D&D General "As a whole, 3rd Party Products Make D&D Better." (a poll)
GMforPowergamers
Legend
I voted false... in 2e and when 3e was new even a bit into 3.5 I would have said true, but I have been burned too many times.
WotC itself shows that repeatedly they themselves have trouble following there own rules and making fun balanced content (in this case I don't even just mean balanced like a new class... but an adventure that is fun in all three listed types of play too) and as such I have had to think through each new book (it is easier with slower 5e releases) about if I will let them into my games or not... but mostly I do allow WotC stuff.
3rd parties are SO hit or miss. I often use them for inspiration, there are some companies (or people) I have learned to trust, and some that I steer clear of (no second chances) due to wildly good or bad results... but I just don't have the time to check out every 3rd party so lately I just say no... even to the ones I liked. I have 1 or 2 books from 3rd parties I will make exceptions for but all of them are 4+ years old now.
and my group generally feels the same way. Even things I would lable good and let into my campagin some of my buddies would not let me play in theres... so there is a time and money investment that could just end up failing that isn't worth it to me anymore.
If I was 20 again and had no major responsibilities and my bills were lower maybe I would feel different.
WotC itself shows that repeatedly they themselves have trouble following there own rules and making fun balanced content (in this case I don't even just mean balanced like a new class... but an adventure that is fun in all three listed types of play too) and as such I have had to think through each new book (it is easier with slower 5e releases) about if I will let them into my games or not... but mostly I do allow WotC stuff.
3rd parties are SO hit or miss. I often use them for inspiration, there are some companies (or people) I have learned to trust, and some that I steer clear of (no second chances) due to wildly good or bad results... but I just don't have the time to check out every 3rd party so lately I just say no... even to the ones I liked. I have 1 or 2 books from 3rd parties I will make exceptions for but all of them are 4+ years old now.
and my group generally feels the same way. Even things I would lable good and let into my campagin some of my buddies would not let me play in theres... so there is a time and money investment that could just end up failing that isn't worth it to me anymore.
If I was 20 again and had no major responsibilities and my bills were lower maybe I would feel different.
Arilyn
Hero
3rd party products bring new ideas and freshness to D&D. My favourite D&D publications are 3rd party. Beowulf (Handiwork Games) is amazing. I'm loving Level Up more than the WoTC core. Kobold Press is solid and I'm looking forward to Twilight Fables by @Sacrosanct.
Snarf Zagyg
Notorious Liquefactionist
… Army with harmony
Snarf drop some learnin' on 'em
… 3PP, how can I explain it
I'll take you game by game it
To have y'all playin' I am splainin' it
3 is for Third, P is for Party- not the kind at the inn
The last P... well... that's a Product you take for a spin
It's not official from the source but you might be smitten
It's five little letters that are missin' here
H-A-S-B-R-O won't ever appear
Unofficial product 'n it seems I gotta start to explainin'
Buy it
Snarf drop some learnin' on 'em
… 3PP, how can I explain it
I'll take you game by game it
To have y'all playin' I am splainin' it
3 is for Third, P is for Party- not the kind at the inn
The last P... well... that's a Product you take for a spin
It's not official from the source but you might be smitten
It's five little letters that are missin' here
H-A-S-B-R-O won't ever appear
Unofficial product 'n it seems I gotta start to explainin'
Buy it
Shardstone
Hero
Man why did you vote false for what is clearly a 5E question.
el-remmen
Moderator Emeritus
In his defense, I tagged this post as "D&D General"
I read it as "the existence of 3rd party products makes D&D better".
If you go by averages you fall victim to Sturgeon's Law and you'd conclude that on average everything is terrible and there's no point to entertainment of any kind.
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