Orcus of Necromancer Games says "You were right, I was wrong"

[Orcus]

Greg is right on. Reworkings of 3E stuff for 4E--straight conversions, that is--just doesnt seem to work well. That means the whole adventure would need to be redone. That, frankly, is too much to ask of an author in my book. And you know what, I like 3.5. I like it alot. There are things about 4E I really like, but I have never jumped on the 3.5 is broken bandwagon. It had its faults, yes. But it is a great system.

 

[CapnZapp]

I like 4E and run it every week, but much would be gained if WotC had been honest with themselves and branded 4E as a completely new game.

Converting is the right word when you transit from any previous edition to another previous edition.

But when it comes to 4E, a better word is "recreating".

It's probably less work to move from 3E to 1st ed AD&D or the Rules Compendium edition of basic D&D than to 4E.

 

[Jack99]

I do understand why NG didn't want to spend time, money and energy and convert the 3 adventures made for 3.5 as 4e adventures.

I am however still infinitely disappointed at how Orcus let his 4e fans down. First he failed delivering the promised adventures and AP. Then he failed with his 4e classic project. Without a word it just faded into nothingness.

It's a pity, but such is life. I hope that NG finds renewed success with Pathfinder or wherever Orcus and Scott choose to go. Hopefully our paths will cross again, maybe in 5e

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Greg is right on. Reworkings of 3E stuff for 4E--straight conversions, that is--just doesnt seem to work well. That means the whole adventure would need to be redone. That, frankly, is too much to ask of an author in my book. And you know what, I like 3.5. I like it alot. There are things about 4E I really like, but I have never jumped on the 3.5 is broken bandwagon. It had its faults, yes. But it is a great system.

Agreed on all points.

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

When is somebody going to make adventures that are Trailblazer compatible?

Whatchutalkin' about? Anything 3e is ready to roll. Anything by Necromancer Games is perfect for Trailblazer, considering that you'll need all the help you can get to survive the typical NG offering.

If you have some specific conversion concerns, come on over to our forum and let me know.

Bad Axe Games Hosted Forum - EN World D&D / RPG News

 

[Drkfathr1]

I do understand why NG didn't want to spend time, money and energy and convert the 3 adventures made for 3.5 as 4e adventures.

I am however still infinitely disappointed at how Orcus let his 4e fans down. First he failed delivering the promised adventures and AP. Then he failed with his 4e classic project. Without a word it just faded into nothingness.

It's a pity, but such is life. I hope that NG finds renewed success with Pathfinder or wherever Orcus and Scott choose to go. Hopefully our paths will cross again, maybe in 5e

I don't feel let down by Orcus, and I'm a big Necro fan. I don't see lack of material/product from them as a failure on their part as much as a failure of the market and the restrictions of the GSL.

 

[Jack99]

I don't feel let down by Orcus, and I'm a big Necro fan. I don't see lack of material/product from them as a failure on their part as much as a failure of the market and the restrictions of the GSL.

You can't really blame the market 12 months later, that such a cop-out. When 3PP's started releasing products 12 months ago, no one knew how the market would turn out. Also, please do remember that Goodman Games says it does quite well for him. It's the small 1-2-man publishers that seem to suffer the most, which tbh doesn't surprise me considering the quality of what has been produced so far.

As for the GSL, there was other ways to do things if Orcus didn't like the GSL. Goodman Games could release 4e adventures under the OGL (and gasp, still do it 1 year later, without having a huge lawsuit on their arms), I am pretty certain NG could as well, if they had chosen to. But they didn't.

 

[Halivar]

As for the GSL, there was other ways to do things if Orcus didn't like the GSL. Goodman Games could release 4e adventures under the OGL (and gasp, still do it 1 year later, without having a huge lawsuit on their arms), I am pretty certain NG could as well, if they had chosen to. But they didn't.

And here lies the big problem with having taken the "wait and see" approach: if you want 3PP material for 4E, there are several names that will consistently come to mind. Necro could have been one of them, but isn't. By playing conservative, Orcus has averted a possible legal liability on products whose prime selling season would have been last year, but in so doing has lost mindshare among the small pool of 4E 3PP buyers. For instance, he passed on Ari Marmell's APG because of ambiguity in the legalese. The net result was that XRP got my money instead of NG, and no C-and-D's were issued to the APG's publisher. I think we can agree that, at least in hindsight, passing on the APG was a mistake. Clark could have gotten it moving on the market much sooner than XRP, and, at least at the time, with a higher profile because of the NG brand.

I think it was a mistake for Clark to take a long-term view in a market that is largely ephemeral and totally in support of another companies product. I'm a software developer who works on a product for which other, smaller companies develop plug-in's, and they don't wait around for an okay from us. The money to be gotten is now and depending on what we do with the main product, it might not be there a year from now.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[Amphimir Míriel]

Orcus, you are a true gentleman and your comment is really appreciated.

I'd love to see some Necromancer 4e goodness. Get us a module, and you'll get my money.

Please also count me in the "will buy a pdf Necromancer 4E adventure" group

 

[pawsplay]

Greg is right on. Reworkings of 3E stuff for 4E--straight conversions, that is--just doesnt seem to work well. That means the whole adventure would need to be redone. That, frankly, is too much to ask of an author in my book. And you know what, I like 3.5. I like it alot. There are things about 4E I really like, but I have never jumped on the 3.5 is broken bandwagon. It had its faults, yes. But it is a great system.

Awww, we got da warm fuzzies.