That sale moved 34 copies for this piece during that 24 hours (not exactly gangbusters, but for a setting guide that's a big number), and it actually got me thinking... what is the most popular part of Sundara that's been released thus far? Not only that, but what do those numbers seem to say about this setting, the audience, and where I should go from here?
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| And if you missed your chance, go get a copy today! |
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So, What Do The Numbers Say?
Before we delve too deeply, I want to catch folks up on what Sundara is. In short, Sundara: Dawn of a New Age is a setting I wrote for Pathfinder's first edition, and which has also been offered for Dungeons and Dragons 5E. A setting filled with wild magic, impossible monsters, and a thousand competing factions, Sundara is notable for its strangeness, the sheer variety of creatures, and its ground-level approach (as there aren't traditional countries, but rather a world made up of constantly shifting alliances, principalities, organizations, city states, and more whose alliances may shift and change as events unfold).
And, for those who don't know, the metal award levels used for TTRPGs on Drive Thru RPG indicate how many copies have been sold. While there's some argument as to the specific numbers, what we know is that if a supplement sells 50 copies, it goes Copper. If it sells 100, it goes Silver. After that is Electrum, but unfortunately that isn't going to be a part of the discussion surrounding Sundara as a setting... yet, at least.
With that said, looking at the numbers, the initial 5 releases (the Cities of Sundara supplements) are definitely the most popular ones that have been released so far. While most versions of these cities have achieved at least Copper status, 3 of the 5 of them for DND 5E have gone Silver (Ironfire, The City of Steel, Moüd, City of Bones, and of course the recently on-sale Archbliss: City of The Sorcerers). When we compare that with the Pathfinder Classic supplements, 3 of them have made it to Copper status, one hasn't received a single metal yet, and only Ironfire, The City of Steel has gone Silver.
Which makes sense... after all, it's a cool place to have in your game, if I do say so myself.
While I had a slew of other releases after those initial 5 supplements, including the second phase that was Species of Sundara, none of those supplements proved as popular as the cities, regardless of the edition they were published in. The faction books that are making up phase three have largely gone unnoticed, as well, though the 5E versions still sell better than the Pathfinder versions, with Sellswords of Sundara's DND 5E version going at least Copper.
Though it could be argued that the cities have done better because they've been around longer, and they were the first part of a new setting, and they've all had their own sales to boost their numbers, it's also worth noting that the edition-neutral Towns of Sundara (which was released between the second and third phases of supplements) has also gone Silver, making it one of the most popular titles released thus far.
What Conclusions Can We Draw From This Data?
While there are always factors that I cannot control for (which supplements other people share links to, which cover art draws more eyes, things of that nature), there are a few things that seem quite clear from this review. First and foremost, of the types of supplements that have been introduced so far, locations are far and away the most popular. And even though I designed this setting intending for it to be primarily a Pathfinder Classic setting, it has caught on far more with the Dungeons and Dragons 5E audience than it has with the old edition Pathfinder crowd.
So, at this point, I'd like to revisit some of the things I said recently when I talked about my plans for Phase 4 for this setting, and what might have to change.
As a for-instance, of the two games this setting is currently made for, DND 5E is clearly making more sales. However, conversions for Pathfinder's second edition have been mentioned, as have conversions to Savage Worlds, or other systems. Could this unseat DND 5E is that most popular system? Maybe yes, maybe no, but it seems that if we're going to start those conversions, they should definitely start with the city books first.
Second, we see that locations are more popular than both species books and faction books. That's not entirely unexpected, since the locations offer a wider spread of material for Game Masters to use, where species are more for players, and the factions are much more narrowly focused. However, it might be a good idea to release at least 1 module set in Sundara to provide an adventure for players, and to hedge that bet, to tie it to the previously-established locations. This could allow Game Masters to really put the city splats to use, bringing in the extra material to flesh out the adventure, and it could lead to future modules being released if the first adventure goes well (possible giving each city its own adventure).
Or perhaps Phase 4 should return to the well and provide more unique locations in the setting? Whether it be underground cities, mountaintop strongholds, underwater settlements, etc., as a spiritual sequel to the original run of Cities of Sundara, these supplements should push the envelope to be bigger, bolder, and weirder than what's already been established.
At the end of the day, though, it's going to depend on what you, the audience, want to see.
How You Can Make Your Voices Heard
If you're a fan of Sundara, whether you're been following it since I started releasing the supplements, or you just picked some up recently due to the sale, I want to hear from you regarding what should be included in the setting going forward. What do you want to see, and what would peak your interest?
And if you want to make sure I hear you, here's some stuff you can do (in order of impact):
- Buy Copies: As you can see, this is one of the major metrics used to determine what gets made going forward. So the more copies something sells, the more attention that kind of supplement gets.
- Leave Reviews: Reviews boost the signal, so if you've gotten copies of any of my Sundara supplements, please leave a rating and review so that more people see them, and check out the setting.
- Share Links: If you have a supplement from the setting you enjoyed, boost the signal by sharing it on your social media platform of choice, and tell folks why they should check it out.
- Subscribe to The Azukail Games YouTube Channel: This is more of a side project, but the show Speaking of Sundara, as well as the audio dramas from the setting, are on that channel. The more views, comments, shares, etc., those episodes get, the more likely I am to expand the setting going forward.
- Leave Comments on This Blog, The YouTube Channel, etc.: Comments are a great way to tell me directly what you like, and what you want to see more of. This is best used in conjunction with the above steps.
Azukail Games is a small games publisher, and while a lot of folks know me, I'm not a major player in the industry. I need every sale, every review, and every signal boost I can get in order to keep Sundara going and expanding, and if that's something you want to see, then please consider helping make it happen.
Thank you.
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i would like to see more how the changes in the setting impact the social structure, the political structure, and other ripples across the campaign.
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