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Message: <blockquote data-quote="The Shaman" data-source="post: 2731726" data-attributes="member: 26473">I don't think that's what being argued at all - I believe you're missing the point.The argument is that Wizards of the Coast's 'safe' strategy produces vanilla books which sell well, but that doesn't make them particularly 'good' (read: innovative and interesting, moving the hobby in new directions) unless one defines quality by sales figures.There seems to be a boom-and-bust integral to the gaming 'industry' - a new product is released, people snap it up, more product is released, fewer and fewer people buy it, and so a new edition is released, and the process starts all over again. I believe that it would be healthier for the cottage industry that is RPGs if the focus was on creating sustained growth, rather than simply trying to ride out the rough patches until the next boom rolls around.Now WotC seems to have figured this out, but while they're the industry leader in terms of business planning, they seem to think that this also means playing to the lowest common denominator most of the time: "Okay, people like Jedis and the Force from Star Wars, so let's turn that into a 'new' magic system and new classes for Dungeons and Dragons!" "Great idea!" And so the dreck of Incarnum was born.You're right - some of it's completely execrable.No, I consider my tastes pretty far outside the mainstream.However, I'm still capable of weighing a book on its merits as an RPG resource, and comparing it to similar products from other publishers, even if it doesn't appeal to me personally or is something that I plan to use in my own games. WotC products rarely deliver the same level of innovation that third-party publishers provide, even when it's the same authors working on the respective WotC and third-party books. To me this reflects a middle-of-the-road design strategy that permeates WotC's decision making, one that I find produces bland books.Including .pdfs, about a dozen.</blockquote>

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