What 3rd Party D&D Companies Are Left?

[Treebore]

Necromancer for at least another year.

Green Ronin

Mongoose

Sword and Sorcery? No. I believe they terminated their contract/agreement with Arthaus just like they did with Necromancer. So I have no idea how Arthaus is going to keep doing Warcraft, etc... Unless they haven't terminated their agreement with Arthaus? Anyone know?

Fiery Dragon

Expeditious Retreat Press

Kenzer? Not sure how much longer they are staying with d20.

Goodman is still going strong.

I am not sure about everyone else.

 

[Banshee16]

I didn't think that AEG was releasing any more D20 books after WLC. As for the others, I know that Goodman Games is still producing generic material.

The rest I thought had either got out or limited themselves to their own setting specific D20 variants of D&D. Maybe I was mistaken?

Olaf the Stout

World's Largest City....I think that's the product I was thinking of. How recent is it? I was under the impression it was recently.

And they're *slowly* still producing dual-stat products as PDFs for Swashbuckling Adventures....very slowly, done by a team of volunteers, and available for free through the website.

Privateer Press is still slowly working on Iron Kingdoms. Most of their work is still being done on the War Machines miniature line....but they're producing a Monsternomicon II this year, and a few other books as well.

The DL line is currently awaiting the release of the Races of Ansalon book. Plus, they're still rolling out adventures....I think #2 and 3 in the Chronicles series. And there are rumours of a Taladas book for next year.

Mongoose is releasing a revised Conan core book this summer, from what I understand, so it sounds like the line is still alive.

Sword and Sorcery just released the Horde Guidebook and the monster book for World of Warcraft. I'm pretty sure other stuff is planned.

There's definitely *a lot* less 3rd party product coming out....at least print-wise. But it appears that there's still *some*. And there are definitely PDFs. But every time I go to my FLGS, I still see some 3rd party print products out every month. It just appears that instead of it being like 30 books a month, it's like 3-5, plus the WotC stuff.

I don't mind there being less products....as long as what there *is* is of good quality. I'd rather a smaller number of really good books than getting flooded with bad books.

I'm wondering what will happen when 4.0 eventually comes out in a few years. If the OGL and D20 licenses are continued for the new edition, will we see an explosion of companies jumping back in?

Banshee

 

[hexgrid]

Do you think it is a bad sign or just the market correcting itself?

I think it's the market correcting itself.

Opening the game up to third parties was an experiment. Having a game and it's supplements all published by the same company is how things normally work, and D&D seems to be slowly but surely returning to this model. (And for the most part, it's the only game that ever left it.)

 

[JoeGKushner]

Market correcting itself.

I can't speak for anyone else, but I have shelves full of d20 3.0/3.5 products that I've been meaning to use and haven't had the time to do.

Less is really more to some in this instance.

 

[Pramas]

It looks like you're trying to go the opposite way to Goodman's DCC series. Looks interesting.

Yeah, with Goodman, Necro, and WotC all doing nostalgia experience adventures, we figured that area was pretty well covered.

I thought that GR was concentrating on it's True 20 variant though? I guess I was wrong.

We definintely tried to diversify ourselves but we never quit the d20 market. Much of our product line this year is Mutants & Masterminds and True20 Adventure Roleplying support because those lines sell better than d20 these days. We've been trying to keep our pulse on d20 though in case the market shows renewed signs of life. The d20 Freeport Companion will be an interesting test case, as its going to be a 160 page book full of great crunch and we haven't done a book like that in awhile.

 

[Erik Mona]

Paizo just announced a new line of monthly, full-color 32-page adventures that will kick off in June with Nick Logue's "Crown of the Kobold King." There are other major projects in the offing.

The magazines aside, we are supporting the OGL in a huge, huge, huge way in 2007 and beyond.

--Erik Mona
Publisher
Paizo Publishing, LLC

 

[jgbrowning]

Expeditious Retreat Press is still chugging away nicely and I don't forsee any changes in that for years to come.

joe b.

 

[sir_ollibolli]

As I am running a d20 Freeport campaign at the moment, I can't wait for that book *G*.

Market correction is the right word. d20 itself is viable only for those with the highest exposure (or as a child of love). The rest concentrates more on their own developed lines (C&C, True 20, Runequest).

 

[Sigurd]

I think it's the market correcting itself.

You guys may be right in this but the clinical line still feels so cold.

I loved the Bizillion D20 products of the boom. I still hope every author and every publishing house does ok in the end. Where we had a varied garden we now have a planter box.


Sigurd

Hoping the market is rich enough for lots of little guys. I can wish cant I?

 

[Nightfall]

Market correcting itself.

I can't speak for anyone else, but I have shelves full of d20 3.0/3.5 products that I've been meaning to use and haven't had the time to do.

Less is really more to some in this instance.

Less is only more if more is less than you need.

Me I need all the Necromancer games stuff I can ever want and more.