One Man's Trash is Another Man's Treasure --on 3pp product "glut" 4e / 3e

[thecasualoblivion]

There's no such thing as too much choice. I'd rather be the "discriminating customer" and have access to tons of different products out there, than to have little real product choice at all. If I'm not sure what to buy, then I do my research, and conduct product reviews. Besides, what might be "crap" to one person can be "gold" to another, so who am I to judge what products other people should have access to?

Crap effects the customer when the crap affects the supply of good products. If shelves get so clogged with crap that good new products are not bought by the retailer, it affects you.

 

[DaveMage]

Those early days of 3e was a lot like Let's Make a Deal. You have the choice of three or fours books on similiar topics but only one was the right choice.

Yep.

BUT, once 3.5 hit, those that were still around were pretty good. I'd say the ratio went from 1 in 4 good products to 3 in 4. Not too much crap made for 3.5.

 

[Mikaze]

Yep.

BUT, once 3.5 hit, those that were still around were pretty good. I'd say the ratio went from 1 in 4 good products to 3 in 4. Not too much crap made for 3.5.

This has been my experience as well. I've been cleaning up with all these clearance sales and have come across more gems than I had expected, many of which I had never even heard of.

I'd rather have an industry where Hamunaptra or Fantasy Bestiary can see print than one where they can't.

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

I'd rather have a little good stuff than a lot of bad stuff.

Digging through crap takes time, and as the typical DnD player is now older, time tends to be limited (not because we're literally getting older, but because we tend to have full-time jobs, and some people are married with children).

Furthermore, it's not always obvious that a poor-quality product is poor-quality. Sometimes it looks good but the balance is really off. Other times they're more obviously bad for the game, as the flavor is terrible or the concepts have no place in a standard game.

 

[Sacrificial Lamb]

Crap effects the customer when the crap affects the supply of good products. If shelves get so clogged with crap that good new products are not bought by the retailer, it affects you.

Then I won't buy my products off a shelf. Instead, I'll buy them online, directly from the publisher himself. And frankly, how do you objectively quantify what "crap" is? The answer, my friend....is that you can't. You can only identify what is crap for you.

 

[thecasualoblivion]

Then I won't buy my products off a shelf. Instead, I'll buy them online, directly from the publisher himself. And frankly, how do you objectively quantify what "crap" is? The answer, my friend....is that you can't. You can only identify what is crap for you.

That works for the fringe OGL diehard, but it doesn't work for the casual gamer. It rarely works from the publisher's end either.

 

[Rechan]

That works for the fringe OGL diehard, but it doesn't work for the casual gamer. It rarely works from the publisher's end either.

How much does the casual gamer even spend on 3pp? They're casual gamers; I'd be surprised if they had more than the core books.

 

[roguerouge]

Basically, people are describing a free market economy in which products compete for shelf space, customers sort out what kinds of products they want, and the retailers and distributors, over time, respond to market demand. I'm far from an enthusiastic capitalist (corporations are usually a BBEG in my campaigns) but I find it interesting how many people react so strongly against a free market in favor of a market with less choice in the short and long term.

 

[thecasualoblivion]

How much does the casual gamer even spend on 3pp? They're casual gamers; I'd be surprised if they had more than the core books.

Casual gamers booklist(from my groups)

4E PHB
4E PHB II
Adventurer's Vault
Martial Power
Arcane Power
Character Builder from DDI(either from their own account or leaching from somebody else)
(maybe) Forgotten Realms Players Guide

 

[thecasualoblivion]

Basically, people are describing a free market economy in which products compete for shelf space, customers sort out what kinds of products they want, and the retailers and distributors, over time, respond to market demand. I'm far from an enthusiastic capitalist (corporations are usually a BBEG in my campaigns) but I find it interesting how many people react so strongly against a free market in favor of a market with less choice in the short and long term.

Its not that I don't favor a free market. Its that I'm wary of another collapse like we saw with the d20 glut.