Is WoTC even relevant to you anymore?

[Maggan]

1e was, what? DMG, PHB, MM, MMII, FF, UA, DSG, WSG, OA, MotP, D&D, GHA, & DLA for hardcovers, right? Assuming that we aren't discussing new printings/reprints.

<snip>

Now, I didn't go into modules, supplementary products, or softcover products, but I'm betting that WotC has passed TSR 1e long ago no matter how you slice it, and is hard on the heels of 2e (if it hasn't passed 2e yet). I mean, 2e was about as many hardcovers as 1e, and a lot of softcovers....but a lot of the 2e class softcovers have 3e softcover equivilents. It would take a while to tally them all up.

I did count the modules and such. TSR put out over 100 products for AD&D. WotC had published abut 120 books a year ago.

The amount of d20 books released often creates the impression that WotC has released 234 523 books for 3rd edition.

The going rate isn't that staggeringly different from TSR for 1st edition. Sure, it's faster, but it took six years to "catch up". So it's a bit less than twice the rate of AD&D1st.


/M

 

[Raven Crowking]

I did count the modules and such. TSR put out over 100 products for AD&D. WotC had published abut 120 books a year ago.

Sorry, AD&D 1e over 100 "products"

WotC 120 "books"

That's probably the disconnect right there.


RC


BTW, for those who think that D&D will sink like the Titanic if WotC goes down, do you really believe that there is no other company that will pick up the license? For example, I'd be happy to see that license in the hands of Paizo, Green Ronin, or Necromancer Games. Do you really think that products will not continue under the OGL?

 

[Maggan]

Sorry, AD&D 1e over 100 "products"

WotC 120 "books"

That's probably the disconnect right there.

Books, prodcuts, it's all stuff to me. If you want me to be very literal, I'll amend it to:

A year ago WotC had put out about 120 books/products (including hardback rulebooks, character sheets and softcovers such as splat books and adventures. This does not count miniatures).

For AD&D1st, TSR put out over 100 books/products (including hardback rulebooks, character sheets and softcovers such as adventures, and assorted products which are not cards and miniatures).

/M

 

[Maggan]

BTW, for those who think that D&D will sink like the Titanic if WotC goes down, do you really believe that there is no other company that will pick up the license? For example, I'd be happy to see that license in the hands of Paizo, Green Ronin, or Necromancer Games.

Paizo taking over the helm would be a dream come true. Until then, I trust WotC to do what they feel is the best for D&D.

/M

 

[Raven Crowking]

For AD&D1st, TSR put out over 100 books/products (including hardback rulebooks, character sheets and softcovers such as adventures, and assorted products which are not cards and miniatures).

Given that I've got 13 books on my list, that leaves a huge number of products which I, apparently, have never heard of, despite the fact that I thought I owned (at one time) every 1e product there was.

You sure you're not including 2e materials?

Do you have an actual list for what you are including?

Also, when we are talking about the rules burden placed on DMs of various editions, which is the context in which you raised this point, modules are hardly the same thing as hardcover splatbooks, are they?

 

[Maggan]

Do you have an actual list for what you are including?

These are the products. I might have made an error compiling my list, sure. But here are the sources.

http://www.hitpointe.com/tsr/clsscs.htm
http://www.hitpointe.com/tsr/1ecore.htm
http://www.hitpointe.com/tsr/1emnstr.htm

/M

 

[Raven Crowking]

These are the products. I might have made an error compiling my list, sure. But here are the sources.

There are a lot of modules that I had forgotten.

There are also a lot of reprints there. Are you counting each reprint of WotC items as seperate products? Moreover, if we are including modules in our product lists, why don't we include miniatures?

Nonetheless, when we are talking about the rules burden placed on DMs of various editions, which is the context in which you raised this point, modules are hardly the same thing as hardcover splatbooks, are they?

 

[Maggan]

Nonetheless, when we are talking about the rules burden placed on DMs of various editions, which is the context in which you raised this point, modules are hardly the same thing as hardcover splatbooks, are they?

I'm afraid I disregarded that particular context.

/M

 

[Raven Crowking]

I'm afraid I disregarded that particular context.

So, then, presumably you would not disagree that WotC has put out far more rules content than 1e, vastly increasing the burdern of rules knowledge for the DM than existed under 1e or (say) RC D&D.

And, I think, we would both agree that 2e produced optional rules like rabbits produce litters.


RC

 

[dmccoy1693]

I don't know anything about your company BTW, so I'm not commenting specifically on your stuff. Its hypothetical.

I don't own a company; I just freelance. But for the book I wrote with my partner/DM (Nemesis IV: Nature's Avengers), we created a few custom spells for one of the NPCs and a magic item for the other. For the spells, we both poured over books to make sure it was as balanced as could possibly be. So he knows how anal I am about balance. I mean he's not going to let anything in that I write, but he'll treat it like a player developed spell/magic item/etc (allowable with permission) as opposed to a 3rd party product (not allowable in his game).