The future of BIRTHRIGHT

[HSwiftfoot@aol.co]

Hey guys ---
I heard a nasty little rumor lately that WotC/TSR was "reviewing" the BR
product because it was not a hot seller, with the possiblity that it might be
either remarketed or discontinued. Can Ed comment on this at all? I am just
getting started with my first BR campaign and have fallen in love with the
system and Cerilia. Is there anything us devoted players and DMs can do to
save the product, if it is in fact in jeapardy?

Kevin

[Sepsis]

At 09:27 AM 10/18/97 -0400, Kevin(HSwiftfoot@aol.com)wrote:
>
>I heard a nasty little rumor lately that WotC/TSR was "reviewing" the BR
>product because it was not a hot seller, with the possiblity that it might be
>either remarketed or discontinued. Can Ed comment on this at all? I am just
>getting started with my first BR campaign and have fallen in love with the
>system and Cerilia. Is there anything us devoted players and DMs can do to
>save the product, if it is in fact in jeapardy?
>

It is true that the original BR sales are not what TSR had hoped for, but
at least through '98 BR is safe. TSR/WotC will be watching the sales of BR
products over the next year, before they make any final decisions. As for
what we Players can do: First, don't panic. If you start openly worrying
about the fate of BR you might scare off potential gamers. We don't want
that. Secondly, be sure to tell everyone you can about how great BR is. The
more people we get to play, and support, BR the longer it will be around.
Lastly, buy as many BR products as you can afford. They are watching sales,
so the more the better. Also you can e-mail(or snail-mail)TSR/WotC and tell
them how much you love the setting, and would be devastated if it was
discontinued. Just remember at the moment BR is safe, but we still need to
do our part to keep it around in the future.


Sepsis, richt@metrolink.net (ICQ:3777956)

"War is a matter of vital importance to the State;
the province of life or death;
the road to survival or ruin.
It is mandatory that it be thoroughly studied."
-Sun Tzu,(The Art of War)-

BR Netbook: http://webpages.metrolink.net/~veleda/birth.html

[Tripp Elliott]

HSwiftfoot@aol.com wrote:
>
> Hey guys ---
> I heard a nasty little rumor lately that WotC/TSR was "reviewing" the BR
> product because it was not a hot seller, with the possiblity that it might be
> either remarketed or discontinued. Can Ed comment on this at all? I am just
> getting started with my first BR campaign and have fallen in love with the
> system and Cerilia. Is there anything us devoted players and DMs can do to
> save the product, if it is in fact in jeapardy?
>
> Kevin


Oh please, not this again, didn't we just finish a round of this
discussion?

Tripp

[Glenn Robb]

> Hey guys ---
> I heard a nasty little rumor lately that WotC/TSR was "reviewing" the B=
R
> product because it was not a hot seller, with the possiblity that it mi=
ght be
> either remarketed or discontinued. Can Ed comment on this at all? I a=
m just
> getting started with my first BR campaign and have fallen in love with =
the
> system and Cerilia. Is there anything us devoted players and DMs can d=
o to
> save the product, if it is in fact in jeapardy?

I've thought of a way. We as Birthright fans can show our love by asking=
WotC
(at TSR@aol.com) that we like it and we would like it to continue. Maybe=
another
way is to submit our Birthright Adventure Modules to Dungeon as a way to =
show
them that there is a market for this great product.

Just my two gold ingots.

=97 Elton Robb

[Ed Stark]

At 09:27 AM 10/18/97 -0400, you wrote:
>Hey guys ---
>I heard a nasty little rumor lately that WotC/TSR was "reviewing" the BR
>product because it was not a hot seller, with the possiblity that it might be
>either remarketed or discontinued. Can Ed comment on this at all? I am just
>getting started with my first BR campaign and have fallen in love with the
>system and Cerilia. Is there anything us devoted players and DMs can do to
>save the product, if it is in fact in jeapardy?
>
Actually, ALL our product lines got reviewed after the acquisition, and
lines on hiatus (such as Dark Sun, Mystara, etc.) are also undergoing
review. BR, we were told, had a high cost of goods for its sales, and is
going to need to perform well to stick around (as are a few other lines).

This means we've been looking at ways to cut costs (no more full color 32
or 64 page books, but plenty of nice B&W and 2 color art, for example), and
to increase interest in the line. Obviously, we'd have to keep producing BR
for this to happen. While I can't go into specifics, we've got a full
schedule of '98 product and, as you all probably know, we think more than
one year in the future at TSR/WotC (heck, I wrote Legends of the Hero-Kings
in early '95 and it didn't come out until late '96--on schedule).

Does this mean BR's gonna stick around? Hey, it's got as much chance as
just about everything else--which is pretty good. You're going to see a lot
more BR product before we give this puppy up, unless someone's been keeping
me writing things for the better part of a year that they don't intend to
publish.

More when the catalog comes out ...
Ed Stark
Game Designer, Wizards of the Coast/TSR Division
Asst. Brand Manager, BIRTHRIGHT/GREYHAWK/MARVEL Group
TSR Website: http://www.tsrinc.com

[Ed Stark]

At 11:33 AM 10/18/97 -0400, you wrote:
>It is true that the original BR sales are not what TSR had hoped for, but
>at least through '98 BR is safe. TSR/WotC will be watching the sales of BR
>products over the next year, before they make any final decisions. As for
>what we Players can do: First, don't panic. If you start openly worrying
>about the fate of BR you might scare off potential gamers. We don't want
>that. Secondly, be sure to tell everyone you can about how great BR is. The
>more people we get to play, and support, BR the longer it will be around.
>Lastly, buy as many BR products as you can afford. They are watching sales,
>so the more the better. Also you can e-mail(or snail-mail)TSR/WotC and tell
>them how much you love the setting, and would be devastated if it was
>discontinued. Just remember at the moment BR is safe, but we still need to
>do our part to keep it around in the future.
>
Y'know, forget I answered this question at all. Sepsis, that's a great answer.
Thanks.


Ed Stark
Game Designer, Wizards of the Coast/TSR Division
Asst. Brand Manager, BIRTHRIGHT/GREYHAWK/MARVEL Group
TSR Website: http://www.tsrinc.com

[Ed Stark]

At 11:21 AM 10/18/97 -0600, you wrote:

>I've thought of a way. We as Birthright fans can show our love by asking
WotC
>(at TSR@aol.com) that we like it and we would like it to continue. Maybe
another
>way is to submit our Birthright Adventure Modules to Dungeon as a way to show
>them that there is a market for this great product.
>
>Just my two gold ingots.
>
While the first idea is good, the second is terrific. With some of the
stuff i've seen on this mailing list, and on some of the websites, I can't
BELIEVE you people haven't been writing BR stuff for DRAGON, DUNGEON, and
POLYHEDRON. PLEASE start sending stuff in. That gets noticed, and it really
pleases the readers as well.

Ed Stark
Game Designer, Wizards of the Coast/TSR Division
Asst. Brand Manager, BIRTHRIGHT/GREYHAWK/MARVEL Group
TSR Website: http://www.tsrinc.com

[Glenn Robb]

> At 11:21 AM 10/18/97 -0600, you wrote:
>
> >I've thought of a way. We as Birthright fans can show our love by ask=
ing
> WotC
> >(at TSR@aol.com) that we like it and we would like it to continue. Ma=
ybe
> another
> >way is to submit our Birthright Adventure Modules to Dungeon as a way =
to show
> >them that there is a market for this great product.
> >
> >Just my two gold ingots.
> >
> While the first idea is good, the second is terrific. With some of the
> stuff i've seen on this mailing list, and on some of the websites, I ca=
n't
> BELIEVE you people haven't been writing BR stuff for DRAGON, DUNGEON, a=
nd
> POLYHEDRON. PLEASE start sending stuff in. That gets noticed, and it re=
ally
> pleases the readers as well.
>

Thanks for your two gold ingots, Ed. I'll start considering writing an a=
rticle to
Dragon Magazine, as you others, please follow suit. I'll start writing a=
rticles
on Birthright only after I have gotten an article or two in about my own =
Creation
(which does have a Birthright element in it, although it was conceived be=
fore BR
was probably in the drawing board).

Now, if I can just think of a suitable article when the time comes around=
. . .
blooded psionicists maybe? Gosh, I really like them!

=97 Elton Robb
"Your Generously Liberal GM."