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Message: <blockquote data-quote="pawsplay" data-source="post: 5476208" data-attributes="member: 15538">Before the Pathfinder RPG came along, I had never purchased a single product from them other than PDFs of old TSR D&D products. Pathfinder exists not just because of the Paizo audience, but because it is an acceptable substitution, perhaps an improvement, for much of the 3e audience.The hypothetical you are discussing doesn't make sense. Many people on these boards were actively developing 3e products when the 4e bomb was dropped, and would still be doing so now. It is great that a top tier group like Paizo decided to put out a flagship for an updated version, but if they had waited too long, someone else would have. Paizo's strategy was cunning; early announcement, early strike into the market, and a huge playtesting strategy that generated interest at the same time it was drawing oxygen away from any other theoretical heirs to the 3e crown. They capitalized on the goodwill they had earned being the good guys in the Dragon and Dungeon situation and the PDF fiasco, and they used their expertise to put print books into stores.But make no mistake; Pathfinder was sufficient, but not necessary. Just google, and you can find a half dozen generic OGL brandings that popped up during the brief Dark Age between 3.5 and PfRPG as a stopgap measure.</blockquote>