The Dragon’s Breath #2

12 Feb. 2003

Counter Culture II:
The evolution of the FDP Counter Pack

By James Bell

In Part I of this article, I discussed the history of FDP’s counters from their inclusion in NeMoren’s Vault to their “feature” debut in Counter Collections I & II. As we prepared for GenCon 2002, one question was forefront in our minds: What were we going to sell? 

In re-launching ourselves as independent d20 developers, we wanted to re-establish our name in the d20 market. A new Counter Collection seemed like a great place to start. With sales much diminished since the halcyon days of NeMoren’s Vault and Counter Collection I, however, we knew that we couldn’t afford the tens of thousands of dollars that a full-scale Counter Collection would cost. Also, we realized that not only were d20-related sales dipping, but that we no longer enjoyed the distribution and sales support of Sword & Sorcery. We thus began developing a counter-based product both affordable to produce and affordable to the consumer. 

Counter Packs were the answer. Roughly the size of those old AEG and FFG mini-modules, the Counter Packs would contain 8 half-pages of full-color cardstock counters. We instantly cut our printing and art costs in half. Now, we could release a decent product at a fair price, rather than make up our shortfall by charging $29.99!

We decided to focus the Counter Packs on single themes. Since we did not expect the sales of the earlier collections, we felt more comfortable targeting niches and special needs. We also hoped to pair up with some other d20 companies and use established products to add value to our counters and perhaps give us a little sales boost. For our first pack, we contacted our friends at Green Ronin about doing a set of counters for Armies of the Abyss and Legions of Hell. Chris Pramas, a big proponent of the OGL and cross-promotion, agreed. The result was Counter Pack I: Demons & Devils.

Now that we had our subject and tie-in partner, we developed our illustration list and investigated production. In discussing this product with Claudio, I decided to make sure that we covered all the fiends found in the System Reference Document (SRD). After further discussion about suggested looks, Claudio started sketching the images and designs. He generated an “insect-like” appearance for the devils, which I thought was cool. A certain “icky” factor crept into these images that turned out to be a great starting point before moving on to Green Ronin’s sinister creations. After the demons and devils from the SRD, our art budget left us with enough resources to include just about half of the fiends from the Green Ronin books. Examining these fiends, we chose a fair range of Challenge Ratings to give parties of all levels frightening counters to square off against. With Claudio firmly underway, we again examined our production path.

We realized initially that we could not include perforations in the packs: die-cutting the two collections released through Sword & Sorcery had accounted for half of the print cost. Thus, we knew that including die-cutting in the packs just wouldn’t be possible. After eliminating the die-cutting, then, we found some smaller printers who offered competitive pricing without having to outsource the expensive procedure. Eventually, we found a local company that would handle all of the printing, collating, shrinkwrapping, and shipping for us.

After sending the Demons & Devils counter pack to retail, we began developing our second pack, tied in with some of our earlier releases through Sword & Sorcery. Called Tribes, Clans & Cults, this pack included an array of new Group Feats designed by Mark Clover as our OGC content (which allows us to put the d20 logo on the front cover). After sending Claudio the latest counter list, we examined our production line for where we could further reduce our costs.

With our first pack, we used the same company to handle all aspects of the production. We did this mostly for the ease factor, and it saved us some time as GenCon was fast approaching. With our second pack, we had a little more lead time and could reduce costs by dividing up each step and using the most affordable and reliable company for a specific task. The most reasonable printer for the booklets was not the best printer for the cardstock counters, and neither company was the cheapest shrinkwrapper. So, we had the physical components printed in separate locations (the booklet on one side of town and the counters on the other), had them collated, and then had them delivered to a third company for shrinkwrapping. Moreover, we planned on handling all future shipping ourselves, so we saved a minor up-charge there. We also began buying our own cardstock paper for the counters, ensuring decent stock and taking advantage of price breaks that come with large orders.

Our third counter pack, Dwellers in Dungeons and Darkness, featured creatures and characters from the granddaddy of all 3E dungeons: Necromancer Games’ Rappan Athuk. Staying with this theme, we also included counters for use with our own adventure, Queen of Lies by Monte Cook. To reduce costs further, we collated the counter pages and booklets ourselves. While not difficult work by any stretch, you’d be amazed how time-consuming it is to grab 8 counter pages, open booklet, insert, close, and place in pile. Still, this step also gives us a great opportunity to meet once-a-month and catch up while we work — and marvel over Claudio’s art, which continues to be outstanding.

We now apply this hands-on strategy to larger products, allowing us to produce Counter Collection III: Modern, as well as an upcoming collection for Monte Cook’s Arcana Unearthed. So, next time you see an FDP Counter Pack in your FLGS (and if you don’t, make sure you ask them to order one in!), you’ll know that every single copy was actually “hand-crafted” by your friends at Fiery Dragon — you know, “The Counter Guys.”

Next Week: In The Dragon’s Breath #3, Todd Secord, FDP’s Creative Director, distills sage advice on how aspiring artists can prepare their work to get noticed by folks such as him. Ever considered presenting your work to a publisher? If so, be sure to check out “The Art of Submission, Part I”!

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