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Message: <blockquote data-quote="SlyFlourish" data-source="post: 9481253" data-attributes="member: 54840">Given that there are so many 5e variants out now – three big ones from three different publishers – I don't think there really is a "third party" anymore. Instead, there are many publishers publishing 5e compatible material.When it comes to favoring products from WOTC, I think WOTC's art direction and physical product design are at the top of the heap, although other publishers like Monte Cook Games, Cubicle 7, and others give them a big run for their money.But from a game design perspective, I think WOTC is in many ways at the same level as many other 5e publishers like Kobold Press, EN World publishing, and others. WOTC's made some great book and some not-so-great books. They've done some great 5e design and some not-so-great 5e design.There are also many publishers willing to try things that WOTC won't try. WOTC isn't going to put out a 600 page city sourcebook like Ptolus. They're not going to put out a 1,000 page campaign adventure like Crown of the Oathbreaker or an equally-huge high-level adventure like Torrents of the Spellhoarder. They're not going to put out the tons of awesome small black-and-white products like Raging Swan put out or the totally different slices of exploration, travel, and character origins that Cubicle 7 did with A Life Well Lived and Uncharted Journeys.I think it's an interesting sign too when people hear me say that WOTC is about on par with other publishers as an insult to WOTC even though many of the designers at WOTC worked for other publishers and end up working for other publishers after their employment at Hasbro ends.To get started with the work of other 5e publishers – there are types of products that slot-in more easily into our 5e games than others. This is mostly on the GM side like monster books, adventure and campaign books, campaign world sourcebooks, and books to help GMs build out their game.I have a couple of articles on Sly Flourish with some of my favorite 5e books from several publishers:[URL unfurl="true"]https://slyflourish.com/notable_third_party_products.html[/URL][URL unfurl="true"]https://slyflourish.com/top_ten_products_of_2022.html[/URL][URL unfurl="true"]https://slyflourish.com/favorite_books_of_2023.html[/URL]I think it's great that you at least see the problem – that you're only looking to WOTC for your happiness with 5e and recognizing that there's more out there.</blockquote>

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