Are Avalanche Press products good?

[Teflon Billy]

Why does another person not buying something because it is personally offensive to them cause you so much consternation? Nobody is telling you what you should or shouldn't buy, so why do you feel the need to tell other people what they should or shouldn't buy? I don't think you've clarified anything at all. I also think that conversation is more productive when people respect other people's opinions.

...none of which is what you took me to task for when you claimed that I meant "anything I didn't agree with" or "Had no coherent argument against" when I used the term "Politically Correct".

I was pointing out that neither was the case.

I very much respect your opinion on Avalanche Press products, but it does not seem that you extend the same courtesy to others.

You are correct on two counts. I don't "extend the courstesy of respect" to most anyone. It's an earned commodity.

And I particularly have no respect for an uninformed opinion, and judging a book solely by its cover does not equal "informed" where I come from.

 

[Benben]

Specifically, I'm looking for DM's opinions on there mini-campaign settings(like the Celtic one, Arabian and Aztec).

I'll ignore the 10,000th round of debate on the covers and just answer blackshirt5's question.

Avalanche press does excellent historical research into their products; however, they are too thin to be a good sourcebook, and the D20 implementations are flat and unimaginative.

They are a good start for a historically inspired campaign but they can't be the only sourcebook a DM uses for a setting.

 

[Crothian]

Re: Re: Are Avalanche Press products good?

Avalanche press does excellent historical research into their products; however, they are too thin to be a good sourcebook, and the D20 implementations are flat and unimaginative.

They are a good start for a historically inspired campaign but they can't be the only sourcebook a DM uses for a setting.

Monkey God's Stone to Steel is a pretty good resource. It covers a lot of area, no0t just one specific time and it's mostly about weapons. But it is still really cool and damn useful.

 

[fusangite]

Originally posted by kenjib

Why does another person not buying something because it is personally offensive to them cause you so much consternation? Nobody is telling you what you should or shouldn't buy, so why do you feel the need to tell other people what they should or shouldn't buy? I don't think you've clarified anything at all. I also think that conversation is more productive when people respect other people's opinions.

One should not respect other people's opinions just because they are other people's opinions. If someone's opinion is racist, for instance, I think everyone here would agree that it doesn merit respect just because it is someone else's opinion.

In my view, there is a reason "Don't judge a book by its cover" is a saying that everyone knows. This idea is part of the received wisdom of our culture. So, when someone publicly states that they do judge a book by its cover and that this is a good way to judge a book, I think disrespect for such an opinion is more than warranted.

 

[kenjib]

This a difference in perspective. I respect people by default and require that they earn my disrespect, rather than disrespecting people by default. I believe that most people are good, decent people deserving of respect and dignity. Furthermore, there is a difference between disagreeing with someone's argument and disrespecting it. I believe that this distinction is central to the furtherance of civil discourse. Anyways, this is too far off topic. You can respond and then I will not, so as to prevent further interruption.

EDIT: Added a couple of words I missed the first time around.

 

[Teflon Billy]

Re: Re: Re: Are Avalanche Press products good?

Monkey God's Stone to Steel is a pretty good resource. It covers a lot of area, no0t just one specific time and it's mostly about weapons. But it is still really cool and damn useful.

I agree with Crothian, It's a magnificent resource. I hope it does well in the ENnies.

 

[Teflon Billy]

This a difference in perspective. I respect people by default and require that they earn my disrespect, rather than disrespecting people by default. I believe that most people are good, decent people.

We can agree that this is a fundamental difference of perspective and leave it at that then.

 

[billd91]

In my view, there is a reason "Don't judge a book by its cover" is a saying that everyone knows. This idea is part of the received wisdom of our culture. So, when someone publicly states that they do judge a book by its cover and that this is a good way to judge a book, I think disrespect for such an opinion is more than warranted.

Ah, but again, this depends. If you're rejecting the quality of the content of the book by looking at its cover, then I would agree that you are making an inappropriate judgement. If, however, you think the book is making a poor impression of the game industry as a whole, pandering to young males with cheesecake, or promoting sexism in the gaming hobby, then I think it's quite reasonable to withhold your buying dollars from that company until they shape up.

 

[ColonelHardisson]

OK, I want to point out, again, that many of Avalanche's more recent releases do not feature the kind of cover art that has caused some consternation. I, Mordred is one of those that has a non-potentially-offensive cover, as does the knight book, the Celts sourcebook, the mount book, Last Days of Constantinople, and Blood Prince (this last one has a bit of cheesecake, sorta, but not like some of the other covers. So how about these books? Anyone want to chime in on their relative quality, content-wise? I'll mention, again (for the millionth time ), that I really liked I, Mordred, which was a really different take on the Arthurian legends.

 

[billd91]

OK, I want to point out, again, that many of Avalanche's more recent releases do not feature the kind of cover art that has caused some consternation. I, Mordred is one of those that has a non-potentially-offensive cover, as does the knight book, the Celts sourcebook, the mount book, Last Days of Constantinople, and Blood Prince (this last one has a bit of cheesecake, sorta, but not like some of the other covers. So how about these books? Anyone want to chime in on their relative quality, content-wise? I'll mention, again (for the millionth time ), that I really liked I, Mordred, which was a really different take on the Arthurian legends.

I liked Last Days of Constantinople. Sure, the NPCs in it could use a little editing for compliance with rules but we'll be doing that kind of thing for 3.5 anyway.
The depth of the setting is where this module really shines.