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<blockquote data-quote="Lockridge" data-source="post: 3553750" data-attributes="member: 43850">For years I was a &quot;name brand&quot; kind of guy.&nbsp; I'd look at the black and white 3rd party stuff and compare it to the WOTC books that were in colour and on nice glossy paper and I'd buy the WOTC book.That was until I tried some 3rd party stuff.&nbsp; Now I almost never buy WOTC anymore.&nbsp; My reasons:1. 3rd party products were/are much cheaper in pdf format.&nbsp; The price factor was the first thing that lured me.&nbsp; When WOTC first released their pdfs, they were the same price as the printed book which seems wrong to me.2. Talented designers and authors.&nbsp; WOTC does not have the monopoly on talent.3. Different flavour of material.&nbsp; WOTC is more corporate in its releases.&nbsp; Designers are required to conform to &quot;product pushes&quot; or marketing efforts.&nbsp; Good ideas are sometimes put on the backburner or twisted to meet the needs of WOTC's marketing goals.&nbsp; Independent designers are not limited in this way or at least the limit is much less.&nbsp; Independent designers are more able to express their creativity.Someone might correct me if I'm wrong but I seem to recall one of the designers of the 3E DM guide saying that there is no chapter on mass combat because it would have conflicted with another product line - Chainmail, I think.WOTC does produce some good material but it is only one of many providers.&nbsp; The difference is really just the gloss.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Lockridge, post: 3553750, member: 43850"] For years I was a "name brand" kind of guy. I'd look at the black and white 3rd party stuff and compare it to the WOTC books that were in colour and on nice glossy paper and I'd buy the WOTC book. That was until I tried some 3rd party stuff. Now I almost never buy WOTC anymore. My reasons: 1. 3rd party products were/are much cheaper in pdf format. The price factor was the first thing that lured me. When WOTC first released their pdfs, they were the same price as the printed book which seems wrong to me. 2. Talented designers and authors. WOTC does not have the monopoly on talent. 3. Different flavour of material. WOTC is more corporate in its releases. Designers are required to conform to "product pushes" or marketing efforts. Good ideas are sometimes put on the backburner or twisted to meet the needs of WOTC's marketing goals. Independent designers are not limited in this way or at least the limit is much less. Independent designers are more able to express their creativity. Someone might correct me if I'm wrong but I seem to recall one of the designers of the 3E DM guide saying that there is no chapter on mass combat because it would have conflicted with another product line - Chainmail, I think. WOTC does produce some good material but it is only one of many providers. The difference is really just the gloss. [/QUOTE]

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