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

[CarlZog]

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

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

It doesn't matter to me, but there are people who felt burned by the all-over-the-map quality of early D20, and stick to WotC as a safer baseline. (The fact that WotC is also all-over-the-map on balance is the fly in the ointment, of course.)

 

[Crothian]

Not only do most D&D players buy just Wizards books but many EN Worlds are this way as well. The reasons are many like Wizards books are the easiest to find. Some people did take a chance early in the days of 3.0 and just bought bad stuff and swore never again. Some people feel they can trust Wizards more then other companies. There are lots of reasons and plenty of people who do this.

Right now my group is only using Wizards books because we are playing Eberron. I think half the group only owns Wizards books or they have a few non Wizards stuff that I gave them. I can totally understand the mindset of only using Official D&D material.

 

[GlassJaw]

I think simplicity is a big factor too. The amount of 3rd party stuff can be fairly overwhelming. Saying "WotC books only" also gives the DM a level of control so they know what players are bringing to the table.

 

[crazy_monkey1956]

I'm pretty much WotC only but my reasons aren't that I don't think there's good stuff out there...I have an extremely limited gaming budget and I know that WotC D&D products fit the style of game I want to play. All of the non-WotC that gets good reviews is also stuff that won't necessarily fit my style. They're on my list...but at the rate that I can afford stuff, a lot of it is already out of print or will be. Take Dragonlance for example. I really wanted to start buying the Sovereign/MWP Dragonlance stuff, but those products, along with FR and Eberron are pretty low on my list and I can only afford one game book about every three months or so on average. So, MWP's DL is pretty much already OOP for me.

Cash-ola. That's why I'm WotC only. If I win the Powerball...that's another story.

 

[Asmor]

I really only follow and buy Wizards stuff. I actually used to buy a lot of 3rd party stuff-- in particular, back when it first came out I got Sword & Sorcery's Creature Catalog (this was before the 3.0 monster manual even came out), and I ended up buying a fair bit of their stuff.

In the end, though, I'm really only interested in WotC stuff because it's the easiest to use, most consistent in quality (speaking both mechanics-wise and production quality).

I've actually got a fair library of non-WotC stuff (mostly things I got on sale, like when a couple of the companies do their $5 a book sales, or when a local store went out of business). I've also got a lot of PDFs. I never use any of the 3rd party stuff for a variety of reasons, though...

In my current campaign I run, I allow everything. However, it's heavily biased towards WotC because WotC sources are on a "default allow" white list and 3rd party things have to be specifically approved on a case-by-case basis (although I still reserve the right to alter or deny Wizards stuff if it proves problematic).

 

[00Machado]

I don't stick to WoTC only products. I tend to stick to known authors and/or publishers I trust though. I also like full color, so WotC has an edge there over most of their competitors.

 

[JustKim]

But do you know or play with people who will only buy WotC stuff?

Yes. I've played with a lot of them.

To get very involved in third party stuff, you have to be very interested in the mechanics and possibilities of the d20 system. This is true for any hobby. You don't go to see indy movies if you only go to the movies for two hours of popcorn and explosions. When you start buying third party products, you have to be aware of the different production values of a lot of different companies. You have to be able to say "I don't like this psionics system," and instead of simply not using it, conduct research and buy probably two or three different books searching for something better. Then you have to familiarize everybody else with it.

It's kind of a hassle unless you find the genre itself interesting.

 

[Napftor]

I suppose I'm biased but I've used plenty of 3rd party material. Back when d20 was in full bloom, non-WotC designers could better flex their creative muscles on things that both interested them and that didn't have to sell a gagillion copies to be profitable (and were therefore given the go-ahead by companies). The wealth of stuff out there (quality aside) is just too neat and interesting not to pick up and, if applicable to your campaign, worth the time to drop it in and see what happens. More often than not, 3rd party stuff should at least provide more surprises to PCs and players alike.

 

[Zulgyan]

From WotC I bought only the Cores.

The rest is all from Necromancer Games.