Kenzer & Co Dragon Ad - A RANT

[Morrus]

I belive that all Kalamar stuff is approved first by Kenzer, and the by WotC. As I understand it, that applies not just to the text, but also to the art. It *is* as "official" as Greyhawk or the Realms.

 

[EricNoah]

As I see it if there's anyone to "blame" for this situation (and I don't see it as bad, myself) it is WotC. They are the ones who essentially sold Kenzer the right to say "Official Dungeons & Dragons Product" on their products, and they do apparently have some say as to what comes out and what doesn't.

I do often wonder if Kenzer would have gone down this road (licenced products) if they'd known about D20 way back before there was a D20. I bet if nothing else the D&D logo makes it easier for them to get their product on store shelves.

 

[Dahak]

I do often wonder if Kenzer would have gone down this road (licenced products) if they'd known about D20 way back before there was a D20. I bet if nothing else the D&D logo makes it easier for them to get their product on store shelves.

I think I'm finally starting to see that be the case. For the first year of the Kingdoms of Kalamar 3E book's existence, I only saw it in game stores. Recently it has surfaced at nearby Borders and Waldenbooks stores alongside WotC products.

 

[Fiery James]

Re: Re: Kenzer & Co Dragon Ad - A RANT

As far as how official is "official", that's between WotC and K&C. However, I think Kenzer is the only company that can make 3E stuff without the Open Gaming License. IIRC, the worldbook for KoK doesn't have the license in back or any OGC.

Ravenloft d20 doesn't use the OGL.

- James

 

[gubaru]

It's my understanding that it's an active approval process by WotC even down to the stuff they put in KoDT. I do remember that when Jeffrey Carter announced that Kalamar stuff would be in Gaming Frontiers and asked for submissions on the KoK boards it was mentioned that everything would have to go through the WotC approval process.

I do often wonder if Kenzer would have gone down this road (licenced products) if they'd known about D20 way back before there was a D20. I bet if nothing else the D&D logo makes it easier for them to get their product on store shelves.

It's probably the only reason my LGS carries the Kalamar products. The owner is a big Warhammer fan so that's mostly what he carries. His RPG selection consists of D&D, White Wolf's WoD and d20 and AEG's L5R (non-d20). I doubt the Kalamar stuff would be there without the D&D logo. On the plus side, he'll order whatever I ask for but it's not the same as seeing something on the shelf and flipping through it.

 

[der_kluge]

It *is* as "official" as Greyhawk or the Realms.

Yea, but what does that mean? So WoTC put their stamp of approval on it. But, what irked me wasn't so much that they were touting their "OFFICIAL" status, it was that they were somehow implying that all non-OFFICIAL stuff wasn't good enough for someone's FR or Greyhawk campaign.

Someone should take the Kenzer guys into a back alley and beat them with a stick for that comment. It just REALLY rubbed me the wrong way (if you can't already tell).

 

[trancejeremy]

Given that these are the guys who wrote the Hackmaster books, I think that we should expect things to be over the top. I know that it is apples and oranges (Hackmaster and Kalamar) but they don't seem like the type of folks to be able to take off their 1e hats whenever they feel like it. I don't think the concept of balance existed back then.

I dunno. I find Hackmaster to be insulting at best, and vile at worst, but I've been very impressed by their Kalamar products. Almost like a Jeckyl & Hyde sort of thing.

What I'm curious about, is how well the Kalamar Player's book will fit the world of Kalamar (as described in the setting book). I (and a lot of others, apparently) get the impression that Kalamar is a fairly low magic, low powered world.

Hopefully, they'll try to make the player's book fit Kalamar, and not the FR (or Greyhawk). But that ad makes me wonder...

 

[Falcon]

Personally, I like Kok and I think the modules are an extremely good buy that can be worked into any campaign with tweaking. But, that is what I do with all modules. I really don't see what the big deal is. I expect a certain amount of hyberbole from most d20 companies in their advertising. What I do is read reviews, go to the local game stores, talk to my friends, and then try to make an informed choice.

Weird...sounds like I am investing in stocks. And I don't own any.

I guess my point is that I judge the material on the content and see the advertising as secondary, and I really think that Kenzer & Co. publishes meaty high-quality material consistently.

They probably wrote that ad half tongue-in-cheek, considering the other products they produce.

 

[Berandor]

Yea, but what does that mean? So WoTC put their stamp of approval on it. But, what irked me wasn't so much that they were touting their "OFFICIAL" status, it was that they were somehow implying that all non-OFFICIAL stuff wasn't good enough for someone's FR or Greyhawk campaign.

Someone should take the Kenzer guys into a back alley and beat them with a stick for that comment. It just REALLY rubbed me the wrong way (if you can't already tell).

I think someone already voiced a like concern in the General Forum (in the "info" thread).
Here's what I said,

Berandor wrote
Well, I don't find it aggressive towards other publishers.

Yes, it's official and can be officially used in FR and GH campaigns (DMs notwithstanding). Yes, other publisher don't have that official status. Yes, Kenzer paid a lot of money to get that status. So why shouldn't they advertise it?

It's similar with the "official softdrink of the US hockey team". Why would Pepsi (or Coke,, or whoever) pay a lot of money to gain this status, and then don't advertise it?

That's what differentiates them from many d20 publishers who also put out very good products... and this difference can cause a difference in the decision to buy a product. So why shouldn't they say so?

IMO, Kenzer paid for it, so they can advertise it. I'm sure it's not meant to put other publishers down (there's no comparison in the ad), but to strengthen their own product line.

I still think advertising a product's advantage does more to strengthen this product than to weaken others.

Mark Plemmons added
Arcane Runes Press: Essentially, Berandor said exactly what I could have, in his reply above. We'd never intentionally slight anyone in our ads. We love the gaming industry and gamers too much.
But having the Kingdoms of Kalamar as an official D&D world means a lot to us, and we think it does matter to many D&D fans, so it's one of the things we mention in our ads.

I hope that helps until an official rep arrives,

Berandor

 

[thundershot]

Of course, I think it was Sword & Sorcery who had an ad saying something along the lines of "Collect all SIX Core Rulebooks!" ummm... lol