I think it's the top selling DF supplement, adjusting for time since release, since the first four, and maybe Treasure Tables. I'll have to look at my spreadsheet (yeah, I was curious and nerdy) when I get home.
I do remember that the supplements (after the first four) that sold well were more general: Monsters, Treasure Tables, and Power-Ups (IIRC). The ones that were tackled smaller areas, like Ninjas and Psis, didn't sell well (Psis sold especially poorly; there might be a length/price issue there too). Then again, neither did Loadouts, but Allies did sell well. So a supplement about monsters, which are pretty universal, is a safe bet. It's the reason I always tout Treacherous Traps (as long as it's short and thus fairly cheap) or Outdoor Adventures as good supplement ideas while disparage Outer Planes or Maritime Adventures as bad. The first two appeal to almost any campaign, while the latter two appeal to only small numbers of campaigns and will still need a long page count and thus cost.
Though I haven't done any sort of precise long-term tracking, I do note that Loadouts, though it doesn't sell explosively well, is about to catch up with its predecessor (sorry, Peter!), so that's another point in favor of your as-general-as-possible = sells-well premise.
Alright, the rankings of DF products after one year. I could use any time frame from 6 months onward, incidentally; there's like an R^2 of 0.98 for time frames after 6 months with 6 months. But I'll go a year, since every (pure, not counting Pyramid) DF product is at least a year old:
Notes: I think setting monsters as a sub-line and renumbering it helped. Some folks who might want one of the later supplements might think they need the earlier supplements and get scared off. There's a definite trending down with the timeline, but DFM1 has been the big exception there. I get an R^2 of 0.60 between date and first-year sales. Mirror of the Fire Demon was likely helped a bit as well by the renumbering.
Based on this, I'd suggest ditching the numbers for the DF line as well as focusing on general supplements. And more monsters, of course. I'd take that list of 30 classic monsters I wrote up a year or so ago and split it into two groups of 15, then make two supplements based on each group, with the last 15 monsters filled out with new creations, some duplication between the lists (why only one dragon or giant), and making sure there's at least one monster in each class (excepting Animal and Servitor of Good).
I think it's the top selling DF supplement, adjusting for time since release, since the first four, and maybe Treasure Tables. I'll have to look at my spreadsheet (yeah, I was curious and nerdy) when I get home.
ReplyDeleteI'd be very curious to know. I just hope that when the Ogre gets out of the way, that SJG decides they want another monsters book ASAP!
ReplyDeleteI do remember that the supplements (after the first four) that sold well were more general: Monsters, Treasure Tables, and Power-Ups (IIRC). The ones that were tackled smaller areas, like Ninjas and Psis, didn't sell well (Psis sold especially poorly; there might be a length/price issue there too). Then again, neither did Loadouts, but Allies did sell well. So a supplement about monsters, which are pretty universal, is a safe bet. It's the reason I always tout Treacherous Traps (as long as it's short and thus fairly cheap) or Outdoor Adventures as good supplement ideas while disparage Outer Planes or Maritime Adventures as bad. The first two appeal to almost any campaign, while the latter two appeal to only small numbers of campaigns and will still need a long page count and thus cost.
ReplyDeleteThough I haven't done any sort of precise long-term tracking, I do note that Loadouts, though it doesn't sell explosively well, is about to catch up with its predecessor (sorry, Peter!), so that's another point in favor of your as-general-as-possible = sells-well premise.
DeleteI would like a moster book for demons, Lovecraftian Elder Things and Faerie.
ReplyDeleteLooks like 21,000 monsters unleashed to me. :)
ReplyDeleteI was a liberal arts major!
DeleteWhat's an order of magnitude between friends?
DeletePeople have only used one in ten monsters so far?
DeleteThen it would be 7,000 monsters. They've only used 3, all horde pygmys.
DeleteCongrats Peter. It's an excellent product. I know I've used it in my game.
ReplyDeleteAlright, the rankings of DF products after one year. I could use any time frame from 6 months onward, incidentally; there's like an R^2 of 0.98 for time frames after 6 months with 6 months. But I'll go a year, since every (pure, not counting Pyramid) DF product is at least a year old:
ReplyDelete1) DF1: Adventurers (886 copies)
2T) DF2: Dungeons and DF3: The Next Level (707)
4) DF4: Sages (587)
5) DF Monsters 1 (570)
6) DF8: Treasure Tables (535)
7) DF9: Summoners (517)
8) DF5: Allies (511)
9) DF6: 40 Artifacts (495)
10) DF7: Clerics (481)
11) DF11: Power-Ups (457)
12) DF10: Taverns (454)
13) DFA1: Mirror of the Fire Demon (446)
14) DF13: Loadouts (426)
15) DF15: Henchmen (411)
16) DF12: Ninjas (403)
17) DF14: Psis (342)
Notes: I think setting monsters as a sub-line and renumbering it helped. Some folks who might want one of the later supplements might think they need the earlier supplements and get scared off. There's a definite trending down with the timeline, but DFM1 has been the big exception there. I get an R^2 of 0.60 between date and first-year sales. Mirror of the Fire Demon was likely helped a bit as well by the renumbering.
Based on this, I'd suggest ditching the numbers for the DF line as well as focusing on general supplements. And more monsters, of course. I'd take that list of 30 classic monsters I wrote up a year or so ago and split it into two groups of 15, then make two supplements based on each group, with the last 15 monsters filled out with new creations, some duplication between the lists (why only one dragon or giant), and making sure there's at least one monster in each class (excepting Animal and Servitor of Good).