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Best d20 Publishers?
- Thread starter demon_jr
- Start date
skeetyrbug
First Post
Necromancer Games is the leader in 3e adventures. S&SS are a close second. sourcebooks would have to go to S&SS, and Malhavoc behind them. Bastion Press is in the running. Overall best company (check their customer service) is Necromancer.
Lady Dragon
First Post
Mixmaster
Not really,I just think their stuff is average.The Hardcover touched by the gods is the only real standout the rest is neither really bed nor really good although I am looking forward to the Occult book.
Not really,I just think their stuff is average.The Hardcover touched by the gods is the only real standout the rest is neither really bed nor really good although I am looking forward to the Occult book.
I hear a lot of people say great things about Mongoose, but I haven't seen it. Of course, I've only purchased two products from them -- their guide to Necromancy, and Skraag, City of the Orcs -- but based on what I've seen there, I'm not buying anything else.
The Necromancy book was okay, but frankly the $6.95 Necromancy download from Ambient was better and more interesting. Longer, too, as I recall. Better quality for one third the price (when you figure in the 5 bucks shipping). Not a good sign.
Skraag is interesting . . . but it's about half of a city. Interesting backstory, some NPC descripts, token prestige classes, etc., but no detailed city map at *all*. Vague statements about what the tavern is like, the equipment shop is like, what the guards and law enforcement is like . . . half of what I need to drop it into my campaign -- and for twenty bucks (after including shipping, even though the shipping costs them a buck-fifty) -- I expect more than half of a city.
Maybe the other Mongoose books are better. I hope they are.
PS A few of the Ambient Necromancy spells looked like carbon copies of the Mongoose Necromancy spells. Very odd. It makes sense that there would be some overlap, but . . . well, this is a topic best suited for another thread.
The Necromancy book was okay, but frankly the $6.95 Necromancy download from Ambient was better and more interesting. Longer, too, as I recall. Better quality for one third the price (when you figure in the 5 bucks shipping). Not a good sign.
Skraag is interesting . . . but it's about half of a city. Interesting backstory, some NPC descripts, token prestige classes, etc., but no detailed city map at *all*. Vague statements about what the tavern is like, the equipment shop is like, what the guards and law enforcement is like . . . half of what I need to drop it into my campaign -- and for twenty bucks (after including shipping, even though the shipping costs them a buck-fifty) -- I expect more than half of a city.
Maybe the other Mongoose books are better. I hope they are.
PS A few of the Ambient Necromancy spells looked like carbon copies of the Mongoose Necromancy spells. Very odd. It makes sense that there would be some overlap, but . . . well, this is a topic best suited for another thread.
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demon_jr said:
Well, I look at a publisher in terms of how much use I get out of their products in my game. Stuff that has an immediate use or will get a lot of use rates high on my list. A lot of the D20 publishers produce some fine bathroom reading material but not stuff that I will make extensive use of in my games. I don't generally buy rpg material just to read.
As far as the best bang for the buck the winner in my mind has to be Necromancer Games. Their modules so far have been excellent and offer hours and hours of actual play time. They have a great price/page ratio and their web bonuses are sometimes better than what other people are publishing in print.
Second would be Swords & Sorcery Studios. I don't plan on ever running a Scarred Lands campaign but so far I have found most of their stuff to contain a lot of usable items, whether that be monsters CC1&CC2 or spells/magic Relics& Rituals.
Turjan
Explorer
For me this has to be:
1. Green Ronin Publishing: lots of well developed ideas, good grasp of the rules, constant level of quality - I hope they can keep it up
. This holds true for both, adventures (Freeport) and sourcebooks (Arcana 
)
2. Fiery Dragon Productions: fine adventures with a fresh take on old concepts (I like their alert system), plus some nice illustrations.
3. Atlas Games: absolutely beautiful products (best art on an overall basis), good editing, nice ideas, though not flawless.
Additionally I'd like to mention:
Sword & Sorcery Studios: several exceptional sourcebooks (Hallowfaust, Relics & Rituals), a bit on the powerful side balance-wise, awful art, terrible maps
.
Malhavoc Press: nice take on core classes and concepts of magic
Well, I won't include companies with just few or single outstanding products (like Mystic Eye Games, Fantasy Flight Games) or those with much light and much shadow (like Mongoose).
Turjan
1. Green Ronin Publishing: lots of well developed ideas, good grasp of the rules, constant level of quality - I hope they can keep it up
. This holds true for both, adventures (Freeport) and sourcebooks (Arcana )2. Fiery Dragon Productions: fine adventures with a fresh take on old concepts (I like their alert system), plus some nice illustrations.
3. Atlas Games: absolutely beautiful products (best art on an overall basis), good editing, nice ideas, though not flawless.
Additionally I'd like to mention:
Sword & Sorcery Studios: several exceptional sourcebooks (Hallowfaust, Relics & Rituals), a bit on the powerful side balance-wise, awful art, terrible maps
.Malhavoc Press: nice take on core classes and concepts of magic
Well, I won't include companies with just few or single outstanding products (like Mystic Eye Games, Fantasy Flight Games) or those with much light and much shadow (like Mongoose).
Turjan
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1) FFG for their consistently good generic supplements that are useful for any game, plus Dragonstar, which is one of the most interesting settings to show up in quite a while.
2) Paradigm-- somewhat weak on the mechanics and editing, but their world has loads of flavor and the modules are very well written
After that I would probably have Malhavoc, Green Ronin, Ambient, and Natural 20, but since I only have 1-2 products from each I can't really pass judgement on them as publishers.
2) Paradigm-- somewhat weak on the mechanics and editing, but their world has loads of flavor and the modules are very well written
After that I would probably have Malhavoc, Green Ronin, Ambient, and Natural 20, but since I only have 1-2 products from each I can't really pass judgement on them as publishers.
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