The Price of Out of the Abyss across 5 Online Retailers

After receiving the letter from Zohaletha it occurred to me that it might be a good idea to look into what the book is running across the Big 5 online book distributors: Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Books-A-Million, Walmart, and Chapters (primarily a Canadian retailer). The last time I checked the prices in June (see Rage of Demons Pre-Order Price Drops! for more) Amazon was offering the best price at $34.33. My guess is that Amazon will continue to offer the lowest price.

Amazon

OR Click Here to Go Directly to Their Site

Original Price: $49.95

Current Price: $31.00

Savings of: $18.95

Barnes & Noble

Click Here to Go Directly to Their Site

Original Price: $49.95

Current Price: $31.30

Savings of: $18.65

Books-A-Million

Click Here to Go Directly to Their Site

Original Price: $49.95

Current Price: $49.95

Savings of: NO SAVINGS

Chapters

Click Here to Go Directly to Their Site

Original Price: $63.95

Current Price: $40.09

Savings of: $23.86

Walmart

Click Here to Go Directly to Their Site

Original Price: $49.95

Current Price: $31.00

Savings of:$18.95

Color me surprised. I had no expectation that Walmart, which didn't even have the book available last time I checked, to provide a price for the book equal to that being offered by Amazon. I also had no idea that Books-A-Million wouldn't provide any savings at all!  

You've All Been Lied To [Letters to Dyvers]

Back in early May, 2015 I started looking into the soon to be released Out of the Abyss (D&D Accessory) campaign (see Out of the Abyss, Rage of Demons, Announced and a Look at Other Connected Products that have been Announced for more) and one of the things that became apparent during my investigation into the product was that Drizzt Do'Urden, R. A. Salvatore's famous Drow, would be playing a prominent role in the story throughout the majority of the connected products. While some of my readers were unhappy about this connection others were excited by the possibility of having one of their favorite characters taking a prominent role in the game.

Zohaletha was one of those looking forward to having Drizzt Do'Urden play a big role in the games with the players having an opportunity to interact with the world's most famous Drow in a big way. Unfortunately it seems that Zohaletha was more than a little bit disappointed in the final product.

You've been lied to about Drizzt Do'Urden being a part of the Out of the Abyss campaign. I just double-checked at the D&D sites, thinking maybe I misread. I did not. The Rage of Demons publication line, computer-games to RPG, were ALL supposed to feature Drizzt Do'Urden. Out of the Abyss is the RPG campaign for that line and was advertised to have him. But our local gaming store actually got the campaign early (release date 9-15-15) and we have been able to purchase them.

IT IS A LIE!!!!!! Drizzt Do'Urden is nowhere in the campaign setting of Out of the Abyss. There isn't even a hint of him. The closest you get is a single interview with Bruenor (who doesn't even mention his good friend, btw). The adventure starts you off as prisoners of the drow. Upon your escape you can line up with an NPC to do some sidequests that don't really have anything to do with anything until you're sent back into Menzoberranzan on a sidenote by Bruenor. After that you line up with an evil drow (who is previously unheard of) to complete the storyline. I'm so angry. I waited months for this campaign to come out, believing that at least in some way, shape or form our characters would work with Drizzt Do'Urden. I made a character especially for this campaign. I'm pissed and I'm returning the product. I'm willing to bet the video game and computer game are the exact same way. Don't waste your money on this product. The company (TSR, WotC, Hasbro, whatever they are calling themselves these days) have lied to you.

Regards,
zohaletha

Undoubtedly some will find Zohaletha's terrible experience to be a blessing as Drizzt has been a source of concern expressed in my feed since the early announcement of the new storyline. For myself Drizzt was more of a curiosity than anything else as I've never actually read anything with him involved so I was looking at the possibility of his inclusion as I did every 'famous' non-player character I've ever run across in my years playing: as a good source of precious loot and experience points. Although I will say that I kind of enjoyed seeing him leap into Demogorgon's mouth . . .

Interested in Purchasing the Adventure?

Rage of Demons Pre-Order Price Drops!

Since it's initial pre-order release was announced the price for the Out of the Abyss, Rage of Demons has continued to drop. In an effort to keep from paying too much I thought I would do an update on how the prices have reduced with a little over three months left to go until it officially releases.

Amazon

Original Price: $49.95

Current Price: $34.33 (SAVE $15.62 OR 31%)

Barnes & Noble

Original Price: $49.95

Current Price: $34.67 (SAVE $15.28 OR 30%)

Books-a-Million

Original Price: $49.95

Current Price: $49.95 (NO SAVINGS)

Walmart

Not Available

Chapters

Out of the Abyss
Current Price with plum membership: $35.74
ONLINE PRICE: $37.62
Checked this one out, shipping to my US address was $16.42

THIS PRICE HAS NOT CHANGED SINCE MAY 15, 2015
Total:$54.04 

As you can see from the above prices only Barnes & Noble and Amazon have further reduced their prices since the initial pre-order date nearly a month ago. Walmart, reportedly the fourth largest book retailer in the United States,* still does not have it available for pre-order.

I'll be updating the pre-order price changes again in June. 

*While the link is to an older article first published in 2012 I have not been able to find anything that makes an alternative claim in the intervening years.

Out of the Abyss, Rage of Demons Pre-Orders Now Live On Amazon and Barnes & Noble!

The pre-order pages for Out of the Abyss, Rage of Demons have just gone live on Barnes & Noble and Amazon. The Barnes & Noble page was originally launched on the same day as the new supplement was announced but at the time the link lead to a N/A page with no real information. It was taken down later that same day. 

This morning Barnes & Noble relaunched the page with the option to actually pre-order the book becoming available. Within a short time of the Barnes & Noble page going live Amazon followed suit. At the time of this writing both sites have the book listed at it's suggested retail price of $49.95; however, this number will quickly begin to plummet once orders start coming in as both chains begin reducing the price.

I will be updating these prices as they change over the coming days and weeks. You can go directly to the pre-order pages by clicking on the title's name below or on the iframe for the Amazon link.

Barnes & Noble

Out of the Abyss

Current Price: $49.95

Amazon

Out of the Abyss (D&D Accessory)

Current Price: $49.95

Walmart

Currently Unavailable

Books-A-Million

Currently Unavailable 

Chapters
Out of the Abyss
Current Price with plum membership: $35.74
ONLINE PRICE: $37.62
Checked this one out, shipping to my US address was $16.42
Total:$54.04

It should be noted that while Wizards of the Coast has official released the cover design for the book that neither Barnes & Noble, nor Amazon have the image currently available on their pre-order pages.  The above image is what Wizards' has released.

The Blurb: Dare to descend into the Underdark in this adventure for the world’s greatest roleplaying game

The Underdark is a subterranean wonderland, a vast and twisted labyrinth where fear reigns. It is the home of horrific monsters that have never seen the light of day. It is here that the dark elf Gromph Baenre, Archmage of Menzoberranzan, casts a foul spell meant to ignite a magical energy that suffuses the Underdark and tears open portals to the demonic Abyss. What steps through surprises even him, and from that moment on, the insanity that pervades the Underdark escalates and threatens to shake the Forgotten Realms to its foundations. Stop the madness before it consumes you!

A Dungeons & Dragons® adventure for characters of levels 1–15

No page count has currently been released.

It is currently ranked #12,686 in books and #9 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Gaming > Dungeons & Dragons

Demon, Demon, Tell Me Your Name. [CONFIRMED]

On Wednesday, May 6, 2015 Christopher Perkins began tweeting out a series of concept art images from the new Dungeons and Dragons adventure, Out of the Abyss, Rage of Demons. Many of these images were clearly tied to the Alice and Wonderland theme that Perkins had discussed as having a large influence in this adventure's design. But one of them caught my eye.

Legion of Doom by Richard Whitters

Of course the original image had neither that title, which is how Perkins introduced it, nor did it have the numbers. I added those to make it easy for people to follow along. There are eight Demon Lords pictured above which leads me to believe that these are the only Demon Lords that will be making an appearance in the adventure. So who are they?

1. Yeenoghu

[Edit 5/9/2015 12:16 AM EST] I wasn't sure about this one at first but +Art Braune quickly recognized it for who it was and +joseph browning confirmed it shortly afterwards. Well done guys!

2.Graz'zt

Not only has Graz'zt been confirmed for the adventure in the press release the image is too close to previous versions of the Demon Lord not to be the same individual.

3. Orcus

If you don't recognize this guy as Orcus than you've clearly never played 4e as he was on the very first Monster Manual. As with Graz'zt he has been confirmed to be in the book by the press release.

4. Zuggtmoy

This one surprised me as it wasn't until Mike Mearls tweet that I realized who she was. Nice to see her back in the game's official products. Would have been even better if she had been brought into the game with a product set in #Greyhawk

Personally, I love the new look for Zuggtmoy. Creepy, elegant, a bit HR Giger. Hits the right notes, IMO. https://t.co/iC9EIYKbcm

— Mike Mearls (@mikemearls) May 7, 2015

5. Baphomet

While not confirmed in the press release he looks so similar to previous versions of the Demon Lord that I feel confident in naming him.

6. Juiblex

THE PUDDING KING, svirfneblin devotee (i.e., flunky) of Juiblex the Faceless Lord. #DareToDescend pic.twitter.com/TpOORhEveP

— Christopher Perkins (@ChrisPerkinsDnD) May 7, 2015

In the above tweet Perkins directly mentions Juiblex and it would seem counter intuitive to have a creature that far maligned without the Demon Lord itself being involved.

7. Fraz-Urb'luu

I may be out on a limb here but when you compare the wings, ears, tail, and oversized hands of this bad boy he sure reminds me of my favorite Greyhawkian Demon Lord. And considering that you've already brought in Zuggtmoy and Graz'zt, two Demon Lords heavily associated with the setting, I figure it's not that big of a stretch for them to pull in a third as well. I really hope I'm right here. 

What do you all think?

8. Demogorgon

He was confirmed in the press release and is on the cover of the adventure. I think this one is too easy.

9. Jozan, The World's Luckiest Cleric.

Well, he's not been around since Third Edition. So why not show us all how he died and then had his corpse defiled by the Demon Lords who tagged each other in to keep the fun going for six months straight. 

So those are my guesses as to the identities of the 8 Demon Lords in the picture. Do you have any to add to that list?

[EDIT 5/9/2015 11:46 AM EST] I just got confirmation from Chris Perkins that all of the demons are correctly identified and that I got Jozan wrong. So I changed Jozan to a Cleric!

 

You got the demon lords right. However, Jozan is a cleric, not a fighter! 😎 https://t.co/UmJLn0Mqyn

— Christopher Perkins (@ChrisPerkinsDnD) May 9, 2015

Out of the Abyss, Rage of Demons, Announced and a Look at Other Connected Products that have been Announced.

This morning Wizards of the Coast announced the next storyline being produced for Fifth Edition: Out of the Abyss, Rage of Demons. According to the synopsis the adventure takes place in the Underdark where the the Archmage of Menzoberranzan, Gromph Baenre, has torn open a portal to the demonic Abyss; out of the portal came the Demon Lords who are now wreaking havoc in the Forgotten Realms.

It was confirmed this morning by The Newbie DM that Wizards of the Coast has elected to follow a similar strategy to previously published storylines, Tyranny of Dragons and Princes of the Apocalypse, with Out of the Abyss, Rage of Demons by working on the latest storyline in conjunction with a third party company, Green Ronin.

@newbiedm @Wizards_DnD We worked with the talented folks at Green Ronin Publishing.

— Nathan Stewart (@NathanBStewart) May 6, 2015

Green Ronin has built up a reputation for publishing fantastic products, consistently high production standards, and award winning games since it was first founded in 2000. Bringing them on board to work on Out of the Abyss, Rage of Demons sets the expectations for the adventure at a higher level than the fantastic Princes of the Apocalypse had already set.

This storyline will see the continued expansion of the Dungeons & Dragons game across a wide swath of media including books, a computer and console video game, and of course the tabletop. Some things have been confirmed in the press release:

• The free MMORPG, Neverwinter, will receive a new expansion designed to bring the players deep into Menzoberranzan with Drizzt Do'Urden tentatively titled Neverwinter: Underdark. There are several unique quests that will be written for this expansion by R.A. Slavatore. You can expect the PC version of Neverwinter to receive the expansion first followed by a release for Xbox One.

• Sword Coast Legends will continue themes of this storyline. In the press release it appeared that Drizzt Do'Urden would be playing a major role.

• Demogorgon, Orcus, Graz’zt, and Drizzt Do'Urden have been confirmed to be in the tabletop adventure; however, Dungeons & Dragons Brand Director, Nathan Stewart, added ". . . D&D fans will get their mettle tested just like Drizzt when they come face to face with all the demon lords . . ." (Tayebi). While this appears to imply that all of the forty-nine Demon Lords from D&D's past may make an appearance in the adventure it is far more likely that it will either only be the three specifically mentioned or the three plus one or two additional surprise appearances. Personally, I hope that Fraz-Urb'luu will show up.

In addition to the above confirmed information we also know that Wizards of the Coast has partnered up with WizKids, GaleForce Nine, and Smiteworks to bring enhancements for the tabletop side of things. Most of what follows is guess work based on the companies' previous products.

WizKids

Icons of the Realms, Set 3, is scheduled for launch in August 2015. There are 128 figures to be released with this run and it is my guess that this set will have figures specifically designed to tie in with the Out of the Abyss, Rage of Demons storyline - though you will not find any of the Demon Lords. Only one of the figures for the run has been revealed at this time and it's a wicked looking White Dragon promotional figure. As I find out more specifics of the line in the coming months I will have more concrete information.

GaleForce Nine

Out of the Abyss, Rage of Demons Deluxe DM Screen and Cards: This is a fairly safe bet as GaleForce Nine has released a Tyranny Of The Dragons DM Screen and have a Elemental Evil DM Screen that was released for the Princes of the Apocalypse.

Out of the Abyss, Rage of Demons Spellbook Cards: This too seems a fairly safe bet as GaleForce Nine has released an Elemental Evil Spellbook Cards for the Princes of the Apocalypse. 

Deluxe Demon Lord Figures: GaleForce Nine has been the go to producer for all the deluxe miniatures for Wizards of the Coast for a while now and with the announcement that they will continue to partner with Wizards this seems like a forgone conclusion.

Smiteworks

Exclusive maps, sprites, and online content. With the announcement that Smiteworks's Fantasy Grounds had gotten a license for the Dungeons & Dragons game this appears to be a foregone conclusion.

Out of the Abyss, Rage of Demons will be released on September 15, 2015 to the wider market at a price of $49.95 and will take players from level 1 - 15. While the later street date might indicate to some that Wizards of the Coast will have nothing for Gen Con 2015 I would like to remind everyone that they released books early last year as a Gen Con exclusive so it's likely that they will do so again.

As of this writing no sites have listed the new adventure for pre-order.