Weird question, about 3rd party devs...

[Evenglare]

I know the GSL was much more restrictive etc etc... but what 3rd party stuff IS out there for 4th edition? I know enworld has Zeitgeist, but ... thats about it actually. Has anyone put out their own Monster Manual? Or classes? Or whatever?

 

[Dr_Ruminahui]

The folks at Kobold Quarterly have a campaign setting and various related PDFs for sale - I bought their Soldier of Fortune one which has ideas for running games where the PCs are mercenaries or otherwise caught up in a war.

Not sure what exactly the other PDFs are, but a perusal of their store should give you a better idea.

 

[Kantru]

Here is a list of the 4e publishers that I am aware of. Some maps, some adventures, some settings, some classes, some monsters, Dias ex Machina pretty much has 2 4eModern/Future rewrites Amethyst and a new one in dev. I forget the name.

4 Winds Fantasy Gaming
Adamant Entertainment
aethereal FORGE
Alea Publishing Group
Alluria Publishing
Alter Tu
Avalon Game Company
Axe Initiative Games
Black Death Publishing
Blackbyrne Publishing
Blackdirge Publishing
Bonsai Entertainment
Brent P. Newhall’s Musaeum
Bright Ideas
Candarin Fall Productions
Cerberus Illustration
Chaotic Shiny Productions
Clerics of the Midwest
Conflict Games, LLC
Creation's Edge Games
Dark Spire
Darklight Interactive
Destiny Games Publishing
Dragondyne Publishing
Dreamscarred Press
Emerald Press
EN Publishing
Escape Velocity Gaming
Expeditious Retreat Press
Fahrenheit Gaming
Fanig Entertainment
Fantasy Flight Games
Fat Dragon Games
Fearless Goblin Games
Fiery Dragon
Final Redoubt Press
Fluid Games
Forever People
FreeFall RPG Studios
Galileo Games
GameVein
Generic Universe Publishing
Goodman Games
Gordon McDonald
Green Ronin
Gun Metal Games
Highmoon Games
Honeybeech
Imperium Star Games
Implement Games
Inner Circle
Inspired Device
Ivory Goat Press
Jon Brazer Enterprises
Kannik Studios
Kenzer & Company
Kraken Eye
Kurt Sparkuhl Games
LPJ Design
Modeus Publications
Mongoose Publishing
Myth Merchant Press
Necromancer
Neuroglyph Games
Nevermet Press
Northwinter Press
Nosfecatu Publishing
Oath Brothers
One Monk Miniatures
Open Design
Planet Thirteen
Poison Ivy Press
Polyhedral
Postmortem Studios
Precis Intermedia
Purple Duck Games
Red Pub Games
Revenant Games
Rite Publishing
Role Playing Public Radio
RoleplayingTips.com
Sceaptune Games
Scrying Eye Games
Silent7Games
Skirmisher Publishing
Sly Flourish
Sneak Attack Press
Stainless Steel Dragon
Super Genius Games
Svalin Games
Tangent Games
Taurus Twelve
TG Publishing
The Fantasy Cartographic
Three Sages Games
Troll Lord Games
Unicorn Rampant Publishing
Unknown Tome
White Elephant Publishing
Wiley Publishing
WorldWorks Games
Zeitgeist Games
Zodiac Gods Publishing
Zombie Sky Press

 

[S'mon]

I have a bunch of Goodman Games DCC 4e adventures, and their 'monster manual' - Blackdirge's Dungeon Denizens. The character builder killed third-party player material though, and most companies seem to have abandoned 4e adventures.

 

[Kantru]

I don't disagree that cb, particularly online cb has made 3PP think twice. DCC 66 is the last DCC for 4e, future DCC's will be for Goodman's own game.

Several people have said they couldn't name two 3PP companies. There are over a hundred.

My only main complaint about 4e is the deep intergration with character builder. When I need software to build a character, complexity has tipped the scale.
My second complaint is the heavy focus on public play. I understand the need, etc, I just don't think it is as important to the hobby or the publisher as home play is. However, I don't think anyone in the business agrees with me.

To be balanced, I think the statblock is the best feature of 4e, followed by the move back to a single rule book (in digest format even).

I am not railing about 4e, or any other edition. I have some things I hope change with Next Iteration. There are some things from OD&D, Basic, 1e, 2e and 3e that I hope are in NI and about as many that I hope are not in NI.

Some of these 3PP products are really good, and I hope that NI encourages those people to contribute rather than feel frustrated.

 

[BLACKDIRGE]

The character builder killed third-party player material though, and most companies seem to have abandoned 4e adventures.

For the most part, yeah, this is true. I did okay with 4E monster books (Critter Cache, Blackdirge's Bargain Bestiaries, etc.), but everything else sold very slowly.

I might consider getting back in the game if 5E is open to 3PP.

BD

 

[S'mon]

For the most part, yeah, this is true. I did okay with 4E monster books (Critter Cache, Blackdirge's Bargain Bestiaries, etc.), but everything else sold very slowly.

I might consider getting back in the game if 5E is open to 3PP.

BD

Hi Blackdirge - I think initially with the 4e Monster Manual being rather weak, especially for fluff, there was a big demand for more monsters,; WoTC have improved a lot over time though. I think there's still a gap in the market for NPC combat stats - 4e demands a *lot* of different stat blocks and "Ftr-2 12 hp" no longer cuts it. But again the Monster Builder hurt 3p monster support.

 

[Chaos Trip Studios]

Go to rpgnow or a similiar site and sort by rules system. You'll be surprised how much stuff there is out already.

I've personally written a number of 4e adventures that have been published, plus my Markets and Merchandise book, and my sci-fi stuff for 4E. I don't think that the GSL is that restrictive (you can't reprint the entire set of core books, oh no) besides, you can always ignore it and make 4E stuff outside of GSL.

That aside, I've seen some people doing pretty cool things with 4E. A lot of companies have shown their creativity.

 

[MatthewJHanson]

I think the third party stuff has a lower profile in 4e. Their are few (if any) "Big Names" for 4e, like Green Ronin or Fantasy Flight had been with 3e.

It's true that the GSL is more restrictive, and the character builder may play a role. I know at Sneak Attack Press (my company) we're focusing on material that is not subject to the character builder, namely adventure and DM advice (and maybe setting material soon).

 

[BLACKDIRGE]

Here's a link that I think at least partially illustrates how underwhelming 4E third-party PDF sales have been.

RPGNOW Platinum and Gold Metal Sales

In four years, not a single 4E product has attained platinum or gold status at RPGNOW. In fact, I don't think any 4E products have even hit electrum (the next tier down).

BD