Adept Press print stuff.

[Wulf]

My FLGS has basically given up on finding Sex & Sorcery (the book that is...) through his distributor, so I was going to order direct on the Adept Press website. However, while I was there, a vague memory, or maybe a figment of my imagination, suggested I could also get a print copy of Trollbabe. Is that imaginary, or is/was there a print version of Trollbabe?

Wulf

[joshua neff]

Not yet, but it's coming. When? Only Ron can say. I, for one, am eagerly anticipating it.

[Ron Edwards]

Hiya,

Hmm, I'm kind of annoyed about the Sex & Sorcery report. Your FLGS simply isn't doing its job. The book should be available via a snap of the fingers through Alliance, the primary national distributor in the States, and through a variety of international ones as well.

And if it's not, then a quick contact call or email to Tundra Sales Organization, my warehouser, will get it delivered anywhere in the world very quickly.

But all that aside, let's talk Trollbabe. I'd wanted very much to get a print version available for GenCon, especially with a fairly radical re-write based on all the great feedback I've received for a couple of years. But I want to do it very well, and to produce an RPG that will knock anyone's eyes out and practically drag the reader into actual play from merely scanning the pages.

And time is hitting me hard lately - not only real-job stuff, but all the Forge and Forge-booth efforts are taking their toll. I barely got Elfs out, and that suffered a bit, as it turned out. So I really want to take my time with Trollbabe.

Best,
Ron

[Wulf]

Hmm, I'm kind of annoyed about the Sex & Sorcery report. Your FLGS simply isn't doing its job. The book should be available via a snap of the fingers through Alliance, the primary national distributor in the States, and through a variety of international ones as well.

I'm in the UK, so I think it's Esdevium.

No, I think he's trying, he just has a problem that a lot of stull I ask for simply is not on his lists (like both Eden Studios Book of Archetypes 1 & 2). Even when I gave him the product ID for Archetypes 1 it took a couple of weeks to find. He doesn't get the stuff on his order forms, and the supplier won't supply if it's not on the form.

Admittedly, lately I've felt he may be muffling the sound of the bilge pumps in case the rats overhear, but as a long-time buyer (25 years plus), and drinking buddy, I will stand by him as long as I can.

Wulf

[Wulf]

No, I think he's trying, he just has a problem that a lot of stull I ask for simply is not on his lists

That should have been 'stuff', clearly. Annoyingly, I didn't notice within the edit time limit... I wouldn't mind, but the 'l' is nowhere near the 'f' !

Wulf

[Ron Edwards]

Hello,

I shall rant a little, although Wulf, none of this is directed at your FLGS guy specifically.

I think one of the most frustrating features of retailer-distributor interactions, for me, is the focus on lists. Call me paranoid, but I have had way too much experience seeing games arrive in the interim between inventory and list-making (and hence not get listed) as well as seeing titles persist on a list simply because they were on it previously, regardless of their presence/absence in actuality. I've seen this happen at the store level and heard about it through verbal accounts ("unnamed sources") in distribution. It's also a big deal in comics sales, and my experiences as a semi-insider in that culture don't inspire a lot of confidence about what may or may not be happening for RPGs.

Especially since we are not dealing with huge-ass corporations like AT&T or Abbott Pharmaceuticals or Arthur Anderson. Even the biggest stores and distributors in the hobby games & comics biz are penny-ante by any stretch of the economic imagination, and staffed by what amount to (a) enthusiasts who could be making more money doing something else and (b) low-motivation hangers-on who have managed to insert themselves into a low-expectation working environment. My point is that simple phone calls and emails are often enough to get X accomplished as long as you find one of the (a)-ish individuals rather than a (b)-ish one.

Ring ring. "Hello, King-Bob Distributors, Bob's brother-in-law speaking." "This is Stan at Stan's Game Emporium. Can you send me three copies of Sex & Sorcery?" "Oh man, I dunno, we did our shipping last week, and it's not on the list, and ..." "Is Bob there?" "Um, yeah." "Let me talk to him." .... "Bob? I need some Sex & Sorcery, and it looks like it fell through the cracks, can you slam it in the mail?" "No problem, Stan."

Seems to me that a retailer who really values the presence of a particular customer in his store, or the presence of a game which sells steadily (note: as opposed to rapidly) in his store, would go this extra step once in a while.

Anyway. This little vent has been delivered free of charge. Since I recognize that such interactions as the above can't be relied on for every freaking small-press title out there (contrary to popular perception, I do sympathize with the responsible retailer's need to use centralized ordering), the website ordering is there for backup.

Best,
Ron

[Wulf]

I shall rant a little, although Wulf, none of this is directed at your FLGS guy specifically.

No problem, no-one, on the face of this Earth, rants like Tom does anyway...

I think one of the most frustrating features of retailer-distributor interactions, for me, is the focus on lists. Call me paranoid, but I have had way too much experience seeing games arrive in the interim between inventory and list-making (and hence not get listed) as well as seeing titles persist on a list simply because they were on it previously,

Exactly the problem. Not with Sex & Sorcery, but with Eden Studios stuff. They produce so many titles so quickly that the lists are indeed out of date. And the update lists Tom gets either don't include them (I sometimes feel they only list the big sellers), or take many extra weeks. It's certainly difficult to advance-order something that hasn't been advertised months in advance.

Anyway, this all isn't Adept Press' fault. I look forward to Trollbabe hardcopy. Meanwhile, ooh, look.... Donjon hardcopy...

Wulf

[stingray20166]

Hey, Ron -- could you elaborate on this?  How did Elfs suffer?  More importantly, should I wait to order a revised edition or something?

I barely got Elfs out, and that suffered a bit, as it turned out.

[Ron Edwards]

Hiya,

Elfs has a couple of layout glitches, such as the beginning line of one chapter appearing at the bottom of the final page of the previous chapter, but nothing that detracts from its usable content or the overall spiffy look of the book.

Obviously I want you to buy at least one copy, or preferably ten, right now. The "publisher hat" overrides the others, when people ask questions like that. If I'd considered the minor errors to be major enough to detract from the book, then I would have mulched the print run.

Best,
Ron

[8bitjunkie]

Ron,
Just curious...will Trollbabe print edition contain some of your cool comic strips?