Is this the golden age of d20?

[BigFreekinGoblinoid]

I'm really amazed and thankful for the amount of quality d20 product available right now, even from publishers I may have not been that impressed with initially. Several publishers going after the same topic is good for the consumer, and for d20. Better moustraps are being conceived. Will there be a shake out of publishers, or is the majority yet to come? What is best for the industry?

IMO I think there will be more publishers giving it a go before there is less, but a shake-out will come. There are still many topics yet to be done. One area I see as being very under represented is Tactics. We now have thousands of feats, spells, monsters, skills and special abilities, but how you use them is a matter of experience and intelligence. Some people may think I'm venturing into munchkinism here, but if the antagonists (also? )use all of their abilities to greatest effect, than that is just good roleplaying.

To somewhat argue against myself, shelf space is already become as huge issue for d20 products at each of the 3 LGS's I frequent...

 

[333 Dave]

The true golden age will come eventually...
Here is how it will happen:
Print publishers will decline slightly, the strong will survive, while the weak turn to less costly avenues.
PDF publishers will skyrocket through the roof. The strong will make contracts with Print publishers to get their books out to gaming stores, the week will get barely a nod.

Then, the SRD will be fully released, and there will be much rejoycing.

 

[John Crichton]

For monetary reasons I am not looking forward to this but I think the next version of D&D 4th edition may be the best version to date. There are some issues with 3e & d20. The designers (as said by folks like Bruce Cordell & Monte Cook) said that if they knew the RPG community would be so receptive to change that they would have tweaked even more. This leads me to believe that there are resources untapped and there are more innovations, customizations and books (gah!) to come.

Don't get me wrong, the current d20 is great. It's the best system I've ever played. I hope I'm wrong because I've spent WAY to much money on 3e books as it is.

 

[Furn_Darkside]

Who cares?

Go play!

Let the publishers worry about it!

FD

Edit: This is definitly a golden time to be a gamer/consumer- the number of products allows us to pick what we want instead of what company wants to give.

 

[trix]

...

I recon the golden age will begin once we get this new setting that WotC is going to eventually publish.

They need to set it as their defacto standard/core setting.

If they choose something original that inspires different and unique gaming adventures, then that will ensure more people will play D20.

It will not be the publishers that will define the golden age, it will be the players that will determine the golden age.

Already, with the WotC setting search, you've got the chance of any player providing the most excellent unique world for other players.

The only part that publishers play are the magnetic $120000 that is being provided to attract such a vast number of unique settings.

The golden age will start when that setting is published.

-Tim

 

[bwgwl]

i say the best is yet to come... d20 Modern!

once that comes out and is in the SRD and we see the first third-party support for it, then we can start talking about a golden age.

 

[Psion]

I think we are coming off of a peak -- still higher than we have been for a while, but on the down slope. There is a lot of good stuff out there this year, but not many recent titles impress me -- especially from the market leader, WotC (DDG? SBG? BOC? Please, gimme something I can use!)

 

[Umbran]

The tag of "golden" or "silver" or whatever age can only be properly done in retrospect. The proper question is - "Will gamers of the future think of 2000 to 2002 as a golden age?"

Mind you, it's hardly an "age" if it only lasts a couple of years. Ages last a while.

 

[Psion]

Eh. All I know is that I am having a ball, and the community support, publisher support, and gamer community is making it all happen.

The year before 3e came out, I could barely scrape enough gamers together to play, had to constantly tweak things to work since the books were all crap, and had to leave a group that promised to play D&D "after their WoD was finished" but I knew that would never happen because they played maybe one a month.

I can already tell you that I will more fondly remember the last two years more than the two years before them.

 

[Dr Midnight]

Mind you, it's hardly an "age" if it only lasts a couple of years. Ages last a while.

Gaming's only been around so long, man. I don't think the stricter definition of "age" really applies.