guild? That's the first I've heard of this most welcome news.
Finding now, then purchase/download. |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 15 Jul 2016 : 03:53:47
As for what I download, I look for more lore stuff than anything else. I don't touch the class stuff, or adventures, or most of the "this thing from earlier editions has been translated to 5E" stuff. Not that there's anything wrong with those things -- they're just not what I'm looking for.
I like maps, trinkets, NPCs, taverns -- the kind of thing that if it is edition-specific, can be easily revamped. Or stuff that can aid in a DM's creative endeavors.
As I said back when WotC was hitting us with page-long stat-blocks: anyone can do the numbers, it's the concept that's the important part. I want names, personalities, flavor, concepts -- I'll worry about numbers only when they're relevant. And even then, usually you don't need a full stat block. |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 15 Jul 2016 : 03:46:14
quote:
Originally posted by dazzlerdal
I have wondered if we should try and setup some kind of recommended titles page. The dms guild categories are bad and the review system there isnt working so perhaps we could post links and rate them and describe them in brief give an idea about the title, whats good or not etc.
We have a couple threads for that -- one for listing stuff written by scribes here, and one for recommendations. The latter has not, of yet, had any posts. |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 15 Jul 2016 : 03:44:25
For the pay what you want, unless I've high expectations for it, I pay whatever the listed average is. And the high expectations are reserved for known quantities, like Krashlore. |
| sleyvas |
Posted - 15 Jul 2016 : 01:04:56
quote:
Originally posted by dazzlerdal
Im just wondering what experience buyers and sellers have had on the DMs Guild and whether they have found pay what you want useful or not.
As a buyer i tend not to read the free titles unless its by someone i know.
Conversely using Pay What You Want has generated barely enough funds to pay for an image of a creature's little toe, let alone a map or an entire image.
Im just wondering if my experiences are the same as others and whether i should change to charging a nominal fee instead of nothing to help fund improvements.
Plus the DMs Guild seems to be geared towards selling titles
I've only got two things up, but I figure numbers for comparison help.
The first is a collection of Heraldic symbols I made in my free time a few years back. I put it up for free, and its had 251 downloads.
The second was my Red Book of Spell Strategy, which was about 120 pages long (I've been updating and adding to it for a future update slowly, so I'm around 120 pages). Its at 265 downloads, and has netted a total of $69.92 (me making a total of $34.96), with a total of 20 people paying for it.
When I look at Pay What you Want stuff, I think of it along the lines of a dragon mag article (and one that's not been reviewed by editors). For something that sounds like its going to be 2 to 5 pages long, I figure 20 cents as a whole dragon mag would have been about $5, unless its really sounding good (some things I default to 50 cents). If I really like it, I will go back and pay more, but that's only been about five times. If I know the author, I will pay a dollar or more. It may sound cheap, but there's been articles that I've downloaded that I literally looked at less than a minute before going "that's crap".
Of the stuff I've downloaded, I will say that a few things have been useful adds. Enough that I started adding their spells into my spell lists and noting where they came from:
Athanae's Divinations located at https://www.dmsguild.com/product/172631/Athanaes-
Divinations?term=athanae&filters=45469_0_0_0_0_0
Elemental Magic of Zakhara located at http://www.dmsguild.com/product/173753/Elemental-
Magic-of-Zakhara-AlQadim--Forgotten-Realms
Also, I don't have the links, but Hand of the Wychlaran is an interesting Realmsian adventure.
Also, the Bestiary of Faerun is very well done.
Also, I have barely perused it so far, but there's some Maztica stuff as well that's worth looking at.
I'm also inclined more to give more money for more complete things.
|
| George Krashos |
Posted - 15 Jul 2016 : 00:14:47
quote:
Originally posted by dazzlerdal
So is there any hint as to what is coming for gen con. Not that it matters what its about, im buying it anyway.
I'm not making any promises because I've left it late to get my ordure together and while the idea is set, the details are proving elusive. Hopefully a response from Ed will clear up some of the last  bits and I can get to writing. If it gets done, I think it'll prove popular given the subject matter. And no, it has nothing to do with Impiltur.
-- George Krashos |
| Seethyr |
Posted - 14 Jul 2016 : 23:31:05
quote:
Originally posted by Adhriva
quote:
Originally posted by Seethyr
I haven't collected not spent a dime yet (except for artwork and that has killed me).
You are welcomed to shoot me an email with what you need. Most (E.g. everything outside of cartography) of the stock art I've seen on the DMG is either already public domain or was done under a CC license for something outside of the DMG, thus you probably shouldn't be paying for it. Go straight to an artist if you need art - if we can't do it for you, we likely can point you in the direction of some great open-license artwork you can use.
That is a wonderful offer and one I will most certainly take you up on. Thank you! |
| Adhriva |
Posted - 14 Jul 2016 : 23:19:31
quote:
Originally posted by Seethyr
I haven't collected not spent a dime yet (except for artwork and that has killed me).
You are welcomed to shoot me an email with what you need. Most (E.g. everything outside of cartography) of the stock art I've seen on the DMG is either already public domain or was done under a CC license for something outside of the DMG, thus you probably shouldn't be paying for it. Go straight to an artist if you need art - if we can't do it for you, we likely can point you in the direction of some great open-license artwork you can use. |
| Seethyr |
Posted - 14 Jul 2016 : 20:48:59
I've mentioned something similar to this before but I always download first and go back and pay later (in the PWYW options obviously). I like rewarding well thought out hard work rather than playing a guessing game. The previews help a bit, but not enough.
I have to admit DmG fills the niche that Dungeon and Dragon magazine used to for me. Every month I find at least enough quality material to fill up two magazines. I also use what I make on my books to do so. I haven't collected not spent a dime yet (except for artwork and that has killed me). |
| Artemas Entreri |
Posted - 14 Jul 2016 : 19:59:27
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
Most likely not. It was an article on some magical swords... and it didn't even look like it had been spell-checked or proofread.
This is my biggest issue (aside from the shameless plagiarism) with the DM's Guild. Most of the stuff I've seen looks slapped together without a care in the world. If the author can't even take the time to spellcheck their product, why should I pay money for it or even bother reading it? |
| Gary Dallison |
Posted - 14 Jul 2016 : 18:00:11
Have you told them. It sounds like a good idea so they might do it |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 14 Jul 2016 : 17:55:05
quote:
Originally posted by George Krashos
You can actually search for articles by author name: if you type in "Krashos" all of my articles come up.
I'm working on something at the moment which should see the light of day after GENCON and will be free.
After that, hopefully by Xmas, a bigger piece which will have some historical import.
-- George Krashos
I get that... But I go to the site once a week, and I look at what has come out since the last time I looked. I don't look for anything in particular, just what is new and looks interesting.
On the screen showing new stuff, you can't see who wrote something... So if you wrote up (and failed to mention here) a detailed description of an Impiltur dynasty and called it "Heavy Lies the Crown," and Bill Someguy wrote up some crap called "Article of Niftiness," I'd be more likely to click on his article than yours. The new stuff page gives you very little info, so something's got to grab your attention to make you want to see the author and full description.
So that's my beef: I want to see the author info on that page, so I can eagerly click on something knowing it's good Krashlore, or just as eagerly avoid it because I know it's Someguy's crap. I know it's just an extra click to see if it's going to be of interest or not, but I'd still prefer to know that up front. |
| Gary Dallison |
Posted - 14 Jul 2016 : 17:53:15
Im eagerly awaiting the xmas piece. I really really hope its a narfell timeline and then i can really get to work on my damara and vaasa rewrite (assuming you dont mind me borrowing your work).
So is there any hint as to what is coming for gen con. Not that it matters what its about, im buying it anyway. |
| George Krashos |
Posted - 14 Jul 2016 : 16:44:38
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by The Masked Mage
I find DmG frustrating in my inability to find things.
My biggest complaint is that when perusing the list of new stuff, you can't see who wrote it. I'm much more likely to check out something if the author is George Krashos or Brian Cortijo, as opposed to Joe Randomdude or Bill Someguy -- but the DM's Guild doesn't let you see who the author was without clicking on the item entry. So Krash could write the niftiest thing ever, but if the name of the thing doesn't catch my attention, I'm not likely to even look at it. Conversely, Bill Someguy could write things that sound intriguing but prove to be utter crap -- if I see his name when looking thru the new stuff, then I would know to avoid it without even looking.
(And yes, I've downloaded at least one DM's Guild product that sounded intriguing, but failed to live up to its promise and was almost painful in how poorly written it was.)
You can actually search for articles by author name: if you type in "Krashos" all of my articles come up.
I'm working on something at the moment which should see the light of day after GENCON and will be free.
After that, hopefully by Xmas, a bigger piece which will have some historical import.
-- George Krashos |
| Gary Dallison |
Posted - 14 Jul 2016 : 16:06:40
Sounds like an awesome idea.
WoTC have all but abandoned any sense of canon (none of the latest releases seem to tie in together much with people and places disappearing and reappearing or being in conflicting locations) so i love the idea of policing our own canon.
Nice name for it as well. |
| Adhriva |
Posted - 14 Jul 2016 : 16:01:27
One idea that came up during work on my graphic novel was the "Herald project" (based on the Realm organization), a hypothetical community of loosely interconnected, high quality projects that shared resources with eachother (e.g. art assets, internal proofing, shared marketing, etc). It works off the same idea as brand standards in the business world with a few tweaks on the model.
Provides art, layouts, lorechecking, and editing - in return all that would be asked is to proof other projects from members to meet the same standards. As a buyer, if a product had the graphic and is listed as having went through the subcommunity's pipeline/approval, you know you're getting a professional quality product even if you don't know the author beforehand.
The idea started as a way to incorporate multimedia marketing techniques (e.g. what if this Eilastraeean drow companion of Prince Miritar showed up in Irennen's work too? Can you include this Irithyl villain of mine that gives Ilsevele such a hard time when you hit -339 in Netheril sourcebooks to help me set the stage?). Its been bouncing around in my head since the 'no narratives' rule was passed down since I found myself loosely connected to alot of lore-heavy projects around the community, but I've been slow to pitch it to people. Not sure how many would be interested. |
| Gary Dallison |
Posted - 14 Jul 2016 : 15:30:38
I have wondered if we should try and setup some kind of recommended titles page. The dms guild categories are bad and the review system there isnt working so perhaps we could post links and rate them and describe them in brief give an idea about the title, whats good or not etc.
|
| Brimstone |
Posted - 14 Jul 2016 : 15:26:31
Now I have to go and checkout those articles George wrote. |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 14 Jul 2016 : 14:56:07
Most likely not. It was an article on some magical swords... and it didn't even look like it had been spell-checked or proofread. |
