General RPG DiscussionDiscussion of all RPGs and non-system-specific topics. DM/GM/player issues, settings, etc. Rules discussion belongs in one the forums below.
I most certainly would not. I don't buy from "company" stores to begin with, to be locked into one hitched to a company apparently as capricious as WotC has become would be a dangerous way to spend my money, to wit:
me: Hey I want a digital copy of the FIEND FOLIO. wotc: Here you go, $x.99.
me: Hey six months have gone by, I need to refer to my digital FIEND FOLIO. wotc: woop! New subscription price, $.99 per minute to view!
Parenthetically, photostat copies of the manuscript rules were made, and when the commercial game was published, fans not willing or financially unable to expend the princely sum of $10 for the product did likewise, copying the material on school (mainly college/university) machines. We were well aware of this, and many gamers who had spent their hard-earned money to buy the game were more irate than we were. In all, though, the 'pirate' material was more helpful that not. Many new fans were made by DMs who were using such copies to run their games. - Gary Gygax
I have this thing about not rewarding bad corporate behavior.
__________________ "This game requires no gameboard because the action takes place in your imagination..." - Cover of Dungeons & Dragons Basic Rules Set 1.
No. Up until about 13 hours ago I was a devout WotC apologist, I purchased older edition products from their PDF store and the occassional 4e book (for use with older editions). Over the last three years or so, I spent well over 2k on 3rd Edition D&D books. Today? I wouldn't give them a penny.
There isn't anything WotC could do that would convince me it was 'safe' to subscribe to a WotC service that required long term commitment, be it the DDI or a magazine subscription. I'm absolutely convinced that they would cancel either without notice or refunds if it suited them to do so.
No. I don't like subscriptions on principle. I prefer to purchase (actually own a physical object) and I prefer to browse before I buy.
Now, if WotC decided to re-publish some of these old, out-of-print books in a limited edition collector's set, using actual paper and ink? I would buy every single one of them. Well, as long as they stayed faithful to the original, that is.
I am not interested in an "updated" or "improved" version of a classic, or another sodding sequel. I wouldn't even want "modern" cover art, but I might be willing to let that slide. I don't want a Rob Zombie remake of Halloween; I want the original Halloween on Blu-Ray.
For obvious reasons, this can never happen. But oh, how I wish it could...
Location: “Over the Hills and Far Away” - (TDY in Florida - "Home" is Michigan)
Posts: 1,547
No, because...
It's too damn late.
WotC could put their entire back catalog up on their own site tomorrow, for $1.00 a pdf, and I wouldn't subscribe or buy because...
It's too damn late.
WotC could decide to release the Omnibus Edition of D&D tomorrow, with side by side rules for every edition of D&D ever printed, and sell it for $20.00 or less, and I wouldn't subscribe or buy because...
It's too damn late.
You can bend the goodwill of your customers for only so long, but once you've broken it, you're done. I'll reserve my goodwill for other RPG companies now. If the D&D brand ends up belonging to another company some day, then I'll purchase D&D products again. But not a minute before.
__________________ Mark "El Mahdi" Armstrong - Semper Operor Verus
". . . after all, that is why we're here. Kill the last bad guy and then there's cake." - Major General Jack O'Neal
"Don't Just Do It, Just Do It Right!"
"Right, without Reason, is unmitigated Foolishness."
"If you make a mistake, Acknowledge It, then make it Right."
Probably, if they offered downloads of the older stuff. I'd at least consider it, and that would be a factor in favor of it.
__________________ "Y'know, I think my favorite thing about being a hero of destiny is that it gives you all kinds of narrative justification to just slay any ol' jerk who gets in your way." -- 8-bit Theater
"i did not serve with napolean in his artillery. but i did play wargames with him and his men." -- diaglo
I have most (probably all) of the pre-4e books that I need already. And I cannot imagine wanting to pay a monthly fee simply to play rpgs; as it is, I spend money on my hobby some months but not others.
__________________ Jack, you have debauched my sloth.
Linear Mode
And yet another word from our sponsors
