Crisis of the World Eater is NOW LIVE at Kickstarter!!!

Crisis of the World Eater is NOW LIVE at Kickstarter!!!  

Click on this link NOW and support this amazing kickstarter!!!

Coming Soon - Worlds of Obsidian Apocalypse Life After Undeath

I don really have to say much on this one, but Rich Redman knocked it out of the ball park for Obsidian Apocalypse suppliment. If you were a fan of WOTC's Ghostwalk, then you are looking at the cover to the spiritual successor to it for Pathfinder. What happens to you after you die in a post-apocalyptic survival horror fantasy setting? Buy it and find out. On sale next week at RPGNow.com, DriveThruRPG.com and Paizo.com. Talk to you later...

And the beat goes on...

Just a little update. Joshua Yearsley has been working like a mad man editing project for LPJ Design and it looks like we are going to have 5 ALL NEW products for our Obsidian Apocalypse line, including our inspired version of the WOTC Ghostwalk campaign setting. So expect to see a lot more material for Obsidian Apocalypse including the upcoming kickstarter, Cross of Fire Saga. Talk to you later...

What D&D campaign setting would you like to see converted in Pathfinder?

I am working on something for future release and I wanted to get feedback from the Pathfinder fan base: What four (4) D&D campaign setting would you like to see converted for use in Pathfinder? Edition doesn’t matter just the setting. Thanks!

Transparency Agenda #58: Marketing and 5E D&D

My comment on WOTC and 5E Dungeons and Dragons...

My feeling on WOTC and 5E Dungeons and Dragons are similar to my ex-girl friends; What do I care what they do, our relationship is over and I have moved on.  Talk to you later...

An Open Letter To WOTC - Save 3rd Party Dungeons And Dragons Publishers at Living Dice.com

Chris Dias of Dias Ex Machina Games has written a An Open Letter To Wotc: Save 3rd Party Dungeons And Dragons Publishers at Living Dice.com. You can read the letter and make you own opinions on it (I did here). But I have to say it has to be sad that you need to place a letter out there like this one two a company you are helping support by making product to help sell there lines.  I am so glad I don't have this relation with Paizo.  Talk about night and day.  I hope everythign works out for Chris, but I have a feeling we have seen he last of Dias Ex Machina Games.  Talk to you later...

Sometimes it drive me crazy when I know I am right and people think I'm crazy and then someone "respected in the industry" says the virtually exact same thing...

OK I said this: I thought the purpose was to get NEW players for the new D & D red box?!?!??! back in October 2010 and now look at the comments I received.  Now today I read this from Ryan Dancy's new column at EN World. Here is the direct link to the whole statement but here is the important part:

Second, I have no clue what Wizards thinks it is doing with the "red box". The Intro product for D&D has one, and only one purpose: To introduce 12-14 year old kids to the roleplaying hobby and start them on the path to become purchasers of the core books. That product must be designed to sell in mass market stores where it can get the widest possible distribution outside of the hobby core (where you can safely assume that gamers are teaching gamers without the need of a special product to do it). It must be priced correctly vs. the other games it is shelved with, and it must be packaged and presented in a way that a mother would be comfortable buying as a gift for the son or daughter of a friend.

The "red box" looks like a nostalgia product designed to be sold to 40 year-olds who want to relive a moment of their childhoods. I don't get the art or the font - neither will appeal to either kids or moms in CE2011. It doesn't look like any other products in the 4E line so how will people know that it connects? Doesn't even matter what's inside the box - this is one of those things that has to sell on its presentation on the shelf.


Well I guess it is good to know that once and a while I might actually know what I am doing here at this blog and running my company.  Now I just need for Hasbro to buy me out and give me a big check.  Talk to you later...

Be careful of the “successful” business advice you get even when it’s someone you trust, including me…

Matthew Sprange of Mongoose Publishing made an interesting The State of the Mongoose 2010 post that was an interesting read, but one thing really stood out to me that he wrote:

For the first time in nine years, I would advise anyone looking to launch a new RPG company to halt their plans, and wait to see what happens in the market next. Now is not a good time to launch a new company.

OK, I am just going to talk plain here because there is no need to beat around the bush on this one:

Starting a business is like having a baby, there is no RIGHT TIME to do it.

With children, you could have everything going for you with more money than god and you turn out a Paris Hilton or you could be a secretary from Nebraska and turn out Warren Buffet.  There is no guarantee of success. I have said this MANY time before, most business have a 90% failure rate in the first year; over the next five years, 90% of those business fail. There is no right time to start a business but starting when the market is down will teach you a lot more about survival than starting when everything is great.  Don’t believe me, think here is something for you to chew on how many people started a “RPG business” when WOTC announced the creation of the 3^rd edition of D&D and the OGL?  OK got that number in your head, now tell me how many of those business are still operating today?  Losing will teach you more about winning, than winning ever will.

When times are good everyone want to jump on the bandwagon and be part of the good thing.  That is happening right now with Paizo and Pathfinder’s success.  Every week lately you hear about a new company who is putting a new product to support them because the Paizo and Pathfinder line is doing so well.  I wonder how long it is going to take until these third party publishers create a bubble in the third party publisher support for Pathfinder? If it is anything like 3^rd Edition, It won’t be pretty. 

So if you want to start your own business, don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t just be aware of the dangers and handle them accordingly. And if you do fail, accept it and learn from the failure. Don’t be like those people who want to defer and pass the blame on someone and something other than themselves.  Accept the failure and THEN move on. It’s a marathon not a sprint.  Talk to you later… 

Meet the newesrt artist to LPJ Design: John Tyler Christopher

Maybe you have seen his work at Wizards of the Coast. Or maybe you have seen it at Marvel Comics. Or maybe you have seen it at Top Cow. But now you can see John Tyler Christopher's artwork at LPJ Design starting with the upcoming monster, the Necrostruct.  Take a looke at his gallery and expect to see his fantastic artwork on our products very soon.  Talk to you later... 

I thought the purpose was to get NEW players for the new D&D red box?!?!??!

Why in the world would you even put something as bad as that online when you have to compete with this level of quality and creativity if you want to get NEW players:

I would have fired the employee on the spot who presented this as a "good idea" to do.  WOTC proving once again they don't understand their market. Talk to you later...

Looking for a job? WOTC is hiring, just live near Seattle

WOTC is looking for a Table Top Games Manager - D&D but you better live near Seattle because there is no money for relocation.  So if you are looking for a job, love D&D and are near Seattle here is your chance.  Good luck!

RUMOR: WotC to stop reprinting 4E Core Books in favor of Essentials line

While these is not official proof to this rumor, this has been running wild on the internet. This will be the focus for a little while until WOTC proves it or disproves it to be true.  Keep watching the boards.  Talk to you later...

Congrats you got new positions at WOTC...how long until you are downsized?

At EN World on Monday May 17th news update, they announced that James Wyatt, Rodney Thompson and Mike Mearls all have new position at WOTC.  And the first thing that came to my mind was, should I start a "Death Pool" for how long they will keep their jobs? Because to me it seems not a matter of IT the will get fired / let go / downsized or whatever they call it it is a matter of WHEN it will happen.  Just something to think about. Talk to you later...

More Layoff at WOTC!!!

It seems that Andy Collins, Torah Cottrill and Jesse Decker have suffered a layoff from WOTC. I hope everything turns out for the best. I wonder how long until Paizo picks them up for work?

Get them hooked when they are young, and you have them for life...

I saw this D&D for the Children post over at the Purple Pawn's website talking about the Monster Slayer line from WOTC and it got me think about something Matt Forbeck said years ago to me, "You want to make D&D popular again, you have to capture the kid's interest early."  While this conversion and ruleset is based off of 4E, this is something that Paizo or a 3PP supporting them could do. Even better, find a way to box it up with miniatures and dice and get a $9.99 price point on it you have a great little Pathfinder "Basic edition" or "Starter Kit".  Just something to think about when you are wondering how to get new players interested in Pathfinder and Paizo.  Talk to you later...

Would Eberron have been successful if it WAS NOT made by WOTC?

While working on Pirates of the Bronze Sky, I came up with this little thought.  I have to think that "No, it would have not" is the correct answer to my question.  While and exciting and interested setting, there were several other of the setting that made it to the semifinalist round and were released to smaller RPG companies but never went ANYWHERE.  DawnForge and Morningstar are excellent examples of that. Does that mean Eberron was only good because Wizards of the Coast and their marketing budget made it successful not the actual quality setting and material itself? If Wayne Reynolds had not done the covers, would it have done as well? There are 24 RPG products, 40 novels, 1 comic book and two video games based off of the material in Eberron.  Is Eberron that good or is WOTC great at just marketing anything no matter the real quality level of the products they will sell?  Any setting that WOTC makes and would consider "niche", could support a small RPG company for years, if not a decade. Just something to think about next time you are putting together a setting for you RPG Company.  Talk to you later...

36th Annual Origins Awards - Rigged against big companies?

After looking at the 36th Annual Origins Awards Finalists, I have to wonder where is Paizo?  I mean, they didn't get ONE nomination?  Really?  The Origin Awards always confused me and then when a GAMA member explained how they get the nominations, it made me laugh.  The whole process sounded a little rigged to me and now these nomination I have to wonder is the whole process rigged?  I don't like WOTC in the least bit any more, but I know they should have been nominated for SOMETHING. No WOTC, Paizo or White Wolf products were finalist.  Does it sound funny to you?  Talk to you later...

LPJ Design’s Christmas gesture to the involuntarily parted former WotC employees…

After just reading what happened to several employees by WOTC, I felt a need to have to do something. Last year I also “involuntarily parted ways” with a former employer at Christmas which can mess up your holiday and self-esteem. So I am offer anyone who has “involuntarily parted ways” with WOTC today, That I will offer them a PAID freelance position with LPJ Design on a RPG mash-up Eberron / Spelljammer inspired project we have started working on called “Pirates of the Bronze Sky”, if you are interested. While this might not be a HUGE paying job (I am a PDF company after all) but if you really need the work, the jobs are there. You can email me directly at LMPjr007@aol.com. Hope everything works out either way. Have a good Christmas!

A change in the air...and with cashflow with WOTC?

Recently, two well known PDF supporter of WOTC 4E (Alluria Publishing and Alea Publishing Group) just release several Pathfinder Roleplaying supported products. I really don't know that much about Alluria Publishing, but I have been a fan of Alea Publishing Group since I saw their Feudual Lords Campaign Setting material. They are exactly what you want to see in a new publisher: interesting new product ideas, great design work and beautiful artwork. I was a little sad when I heard they were going to support WOTC 4E exclusively with the GSL but I understood why it made sense at the time. But as of late, Aluria just released their 3rd product for Pathfinder Roleplaying Game based off of their WOTC 4E material and now I have to wonder, what is going on. Why would these two companies who supported WOTC 4E, now being supportive of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game? Now they both could just like the system and what to support it. But I think this has more to do with WOTC 4E then actually these two companies.

Back on June 19th, Joseph Goodman of Goodman Games said in a post, "4E is doing well, very well." I never really believed that. It is hard to do "well, very well" in the middle of a recession and with nearly 10% of the US population out of work. That little fact might effect sales GREATLY. I know it effected my on RPGNow.com over the last year. Now with my Pathfinder Roleplaying Game sales doing much greater than expected (Like 3.0/3.5 OGL in the early years) I think Alluria Publishing and Alea Publishing Group just wanted to cover themselves with a little extra safety of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. Nothing wrong about that and it is good business to do it so I am all for it. But I have to wonder, how far down are WOTC 4E sales to look at the direct opposition of them to help you make money? Due to the GSL it is somewhat difficult to support the GSL and the 3.5 OGL/Pathfinder Roleplaying Game at the same time. So I have to wonder is it even tougher times ahead of publisher who supported WOTC 4E?

All I can say is, Thank you Paizo! Thank you of all the great work you have done supporting third party publishers and the OGL.