[ENnies] WotC on the outs

[JoeGKushner]

One thing that may be a problem is the official list grows. For example, Kezner and Co. has the Kingdoms of Kalamar, but Gamma World is coming out, and Ravenloft is already out, and Warcraft, an official Dungeons & Dragons game, is out too. As the list of people doing licensed work, like Dragonlance, increases, will they have the same problem or will a new category, "Best Official D&D" product be made?

 

[ColonelHardisson]

One thing that may be a problem is the official list grows. For example, Kezner and Co. has the Kingdoms of Kalamar, but Gamma World is coming out, and Ravenloft is already out, and Warcraft, an official Dungeons & Dragons game, is out too. As the list of people doing licensed work, like Dragonlance, increases, will they have the same problem or will a new category, "Best Official D&D" product be made?

I just want to note this is all just my opinion, and I don't speak for anyone else. Anyway, I hope the non-OGL categories of this year's ENnies are a harbinger of things to come. GenCon is a convention for any and all RPGs (as well as other types of games, but let's just talk about RPGs for ENnies purposes). I think the ENnies, as the official GenCon awards, should reflect that, and recognize more than just d20/OGL games.

 

[Crothian]

I think limiting each company to one entry in each catagory is fine, but otherwise keep it open.
Saying "you can't enter, you're too big" is pretty arbitrary.

Of course, then you have to decide if all the White Wolf companies only get one entry

It has nothing to do with the size of the comapny, it's about the rules under which they can create books. With the ogl and SRD Wizards is just able to do more then the other people.

 

[JoeGKushner]

It has nothing to do with the size of the comapny, it's about the rules under which they can create books. With the ogl and SRD Wizards is just able to do more then the other people.

I don't know if this is true.

If Wizards let Epic in the open, would we have Legendary Classes by FFG? Probably not. How about Prestige Races from Oathbound by Bastion?

If Wizards opened Savage Species, would we have the fantastic Monsters Handbook by FFG? Once again, probably not.

Innovation is out there and in some cases, while it's be nice to have material that follows the 'official' way of doing things, I think we've seen more innovation because publishers ahve to work around these limits.

 

[Teflon Billy]

"Please not that the definition of "D20" for the purposes of these awards is any product which cites the D20 System Reference Document in s15 of the Open Gaming License found in that product. "

Tell me this didn't preclude WOTC material because, well, they don't have to post an OGL license.

That's it in a nutshell. They were ineligible due to a technicality.

I thought it was grossly unfair myself.

 

[Darrin Drader]

WotC was eligible to enter into a total of 3 categories, for which it won 1. In most awards, winning 1/3 of the categories you are nominated for is still a strong showing. While I was in favor of reducing the number of times WotC could enter so that it would give other D20 publishers a chance, it seems that the voters' tendency was to replace the 800 lb. gorrilla with a 400 lb. gorilla.

That said, I think that Green Ronin makes excellent products and has shown a devotion to both the game and the community that suports it. Congrats to all at Green Ronin.

 

[ColonelHardisson]

I'm still of the opinion that limiting WotC's eligibility seems arbitrary and unfair. However, I'm hoping that the non-OGL aspect of the ENnies will be greatly expanded, which will allow WotC to compete head-to-head with other publishers that are unfettered by the OGL and d20 licenses. It would also be interesting to allow anyone to enter such categories; thus, we could see some of the d20 publishers choosing to compete with WotC anyway.

 

[johnsemlak]

I personally would have liked to see more WotC products considered. But I dont' think it's possible to create a fair system of judging them, particularly when the awards are decided via online voting.

It's not a bad thing, but I do think the EN World boards are certainly biased a bit against WotC and in favor of third parties. Perhaps it's fair, but I think it should be acknowledged. All D&D communities have certain trends--just compare EN World ot the WotC boards.

 

[Cergorach]

That's it in a nutshell. They were ineligible due to a technicality.

I thought it was grossly unfair myself. [/B]

Then why was Monster Manual II not entered, it had a section 15.

 

[BryonD]

While I was in favor of reducing the number of times WotC could enter so that it would give other D20 publishers a chance...

Isn't this the crux of the problem?

If you remove WotC to give everyone else "a chance", then you are directly saying that WotC would have won. Therefore, everyone who did not compete with WotC has a tarnished win. Which is particularly sad for those who probably would have won anyway.