Tom G of Tabletop Bookshelf

Looking for rare tomes at the Ren Faire today

I got an email today from someone thanking me for the shop, how it "opened up a window" back into their younger life and I just... it's a lot 🥹

I'm just going to start every post I do now with a luke-warm "D&D is dead" and then redirect them to the good stuff

post a D&D take, get the most views and likes in months

yea, I agree there's a line where the regular sales / revenue from a title is so low that it makes sense or if you want to get people introduced to the system. Good points!

I see it through that marketing lens, but it feels to me like very expensive marketing as you are giving away your work for free. But if you don't have a traditional ad budget, I can see the appeal, the costs are largely hidden.

Humble Bundle is part of a big for-profit media conglomerate. The charity is dependent on a profit being made for Ziff-Davis shareholders.

So even if publishers are ok with it not being a good deal, it's obviously a good deal (profitable) for Ziff-Davis or they wouldn't be doing it.

Humble RPG Bundle: Roll Big or Go Home RPG Megabundle Get the most epic tabletop role-playing game bundle ever with hot games from top publishers like Magpie Games, Renegade Game Studios, Green Ronin Publishing, and more!

I want be clear, I'm on a fact-finding mission.

I'm struggling to understand how a deal like this is good for the creators and publishers involved. Help me understand.

www.humblebundle.com/books/roll-b...

I'm so thrilled to get this review series up and running, love to find ways to direct the shop's budget back towards the community. The virtuous cycle continues!

At least for us Alchemy appears to operate on a % cut of sales for any module they develop in house under license. This means there's an incentive at play to focus on ones most likely to produce a worthwhile revenue stream, so no surprise they've picked up working on Blades in the Dark for us.

Thanks for the info! Perhaps better said, their incentives aren't as necessarily aligned towards publishers.

VTTs are great for players but a huge pain in the ass for publishers/creators. Alchemy seems to understand this (but I'm not sure what they charge). Foundry is great if you have a dedicated plugged-in fanbase.

Roll20 doesn't care because... well... I have my suspicions.

Work Sucks is our next game in our skinny zine ttrpg collection. Play as energy vampires and procrastinate installing printers to drain the office of its energy, but don't get caught!

Thanks to Katherine Souza for the amazing art 🤩 Check out her work at: www.katherinesouza.art

Midnight Muscadines - The Cozy-Dark TTRPG of Magical Jams Midnight Muscadines is a cozy-dark tabletop roleplaying game of dice, playing cards, and magical jams. Magic is waning. Find, collect, and preserve the last sources of magic into highly coveted jams t...

long weekend = crowdfund slowing down... help us get it moving again!
www.backerkit.com/c/projects/p...

There really is something magical about a book.

You imbue this physical object with artwork and possibilities and people will sacrifice something to hold it, to have it, to flip through it.

For centuries this has been true!

Firelights by Fari RPGs A Solo Metroidvania Condensed RPG

Kaiya's Indie RPG Folder 096
Firelights by @rpdeshaies.farirpgs.com (fari-rpgs.itch.io/fi...)
Downloaded 2/1/23

An artfully dense game, crammed on a single trifold. I was working on the Aspire SRD at around the same time, so of course I approve of the "roll dice against a card value" mechanic.

Six character classes for the Midnight Muscadines RPG. A weary forager, a buff, masked apiarist, a tattooed goth of a cartographer, a black mage-flavored healer, a ranger in heavy leathers, and a wanderlustian with a jaunty cape and big old boots.

Have I shared the class/playbook arts for the Midnight Muscadines around here? I rather like how the color palette worked out for this one.

The fans asked for it, and Evil Hat delivers! Deep Cuts, in printed hardcover form. Check out the link below to be notified when it launches.

If you are saying BE COOL things around you are most certainly not cool

Saturday was a good day at the Midwest Gaming Classic, but Sunday was a bust.

I had a lot of fun talking up TTRPGs, but given the time -- not to mention the truly terrible experience of loading in and out of the 3rd floor of the Baird Center -- I can't justify bringing the shop back next year. 😞

definitely depends on the audience and product, at my scale it's a minor optimization, most important thing is I do no harm if I make any changes.

Thanks! It's kind of a minor thing, but realized I have no clue how people actually feel about it

TTRPG creators, can you help me as a re-evaluate my pricing strategy?

Do you have an issue with me (or any retailer for that matter) offering your books a few cents below MSRP, even if it's then lower than the price on your personal website?

For example, $19.95 vs $20 MSRP

Pocketopia is a crowdfunding event focusing on pocket-sized tabletop games.

Here are five TTRPGs from Pocketopia that I recommend checking out!

One of the secrets of the shop is that I turn my inventory (sell through what's on hand) 12 times per year. The average bookstore does 4-6 turns per year. This keeps the collection dynamic and prices stable (less discounting needed).

Excited to have another opportunity to share the collection and connect in person - stop by and say hi!

What TTRPGs do you think have stellar play examples in them?

If you are more interested in indie or narrative games, it's trickier. For example, I didn't see any Evil Hat games run besides one PbtA game.

I'll likely be helping to change that next year.

Overall GaryCon was a positive experience. Made some connections, found new products for the shop, and got to play some games for the first time.

If you are into D&D in any form or iteration, GaryCon is a great option in a nice location (if the March weather is kind).

thank you so much!