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Message: <blockquote data-quote="The Sigil" data-source="post: 1138458" data-attributes="member: 2013">If it's an argument you're looking for, you won't find one here.  I won't blame AV directly for the changes to the d20STL, but every step the Valar Project has taken has seemed to be staged for maximum hype, and maximum nose-tweakage not only of WotC, but also for enraging of the sensibilities of other publishers.  I could care less about the BoEF's content, and no I haven't seen the preview, but everything I've seen surrounding the BoEF and the Valar Project thus far has struck me as unprofessional, staged, and 100% hype-driven.  At this point, the BoEF could be the greatest thing since sliced bread - but because of all of the seeming unprofessionalism from those involved, I wouldn't buy it anyway.  Again, this is not a statement on the CONTENT of the book (not wanting to open up THAT can of worms again) but a statement on the lack of professional conduct and demeanor on the part of the Valar Product with regard to their presentation of themselves and their product.  And I'm not talking about the grievous typographical errors ("your gaming past time"?  I wasn't aware RPGs were timed events), clear factual errors or half-misrepresentations (the BoEF is NOW being released as OGL?  Wasn't it OGL before?  If not, how could it be d20?  For a company headed by someone formerly charged with understanding and enforcement of the OGL and d20STL, Valar has shown less understanding of those documents - and perhaps deliberately so - than most newbie publishers) and dubious veracity of legal interpretation of the d20STL in the press release above, either.I'm sure AV is a nice guy, but his company, Valar, sure seems to be burning bridges in the d20 publishing community at an astonishing rate. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f641.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":(" title="Frown    :("  data-smilie="3"data-shortname=":(" />  These really do seem like "calculated blunders" designed entirely to build a recognition of Valar's "name" - nobody could be so clumsy as to simultaneously break every rule of publishing decorum, not to mention exploit every potential loophole in the OGL and d20 licenses on their first product accidentally, could they?  I know on my part, they're already right up there with Buckshot00 Productions in publishing legitimacy and prestige based on their actions thus far. Which is sad - while I don't want the BoEF myself, I might have interest in future products they do - clearly they have people there who are familiar with the d20 system.  It just seems like they're trying to trivialize themselves. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f641.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":(" title="Frown    :("  data-smilie="3"data-shortname=":(" />Maybe that's a bit on the harsh side, but it's how I feel.  Regardless of what the content of their first product was, their shenanigans on the business side of things have already marginalized and trivialized them in my eyes.  I wish it were otherwise.  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f641.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":(" title="Frown    :("  data-smilie="3"data-shortname=":(" />--The Sigil</blockquote>

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