One of the goals of the marketplace changes was to be able to sell our physical books on-site (and apologies if I'm misunderstanding your question in that regard).
If you mean having it on sale as a digital item and eventually becoming part of the compendium, that's not gonna happen with this book.
EDIT: I realized I forgot to answer the first part of your post. It got a bit of marketing in March when Gary Con happened, and has sporadically been posted about since, but yeah, that isn't the same as how one of the sourcebooks or adventures would be marketed.
I mean, it’s a book on the history of D&D, as I understand it. I’m not sure how much else there is to market for it. Plus it seems like more of a niche product, so the marketing could be less about convincing a bunch of people that they want to buy it and more just getting the word out for the people who are already up for dropping $100 on it for its collectible/sentimental value.
Yeah, this is sort of the same market as Art and Arcana and the Lore and Legends special edition books which both went over ~$100, but can now be found for half that. They are niche/nostalgia products, fan histories basically, so seeing one sort of marginal in the marketplace isn't all that surprising. I'm sort of surprised they are selling it though.
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Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
Yeah, this feels like the kind of thing you really start marketing in November as a gift idea. I suspect beyond that, most people who would be interested already know about it.
But as far as the November thing, if someone could somehow get this idea in front of my wife time for Chanukah, that would be really nice. Just manifesting that idea. Don’t mind me.
Yeah, this is sort of the same market as Art and Arcana and the Lore and Legends special edition books which both went over ~$100, but can now be found for half that. They are niche/nostalgia products, fan histories basically, so seeing one sort of marginal in the marketplace isn't all that surprising. I'm sort of surprised they are selling it though.
correct! we tweeted a picture of it a bit ago: it is a CHONKER.
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Regarding the press around it, it has been mentioned multiple times on D&D Beyond and other places, so I would hardly say it has not been advertised. I expect it might get more promotion the closer to release.
The one thing I am interested in? D&D’s history, especially from official products, has been heavily sanitized for various reasons. Wizards had increasingly acknowledged some of the game’s problematic origins - but has been pretty careful to avoid condemning Gygax directly.
The real history of D&D is a fascinatingly complex tale - a tale of friends making a game, and falling to the corruption of power. A tale of a man who made a game that allowed marginalized people to explore sides of themselves the real world rejected…. While himself being an outspoken bigot. A tale of hubris which led to the implosion of the company which ran it. A tale of a company still grappling with the complicated legacy it inherited from this game’s early days.
There is a fascinating story to be told - and there is a way to tell that story in a manner which both celebrates the game and informs the reader of its darker sides. That would be the book I want to read - though I expect this will be more on the sanitized celebration side of things.
I like it for the lore aspect (history of the hobby is a topic that never gets old for me) but I'm also excited about seeing the original white box rules that mentioned Ents and Hobbits before the Wrath of Tolkien's Estate crashed down on TSR.
I have seen a bunch of tweets both from DDB & Wizards (D&D) on the book, and they have been sharing decent info about it, but if i was not following those two channels, I'm not sure I would know about it.
I'm interested in it, but I'll wait and see if the price goes down in a year or two.
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Breathe, dragons; sing of the First World, forged out of chaos and painted with beauty. Sing of Bahamut, the Platinum, molding the shape of the mountains and rivers; Sing too of Chromatic Tiamat, painting all over the infinite canvas. Partnered, they woke in the darkness; partnered, they labored in acts of creation.
With this in hand, I would finally be able to answer a question correctly on D&D's Trivial Pursuit!
(Seriously, you have to practically have been working for TSR to be able to answer those questions).
Laughs in D&D Trivial Pursuit domination.
Okay, real talk, sometimes Chris Perkins will bring Trivial Pursuit cards to his panels about Dungeon Mastering and while I contain SO MUCH useless knowledge, I felt so inadequate.
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Right, but I recently noticed Amazon was taking pre orders for a Benjamin, and wondered why it’s barely mentioned?
Barely mentioned in what aspect? Like you haven't seen much marketing for it, or some other reason? /gen
I never even heard of it until this thread popped up.
In addition to the aforementioned videos, they included both a description and a preorder link in the 50th Anniversary Release Schedule announcement that was on the front page.
An article that got buried months ago, and this is really the first thread to really mention it since. It wasn’t till I found an an article online ( i think it was dragonsfootmagizne but not too sure? ), and just wondered why so little reporting on it was made.
A hundo for a 547 page book is not that bad, but still a bit pricey. I would have thought it would go for something like $79.99 or $74.99.
I guess we’ll know more in 12ish hours.
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So, noticed the new D&D Origins Book that tales of the beginning of Dungeons & Dragons game is up for PRE Order for $99.99.
So what is the details on this item I wonder?
They put up a video a few months back.
https://youtu.be/PhxVlgehNpc?si=hq2Toqqz4Ya_t7Zh
Right, but I recently noticed Amazon was taking pre orders for a Benjamin, and wondered why it’s barely mentioned?
Barely mentioned in what aspect? Like you haven't seen much marketing for it, or some other reason? /gen
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Yea, like no real marketing saying “D&D lore drop, 540+ pages incoming” or something.
Oh , btw is the wiz site changes due to possibly having the book on sale here in the future?
One of the goals of the marketplace changes was to be able to sell our physical books on-site (and apologies if I'm misunderstanding your question in that regard).
If you mean having it on sale as a digital item and eventually becoming part of the compendium, that's not gonna happen with this book.
EDIT: I realized I forgot to answer the first part of your post. It got a bit of marketing in March when Gary Con happened, and has sporadically been posted about since, but yeah, that isn't the same as how one of the sourcebooks or adventures would be marketed.
Your Friendly Neighborhood Community Manager (she/her)
You can call me LT. :)
CM Hat On | CM Hat Off
Generally active from 9am - 6pm CDT [GMT-5].
Thank you for your patience if you message me outside of those hours!
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I mean, it’s a book on the history of D&D, as I understand it. I’m not sure how much else there is to market for it. Plus it seems like more of a niche product, so the marketing could be less about convincing a bunch of people that they want to buy it and more just getting the word out for the people who are already up for dropping $100 on it for its collectible/sentimental value.
Yeah, this is sort of the same market as Art and Arcana and the Lore and Legends special edition books which both went over ~$100, but can now be found for half that. They are niche/nostalgia products, fan histories basically, so seeing one sort of marginal in the marketplace isn't all that surprising. I'm sort of surprised they are selling it though.
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
Yeah, this feels like the kind of thing you really start marketing in November as a gift idea. I suspect beyond that, most people who would be interested already know about it.
But as far as the November thing, if someone could somehow get this idea in front of my wife time for Chanukah, that would be really nice. Just manifesting that idea. Don’t mind me.
With this in hand, I would finally be able to answer a question correctly on D&D's Trivial Pursuit!
(Seriously, you have to practically have been working for TSR to be able to answer those questions).
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correct! we tweeted a picture of it a bit ago: it is a CHONKER.
Your Friendly Neighborhood Community Manager (she/her)
You can call me LT. :)
CM Hat On | CM Hat Off
Generally active from 9am - 6pm CDT [GMT-5].
Thank you for your patience if you message me outside of those hours!
Useful Links: Site Rules & Guidelines | D&D Educator Resources | Change Your Nickname | Submit a Support Ticket

Regarding the press around it, it has been mentioned multiple times on D&D Beyond and other places, so I would hardly say it has not been advertised. I expect it might get more promotion the closer to release.
The one thing I am interested in? D&D’s history, especially from official products, has been heavily sanitized for various reasons. Wizards had increasingly acknowledged some of the game’s problematic origins - but has been pretty careful to avoid condemning Gygax directly.
The real history of D&D is a fascinatingly complex tale - a tale of friends making a game, and falling to the corruption of power. A tale of a man who made a game that allowed marginalized people to explore sides of themselves the real world rejected…. While himself being an outspoken bigot. A tale of hubris which led to the implosion of the company which ran it. A tale of a company still grappling with the complicated legacy it inherited from this game’s early days.
There is a fascinating story to be told - and there is a way to tell that story in a manner which both celebrates the game and informs the reader of its darker sides. That would be the book I want to read - though I expect this will be more on the sanitized celebration side of things.
I never even heard of it until this thread popped up.
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I like it for the lore aspect (history of the hobby is a topic that never gets old for me) but I'm also excited about seeing the original white box rules that mentioned Ents and Hobbits before the Wrath of Tolkien's Estate crashed down on TSR.
I hope it's released on digital book stores, that's just my preference though
I have seen a bunch of tweets both from DDB & Wizards (D&D) on the book, and they have been sharing decent info about it, but if i was not following those two channels, I'm not sure I would know about it.
I'm interested in it, but I'll wait and see if the price goes down in a year or two.
Breathe, dragons; sing of the First World, forged out of chaos and painted with beauty.
Sing of Bahamut, the Platinum, molding the shape of the mountains and rivers;
Sing too of Chromatic Tiamat, painting all over the infinite canvas.
Partnered, they woke in the darkness; partnered, they labored in acts of creation.
Laughs in D&D Trivial Pursuit domination.
Coriana - Company of the Grey Chain
Wagner - Dragon Heist: Bards.
DM - The Old Keep
Okay, real talk, sometimes Chris Perkins will bring Trivial Pursuit cards to his panels about Dungeon Mastering and while I contain SO MUCH useless knowledge, I felt so inadequate.
Your Friendly Neighborhood Community Manager (she/her)
You can call me LT. :)
CM Hat On | CM Hat Off
Generally active from 9am - 6pm CDT [GMT-5].
Thank you for your patience if you message me outside of those hours!
Useful Links: Site Rules & Guidelines | D&D Educator Resources | Change Your Nickname | Submit a Support Ticket

In addition to the aforementioned videos, they included both a description and a preorder link in the 50th Anniversary Release Schedule announcement that was on the front page.
An article that got buried months ago, and this is really the first thread to really mention it since. It wasn’t till I found an an article online ( i think it was dragonsfootmagizne but not too sure? ), and just wondered why so little reporting on it was made.
A hundo for a 547 page book is not that bad, but still a bit pricey. I would have thought it would go for something like $79.99 or $74.99.
I guess we’ll know more in 12ish hours.