I've been starting to put stuff online for my TTRPGs content. Most of it is for either older editions of DnD, or non DnD games. I've posted loads of homebrew on here over the past decade. Reading pic related made me wonder if I should just start to grind on making shit for 5e snd shilling it online. Make clickbaity YouTube videos and shill the shit out of them. Use it promote my likely-mediocre adventures. I only make 49k a year and I could live on as little as 12k a year if I had to. 5e consoomerism has sucked a lot of the fun out of RPGs for me. I love making stuff and while I'd hate to adapt it to 5e it's something id be capable of doing. Should I?
I have no idea if anyone actually buys the shovelware you see on DMs Guild. The only time I’ve ever payed for anything on DMs Guild was to leak it
How about you get a real fricking job and keep your hobbies as hobbies so you don't start resenting them
This anon gets it. Turning a hobby into a job sucks the joy out of it, and having to get onto the social media advertising grind is ABSOLUTELY going to crush the soul out of it.
You love making stuff, you'll hate it once you are beholden to an audience, having to grow that audience and reach customers, having to convince them to pay for your stuff, and having to moderate what you make to the pulse of that audience.
It. Sucks. Balls.
Why not get a real job?
I have a real job and it fricking sucks ass. Being an author is the only career path that has ever appealed to me but that's not an option for any but the very best since people don't read anymore. That's true of TTRPGs creation too but I feel like it's easier to excel there.
>Also no one cares about homebrew shit.
I mean like modules. Not classes and feats, those are mistrusted and for good reason. But an unbalanced monster or module only has to be dealt with once.
>I have a real job and it fricking sucks ass. Being an author is the only career path that has ever appealed to me but that's not an option for any but the very best since people don't read anymore. That's true of TTRPGs creation too but I feel like it's easier to excel there.
The vast majority of books never sell more than a handful of copies legitimately.
These days it's almost entirely about who you know, what contracts you can get because of who you know, and what connections those people have.
The TTRPG industry isn't that different.
Before the sudden influx of casuals coming in, it was pretty normal for people to say you're in the industry out of passion because you will not be the breadwinner for a family of 4 + dog.
With the influx, not only are non-mainstream games pushed even further to the margins due to all of the people suddenly trying to market to those fad-chasers, but the money flow is even more determined by marketing than it used to be.
So if you really want to sell something in the TTRPG space, you need to first of all make it, maybe make several its, and then get someone with influence/connections to pick you up. Whether this be completely natural (they find you) or you send them free copies and they give a glowing review, or you suck their dick (or bribe them) until they talk well enough about you for you to benefit, that's the only way you'll get any eyeballs on your product, and even then it's not many.
Buddies of mine who produce TTRPG products these days often say that if you live outside of US/CAN/Developed-Europe, you can cover your rent with sales of a few modules due to the dripfeed effect you'll get from people who just buy up whatever they see, but never more than that.
If you're in a place that costs money to live, you'll get a grocery trip or two in, assuming you get recognized enough to actually sell and have enough products out there for people to buy 2 or 3.
I don't think you know what you're competing against. For modules people are fans of Ravenloft, Planescape, Dragonlance, Forgotten Realms, Golarian, and Monster of the Week. Those are the brands. You aren't it. They're not looking for new worlds, they're looking for more of their world.
What do you have going for you makes what you're doing worth my interest? What are you doing that i can't brew myself and be happy with because i made it?
If you want to make money with TTRPG content, yes. DnDogshit 5e is the ONLY viable option.
If you want to retain any dignity, self-respect, or the pride of knowing you're making good content for a fanbase that deserves it, frick no, stay away from DnDogshit at all costs.
At least pretend to be smart enough to pirate and read any game rulebook before shill riding the failed paizo transtrenderdildo.
Content creation is an all-the-time job. Writing splats for 5e is not exactly a small undertaking either. And in either case, you can be working 100 hour weeks churning out D&D slop content to get those precious subs and views and shilling your newest book, gaymon's Guide to Buttplugs and other Mystic Insertables, and still only make a couple hundred bucks a year for your troubles.
Sure, but unless you're a YT or Twitch superstar, you're going to end up in the red vs driving for Uber.
The 5e youtube niche is already oversaturated as frick, you can't outcompete the other creators. Most people at the top there don't actually know shit about tabletop RPGs, they just know how to play the algorithm. There is basically no passion involved with being successful on Youtube unless you're pioneering a new niche.
Also no one cares about homebrew shit.
Yeah, at this point the only way to succeed in the D&D YouTube game is to pay some mid cosplay thot to read your script.
You could make things for whatever system you actually like, and then figure out some way to translate it over to 5E. Also you could maybe try kickstarter but who knows how well that will go.
Find muppets willing to pay you to create their idea.
We live in the era of endemic ADHD, Youtube success is all about presentation and very little about content. Just look at the most popular 5e channels. A good chunk of them are animated channels or have some artsy more presentable style. You have Puffin Forest who is objectively a moron but has a recognizable animation style and basically blew up on being an early form of those "tell D&D stories" channels. You have that Ginny Di chick who is a girl, isn't ugly, and does cosplay and that pretty much covers the presentation front. You have Jocat who has a pretty cool art/animation style. And there's Critical Role with people who were already famous in the first place and do nice voice acting. The vast majority of the people who actually offer good content have very low subs and care little for presentation, comparatively.
Hell, even Seth despite having some very high quality content probably wouldn't have gotten 100k subs without the skits with all his personas.
Better make a video of you killing yourself, OP.
>Hell, even Seth despite having some very high quality content probably wouldn't have gotten 100k subs without the skits with all his personas.
Seth's personas aren't even funny. The good things about him are his anecdotes on the social side of the hobby.
>Seth's personas aren't even funny.
I like them
The right way is to sell out early, then do stuff that you like once you basked on the glory and the dosh.
Id say wait, make it for ToV. That way its under ORC and thus avoids OGL and u retain full ownership of it and it remains 5e compatible if that popularity link matters.
If you'd enjoy it and find fulfillment from it, sure, you should go for it.
I can't stand D&D 5e and most of its defenders/fans/shills, and I wish WotC would burn, but I earnestly support a well-meaning Anon trying to enrich his life in his own way.
What's important is balancing a healthy mindset with prosperity, which is something most people in this societal rat race forget. And, if you start up and find that you are dissatisfied in any way, you shouldn't burn yourself out or drag yourself along with something you dislike.
Best of luck, whatever you decide.
You don't have to choose.
Don't rush.
First, do some good 5e work. Show that you know what you're doing. Some interesting adventures, NPCs, monsters. Give it personality and charm, but keep it 5e. With some luck, you will do well.
Second, do another one, with some optional rules, good ideas, stuff that lets your fanbase experiment beyond the from the confort zone. It helps if its something tied to your own campaign setting.
Third, build a new product for those who want to try something different. If your first and second products are good enough, your fanbase will most likely want to at least know what are you on about. Maybe they already are interested in your writing and style, or just curious about how your new stuff fits in the campaign setting.
Do your best work to hook new players, make your material interesting, light, well written, easy to begin (maybe provide a free rules-lite version). Once they're hooked, launch the kickstarter for the complete deluxe product.
There it is. Good luck. I hope for your success.
Do it, there's nothing wrong with exploiting paypigs. And then when you're desperately unfilfilled and hate yourself, remember it's 100% your own fault, you made bad choices, and deserve whatever happens to you.
I'm not reading your post, I don't know why you think we care what you do. None of us are going to pay for your dogshit in either case.