GAMES IN FOCUS Adventure module gold Build a profitable module market by dventure modules are underrated. For are in a slump, but they’re actually in a “back JOSEPH years, some publishers have said “adven- to basics” mode. The days of d20 System Ature modules don’t sell.” But a growing splat books are over, as every store with five elf GOODMAN number of publishers are proving them wrong. sourcebooks on the shelf knows. The publish- President, Between Paizo Publishing, Goodman Games, ers that survived the d20 boom-and-bust cycle Goodman Games Green Ronin, Necromancer Games, and of learned to provide what gamers really need — course Wizards of the Coast, your store has a and what gamers really need on a regular basis wide assortment of adventure modules to offer are fantastic adventures. your d20 System and Dungeons & Dragons customers — and you should be making money Advantages of a strong modules category off them. When properly stocked, displayed, and pro- Adventure modules add a steady stream of moted, adventure modules have several obvious Adventure incremental sales to every role-playing game advantages as a category. line in your store. Just as Repeat Purchase Module: modules add video game consoles When a game master finishes a steady drive sales of game his level 1 adventure module, cartridges, properly he needs a level 2 adventure stream of designed role-play- module. Two weeks later he’ll incremental ing game lines use need a level 3 module, then sales to core rulebooks to level 4, and from there the drive sales of adven- cycle continues. If you can every role- ture modules. Every persuade your local groups playing game Dungeon Master’s to rely on adventure mod- line in your Guide that you sell ules, every sale today brings today should mean a in another sale tomorrow. store. Just as dozen adventure mod- Steady Release video game ules sold tomorrow. Schedule: More d20 consoles drive Goodman Games System and Dungeons & was the first to dem- Dragons adventure mod- sales of game onstrate this with ules are being released cartridges, its Dungeon Crawl every month, giving cus- Classics line of adven- tomers a reason to check properly ture modules, which in regularly. Between designed role- are “just d20 modules” Dungeon Crawl playing game but, nonetheless, con- Classics from Goodman sistently rank in the Games, the ramped-up lines use core Top 10 role-playing output from Wizards of the Coast, and other rulebooks to game lines. Other publishers have followed publishers, there are several new adventures drive sales suit, including Green Ronin with their available every month. Bleeding Edge adventure modules and the Shared Experiences: Adventure modules pro- of adventure Necromancer Games modules released by vide a common platform to experience a role-play- modules. Troll Lord Games, Kenzer & Company, ing game. Peruse the message boards at Wizards and White Wolf. Market trendsetter of the Coast’s web site to see just how many Wizards of the Coast has ramped up its gamers are playing Red Hand of Doom. These module output noticeably, and sister com- shared experiences give your regulars something Joseph Goodman is the presi- pany Paizo Publishing is making a splash common to talk about, an important foundation dent of Goodman Games. His with its Adventure Path series drawn to building a community at your store. “Every company publishes the best- from the pages of Dungeon magazine. game shop owner probably played Keep on the selling line of Dungeon Crawl There are a lot of options for role-playing Borderlands back in the day,” said Rob Schwalb, Classics adventure modules. gamers these days — and a lot of follow- line editor for Green Ronin Publishing’s Bleeding For more information, visit up options for your DMG sales. Edge adventures. “Giving their customers the www.goodman-games.com. Some might say role-playing games same experience unites the fan base.” 34 • Comics & Games Retailer • May 2007 www.comicsretailer.com New Customer Recruitment: “Adventures displayed like comics and were easy to How you choose are great teaching tools. For the new game mas- sort through. But since we got a spin- ter, adventures act as a first-time guide to sto- ner rack they’ve been selling even better, to sort modules rytelling,” said Paul Bazakas, National Account and they’re easier to shop.” can also make Director, Publishing, for Wizards of the Coast. The spinner rack in question was a difference. New players need the most help, and adventure supplied by Goodman Games, which modules show them how to play. The $2 pro- offers a spinner rack bundle with its While publisher motional adventures from Goodman Games are Dungeon Crawl Classics modules. brands do ideal for this; they’re so cheap they can literally “The spinner is great,” continued Tess, matter, the first be given away, and the company will provide “because little kids can look at the lower complimentary copies for special events. tiers while adults shop the higher tiers.” choice of most Up-sell Potential: The adventure module Whatever you do, make sure your game masters itself can be an up-sell from the Dungeon adventures are shelved face-out. “Module is character Master’s Guide. In turn, adventures often sup- art tells a story, like a movie poster,” said port sales of other rulebooks. “A D&D adventure Jacobs. “It’s heroes doing heroic things. level. may contain monsters with annotated rules fea- Third edition hardbacks tend to have styl- tured in another book,” continued Bazakas. “For ized ‘magic tome’ type covers that aren’t example, Expedition to Castle Ravenloft as eye-catching as the art on modules.” features rules from books How you choose to sort modules can including the Fiend Folio and also make a difference. While pub- Book of Vile Darkness. While lisher brands do matter, these books are not required the first choice to play the adventure, DMs of most game may end up picking them masters is char- up to expand their play acter level. “Shelve options.” all the publishers Plug-and-Play Utility: together, sorted Good adventures don’t by level,” recom- require much prep work. mends Bill Webb of They’re like “D&D in a Necromancer Games. bottle” — perfect for “Creating a ‘Modules the harried gamer who Central’ area also cre- just wants to play. “A ates a collectibility player needs to roll up effect — it indulges the a new character to use packrat aspect of the the prestige classes player.” and feats from a new sourcebook,” Selling more modules in said James Jacobs, your store editor-in-chief of As a storeowner or Dungeon maga- manager you probably zine. “But an adventure can already have modules for be integrated into an ongoing campaign.” sale. But you may not be Adventures that include pre-generated charac- selling as many as you could. ters are even more versatile; the pre-gens allow Understanding why customers buy adventure the module to be used as a one-shot or break modules will help you sell more of them. Here from a regular game. are tips from some of the industry’s most Collectibility: Adventure modules are more experienced sellers. likely to appreciate in value than any other role- Low-Level Sells Best: Every game starts playing game category. There might be gold in at 1st level — but how many advance past your backstock — more on that below. 10th? Low-level adventure modules will always be your best sellers. They’re easy to play as Displaying adventure modules pickup games, they appeal to new gamers, and Adventures are a challenge to display due many fans consider them more fun than the to their narrow spines. Creative retailers have rules-heavy games that happen at high levels. devised many good solutions, and publishers This is true even with long campaigns. “The are there to help. first issue of our Dungeon adventure paths “We used to keep the modules in a magazine always sell the best,” said Jacobs. “As the lev- box sorted by level,” said Rick Tess, manager els get higher, players migrate to other games of The Fantasy Shop in Florissant, MO. “They — often to start a new adventure path.” www.comicsretailer.com May 2007 • Comics & Games Retailer • 35 GAMES IN FOCUS I sell 20%-25% of my modules to them.” Finally, modules as a category offer a unique forecasting capabil- ity. Knowing your customers’ cam- paigns will tell you what to stock. For example, if you’re selling level 4 modules today, you’ll be selling level 5 modules tomorrow. If the Eberron campaign in your back room just finished the level 2 Wizards’ module Shadows of the Last War, odds are good they’ll be ready for the level 4 Wizards adventure Whispers of the Vampire’s Blade. Pay attention to the level range of your alpha gamers’ campaigns, and stock modules of the appropriate character levels. Ride the “Long Tail”: Unlike Follow the Level Pyramid: Low-level almost every other role-playing game category, adventures might sell best, but you need a adventure modules have a “long tail” — that full range to support every customer. What is, the backstock really sells. Along with core will a fan think when he finishes his 6th rulebooks, well-known adventure modules can level adventure, only to find you have noth- continue selling for a long, long time. Dungeon ing for 7th level? At that moment you’ll lose Crawl Classics #1: Idylls of the Rat King has him. But at the same time, you don’t need as been selling steadily since February 2003, and many 7th level adventures as 1st level ones.