What 3rd Party D&D Companies Are Left?

[Ghostwind]

Bastion Press hasn't gone away completely. It has shifted to new hands: DragonWing Games. Expect Lore of the Gods and Book of Curses at Gen Con if not sooner.

 

[Nightfall]

Steve,

Nice to know Bastion Press and Oathbound live on.

Ranger man,

I already gave you 1/3 of my soul. Isn't that good enough for you!?

 

[Sigurd]

Yet there is hope for the fellowship....

I don't want to sound depressing.

I have to point out:

Burning Sky is, for me, new and exciting.

Beyond their own publications, Enworld and other publishers have done an admirable job of collecting and selling the works of less active publishers. While the works are sold and the writers intrigued there can always be another product.

I really, really, enjoyed Darkwalkers by Dragon Wing. They have the Mystic Eye and Bastion stuff - still available.

I'm digging the flurry of generosity from TheLe and all the latest products.

I'm in the middle of Ptolus adventure with friends.

I'm excited that Fantasy Grounds is pushing to version 2.


To some extent perhaps a slowdown was inevitable. Some of it is also psychological. Don't forget the first wave(s) have no competition and improvements on zero always seem huge.


I don't want to sound bitter or unthankful. I have just run into publishers and writers down on the scene and I guess I've tried to sympathize.

I have to say, judging by my purchases anyway, WOTC gets about 30% of my gaming dollar. I hope that's a healthy percentage for the underdogs!


Sigurd

 

[tf360]

Steve,

Nice to know Bastion Press and Oathbound live on.

Ranger man,

I already gave you 1/3 of my soul. Isn't that good enough for you!?

Dragonwing acquired all of the non-Oathbound Bastion products. The Oathbound license is currently owned by the original designer, so its future is much more uncertain.

 

[Ghostwind]

DragonWing acquired all of the non-Oathbound Bastion products. The Oathbound license is currently owned by the original designer, so its future is much more uncertain.

Guys, I don't have a clue as to the future of Oathbound. I have my suspicions and whether or not those suspicions come to fruition is something only time will tell. DragonWing/Bastion Press will live on and continue to produce d20 products as long as it is financially feasible and as long as people continue to buy them (hint, hint). It's not going to be a fast release schedule, but I think it is reasonable to expect to see Darkwalkers, Lore of the Gods and Book of Curses in print at Gen Con. Lore of the Gods is awaiting two pieces of art and then it will go to layout, while Book of Curses is in editing at this moment. So there are still some established faces and publishers still in the game, but we've just changed our strategies and planning to accomodate the drop in the market.

 

[Bacris]

While we're still a newbie in the industry, Dreamscarred Press plans to release from 2-6 new print products this year for d20 3.5.

 

[Nightfall]

Jermey,

I think it helps you guys focused on psionics. It's an under-developed aspect to d20. So keep it up. I know I like it and I don't use psionics that much!

*will buy Dragonwing releases*

 

[Banshee16]

However there was an artificial change to the market with the release of 3.5 rules. The indie d20 publishers were doing quite well, all things considered, until 3.5 pulled the rug out from their backlog of products. When your entire line of products is incompatible overnight, it can really damage your business.

In addition, with gamer dollars being limited and devoted all at once to purchasing those very same 3.5 books, it functioned as a double hit on those indie companies.

Finally, there were some non-market-driven problems with several distribution companies that had an unexpected and very harmful impact on many 3rd party publishers, often happening at the same time as the hit from 3.5.

I think this was less the market correcting itself, and more the sometimes insurmountable impact of these other events which were not really market-driven.

I still believe that illegal file sharing had an impact. I've seen too many instances of players ceasing to pay money for products when they could just find copies online.

I really wonder what the cost there has been?

Banshee

 

[Banshee16]

Officially their last, I believe.

That's possible. I never bought their generic products....only Swashbuckling Adventures, and Rokugan supplements. Those have both stopped, aside from the free SA stuff, which is *really* slow.

True, but Mongoose has shifted much of their effort to its Runequest line and GR is focusing largely on True20.

I've only purchased two Conan products so far, but some of them seem really neat. They're hard to find, though. Is there anything along the lines of a monster book?

Are they still publishing new books for that line?

As far as I know. The latest, "Destiny and Shadow", about the Erenlanders, was just released a few weeks ago. Really nice book. And in the message boards at Against the Shadow, they commented something about it being a response to player feedback about the setting being a little *too* dark. So the book injects some hope into the setting.

AFAIK, they're still publishing, but the schedule has slowed down a bit, because the lead designer left, I think, and I suspect, also because they're pausing for the movie to be released. I'd suspect they've slowed down a bit, then will be increasing releases, particularly if the movie garners a lot of attention to the setting.

Margaret Weis productions seems to be churning away. They (and Sovereign Press) are producing some really nice stuff for Dragonlance. The best products in the setting's history. I cut my teeth as a gamer on Dragonlance back in the late 80's, with the original hardcover, and these new products are really well done. As far as I know, they've still got things coming out for months into the future.

Personally, I think there's been a correction, but I really hope some companies get back into it. I'm finding I'm spending less on gaming, because there's less choice. A lot of WotC products I'm really not keen on, as they tend to be overdesigned, and somewhat flavourless, with the exception of some of the Eberron stuff. I really enjoyed the choice we used to have. Lacking any choice, I guess that money will end up going elsewhere.

Banshee

 

[Bacris]

I think it helps you guys focused on psionics. It's an under-developed aspect to d20. So keep it up. I know I like it and I don't use psionics that much!

Thanks! And it's funny, the only reason we even exist is because of how poorly Complete Psionic was developed.

I hope you like the stuff we plan to release in the next two months, too.