Netbook projects

[robjh]

I'm interested in everybody's opinion on 3e Netbooks and the FanCC project.

 

[jerichothebard]

Hit or miss. Some really good stuff, some really poor quality stuff. A LOT of their material has been rendered out-of-date with the advent of 3.5, and with the continuing growth of the industry's body of professional work. Feat book in particular suffers from this problem.

Also suffers from general netbook syndrome: lots of enthusiasm, little results.

 

[Crothian]

Personally, I think they are more bad then good. There are some good parts, but when I read them I say more things that I really didnb't like either from a rules persepctive or just a gamers perspective.

It has been some time since I read them. And at a point a long time ago I was part of the Bluffside Fan thing, and I tyhink that was through you all. If I'm wrong, sorry. If I'm right, is that still going on or did that die? I'll have to inquire about that.

 

[Wombat]

In general I found the Netbook of Classes and the Netbook of Feats pretty useful, especially with the ratings given to each class/feat. The other netbooks were pretty weak, not terribly useful. I would be interested in seeing the site come up to steam again, but maybe with a bit more "quality control". In any case, I shall certainly check it out again in the future.

 

[coriolis]

I would be interested in seeing the site come up to steam again, but maybe with a bit more "quality control".

I guess it depends on which Netbook you're talking about. I sent a batch of submissions to the Netbook of Feats on September 10, 2001. I got a reply with comments from every reviewer in March 2002. I sent a revised version 3 weeks later. I got another set of comments in February 2003, with one feat being accepted because it was merged with another one that had been submitted by someone else. I sent them a final revision a month later, including a few deleted entries because similar OGL feats had been published in the meanwhile.

I know part of the delay was because 2 of the team leaders had to plan their wedding, but still, at this rate, I'll be lucky if my feats get published before the fourth edition :\ In this instance, I think the quality control process is more of a hindrance than a plus

 

[robjh]

Hit or miss. Some really good stuff, some really poor quality stuff. A LOT of their material has been rendered out-of-date with the advent of 3.5, and with the continuing growth of the industry's body of professional work. Feat book in particular suffers from this problem.

Also suffers from general netbook syndrome: lots of enthusiasm, little results.

Yes, some of the netbooks are supposedly doing 3.5 conversions, but it's been a long time coming unfortunately. One of these days...

 

[diaglo]

i'd like to add an addendum to my vote.

i don't do 2000ed work. nor 3.11ed for Workgroups.

if it were true 3eD&D (Holmes), then maybe i'd contribute.

 

[Turanil]

I am wondering about something: are all the 4000+ posts by Diaglo always the same thing about "OD&D being the only true game in the world?"

Otherwise, I see in the poll that almost 30% think that netbooks suck and they would rather buy commercial products. I want to point out that many d20 commercial products suck, and among those who don't only a minority are really useful and used. On the other hand, netbooks are free, so you can discard them without any regret if you don't like them. Furthermore, you can easily alter them to create your own houserules for your settings, something not easily done with printed books. Lastly, remember that some feats of the netbook of feats and some classes of the netbook of classes were printed in a d20 commercial product* (so you would pay to get stuff already available for free on the internet).

(*: Moongoose ultimate guides)

 

[robjh]

I am wondering about something: are all the 4000+ posts by Diaglo always the same thing about "OD&D being the only true game in the world?"

Otherwise, I see in the poll that almost 30% think that netbooks suck and they would rather buy commercial products. I want to point out that many d20 commercial products suck, and among those who don't only a minority are really useful and used. On the other hand, netbooks are free, so you can discard them without any regret if you don't like them. Furthermore, you can easily alter them to create your own houserules for your settings, something not easily done with printed books. Lastly, remember that some feats of the netbook of feats and some classes of the netbook of classes were printed in a d20 commercial product* (so you would pay to get stuff already available for free on the internet).

There always seems to be a few dyed-in-the-wool OD&D types around who have probably spent years patching the game to death, and thereby now believe the game is God's gift to the masses. Personally I think that whatever system floats your boat is good enough.

I'm not sure how many people out of the 60 who have voted so far have actually looked through all the FanCC Netbooks to see what is available, and to properly adjudge the quality. But hey, it's a non-scientific poll anyway.

Maybe we should have another poll about the 10 largest, most complete 3e Netbooks to see what people really think? Could be enlightening. I do think there are a number that are spotty in quality, but others are as good as many of the d20 products out there. Especially Netbooks of Feats, Classes, and maybe Magical Treasures. Also the Netbook of Planes web site was looking pretty good, last I checked. But that's just my opinion, for what it's worth.

 

[Wasgo]

I'm not sure how many people out of the 60 who have voted so far have actually looked through all the FanCC Netbooks to see what is available, and to properly adjudge the quality. But hey, it's a non-scientific poll anyway.

Maybe we should have another poll about the 10 largest, most complete 3e Netbooks to see what people really think? Could be enlightening. I do think there are a number that are spotty in quality, but others are as good as many of the d20 products out there. Especially Netbooks of Feats, Classes, and maybe Magical Treasures. Also the Netbook of Planes web site was looking pretty good, last I checked. But that's just my opinion, for what it's worth.

First of all, I had never heard of FanCC before this topic, and had to look it up myself since there were no links. Second, the Netbook of Planes site seems to be down. But for me, here's the thing. With a professional product, the various classes tend to be tested for balance and compared against each other. With a netbook, I don't have that same feeling of assurance. It might be true, just like it might not be true for a print product, but it just has a different feeling for me.Since I don't feel the production quality is perfect, with art that I'm not that fond of in spots, and only decent layout, I have a hard time telling the difference between this and any other homebrew material. It might not be fair, but that's how I feel.