Trend of Companies heading away from d20

yipwyg · Dec 29, 2006

I was just wondering how many and which companies are breaking away from d20/D&D and are making products for other systems or creating their own.

I only know of 2 so far.

Green Ronin with their Warhammer series of books
Mongoose with their new Runequest ruleset.

Thanks

Crothian · Dec 29, 2006

Both of them still seem to be supporting d20, they just do other things. And Warhammer is technically by Black Company. Green Ronin is just helping them out I think.

rgard · Dec 29, 2006

yipwyg said:
I was just wondering how many and which companies are breaking away from d20/D&D and are making products for other systems or creating their own.

I only know of 2 so far.

Green Ronin with their Warhammer series of books
Mongoose with their new Runequest ruleset.

Thanks

Serenity (Weis' company?), whoever is doing Solomon Kane, the updating of the Arcanum (Atlantis from the 70s/80s) and I suspect Battlestar Galactica will be non-D20 (Weis again?).

To be honest, I'm really not at all interested in anything non-d20 right now. I have too many D20/OGL/3.5E books, and minis cards to go off on a non-d20 tangent right now and that includes 4E if the 3.5E stuff is useless with it.

Thanks,
Rich

smootrk · Dec 29, 2006

The guys who do the Deadlands game seem to have stopped any further D20 work.

yipwyg · Dec 29, 2006

I know that they still support the d20 system, but they are starting to branch out away from it as well. I think it is so they won't be burned twice, a lot of companies did when 3.5 came out.

I'm just intrigued with what these companies have or will be doing in the future. After 6 years of D20/3.x and 25+ years of playing some form of D&D I am looking to branch out, if nothing to just have a break from it. I still play D&D/D20 2 times a week, but the next time I run a game I plan on not using d20 at all.

I do have the new Runequest system by mongoose, as well as the WFRP game from Green Ronin/Black Industries. I just wanted to find out if there are anymore companies that for whatever reason are going away from d20, to see what they decided to go with. You may say I am a systems junkie, I like reading rulebooks.

Crothian · Dec 29, 2006

Atlas has pretty much left d20, I think they are just doing Ars Magica these days.

White Wolf had Sword and Sroicery, but that's over. Thopugh there is Mont Cooks World of Darkness that may be d20 based.

I think AEG is practically done with RPGs all together.

smootrk · Dec 29, 2006

yipwyg said:
After 6 years of D20/3.x and 25+ years of playing some form of D&D I am looking to branch out, if nothing to just have a break from it. I still play D&D/D20 2 times a week, but the next time I run a game I plan on not using d20 at all.

I feel just the opposite. After all my purchases, the last thing I want to do is learn new and different systems.

I am all for a change of pace with some alternate game setting; not for a change of rules. Too much effort there, and I am getting too old and stuck in my ways to have that kind of variability in my life

.

RFisher · Dec 29, 2006

TLG.

Do you count d20 companies that just don't exist anymore?

Or GOO, who did d20 products but stuck with their house system as well, but is now gone.

Or SJG, who did a few d20 products.

& there's KoK moving from D&D/d20 to HM.

Psion · Dec 29, 2006

Crothian said:
White Wolf had Sword and Sroicery, but that's over. Thopugh there is Mont Cooks World of Darkness that may be d20 based.

They just barely release Horde Player's Guide for WoW RPG.

Psion · Dec 29, 2006

rgard said:
Serenity (Weis' company?), whoever is doing Solomon Kane, the updating of the Arcanum (Atlantis from the 70s/80s) and I suspect Battlestar Galactica will be non-D20 (Weis again?).

Margaret Weiss Productions did Serentity and, yes, will be doing BSG with the same tepid system we are told.

But Atlantis: The Lost World was done by Morrigan Press, the latest keeper of the Talisman license and who also did the Terran Trade Authority game. Though A:TLW has/uses some OGC stuff, other than their TalD20 book they made to cash in on d20 stuff, they haven't really been much of a d20 company.