What publishers do you support (or SHOULD you support)?

Aberzanzorax

Hero

• Jul 14, 2011

• #1

It's simple. Without customers, publishers and their great products go away.

Of course, we buy the products that we become aware of easily or that are, to us, freshly canned "awesomesauce". But many of us might go beyond that. I'm asking about which companies you do, or feel you should, go beyond that.

Going beyond doesn't have to be crazy, I'm asking about simple things. Two things I do are: 1. follow a company closely (I check websites on a regular basis to find out about their products) and 2. buy materials I think are very good, but I might need to do a bit more work to use or might not use immediately.

You're welcome to include WotC and Paizo in your responses, but I'm honestly more interested in companies that might need the help a bit more than the two current giants.


I'm asking two questions:
Who you do support?
Who you think you should support?


EDIT- To the moderators: I placed this in the general forum primarily to bring attention to publishers that might benefit from the help and hopefully to (in a small way) promote the gaming industry as a whole. If you feel a need to move the thread to the RPG Industry forum I wouldn't be upset, but I did put it here intentionally for purposes of exposure (and because it's not specific to any pubilisher, and is "general" in that sense).

 

Last edited: Jul 14, 2011

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Aberzanzorax

Hero

• Jul 14, 2011

• #2

1. Who do I support? Open Design.

I check their website on a regular basis for new product offerings. I also buy 4e DM material even though I only play 4e, and don't DM it. It's good stuff and I can convert it.

2. Who SHOULD I support? Rite Publishing and ENworld.

Rite Publishing seems to have some fantastic stuff (and I just bought one of their adventures, so I'm taking a first step), but I'm not yet invested enough in avenues of determining what materials I might want an what I might not.

I spend enough time here that I really should become a community supporter of ENworld. I really need to do so. I've given them minor support (bought WotBS in print and a few pdfs) but haven't really provided that extra level of support and I think I might push myself to do so soon.

 

Relique du Madde

Adventurer

• Jul 14, 2011

• #3

I currently whole heartedly support Green Ronin since Mutants and Masterminds and True20 are my favorite d20 variants.

When I find products I like or am interested in it tend to purchase them. That said, my most recent purchases have been from:
1. Cubical 9 ( Abney Park's Air Ship Pirates... I may never play it, but I support the Goth/Steam Punk scene).
2. Pinnicle (Savage Lands Deluxe... I have to admit, reading the quick start pdf they have was enought to convince me that the system is perfict for an idea I have).

I'm tempted to purchase Pathfinder because I found myself loving their art.

 

OpsKT

Explorer

• Jul 14, 2011

• #4

Pinnacle Entertainment Group - It is very possible that Savage Worlds will go down as the game I have loved the most in my 22 years of gaming so far, maybe even by the time I hit my deathbed. It just works.

White Wolf - Yeah, they really slowed down their publication schedule a lot but what they make is still really good, and the new World of Darkness is a really clean system, even if 2nd Edition Exalted made me cry with the ticks system.

Catalyst Game Labs - because they gave me a part of my childhood back in the form of Shadowrun and Battletech that finally works.

Chaosium - BRP is one of the most intuitive systems ever, and the XP method (use it to abuse it) is brilliant.

 

Treebore

First Post

• Jul 14, 2011

• #5

Mongoose
Frog God Games
Pinnacle
Cubicle 7
TLG
Kenzer
Wild Fire
Adamant
Green Ronin
Who ever it is behind Eclipse Phase
Paizo
Fat Dragon

 

OpsKT

Explorer

• Jul 14, 2011

• #6

Eclipse Phase is Posthuman Studios, LLC, many of the same people responsible for Shadowrun 4th Edition were involved. I think Posthuman is a subsidiary of Catalyst Game Labs, but don't quote me on that. I know that the hardcopy was at least published with a Catalyst logo on it.

Ok, just checked. Catalyst published first, till they had enough capital to publish on their own. Now they are printing their own stuff.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eclipse_Phase_(role-playing_game)

 

Last edited: Jul 14, 2011

Lancelot

Adventurer

• Jul 14, 2011

• #7

Who I support, and who I think I should support, are the same thing: any publisher that has a product that I am interested in buying, and does not carry out illegal activities.

I don't care if they're "Big Business". I don't care if they "don't listen to their customers". I don't care if they "betrayed the vision of the game/setting". I don't care if they "lack originality" or "nearly destroyed the game" or anything else I read constantly on the boards. I'll judge every product they produce on its own merits, and I'll buy it if I like it.

I won't, however, purchase from a company that plagiarizes other peoples' work... or actively promotes drugs or other illegal practices in its material... or attempts to defraud its customers or other companies. And to forestall an expected response, I don't think the 3e Book of Vile Darkness promotes drugs or necrophilia - it simply describes them, with an appropriate warning on the cover.

Specifically, I tend to buy from...

• Wizards of the Coast
• Paizo
• Flames of War / Gale Force Nine (scenery, play aids)
• Fantasy Flight Games

 

Z

Zelda Themelin

First Post

• Jul 14, 2011

• #8

Paizo mostly. Some modules from other publishers here and there. Humanoids lately for comics.

 

Jan van Leyden

Adventurer

• Jul 14, 2011

• #9

1. WotC and whoever gets me interested in a specific product. I run 4e for my group and find no one to run a game for me to play in. So I either buy what I need or what strikes my fancy. Completely irregular buying habit.

2. I don't feel to have to support one or another publisher. It's their task to get me interested, a task which, in the days of the internet, isn't so hard to do. If a publisher sells me a product which I enjoy (reading), said publisher gets the benefit of doubt and will likely sell me another one or few products.

Now this sounds rather WotC-fanish, but it isn't: recently I've received the Gloomwrought box as birthday present, and my last buy before that was PHB3 one year ago.

 

Treebore

First Post

• Jul 14, 2011

• #10

Just to be clear, I do buy from WOTC, just now a days it is the tiles product line and so far two of their board games. I even bought the Essentials line up through Monster Vault, but I am done with that. Still not turning 4E into anything I am interested in. Monster Vault and the tiles are darn useful though.

However they are not a company I feel that I want or need to support. They are doing fine without me. So didn't, and don't, think they fit into what the OP was asking.