If you pop over to Mythoard you’ll find a site that promises to send you a box full of RPG goodies every month. This month they’ve content from Chessex, Throwi Games, Moon Dice Games, Flatland Games, Genius Loci Games and Imaginary Maps. Read on if you want an exclusive reveal into what Mythoard will offer next month.
Just what is Mythoard though? Geek Native speaks to David “Jarrod” Shaw about the proposition, the publishers Mythoard might work with and how they can help gamers.
What’s the pitch for Mythoard? Why should gamers notice?
Mythoard is a monthly subscription service, just for tabletop RPGs. We stock each month’s Mythoard with as much awesome RPG product as we can, ranging from modules, maps and minis to supplements, dice and accessories. There’s so much amazing RPG material out there, that it’s becoming impossible to keep track of it all. We wanna help gamers discover RPG publishers and products that they may not have had the chance to check out due to time or financial constraints.
How does that work? Do you buy in bulk, at reduced prices, and then use those savings to fund the packages?
Each Mythoard is priced at $18 (plus shipping and handling). Out of that price tag we spend around $13 to $15 on the materials inside each one. We do buy in bulk, as all Mythoards for a given month contain roughly the same items, and that along with the exposure benefits we give our suppliers equal up to big savings and a great value for our members.
Tell us about the enrollment cap? How does it effect gamers and why have it?
The enrollment cap is the number of individual Mythoards we have for sale during a given month. If we meet the cap, then we will sell no more for that month. We have this in place because of the nature of our content. Most subscription box services contain mass produced, stored in a warehouse until sold, goods. With RPG print products, an order can have a lead time of several weeks sometimes, as most of our suppliers don’t have 200+ of a given product on hand. Without the cap in place, we would have to wait until after sign ups to order, and that would push our timeline way back. We may end up, in the future, operating cap free, but for now it’s really the best route we have found.
Do you forsee physical products only, digital productions often or a mix-and-match approach?
Right now we deal almost exclusively in physical products. Nothing against digital, I just know very little about it. If folks start asking more for a mix and match offering, we will be more than happy to oblige. There are some really great ways to get fantastic digital content deals right now anyway. Bundle of Holding has a great operation, and should not be missed by gamers looking for digital!
Would you allow the larger RPG publishers to take part in Mythoard?
Absolutely. There’s room for all. Our focus on the smaller guys doesn’t mean the exclusion of the larger ones. We just want our hobby to grow and our members to enjoy what we have to offer. The more value we can add for them, the better our service will be.
You’ve revealed Gygax Magazine as a sneak peak for March. Can you give Geek Native any other names?
The boss is gonna kick my ass, but I guess I can mention that Gamemash.com will be a supplier next month too!
Which other publishers are you especially keen to work with?
I’ve been playing a lot of DCC lately so Goodman Games would be awesome! When we featured a Lesser Gnome mini last month, Zach Glazer sent me one of their modules. I was blown away by the quality and content, so I would love to showcase that to our members. Some others would be The Design Mechanism, Simian Circle Games, Olde House Rules… It’s really hard to know where to start and stop this one.
Some roleplayers prefer to pirate their rulebooks – sometimes because it is the only way to get hold of them – is this harmful to the industry?
If pirating results in the loss of revenue or the good name of an RPG publisher, then hell yeah it’s harmful. All participants in the supply chain lose when revenue loss occurs. As to just how harmful it is to the industry as a whole? I can’t see any benefits that could possibly outweigh the ill effects.
What does success for Mythoard look like?
When our family can be supported by Mythoard, it will be a success for me. A larger goal for us as a company would be to aid in the expansion of our hobby in a tangible, substantive way. And having the means to move the operation out of our living room would be cool too!
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