Is the "official D&D product" really that big a deal?

[Thornir Alekeg]

I never understood the "official" obsession myself, but I have the three core books plus DMG II and the Eberron Campaign Setting from WotC. Everything else I have is from other publishers. I don't have anything against WotC books, but I've found that other publishers' products have appealed to me more.

 

[Lord Mhoram]

I have a huge amount of d20 stuff (working at a game shop during the boom, and after, and I got stuff at cost ).

I tend to get more WotC stuff these days because I don't get into setting material (I always homebrew), and most of the OGL/d20 stuff these days are new games, or their own settings. You don't anywhere near the amount of books for rules and crunch that you you did in years earlier.

Since I pretty much buy rulebooks, rather than setting stuff, that leaves me with WotC.

 

[PhantomNarrator]

Mostly yes

When it comes to third party stuff, I notice what tends to get used the most are the monster books. Among players, 3rd party stuff has dropped off significantly since the revision to 3.5.

Edit: Besides the monster books, I also see a fair amount of 3rd party adventures.

 

[Odhanan]

In a couple recent threads, I've heard mention about the significance of the "official D&D product" label.

Are there really that many people out there who will only buy official stuff? Certainly, no ENWorlders, I'd assume. But do you know or play with people who will only buy WotC stuff?

If so, what's their reason for it?

Carl

I know that many French D&D Gamers frown at the mention of most third party products. There is still a lot of gamers out there thinking that "third party" rhymes with "no playtest" and "unbalanced".

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

What's the point in questioning why people don't buy stuff they don't need?

Did you wander into this thread by accident?

 

[chobin foot]

Originally, I only bought "official" WotC stuff related to D20, thinking that it was higher quality & had better mechanics & so on, for the most part. EverQuest D20 was okay, but I didn't feel that inspired to keep collecting another type of D20. I bought in to the Wizards of the Coast brand identity, and figured that WotC d20 was far superior to anything else.

Then I got sick of the way they dumped Star Wars D20 in favor of miniatures. I got sick of Eberron's hit-or-miss hardcover books. The whole v3.0 to 3.5 thing also left a sour taste in my mouth.

I heard about Blue Rose, about True20, about Mutants & Masterminds, about C&C, about Iron Heroes... I gave other D20/OGL stuff a chance. I was totally blown away by the quality of game that exists in non-D&D OGL stuff. The not-D&D-but-D&D-like OGL games that are out there seem to catch the spirit of what I want from a post-Red Box/post-AD&D roleplaying experience far better than the current D&D does.

It's not like I have to throw away D&D. I still plan to pick up stuff like Expedition to the Demonweb Pits (even if it was a rushed job) & then convert it over to the OGL game of my choice... but my desire to pick up Wizards products in order to run a "D&D" game has diminished greatly.

It's not that I hate Wizards of the Coast. On the contrary, I love some of their IP & I will certainly buy some of their books. "Official D&D" from Wizards simply has no meaning for me now as a brand.

p.s. If I had picked up Green Ronin stuff related to D&D (their "Advanced" rulebooks series, for instance), I think I'd be more interested in continuing to play D&D rather than "D&D-like" OGL games.

 

[Draumr]

I have bought a lot of 3rd party material as well as the bulk of WotC publications (excluding Eberron). Our campaigns have mostly gotten excellent mileage out of Necromancer Games modules & Scarred Lands as a setting (also some Arcana Unearthed). We've really only used the WotC stuff for new class concepts (about as much as using Green Ronin, Malhavoc & Mongoose for the same purpose).

 

[Shroomy]

I buy WoTC D&D products almost exclusively, though I do supplement them with a few d20/OGL adventures from the DCC line (and soon, the Gamemaster/Pathfinder lines). Why? Well, for one thing, it is easier to find WoTC products; no matter where I go, at least one of the chains will have WoTC products. Second, I find it easier to convince other people to use WoTC material (for many of the reasons stated on this thread). Third, I love much of the WoTC IP and wish to see it incorporated into my games. Fourth, I do like WoTC production values (if only their editing would get better). Fifth, the design philosophy behind the current WoTC products meshes well with what I want out of a D&D game. And lastly, I really love the inter-product support that WoTC has introduced into their materials; if I love the warlock from Complete Arcane (and I do), I want to see it supported in other supplements, adventures, on the WoTC websites, etc.

 

[Arnwyn]

In a couple recent threads, I've heard mention about the significance of the "official D&D product" label.

Hmmm... I seem to have missed those threads. Any examples?

For me, the "official" label means nothing. OTOH, I certainly do value WotC's IP. Forgotten Realms, Planescape, the Great Wheel, Grazzt, yuan-ti... that's why I'm purchasing.

However, I do buy loads of 3rd party adventures (Paizo and Necromancer Games being the main beneficiaries of my money), which I consider to be far superior than WotC's offerings. (And I haven't cared about 'character options' for some years now.)

 

[CaptainChaos]

This has been an issue forever, and not just with third party stuff. Witness the blow-ups whenever Dragon and Dungeon tried to include content for games other than D&D (Ares section anyone?).

I figure if you are a roleplaying hobbyist, you should do your research. Look into what you're going to get from WotC books and non-WotC books and pick up what works best for your game. People who wont' even look at something that's not official are missing out on some great material.