A New Project - Interested?

[MongooseMatt]

Hi guys,

There is a project we have been mulling around here at Mongoose. It is more for the B5 non-gamer, but this is as good a place top start as any.

Would you be interested in The Complete Babylon 5 Encyclopaedia? It would cover all aspects of the Babylon 5 universe, from technologies and armed forces, to minor alien governments and the nooks & crannies of the Babylon 5 station. No game rules, just pure background, anecdotes, chronologies, maps, and so forth. If we went ahead, all items would, of course, have the blessings of the Great Maker himself, JMS.

We would be looking at producing this attractively bound set over a 1, 2 or 3 year period (depending on interest), with people subscribing for, say, $29.95 a month or $300 a year. All postage costs included.

For this you get a book a month, plus something 'else'. This could be a Ranger pin, a map of the station, a map of the galaxy, an attractive bookshelf. . .

So, just an idea at the moment - but would you be interested?

 

[katadder]

sounds good but quite expensive.

 

[H]

hmm, I remember a B5 guide early on during the series, possibly produced by chanel 4. Such items are cool, and help clarify the huge inconsistencies if they become approved by JMS. However it is a tad pricey. Have you thought about doing a CD rom like they did for the starwars stuff, was way better than the weekly publication.
And really, I would much prefer Mongoose to concentrate on getting things out on time, and overcoming the consistent printing "issues"

 

[FuryMaster]

I would buy this but I hope resources aren't taken from Bab RPG.

 

[Greg Smith]

I would love a B5 encyclopeadia.

I have three editions of the Star Trek Encyclopeadia. I subscribed the Star Trek Fact Files, which ran for 300 issues and finished up in a stack of binders around 4 feet high.

I would certainly buy a 700+ page hardback (like the ST ones, arguably B5 wouldn't need to be so big). I might even subscribe to a monthly format (the Star Trek FF were £1.95/week with a 10%discount for subscription).

But at those prices, heck no!

 

[Tank]

I'd def buy a consolidated Encyclopedia but dont think I could afford a monthly thing.

 

[Shadow Queen]

a bit pricy

 

[MongooseMatt]

a bit pricy

Interesting comments for these - because you pay them for RPGs So, what is going on here? Are you seeing some additional worth in an RPG book?

Thinking about it, I should also have added an option that states whether you are buying the script books too. . .

 

[Darkblade55]

I like the idea.

I have a CD-Rom at home which is an encyclopaedia for B5 but don't think it covers everything.

The only thing that would put me off is the price as it seems a little pricey to me.

 

[Shadow Queen]

how about a choice of what the "people" want like x of one and y of something differant

 

[H]

a bit pricy

Interesting comments for these - because you pay them for RPGs So, what is going on here? Are you seeing some additional worth in an RPG book?

Thinking about it, I should also have added an option that states whether you are buying the script books too. . .

In All fairness matt, RPG's are overpriced as well, but the going rate is pretty much what everyone pays. plus you have a choice with an RPG to just buy the core rulebook and one or two supplements, and not EVERYTHING. but for an encyclopaedia, you'd not have the choice to be selective, as of course it owuld then be incomplete

 

[MongooseMatt]

In All fairness matt, RPG's are overpriced as well, but the going rate is pretty much what everyone pays. plus you have a choice with an RPG to just buy the core rulebook and one or two supplements, and not EVERYTHING. but for an encyclopaedia, you'd not have the choice to be selective, as of course it owuld then be incomplete

Your latter point is certainly valid. However, your first. . .

We have pretty much proved (as have certain other publishers) that, to a point, RPGs are price-insensitive. It is not a case of people will pay anything, but they are also clearly not treated in the same way as mass-production hardbacks.

Going back to the last point. Suppose we were to do only 500 of these books - would that make a difference, the collectible nature?

Just shooting the breeze with ideas here

 

[TenaciousB]

Sounds good in principle, but how canon would it be?

Also seems quite expensive, considering that a quick search on Google would suffice for most things.

Don't think it would appeal to me, but I certainly know a few people who love fluff!

 

[MongooseMatt]

Sounds good in principle, but how canon would it be?

If we couldn't make it 100% canon, we wouldn't bother.

 

[H]

In All fairness matt, RPG's are overpriced as well, but the going rate is pretty much what everyone pays. plus you have a choice with an RPG to just buy the core rulebook and one or two supplements, and not EVERYTHING. but for an encyclopaedia, you'd not have the choice to be selective, as of course it owuld then be incomplete

Your latter point is certainly valid. However, your first. . .

We have pretty much proved (as have certain other publishers) that, to a point, RPGs are price-insensitive. It is not a case of people will pay anything, but they are also clearly not treated in the same way as mass-production hardbacks.

Going back to the last point. Suppose we were to do only 500 of these books - would that make a difference, the collectible nature?

Just shooting the breeze with ideas here

it would certainly appeal to the fan boys out there. make sure you sell it pre shrink wrapped so they never open it, and won't have to worry about fingerprints on the pages ;-)

 

[Reaverman]

Sounds good in principle, but how canon would it be?

If we couldn't make it 100% canon, we wouldn't bother.

Sounds very cool, I like it. On the note of Canon, sure all you need to do is put a little icon up near the entry, stating whether its Canon etc.

It would be really cool, if it was done in the image of a webbrowser, or something similar to Wikipedia. Maybe data amendments from ficticious characters, adding comments to the orginal entry on that page. Maybe giving GM's ideas, to further adventures in their campaigns.

 

[Tank]

What? like the Shadowrun source books? :lol:

 

[Shadow Queen]

In All fairness matt, RPG's are overpriced as well, but the going rate is pretty much what everyone pays. plus you have a choice with an RPG to just buy the core rulebook and one or two supplements, and not EVERYTHING. but for an encyclopaedia, you'd not have the choice to be selective, as of course it owuld then be incomplete

Your latter point is certainly valid. However, your first. . .

We have pretty much proved (as have certain other publishers) that, to a point, RPGs are price-insensitive. It is not a case of people will pay anything, but they are also clearly not treated in the same way as mass-production hardbacks.

Going back to the last point. Suppose we were to do only 500 of these books - would that make a difference, the collectible nature?

Just shooting the breeze with ideas here

it would certainly appeal to the fan boys out there. make sure you sell it pre shrink wrapped so they never open it, and won't have to worry about fingerprints on the pages ;-)

You mean LBH???

 

[Greg Smith]

Interesting comments for these - because you pay them for RPGs So, what is going on here? Are you seeing some additional worth in an RPG book?

Thinking about it, I should also have added an option that states whether you are buying the script books too. . .

As the B5 RPG books get further from the beaten track, I am not buying them.

I'm not buying the script books. Again $500+ dollars is too pricey.

I would definitely buy a single large hardback (or two or three volumes) even at small press prices. But I certainly wouldn't go for the subscription route you described.

 

[Nikopol]

Like a lot of people here, I like the idea but it's a lot of money - in my case - just for «background building» for my players...I like B5 but mostly for its Roleplaying potential...I'm not a hardcore fan...

If I may, one thing I would definitely buy would be a collection of B5 "props" on a DVD. An example of what I mean : a Babcom interface (could be done in Flash for instance...) that the GM can use from his laptop to send message to the players on their laptop...this is just one example but the possibilities are endless...I will probably get this interface done one day (being a web Integrator myself) when I get the time...