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[Faraer]

Originally Posted by Fenarisk

I'm sorry to break this to you but 99% of the people who buy and use D&D products have no idea who these people are and don't recognize/care about the names.

RPG authors are less respected than they should be because publishers play up brands and play down individual writers and their names, so they aren't dependent on them and can stop paying them with minimal harm to the all-important brands. The ENnies, which list books by publisher rather than author, are complicit in this, and the latest Wizards strategy emphasizing the D&D and Magic brands above all else is likely to worsen it. It's a nasty, manipulative practice that holds down the artistic quality of RPG writing and makes it even harder to earn a living as an RPG writer.

Consumers purchase a product and don't really notice or need to notice authors or "behind the scenes" people. I've played D&D since 2e and I have no idea who any of these people are, and still don't.

Being happy to buy writing so bland and interchangeable it could have been written by any staff writer and you can't tell the difference isn't something to be proud of. Jonathan Tweet, in particular, is one of the most talented people in roleplaying, and his firing is big news for the field as a whole.