Are we fair to WotC?

[Wicht]

You don't have a personal relationship with WotC, or any other game publisher.

How do you know this to be true?

Actually the RPG publishing universe is pretty small. You do a little freelancing or get out to a few Cons and its pretty easy to get to know some people, connect with them on Facebook, and keep abreast of what's going on in their personal life. Most "Game Publishers," WotC and Paizo being exceptions, are mostly one or two people. But even most of the Paizo staff, once you get into the right circles, are fairly socially accessible via the internet community and conventions.

 

[TwoSix]

So you can be disappointed. You can decide that their products aren't for you. You can long for the days when your wishes were the ones being fulfilled. But don't act insulted. That just reeks of everything unpleasant about the gaming community.

I XP'ed you for this, but since comments don't show up anymore, I want to quote you just to show how much I agree with this statement.

I'm not happy with WotC's current direction with the D&D brand, but I don't have any negative feelings about WotC. I certainly don't think they have negative feelings towards me. I just think they're wrong.

 

[TwoSix]

ToB, anyone? The late monster manuals, the second round of splats, even the 3.5 core books themselves (which I SRDed but didn't buy until after the 4e release). These things were all signs of a desperate company needing to make money but lacking ideas on how to do it. I stopped buying their stuff for a reason.

I would argue that every Complete book was superior to its 3.0 counterpart. With the exception of certain products (the abysmal MMIV and MMV, the unnecessary environment series, Complete Champion, Complete Psionic, and maybe MoI), late 3.5 was the most exciting time for me as both a player and a DM. Tome of Battle, the PHB2, Unearthed Arcana, Complete Mage, the Magic Item Compendium are all standouts to my mind.

 

[sheadunne]

I would argue that every Complete book was superior to its 3.0 counterpart. With the exception of certain products (the abysmal MMIV and MMV, the unnecessary environment series, Complete Champion, Complete Psionic, and maybe MoI), late 3.5 was the most exciting time for me as both a player and a DM. Tome of Battle, the PHB2, Unearthed Arcana, Complete Mage, the Magic Item Compendium are all standouts to my mind.

That was my feeling about 3.5 books as well. Things started getting interesting near the end.

 

[Dragonblade]

ToB, anyone?

Tome of Battle is, in my personal opinion, the single best product to ever come out of the 3e era. Even Paizo has yet to release a Pathfinder book that rivals my love for this product.

 

[TwoSix]

Tome of Battle is, in my personal opinion, the single best product to ever come out of the 3e era. Even Paizo has yet to release a Pathfinder book that rivals my love for this product.

Dreamscarred Press is working on a ToB style book for Pathfinder, which I am actually looking forward to.

 

[TwoSix]

That was my feeling about 3.5 books as well. Things started getting interesting near the end.

Yep. A game using the ToB classes, Beguilers, Dread Necromancers, Warmages, Warlocks, and Scouts would be my 3e ideal. Add in lots of houseruled alternative class features, and maybe a healing oriented Warmage type class (a missed opportunity for Complete Champion!), and I'd be a happy camper.

 

[Warbringer]

Dreamscarred Press is working on a ToB style book for Pathfinder, which I am actually looking forward to.

The Warblade is available as a playtest download... Interesting

 

[Stormonu]

WotC used to have catalogs that would tell you what was due out at least three months in advance, if not further. Do they still do articles of what's coming down the road or have they clammed up like Games Workshop (where you learn 3 days before they release new content, it seems)?

I don't understand this. Right on WOTC's web site there's always been a link to their product catalog. Right now it has products up until the beginning of December listed (and has since around May, I think. Meaning that they generally announce 3-6 months prior to release.) Admittedly, this year has been rather scarce on the new D&D front but they have always had an easily accessible catalog, well in advance of actual release.

I was responding to another person's statement who had stated they were only seeing new items via checking Amazon. I hadn't been to WotC's web site in some time, so I didn't know if they still had their future products listed. As you noted that they apparently still do, they used to give us a long lead-time notice on upcoming content, and even had web articles (do they still?) discussing what was coming in the next couple of months. I know since 5E their RPG offering have been slim (as has always been the case with a new edition announcement), but TSR/WotC has always been way more open than, say, Games Workshop.

 

[Vyvyan Basterd]

But even most of the Paizo staff, once you get into the right circles, are fairly socially accessible via the internet community and conventions.

I think what he's saying is that this is about as personal a relationship as following Joss Whedon on Twitter (well, better than that). That the relationship is still "Fan/Publisher", not a personal relationship like "Friend/Friend". Certainly they are friendly and accessible, but not really your friend. Of course there will be a very small fraction of the gamer population for which they do have a personal relationship, but the comment is directed at the majority who think they have one when they really don't.