TROLL POLL #1: d20 Golden Era or Glut?

[Buttercup]

More is better. Market forces will do the rest.

... that said, I wouldn't mind a few less feats and PrCs.

True on all counts. I like all the choices I have. And I'm sick of feats & prestige classes.

 

[diaglo]

I wonder if the unhappy folk purchase d20?

yes, we do.

 

[John Crichton]

There is some good stuff out there but you just have to do a little research first, which is one of the many reasons I hang around here.

That and the gratuitous hellcows...

 

[Holy Bovine]

Alright that's enough on the 'hellcow' talking. There's nothing to see here. No theyare not being developed as part of any master plan to take over theworld and enslave you two legged pink things. They.. ahem, right!

Personally I like the amount of stuff being made for d20. It is much easier to find something of quality when there is more than one publisher available. Reading reviews and getting opinions has become absolutely necessary now however. Unlike the 'good old days' when TSR was really the only game in town (for offical rules & supplements) we now have choice and that is always good.

 

[Deadguy]

I'll chime in and say I agree very much with The Auld Grump. I think it's great that so many people are actually prepared to put their money where their mouth is and actually produce d20 materials. Okay, plenty of the stuff is downright mediocre, but with the advent of the Internet it's so much easier to do your research in advance (and it never hurts to get on with the kind staff at your FLGS who can offer advice).

I suspect we'll see more mould-breaking in future as companies become established enough to dare to experiment. And we've already seen the advantage that some are earning enough to start buying up licences - look at Mongoose with Judge Dredd, Slaine and now BAbylon 5.

Yes, these are good days to be a d20* gamer!

*on the other hand the non-d20 market seems a little moribund, which is a shame. d20 has many merits but it doesn't push the envelope for style/technique of gaming.

 

[Psion]

I'm getting to the point of saturation where not much new material makes it into my campaign anymore. Still, I think that much of the stuff out there is good quality and the bar into the d20 market does seem to be raising, but there are still some publishers and authors who don't churn out the greatest stuff. Hey, but they can't all be above average, can they?

 

[MEG Hal]

I just wish they would branch out a little. Do we need more stuff on the core races and classes? Do we need more feats and PrCs? With all these similair products, asking yourself whether the newest book adds anything to the multitude of other products on the same subject is inevitable. Picking and choosing will always be everyones attitude, unless somehow every d20 book becomes a must buy.

Keep an eye on us, we are doing something like that soon.

 

[Kahuna Burger]

Drive a steak through that vampire cow's heart!

Ahhh! Bunnicula flashback! My mind is filled with the image of a insane cat lying a raw steak over a sleeping bunny and industriously pounding!!

kahuna burger

 

[Kahuna Burger]

My only complaint about d20 is that most guys aren't falling too far from the tree yet. I'd like to see more stuff as innovative as Mutants & Masterminds rather than yet another book of feats, or prestige classes, or what have you.

to blatently plug, this is why I like Bastion Press. Between the guildcraft rules and the prestige races from oathbound (and later dragon mag) I feel like their products offer really new OPTIONS, that all classes can take advantage of equally, rather than new feats, which is all well and good until you look at how few feats non fighters really get... Feats are not such a great way to customize, IMHO, unless you are a fighter. I like products that are willing to try a whole new mechanic that can be layered on the current system.

Kahuna Burger

 

[Psion]

to blatently plug, this is why I like Bastion Press. Between the guildcraft rules and the prestige races from oathbound (and later dragon mag) I feel like their products offer really new OPTIONS, that all classes can take advantage of equally, rather than new feats, which is all well and good until you look at how few feats non fighters really get... Feats are not such a great way to customize, IMHO, unless you are a fighter. I like products that are willing to try a whole new mechanic that can be layered on the current system.

That's the kind of thing I don't like. It feels so tacked on. It reminds me (painfully) of the old "netbooks", just printed.

This whole "spend raw XP for abilities" thing I find rather dubious. I can sort of see prestige races and similar mechnics in the context of the setting, but really, for general use, it's a bust. It bypasses levels, which is a major underpinning of the game. For example, let's say that you have a party of characters who all take guildcraft guilds, Path of the Sword schools, and/or Prestige Races. They are all more powerful than their level indicated, but they will be gaining XP faster due to the XP tables. So they really don't lose as much as you think.

I would agree that there needs to be some freshness and innovation, but things like the "xp for ability things" are just not functional and feels entirely tacked on.

BAB is one of the stickier points of the d20 system; I am surprised that no d20 game has ditched BAB and made weapons skills. Wouldn't work for a D&D targeted supplement, but would work for a d20 game.