Is WoTC even relevant to you anymore?

[Ghendar]

Aside from a few miniatures, I can't even recall the last WoTC book I purchased. Really, I stopped caring about their crunch-heavy books a LONG time ago.

Me too. I couldn't care less about the latest optional rules system book or yet another book on how to optimize my arcane caster. What I do like is fluff books for various campaign worlds, adventure modules, and dungeon tiles.

These days, I mostly track new releases from Necromancer games, and that's about all I care about anymore.

I enjoy Necro's stuff as well. Goodman Games' modules also find their way into my buy pile.

 

[Arashi Ravenblade]

they are very relvant to me. I find most 3rd party publishers to be lacking in production values. WOTC stuff is official and is easier to get people to accept in their game or my game for that matter.

 

[der_kluge]

I've spend, oh, maybe 25 hours trying to build a new 8th level PC. With so many races, spells, feats, PRCs, and items I'm definitely suffering from information overload. And yet, 90% of the stuff I'm looking at is irrelevant--the optimizer in me is only concerned with workhorse feats, not the filler.

By your own admission - you're buying all those crunch-heavy splat books, and yet complain that it takes 25 hours to create an 8th level Wizard? I can create one in less than 30 minutes. But then, I'm just using the PHB.

 

[Adso]

But you'll always be welcome at my table. You just can't play a Warlock.

I can live with that.

 

[IanB]

Aside from a few Paizo products, I can't even recall the last non-WoTC book I purchased. Really, I stopped caring about third party books a LONG time ago.

These days, I mostly track new releases from WotC, and that's about all I care about anymore.

3rd party publishers could just about go out of business and I think I'd hardly miss them at all.


Anyone else in the same boat?

*********************************

OK so that isn't *exactly* true, but I do think I'm more or less in the exact opposite camp as the OP. I do want the d20 license to continue, since it is obviously good for the industry even if most of the stuff it generates is completely useless to me.

 

[werk]

I pretty much only buy WotC D&D stuff, but I don't buy very much...hardly at all.

Now the question was, is WotC relevant to you? SO, due to the definition of relevant, I'd have to say yes.

Is WotC relevant to the industry, again, I'd have to say yes.

Is WotC relevant to my personal campaign? or is recent and pending WotC publications relevant to my personal campaign? Not at all.


It all depends on what point you are trying to make I guess.

 

[Mokona]

Anyone else in the same boat?

Nope. Reality is that almost all paper roleplaying includes Dungeons & Dragons products.

 

[Philotomy Jurament]

I don't hate WotC, but I haven't been interested in their products for some time, now. When 3E was my main game, I mostly relied on Necromancer, Green Ronin, and Malhavoc. However, WotC (and d20, in general) went one way, and I've gone another. :shrugs:

 

[s.j. bagley]

i still buy quite a bit of wotc titles, i do stay away from the minis though.
that being said, though, i have to say that i think the very question of whether or not they are relevant is utterly absurd, especially on a message board focusing on a product that they release.

 

[Gold Roger]

Maybe I'm just not as jaded as many others here who have been gaming for a longer time or I'm just closer to the target market, but wotc regularly comes out with stuff that's interesting to me. Among the more recent books MMV, Dungeonscape ToB are most excellent. Other books could have been better, but I still don't regret buying them.

Meanwhile, I can't seem to get much out of 3rd party stuff even though I want to. I own some malhavok stuff and while the writing and imagination is great, the mechanics seem to crude and boring to me (and here's a bunch of spell like abilities *ugh*). I never managed to get any excitement build up for anything Necromancer ever did. I own a few DCC's, but don't know if I'll ever find use for them.

Paizo is really the only third party publisher that comes out with stuff that interests me. And then only because it is with something they do with expertise and wotc is still clunky at: adventures.