Wingnut's page

The items in the FRD kits are first come, first serve on the day of the event at participating retailers...and the publishers that donate the offerings have an embargo of 30 days until they can offer the item by other means (PDF download, for sale at cons, et.al.)

Best,
Aldo Ghiozzi
Owner
Impressions
(Organizers of Free RPG Day)

Is there a reason these can't be preordered? (Like is it part of the free RPG day contract or something?)

Every year I stress about missing out on a copy. Although that hasn't ever actually happened, it would be so much easier if I could preorder it as soon as I saw the announcement (even better if it were part of the subscription so I wouldn't even have to do that).

When FRD started, it was 100% my intent that the event be specifically to introduce players to a new RPG that they had maybe never played. From that, some people feel that level 1 characters and adventures are the best way to do that. Some people feel that level *whatever* characters can accomplish the same feeling because in the end, you're getting to try the game before you buy.

We have no hardened rule telling publishers that they have to do one type of offering or another. We do very much encourage existing game publishers (like Paizo) to do an adventure with pregenerated characters just to make it super simple if someone just wants to drop in to try. We also very much encourage new RPG publishers (or even less known ones) to do an offering that has quickstart rules, pregenerated characters and an adventure for the same reason. Again, in the end, it is the publishers choice.

I do hope that everyone takes away one key thing --- these companies participating spent time and money making something that they are giving away for free. Yes, it is a marketing thing, and hopefully, it helps them, the retailer and the industry as a whole to continue doing well.

Thanks to everyone in advance that supports FRD.

Best,
Aldo Ghiozzi
Owner
Impressions
Organizers of Free RPG Day
aldo@impressionsadv.net

John Francis wrote:

** spoiler omitted **

For a free RPG day run, I have every intention of ignoring the slam attack (and probably reducing the hardness, as suggested elsewhere).

Everything Matthew describes strikes me as making the reflex save to take less damage from the trample. Anything more than that is pretty much just ignoring pathfinder rules.

Ignoring the rules is pretty much what I'll probably do. I'm very likely to just treat this as an extended trap. It rolls forward and then stops.

Maybe local players are weird, but I've seen few who find it fun to die in the first 10 minutes to a pyramid.

And certainly locally we're running this scenario. Kinda seemed the point.

Your participating FLGS should have their Free RPG Day kits by now and you should be able to get a copy from them to prep. That is definitely something we encourage the stores to do!

Best,
Aldo Ghiozzi
Owner
Impressions
Organizers of Free RPG Day
aldo@impressionsadv.net

CigarPete wrote:

Mike, can I ask how you were able to get a copy ahead of time? I haven't checked in with the store where I am running, but when I asked my VC, he indicated they would not be available before that day. I had just planned on heading to the store a couple of hours before and doing some prep there, but i prefer a bit more lead time.

Talk to the store. They are the only ones (besides Paizo), who would have access to them at this time, as most stores should have their bundle (or be getting it very soon). I was able to get a copy to look over to get ready for our local day on Friday.

Do folks think this is a cool idea?

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/slugfestgames/red-dragon-inn-pathfinder -sourcebook?ref=live

Best,
Aldo

This is brought up every year about Guild of Blades in Michigan. It is definitely a fine line, but the requirement is that every store give any person that walks in ONE free item (though they can choose what it is). Now, the argument with the owner is that their Gamer Rewards program is free to sign up, thus, I did not find it that big of a deal...especially because there are always a lot of folks that just go out to find stores to grab what they can. The event is meant to reward the customers that have supported the store and/or support the store the day of the event.

In the end, they pretty much follow the rule, but again, we've discussed it with them, and since the store pays money for these kits, I felt in this case their system was justified.

At the same time, you, as a consumer, always have a choice where you shop or visit for FRD.

Hope that helps. If anyone has questions or comments, please email me at aldo@impressionsadv.net.

Best,
Aldo Ghiozzi
Owner
Impressions
Organizers of Free RPG Day

email from local gaming store wrote:

"Per usual, our supply on FREE RPG Day items is limited and as a store with a strong RPG customer base, we have to put some reasonable limits on what we can give away to insure as many of our customers as possible can get items they are interested in. On FREE RPG Day any Gamer Rewards customer may come and recieve two FREE RPG Day items, absolutely no purchase necessary. You are free to chose your two items, but in order to balance out supply vs demand, items we expect to run out of more quickly have been assigned a token number of Gamer Rewards Points in order to redeem them."

At this particular store you join this "Gamer Rewards" program. Every purchase you make earns you Gamer Rewards points which can be saved and later "spent" to get discounts on purchases.

So...

To get any FreeRPG day stuff:

a) You have to have a Gamer Rewards account to get anything
b) You have to spend Gamer Rewards points to get the more popular stuff

Kosher?

I just called around and none of the game stores in my area are supporting Free RPG Day. Last year 2 out of the 5 stopped supporting it and now the rest have followed suit. Is this happening in other areas too? All of them said it was just to costly to participate in and didn't draw nearly the crowds to warrant the cost. So if I want this I have to order it.

Pravus - Fortunately, the event sells out every year...with stores calling after it is sold out to participate. And unfortunately, the event does not work for every retailer. In the end, it is up to the store to choose to spend the $80 (the cost this year) associated with the kit.

I truly believe that if enough consumers ask their FLGS to participate, they probably will.

Best,
Aldo Ghiozzi
Owner
Impressions
Free RPG Day

Sadly, there's no game shop near me :-( no free RPG day for me, cept what I get online

I'm sorry to hear this...We get this a lot, but unfortunately, participating in FRD is the choice of the individual retailer as they do have to pay a few bucks to participate. I recommend you continuously bug them!

Best,
Aldo
Owner
Impressions/Free RPG Day

Actually, no. Paizo raised the ante this year. Usually they are a Gold sponsor...this year they are at Platinum...the max!
Best,
Aldo Ghiozzi
Owner
Impressions
www.FreeRPGDay.com

Darn it. My relatively local games store didn't have enough of the Pathfinder stuff last Free RPG Day.

Supplies look like they're going to be even moe inadequate this year.

Tam,
We send the Free RPG Day product to participating retailers 2 weeks in advance for the sole purpose of the retailer getting the material to GMs to run the game on the day of the event.
Best,
Aldo Ghiozzi
Owner
Impressions
www.FreeRPGDay.com

What are the chances that someone who wants to organize a Free RPG Day event around this adventure can get an early PDF to prep with? I might be able to get my favorite store owner to let me put up a poster of the cover and advertise to try and get a couple tables to play this adventure in-store that day. If I have the adventure ahead of time I can print out scaled color maps. The store could even raffle off or give away the maps I make that compliment the adventure. It would all advertise Pathfinder and PFS here locally.

Tam

Unfortunately, we only sell to authorized brick-and-mortar retailers. If you would like us to hound a couple of your local retailers, please email me their info at aldo@impressionsadv.net

Best,
Aldo

You would think that more than 1 game store in Los Angeles would be participating... but Noooooo! Just like last year.

And on my game day at my FLGS, who isn't participating... FML.
I'm almost willing to pay for a box myself just to make it happen...

Yes, and we send the kits out two weeks in advance to the stores for two reasons:

1) The below! (so GMs can get early to prep)
2) Just to make sure everyone gets theirs in time.

Best,
Aldo

Last year I coordinated with my FLGS to run a demo using the Bonus Bestiary on Free-RPG Day, and they got me a copy of the book early so I had a chance to look it over and prepare. Sadly, mine was the only demo people were running and no one wanted to stick around to play it. They just got their free swag and left. But my suggestion would be to talk to your FLGS as soon as possible, see if they can start posting notices about the game that'll be run that day and also see if they'll get you a copy to prep with as soon as they receive their shipment.

Correct! Your FLGS *MUST* register with us and pay the minimum of $60 to participate. The charge pays for the shipping of the product, collating, boxes and promo material we put together for them for the event.

Again, the key is that your FLGS has to be the one to sign up...we cannot force them to give us $60...but, we have found that stores sign up fast if even only a few of their known customers ask them to participate.

Best,
Aldo

gigglestick wrote:

I run ROTR at my FLGS right now. So how can we arrange to get this for the free RPG day...etc.

Typically, I think your FLGS has to register with the Free RPG Day people first. Then, they get a shipment of whatever products the publishers provided for it...including Paizo's adventure.

For those on Facebook, I just created a fan site:

http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?topic=12201&uid=114839544749#/pages/F ree-RPG-Day/114839544749

Best,
Aldo

It's not that the distributors do not want to support it...they do...but mostly on the backend by using it to get sales from retailers via the event. They just don't want to share their database info...and I can respect that.

Best,
Aldo

Nevynxxx wrote:

The Rogue Trader offering is Here...

Awesome, thanks!! I'm grabbing it now.

Aldo, thanks for pushing the hobby *and* sticking your neck and shoulders out there! I didn't get to participate - look at the list of stores in Louisiana that participated compared to a map of the state and you'll see why. I wish I had known about it earlier and I would have gotten you contact info for at least two more stores in the north end of the state, plus one down in Baton Rouge.

I also really appreciate your showing us the otherwise hidden "mechanics" of how Free RPG Day works. Seems odd the distributors don't want to help increase orders that *they* benefit from...or maybe I'm missing something. That's usually the case.

...perfect example of my previous post...

Thanks,
Aldo

Silly me, I was looking for Rite at the gamestore, not realizing these were downloads from you. Thanks. I'll download and get back with you. Manythanks.

Steve,

I don't want to downplay or diminish what you are doing, but it would be great if you could not actually say "...joins Free RPG Day" because technically, you did not, and I don't want the retailers who spent money on the event thinking we are not supporting brick and mortar stores via the PDF market.

Again, let me stress, I love the fact that you are doing this, but if you could say "like Free RPG Day" or "in the spirit of Free RPG Day", that would make my relationship with publisher participants and retailer participants better.

Thanks,
Aldo

Rite Publishing joins Free Rpg Day 3 free Rpg products are available: Mythical Monstrosities (with the taurian player race), Fantastic Maps: The Ice Temple (Cartography by Jonathan Roberts) and Items Evolved Rituals. '

Let me know what you think of our products

Steve Russell
Rite Publishing

Honestly, all these posts here are more feedback than I have gotten directly combined...you guys are intense here... =P

Best,
Aldo

FREE is FREE or it should be. And yes, I'd contact the folks at Free RPG Day if you had a problem. Be persistent, if this board is indicative of what's gone on in our small portion of the country, we can only wonder what happened elsewhere. They are probably getting a lot of emails, calls, etc.

Emperor...could be my spam filters...post it here or try aldo@impressionsadv.net.

Best,
Aldo

Tried e-mailing to the freerpgday link and it bounced. Not worth pursuing for me.

The new store got me in, then proceeded to get me out. Their loss. If they had product to interest me I'd have been fine buying it to get the swag. Maybe I'll go back someday, but their chance at a 1st impression fell flat.

Nothing to do with the socio-economic issues of Free RPG Day, just a business owner who's more of a print shop than a gaming store.

OK, I know you said you were not going to check the thread again, but I have to note a few things...and no, you are not being a jerk...

1) We have to charge for the kits. The publishers pay us nothing to participate because they pay to print and ship the product. I noted the expenses to putting these together so we have to at minimum make up our cost-of-goods. You mention PDFs, and it was a thought right on year 1, but my company handles distributor sales for about 50 game companies so the point of the event has an agenda to help increase sales for our clients as well as our other industry friends like Paizo.

2) Our company does not have the ability to push this event big enough to get new people into RPGs. We have only ever claimed that the point of the event is to either a) get the hardcore RPG players even MORE into RPGs, and b) try to win back former players that don't play anymore.

3) Yes, the stores that gave away a freebie and then gave away more to participants in events had great days (from what I heard).

4) That $20 book actually is sold to distributors for $8.

5) Retailers mostly order from a distributor warehouse near them so paying for two day shipping is unlikely because UPS ground is naturally 1 or 2 days from the distributor to their store...and distributors and publishers have free shipping minimums and it is rare for someone to pay shipping in the industry (except the consumer me thinks).

6) Unfortunately, if PDFs become a part of it the day of the event, most folks would not go into their local retailer...and *that* is the core goal of the event. I wonder...why doesn't Free Comic Book Day do this?...or do they offer PDFs?

Best,
Aldo

Really? Really, people?! OK, I'm going to be the jerk.

www.freerpgday.com wrote:

Your friendly local game store controls whether or not they participate in this event!

Each individual store determines how the free items are given out on the day of the event.

First, until FreeRPGDay.com stop charging for these bundles, it's not going to be free for anyone. For those that are miffed that they had to pay for something else to get one, here's your reason. Walk, or talk, to a comic book store about their Free Comic Book day. My local one said because they jacked the price so high on this year, they had to cut back and only offer 1 per person.

Second, for those random opponents, talk to the people that came in the afternoon and there wasn't any of their favorite to be found.

Third, although stated generically on their website, the real goal is to get new people into the store. Sure, you spend hundreds of dollars per year on game stuff. And that makes you any more special than the person coming in off the street and opening thier eyes?

Fourth, I applaud the one that required you to play a game to get more than 1. Why? Because it's a perfect opportunity for other people to say "Wow! That looks cool!"

Fifth, Merchants are Merchants for a reason. Take this into consideration. A publisher creates a $20 book. They send it to a distributor for $5. The distrutor sends it to the merchant for $10. The merchant sells it to you for $20.

Now, don't forget that each one of those people is also charging shipping and handling. The merchant is likely going to be paying for 2 day shipping.

If you have a beef, make it to FreeRPGDay.com. Here's the solution to the whole problem: Free PDF. Open up a download link on the day of the event where the merchant can point the customer can download a copy (which is served from the game companie's website). What's that? No internet connection? Well, offer to burn them for $1. Merchants world wide can participate for free. Sure,...

If you could email me the store's info at aldo@impressionsadv.net, that would be great.

Thanks,
Aldo

The other "participating" store (which I only visited because I wanted some new dice and my FLGS had none that appealed to me) had just tossed the FreeRPG product in a casual and teetering pile on the corner of the sales counter, in amongst any number of other random bits like invoices and an empty pop can. I had no idea they were even participating until one of the only other two patrons in the store (which was deathly quiet) asked about it. The owner just said, "Yeah, just grab something from there" and waved in the...

The cost is based on the number of giveaways inside. We charge about $0.50 a unit to come to the cost. Year one had 80 items and year two had about 160...year three about 120 items, but due to the number of stores overall decreasing, we added 20 more items per box and ate the shipping cost.

Now, please note that we shipped USPS year 1 and a TON of stores never got their shipment and it cost me about $1000 to reship repeat kits 2 day UPS. For year 2 and 3, everything went UPS and we had only 2 problems this year (yippee!). The cost takes into consideration that we do some back-end marketing to promote the event, have to pay for custom boxes, pay folks (A LOT) to sort each box and then ship a 30lb box UPS. Honestly, there is not much money leftover to call profit vs. the time it takes to organize the event.

And no, we cannot ship through Diamond, Alliance, ACD or any other distributor because the distributors refused from day 1 to give us the stores participating because they say they cannot give up their database contacts...and without a list of the stores participating, we had to handle it direct with the stores so we could actually tell you where to go.

For FCBD, not true. Last I saw/heard, the charge is about $0.25 per comic and most stores spend ~$1000 to participate...obviously, this could vary per store, but unfortunately RPGs are not as mainstream as comics, so comparing the two events is almost like apples to oranges.

I hope that helps.

Best,
Aldo

in the last two years, the price of the packages has more than tripled in price... my store did it the first year, when a box cost $30, but couldn't justify it @ 90+ for something that they give away for free.. especially when

2)they ship it with the store's diamond or allience order which gets free shipping if they buy over $300 in product

3) Free comic book day, which the store gets over 10,000 books for, only costs them about $30.

With the economy, I'm guessing many other stores though the same way.

Misery,

Can you email me at aldo@impressionsadv.net so I can note this...sounds like it might be a former owner trying to get stuff.

Thanks,
Aldo

The only store listed in our area doing Free RPG day was a comic book store that had closed 2 years ago.

... nice >_>

I'm sorry to hear this. I do hope though that your thoughts are really, "I personally don't support my FLGS on Free RPG Day" because we cannot force stores to do anything in particuliar for the event. The idea behind it was like Free Comic Book Day --- let folks have 1 of whatever they want --- but the problem we have is 1) RPG publishers just cannot print 10K+ due to the economy of scales, and 2) Every game store is a different setup, consumer type and mix of product.

In terms of "crap", I'm sure you can agree that RPG companies really cannot start making $20-$40 products to giveaway for free. And if there is something you want from a publisher, then I would say tell that publisher they should join in on the fun, and maybe they will make something for 2010.

Best,
Aldo

I personally don't support FREE RPG Day. It's never free. You either have to buy a book, play in an event and not get what you want, or do something else and likely not get what you want. Why? Because most of the "free" stuff is crap. People only want certain things from certain publishers, everything else no one cares about. Thus, those items are premium and high in demand, and since they can satisfy everyone, they'll find a way to benefit from it.

A perfect example of the spirit of the event! I went to my local store, Black Diamond Games in Concord CA, and they had 5 tables full. They bought 2 kits and had it all on a table with "3 per person". And then I brought more freebies to give out to the GMs...AND bought pizza for everyone playing. Why? Because I knew Black Diamond would do the event right...and they did.

Best,
Aldo

Wow, I am sorry to hear about the bad experiences that people had. My FLGS is Games, Comics and Stuff in Glen Burnie, Maryland. They had all the free stuff piled up at the front of the store and let us pick whatever we wanted. I also got there early and nabbed some of the dice. I bought stuff and took a buddy of mine with me who also bought stuff as well.

Yes, the number of stores participating this year was down...like 80 less. I have no idea why except that stores said overall their RPG sales were not a lot overall so they could not justify even $65 to participate. Again, in the end, the more you consumers push the stores to sign-up, the more will join...because they value your purchases (or, at minimum, they SHOULD value them!) =P

Best,
Aldo

Was non-participation up this year? Game Chest in Valley View didn't participate. (I would have rather driven to Gen X in Bedford, but Lone Star is so much more convenient, and my time is at a premium right now.) If so, I wonder what might be behind it? The selection at Lone Star was not impressive, and neither was the supply (unless they were keeping more behind the counter.) Of course, with a one per customer policy, the selection didn't need to be wide for me.

Vagrant,

Please email me at aldo@impressionsadv.net to let me know the store so I can contact them to correct this.

Best,
Aldo

My LGS (I'm not so convinced about the friendly part anymore) decided that they should charge for their Free RPG day stuff ... since, after all, they had to pay for it. $5 for the Bonus Bestiary.

Sorry to all the good Game Stores out there, but I'm pretty much convinced now that it's not the internet killing you - it's your crappy counterparts.

Andrew,

That sounds like a mis-pack on our part...Several stores had this issue, but most called us when they got their boxes 2 weeks prior to the event...we could have done something about it.

Best,
Aldo

I got to my local store doing Free RPG Day. Their box had no bestiaries ... double the amount of something else. The only thing I wanted and drove over 2 hours round trip and left with nothing ... I nearly cried.

Unfortunately, we cannot control who joins in on the event...It was only $65 this year, but I have heard that many stores did not join in because they said all their RPG sales were down and they did not think it was a good investment. I laugh with that because I think, "OK, $65 to help boost sales of something."

Best,
Aldo

Consider yourself fortunate ... the closest shop to me is about 3 hours away. The two "gaming stores" in town both gave me funny looks when I asked about Free RPG Day stuff. And there is nothing in Charlotte either (which would be a mere 1.5 hours or so).

All in all a big bummer for me today with empty hands. I really wish the Sword And The Grail was still open, they always had stuff for both Free RPG and Free Comic day. <sigh>

Kurt,

Could you please email who the store was...I will call them and talk to them about that...that is NOT in the spirit of the event. aldo@impressionsadv.net.

Thanks,
Aldo

That sucks... The store I went to let us pick what we wanted, but to get the "free" Beastiary, I was required to buy at least $20 of other stuff. I'm very happy I got the product I was looking for, but feel a bit taken.

Sorry about the trouble. Unfortunately, we cannot control how the stores handle the event. I know the owner of Compleat quite well and he says that in the NY store so many people show up that it is the best way for him...he also said that so many folks are hanging out that there is a lot of trading after the rolls.

In the end, we cannot force a store to do things a certain way. I have known some publishers that make their giveaways for the day available to ship and/or available as a free PDF.

I hope that helps.

Best,
Aldo

OK, this is something of a Rant, but I'm a little miffed, to say the least. It turns out the only store doing Free RPG Day around me was a store called the Complete Strategist. My normal store, Cyborg One, which is fantastic btw, wasn't doing it this year, so I drove all the way out to King of Prussia PA to get the free Paizo Beastiary, and when I got there, the clerk made me roll a D20 and gave me a random book. When I asked him about the Beastiary, he said they were doing it random this year and that was it. Seriously ? So now someone with no interest in this book will get it and either get rid of it or throw it away, and I have no recourse. As an aside, someone else came in, and he got a free Die 6. One Die, not a set, one Die. What gives ? Arghhhhh......

Sighs. Anyhow, Despite my disappointment, I love Paizo and I'm seriously looking forward to the Pathfinder RPG. It looks great and my group can't wait to try it out.

Sorry for the Rant.

SirUrza wrote:

Vic Wertz wrote:

knightnday wrote:

They did not get a lot of some of the products, and none of the Wizards product, but there were easily 10 or more of most of the titles to choose from.

This seems odd. You can see what's in the kit here. According to that, all of the kits had *at least* 12 of each Wizards module (towards the end of shipping, some had *more* than 12).

Sounds like it was free wizard module for employees and friends. :)

That was my thinking as well. I was the third or 4th person in the store that morning and while there were stacks of the other products, except for the dice, the WOTC stuff was missing. Heck, I even managed to snag one of the sets of Chessex dice. No big deal, really, just sort of came across a little poorly that the employees grabbed all/most of the adventure instead of leaving a few for the patrons.

Again, please let me know the store privately at aldo@impressionsadv.net and I can give them a shout.

Best,
Aldo

FREE RPG DAY WAS AN INCREDIBLE, AWESOME EXPERIENCE FOR ME.

Hey! Could you email me the store's name off-list to aldo@impressionsadv.net?

Best,
Aldo

And I was right. NONE of the stores in my area bothered with Free RPG Day this year. The one store I bothered to visit anyway on Saturday, told me that they "didn't even know" about Free RPG Day. Which can only mean they simply didn't pay attention to the materials they get from their distributor (Alliance).

We ask all the distributors to encourage stores to sign up, but none of the distributors sign up retailers...they need to sign up through us directly.

Best,
Aldo Ghiozzi
Owner
Impressions
www.FreeRPGDay.com
aldo@impressionsadv.net

It is really crappy that your store decided to fleece people for $10 to get a "free" RPG book. If I were you I would see about contacting the poeple behind FreeRPG Day and have them give the store a talking to.

We welcome consumers whole-heartedly to let us know which stores they had a good and bad experience with.

Best,
Aldo Ghiozzi
Owner
Impressions
www.FreeRPGDay.com
aldo@impressionsadv.net

My personal blessings to everyone who went out to support this event.

My kudos to Impressions and Aldo who made it happen. I hope this event goes on annually for years to come.

I LOVE FREE RPG DAY!!

Thanks for the kind words Erik...It is nice to hear vs. the complaints that started rolling in Saturday and still continue today (Monday)! =P

I just want to make a big note to all the consumers here that they need to know that the really heroes here are the publishers like Paizo because they are the ones spending their hard-earned money to print these to give out for free. We don't pay the publishers, but it does cost us money to collate the boxes, create promo materials and get stores on-board.

Best,
Aldo

Bull-s&@!!! Free means free. If you are expecting people to spend money, then don't use the word "free."

Again, please note that Impressions (our company that organizes the event) encourages stores to give away the product for free to encourage more RPG gaming in the world...in the end, we cannot control what they do.

Best,
Aldo Ghiozzi
Owner
Impressions
www.FreeRPGDay.com

SirUrza wrote:

The original poster still got what he wanted, without having to pay, so I don't know what he's complaining about. Those who criticize stores who didn't give away products completely free don't understand what Free RPG Day is really all about, which defeats the purpose of it.

We encourage all stores participating (paying) for the event to be a part of the spirit of the event...which is to give away the freebies with the hopes that it influences consumers to buy more RPG products. Again, the most we can do is encourage stores to do this.

Best,
Aldo Ghiozzi
Owner
Impressions
www.FreeRPGDay.com

the Goodman Games Gazeeter (Interestingly, they say on the inside back cover that their 4e game adventures are coming out in August...guess this was printed before they new about the moratorium until oct 1 or they have a separate non-GSL deal already)

That is not a mis-print...The product solicitation information for Goodman's 4E products is offically out there so I can tell you that they will be launching 4E product at Gen Con...yes, at Gen Con...go to www.goodmangames.com to find out more.

Best,
Aldo

Here's the problem with "Free RPG Day" it's bulls#$@!

RPG books costs WAAAAAY more then comic books. Marvel, DC, Image, and a few other can AFFORD to print 1000s of copies of a single book and not charge for it for Free Comicbook Day.

I don't know what the buy in for Free Comicbook Day is, but the "Free RPG Day" buy in was $90. That's right, the store had to give the organizers $90 to participate.

Wow...that's the meanest thing I've heard about the event. :P

Someone emailed me saying we "scammed" them, but then I explained it is all up to the store.

And in terms of Free RPG Day vs. Free Comic Book Day, ask your local comic book store about the $500-$1500 they need to spend to participate in that event (farbeit comics are much more mass market than RPGs).

Best,
Aldo Ghiozzi
Owner
Impressions
www.FreeRPGDay.com

Wow. I feel really lucky.

Long live Free RPG Day!

I guess my FLGS is pretty good.

Woohoo! Great to hear! If you can, let me know the store so I can thank them for truly being in the spirit of the event!

Best,
Aldo Ghiozzi
Owner
Impressions
www.FreeRPGDay.com
aldo@impressionsadv.net

So, while I managed to get my copy of RotKK- and may have a convert for PfRPG, I still think it is totally unfair to call it "FREE" RPG Day when we have to buy stuff to get anything. It is misleading in a way. But I am naive that way.

Krome,

Sorry to hear about that...I heard several stores were asking for a purchase for the freebies. This is not what we envision for the event, but this is why we encouraged consumers to call their participating store in case they were doing something different/special because we cannot control what the retailer does once they purchase the kits from us. Please understand though that many stores who have Free Comic Book Day and/or Free RPG Day are not thrilled at the droves of people that walk into the store, ask for the freebies, then leave. It sounds like a measure to try and encourage consumers to support their FLGS...which is what we want from the event.

Best,
Aldo Ghiozzi
Owner
Impressions
www.FreeRPGDay.com

Actually, Heirs to Olympia from Countess Games was full color throughout too. =)

Best,
Aldo Ghiozzi
Owner
Impressions
www.FreeRPGDay.com

Just picked up free game day stuff at Patch and Crow's nest here in Manhattan KS. I have to say that Revenge of the Kobold King was THE best product of any of the others. Even the D&D 4e product was underwhelming though the free mini was a nice touch. RotKK was also the only full color product available in the freebees. I just want to say that no matter what you guys do whether it is making adventures, putting together sourcebooks, pewter minis, or just a free 16 page adventure for Free Game day, you consistently set the bar and lead the pack. Well done!!!!

Unfortunately, we cannot control what the stores do with the freebies.

In terms of that store's experience last year...the giveaways were a lot less than this year as 2007 was year one (unproven to anyone). In 2008, the stores that had the most success were the ones that had gaming during the day of the event and spiced things up in the store...like some stores had a 10% off all RPGs all day...another gave food and drink to attendees.

Best,
Aldo Ghiozzi
Owner
Impressions
www.FreeRPGDay.com

PulpCruciFiction wrote:

I feel your pain. I'm considering making the trek all the way down to Newnan tomorrow just to see what's there, but it's disheartening. Though to my knowledge, downtown Atlanta has zero gaming stores and the metro Atlanta area only has four, and even that is only if you count Duluth as part of metro Atlanta.

I considered that too or heading over to Athens. I'm fairly certain the reason it is not being done is there was not a good return on investment last year. all the stores I know of just put stacks out by the front door and people gobbled them up in the first few minutes of the day. I was the only person I know that got anything because I was there at store opening. Everyone I spoke to noted the same thing except one store which limited people to two items.

In any case they could have made an event around it but it seemed utterly unexciting other than picking up free stuff.

Bray,

I'm sorry to hear this...again...if there is a store you want to participate, just let us know and we will contact them.

Best,
Aldo Ghiozzi
Owner
Impressions
www.FreeRPGDay.com

I'm a little bummed. There are some nice selections but not a single store in Metro Atlanta (9th largest metro area in the US) is participating this year. With current gas prices it is much cheaper just to order the things I know I want. Which means I won't be getting samples of new things to try out.

I heard this from several stores...the one thing those stores either didn't notice or did not realize was that the price tripled but the quantity of giveaways and promotion backing the event quadrupled.

We always tell consumers...if they want a store to participate, let us know and we will contact them.

Best,
Aldo Ghiozzi
Owner
Impressions
www.FreeRPGDay.com

I havn't seen anything on this, so I figured I would bring it to light.. Last year free RPG day cost $30 for a FLGS to be involved. This year it cost $90..

that tripling of the price made all 6 stores that are within driving distance that did it last year laugh at me when i asked if they were doing it this year.

Regrettably, no nearby shops were participating for me, either. Still, let's hope it catches on, and is bigger next year. I'd be interested in finding out how I could help to encourage local shops to participate, if anyone could enlighten me.

I can! I would say that the biggest push to get stores to sign up was consumers calling and emailing us directly. Every consumer suggestion that came to us got a phone call and/or email from me telling them about the event in detail and letting them know there was a consumer interested.

Let me know for next year!

Best,
Aldo Ghiozzi
Owner
Impressions Advertising & Marketing

I got mine this morning! The guy at the store (the manager) said that the upper management had only given him two days' notice about the event and thus he was unable to set up gaming tables or schedule any games for the day. He also only had 3 copies of D0 on hand (and a lot of assorted other swag). Thankfully, I was the first one through the door. :D

I spent the morning looking it over. It's definitely high quality stuff. Having never run a module before, I suppose I might as well start with this one!

This is frustrating to me as we announced the event in January...Please email the store info privately if you don't mind... aldo@impressionsadv.net

Best,
Aldo Ghiozzi
Owner
Impressions Advertising & Marketing

Thanks to the gang who put on the Free RPG day.

I'm glad it worked out for you! I hope we can make it bigger for next year plus have more stores participating so folks do not have to drive as far.

Best,
Aldo Ghiozzi
Owner
Impressions Advertising & Marketing

I'm pretty frustrated right now. I drove to 3 FLGS today in hopes of scoring one. Two had specifically told me they would have them and did not. One said he had missed the cutoff by 2 days and was told he couldn't get anything. The other said, "What free gaming day?". After spending 2 hours and over 40 miles of driving I am extremely cranky.

I really didn't want just the pdf and I also don't want to pay for something I thought I was getting for free but have already paid for with gas.[/rant]

I am really sorry you went through this. Can you send me details about the stores you went to and visited so I can tally up the good and bad stores for the event? aldo@impressionsadv.net

Best,
Aldo Ghiozzi
Owner
Impressions Advertising & Marketing

Today is Free RPG Day!

Find a local store near you: http://www.freerpgday.com/

Also, don't forget to Boycott all WotC products!

Why boycott WotC? Is it because they were not a sponsor of the event? If so, they wanted to, but we didn't give them enough time to create something for the event.

Best,
Aldo Ghiozzi
Owner
Impressions Advertising & Marketing