As you can see from the figures below, Crossing the Millers did pretty well for its first month—and that is, of course, relative to my expectations. Please remember, when looking at those figures, that Sword’s Edge Publishing is a z-list publisher, without staff and without a marketing budget. I count more than 25 sales in the first month as a major win.
Part of the continued strong sales for Sword Noir can be attributed to releasing Crossing the Millers, as any release helps to push sales in back product. Part of it can also be attributed to the “Sword Noir bundle” I have provided over at RPG Now, in which one can purchase Sword Noir and its two existing adventures at a 17% discount on buying them separately. This may have pushed customers who were considering the purchase to actually make it.
I’d like to mention, in case you didn’t know, that anyone who purchased both Sword Noir and the Kheufer Scrolls would have received a coupon for a free copy of Crossing the Millers. If you call into this category but have not received your coupon (likely because I can’t email you through RPG Now), please drop me a line and let me know. Send along your customer number, if you can.
And for those playing along at home, we’ve cleared $ 889.91 of Sword Noir‘s $ 1338.59 cost. I expect sales to drop off dramatically in the following months, so two years to profit may not have been too pessimistic.
It is my hope that October will see the release of Kiss My Axe: Thirteen Warriors and an Angel of Death and then November will see the release of Suffer the Witch, the first Kiss My Axe adventure. That will—hopefully—help to maintain strong sales.
Fingers crossed.
You can find the “Sword Noir bundle” here.
You can find the rest of our catalogue here.
Monthly Sales
Albenistan
Khorforjan Gambit, 2
Qalashar Device, 2
Raid On Ashkashem, 2
Arcane Kingdoms
Arcane Kingdoms, 2
For Simple Coin, 7
Covert Forces
Canada’s Combined Security Reconnaissance Section, 1
Covert Forces Redux, 1
In Her Majesty’s Service, 2
Sword’s Edge System
Crossing the Millers, 32
Sword’s Edge System, Free Rules, 55
Sword Noir, 39
The Kheufer Scrolls, 32
Sales to Date
Albenistan
Albenistan: Election Day (Modern Dispatch 113): 29
Khorforjan Gambit: 93
Qalashar Device: 106
Raid On Ashkashem: 145
Arcane Kingdoms
Arcane Kingdoms: 27
For Simple Coin: 46
Charity Products
Relief Effort: 53
Covert Forces
Canada’s Combined Security Reconnaissance Section: 89
Covert Forces: 100
Covert Forces Redux: 137
In Her Majesty’s Service: 123
Modern Medieval
Gunpowder Plots: 73
Man-At-Arms Advanced Class: 36
Mercenary Advanced Class: 39
Spy Advanced Class: 34
Modern Medieval Compilation: 46
(for Japanese Disaster Relief)
Other
Cyber-state Avatar Toolkit: 35
Line Zero: 32
Roles & Classes
Capable Hero: 84
Combat Hero: 83
Counter-Terrorism Assaulter: 95
Covert Hero: 92
Spec Ops Recce: 93
Special Operations Marksman: 93
Talent Trees Assembled: 68
Sword’s Edge System
Crossing the Millers, 32
Sword’s Edge System, Free Rules 699
Sword Noir 249
The Kheufer Scrolls, 72
Treasure Chest Unlocked
Gems: 66
Incense: 7