Has 3rd Party Material Helped (!!!) WotC ?

[Ogrork the Mighty]

I'm beginning to think that the glut (IMO) of D&D material out there has only helped WotC strengthen its D&D sales, rather than weaken it via competition. The reason? So much material that the only way for a DM to keep a handle on it all is to default allowable material to WotC material only.

Over the past few years I've purchased 3rd party material to some extent but recently (the last year or so) I've very much reduced such purchases. Some of it has to do with quality, but the greater reason is that I simply have so much D&D material that I don't need 3rd party sources - or the tweaking that is often required to make sure it's balanced and won't "break" the existing rules. There's simply so much out there that I can't keep up and I'd rather just stick to the official D&D stuff. I can say that I'd be much more reluctant in my games to allow non-WotC material than I would any other 3rd party stuff.

So, in a nutshell, it's my (limited) opinion that the glut of material may actually help WotC in that consumers like me can't be bothered to keep up on it all and so just stick to the official stuff.

Thoughts?

 

[der_kluge]

Step back folks, this thread's ready to blow!!

 

[IronWolf]

I know when I DM'ed I limited the campaign to WotC material only. I did it for the reason you mention, too much to keep track of and make sure it fits the game.

Now with that said, I do own several third party d20 books. I usually try to get them for flavor text more than skills, feats, etc. I am also open to using most equipment from them, even in games I DM.

 

[DK]

I perfectly agree! In fact, this was Wizards' plan since the beginning. Why otherwise allow to use their system?

I'm also very glad that it's working!

 

[Crothian]

Not in the least. Frankly, I'm about ready to abondon the Wizards books and just use the superior third party books for my game. THe players are basically using the PHB and other Wizard sources, but I'm not even going to be using the Monster manual. The other monster books by Third Party are much better. I may use DMG2 but only becasue it has Saltmarsh and I might end up running those modules. But in all seriousness I've been slowly workjing on my new campaign for 6 days and of the 11 books I've consulted none have been produced by WotC.

 

[Psion]

I'm beginning to think that the glut (IMO) of D&D material out there has only helped WotC strengthen its D&D sales, rather than weaken it via competition. The reason? So much material that the only way for a DM to keep a handle on it all is to default allowable material to WotC material only.

Or he could, like, be selective? Buy stuff he's interested in and helps his campaign?

 

[Crothian]

Or he could, like, be selective? Buy stuff he's interested in and helps his campaign?

Don't be silly, RPGs are like Pokimon, have to collect them all!!

 

[Psion]

Not in the least. Frankly, I'm about ready to abondon the Wizards books and just use the superior third party books for my game.

Word.

Map folio or Dungeons of Doom? Dungeons of Doom.
Races of the Wild or Bow & Blade? Bow & Blade.
Deities & Demigods or Book of the Righteous? Book of the Righteous.

Not that WotC doesn't have some good books (Draconomicon, for example, rocks). But I find the notion the WotC has the only quality products out there rather dubious, except perhaps in the realm of production values. Even there, they have competition (World of Warcraft RPG, anyone?)

 

[MoogleEmpMog]

I've bought (much) more 3rd party d20 material recently than ever before, and I've also done about a 50/50 split.

If anything, the early d20 boom, when the vast majority of the designers didn't have a good grasp of the system, was the worst time to buy in. Almost all of the d20 material released since 3.5 has been superb and worthy of inclusion.

I'd never say "WotC only;" Wizards' material no longer has any edge on their competitors in design (now that Mearls is working there, they might regain it) and many of their products emphasize the aspects of D&D I dislike.

 

[Crothian]

Not that WotC doesn't have some good books (Draconomicon, for example, rocks). But I find the notion the WotC has the only quality products out there rather dubious, except perhaps in the realm of production values. Even there, they have competition (World of Warcraft RPG, anyone?)

I agree, Wizards has some really good books like Draconomicon and Lords of Maddnes. But for me those books while great have little usefulness. I don't use a lot of Dragons or Abberations in my games. To make either more common takes away the strange and majestic feel of them. For modules I go to Goodman Games and NEcrmancer. For class books I perfer Green Ronin, AEG, FFG, and even some of the Mongoose books. For monsters I have plenty of great choices from Atlas, Inner Circle, Mongoose, and Soveign Stone. But the most useful so far have been the little encounter books the Mystic Eye Games and Atlas put out. These books are a gold mine of ideas and really help to shape adventures.