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Message: <blockquote data-quote="aramis erak" data-source="post: 6432893" data-attributes="member: 6779310">The problem lead to a downturn in local stores... as in, the D20 glut hurt the shopkeepers bottom line sufficiently that many were disinclined to continue as shopkeepers.The problem was that there was, in about 2002, a massive demand for quality 3PP... but there was a glut of mediocre and poor quality stuff with high production values. There was so much that shopkeepers had to guess, sight unseen, which was which. I've seen plenty of groups who do use 3rd party stuff... but mostly, they used ONE 3PP's work or another, but not two at a time.I myself made use of some of Avalanche Press's work. Noble Steeds was excellent. Hell, it's still excellent. Of the pagecount, about half is just basic information on mounts and their capabilities. I have used it not just with D&D 3.0, but also with Pendragon and with WFRP1, simply for informing about what a horse can and cannot do. (I lost my dead tree copy to a friend who is a horse breeder. She said it's an excellent treatment.) Likewise, their I, Mordred, while I've never used it for d20, was the basis for a wonderful alternative pendragon campaign. And their Noble Knights book is likewise an excellent historical gaming supplement for 3.0.But, despite the quality of the content, AP saddled most of their books with lurid sexualized-posture cover art. Meanwhile, some utter drekh had much more sedate cover art, and sold quite well ... to shopkeepers. Unfortunately, it stayed there... until it wound up on the sale rack. I got Nyambe for $1... and Babylon 5 d20 for $2. Worth that price for the reading and art... but I'd never run either of them. And I've seen high schoolers running the Scarred Lands setting.Ravenloft 3e was by a 3PP, too... under license, but still, not WotC...The real problem with the d20 glut is that stores simply couldn't tell quickly enough what was worthy and what wasn't.</blockquote>

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