Role Aids?

[JoeGKushner]

So does anyone know if any of the old Role Aids stuff will ever see the light of d20? I know that TSR managed to snag 'em at the end of the line but perhaps that time is over? I'd love to see Demons, Sentinels, and a few other of the latter books done up in d20 stats.

Heck, perhaps WoTC could make another branch that handled the Role Aids line.

(Anyone remember the proposed Assassins and Undead II: Legions of Darkness?)

 

[Ranger REG]

That depends on Mayfair Games, who owns and published Role Aids product line. AFAIK, Mayfair Games have been out of the RPG business for some time, and it looks like they're not going back. Bad legal experience with defunct-TSR and all that.

FWIW, AEG is filling the void left by Mayfair Games, and so is Mongoose Publishing.

 

[Wolvorine]

Well, when you stop and think about it, isn't that what all the d20 publishers are doing? Filling the gap left by Mayfair?

 

[Ranger REG]

Only with what I recall of Mayfair's products.

But all d20 publishers are filling in the gap left by then-TSR, like Quintessential series is succeeding the Complete Player's Handbook series.

 

[JoeGKushner]

Well, when you stop and think about it, isn't that what all the d20 publishers are doing? Filling the gap left by Mayfair?

In my personal opinion? NO.

Role Aids had a wide variety of products and while some of them have their counterparts in the modern era, not all of them do. Take AEG's Dragons and compare it against Dragons by Role Aids. There was a much more focused effort in making Dragons something that D&D didn't relaly cover with unique powers and abilitites native to them, as well as a Dragon Ride that had a unique weapon that gew in power with them.

Lizard Men covered not only the standard types of lizard men, but various other types including ancient races with huge servitors.

Psionics that were very opposite of standard D&D rules.

Monsters of Myth and Legend, and of course, Magic Items of Myth and Legend. Although I suspect this will be less of an issue in the future.

Then again, it could just be nostalgia...

 

[trancejeremy]

Well, the thing about d20, is that companies can now use things literally from D&D, since the d20 SRD is basically just a stripped down version of the 3 D&D core books.

Mayfair couldn't, so it had to be more inventive.

Though I personally thought Mayfair's stuff was of very mixed quality...