Official DnD, D20, and OGL - who are you?

[Razuur]

I am frankly surprised by all the hubub about Unearthe Arcana. It is a great big book of rule variants, sure - but D20 publishers have been doing this (and in many cases better) for the last three of years.

Don't get me wrong, I like the book, it is the first WOTC product I have bought in a long time. I have never understood how some people only by WOTC DnD products because they're "official". I have been of the mind that the D20 community has been publishing all of the great and daring DnD supplements as of late. So many, in fact, I have trouble affording all I want to buy! WOTC supplemetns have not appealed to me at all in the last couple of years - and go figure when they finally do come out with a book I want - it is a bunch of rule variants!

I have a friend at work who only buys "Official DnD books", and while we don't game together, I am struck by how much he is missing out on. He on the other hand doesn't hunderstand how I can "waste" my money on material that isn't "official".

I would love to hear others comments on this. Are you a conservative "Official DnD" purist? Are you a Liberal "D20/OGL" radical? Or are you somewhere in between?

I definitely am a Liberal "D20/OGL" radical.

Who are you, what are you? and Why?

Razuur

 

[EricNoah]

I buy a mix of WotC and the "big boys" of the D20 publishers. I am rarely tempted to take a risk on a smaller, lesser-known publisher unless I'm hearing rave reviews. I believe that a good product is its own best marketing.

I have been impressed with many products from both sides of the aisle, and have also been "stung" on occasion by products from both sides.

I am swayed by good production values -- I like color when it is appropriate (illustrating creatures, maps, that sort of thing). WotC's FR line has been a good benchmark for production values.

 

[Desdichado]

Radical. Unearthed Arcana is pretty cool, but mostly because this stuff is all in one place, not because it's really all that new or innovative. A lot of these rules I already own from someone else.

In fact, the game I'm gearing up to run (I've been saying that for a few months now, but really, it's coming together now! ) I'd call d20 Fantasy, not D&D at all.

 

[Thornir Alekeg]

I guess I'm in-between. There are so many options and variants thanks to the OGL that I find it impossible to keep up. I am running a Scarred Lands campain, so I buy lots of those things since they directly relate. I don't even buy all the "official" books unless I hear there is something that sounds like I must have and it will fit into either my campaign or the FR campaign in which I am a player. We have a few newbie players in our group so I guess our mantra is K.I.S.S.

 

[Voadam]

I have at least three times as many non WotC d20 books as I do WotC or WotC licensed ones (Ravenloft, Kalamar, Dragonlance).

I probably have as many from Bastion Press alone or ENPublishing alone as I do WotC.

My older edition WotC/TSR D&D stuff still out matches my 3e/d20 collection though.

 

[diaglo]

Original.


i love D&D. and buy everything i can get my hands on that i would consider using in my campaign.

edit: the problem is many FLGS only carry the easy to acquire lines...like WotC or White Wolf or possibly Mongoose...to get the others you have to dig.

i pester publishers old and new. which reminds me.

MEG Hal, where's my order?

 

[Gothmog]

I'm MUCH more of a d20/OGL guy. I think the WotC purists are missing out of some incredible stuff that far surpasses Wizards attempts (Green Ronin, FFG, Atlas, Mystic Eye, and more recently Mongoose. Conan- WOOT!) Unearthed Arcana is the first WotC book I have bought in six months, and I'm pretty happy with it. Most WotC stuff just doesn't appeal to me though for some reason, usually because I feel its overpowered, too high fantasy, or too entrenched in cliche fantasy stereotypes. I have probably ten times the number of d20/OGL books as I do Wizards books, and most of those 3rd party publisher books I find to be much superior to Wizards for my tastes and campaigns. While the WotC books are often pretty with good production values, that don't mean diddley to me if I can't use the material in them. I'd much rather have a B&W book than a color one if it means the material is more useful.

 

[Kesh]

I'll use whatever I get my hands on. Mostly its been Official, but there are a few OGL/d20 things that I borrow.

The real draw of UA, for me, is that it actually opens up some mechanics which were closed before (madness, VP/WP, etc.), meaning if I want to ever publish my homebrew, it'll be possible now.

 

[Wombat]

I am a roleplayer.

I use rules only as a guideline, a framework to any given game.

The closest I come to on this list is "OGL", but I even vary from there

 

[Cthulhu's Librarian]

I guess I fall into the D20/OGL radical camp. but I certainly pick up a good portion of what WoTC publishes as well.
I love to read adventures and sourcebooks, so I pick a lot of stuff up. If a book gets rave reviews, I'll probably pick it up to see what all the fuss is about. Since WoTC doesn't publish adventures anymore, I need to get my fix from other publishers. I've got a list of "To Be Purchased" books thats quite long. I know I'll never use most of them in a game, but I want to read them for ideas, and to see what other people are playing.