What does official mean? (Dragon Mag)

[Silveras]

Official is not new to Dragon

Dragon has been "official" for a long time. Back in 1st Edition AD&D days (when I started gaming) it was official, because Gary Gygax wrote columns of expansion material for the World of Greyhawk -- these were "official" updates to the campaign world. Dragon also included "official" previews of the content of upcoming books (the Barbarian, Cavalier, and Thief-Acrobat classes were previewed before the original Unearthed Arcana came out). Len Lakofka wrote a recurring series of articles that covered many interesting points (pre-1st level characters was one of the best, as well as the Cloistered Cleric class).

"Official" then, as now, meant only that the content had been reviewed by someone other than the author and not found outrageously broken. The DM was still ultimately responsible for deciding whether it fit his/her campaign or not. Sage Advice was then, as it is now, the "official" rules interpretation Q&A resource. And then, as now, people got answers that made them ask "What is the Sage smokin' ?"

And so it was through the days of 1st Edition AD&D, and 2nd Edition AD&D. As far as I know, Dragon has been "Official" since 1978 or so.

"Official" ultimately means that, for people who only want "official" D&D content, Dragon is where you get it. For some people, that is very important; for others, it is not.

 

[Crothian]

Well then, why do some people demand "official" things? For those thata only use "Official" products why is this so? Dragon wouldn't be claiming to be "Official" unless they felt that it would help sales. So, are they just duping people or is there actual meaning here?

 

[Nifelhein]

The meaning, as proposed above should be:
- Dragon is allowed to use the D&D logo.
- You can see previews around here!
- WotC employees can make articles here, not anywhere else!
- We want your money so bad that we made this Worldshaker PrC, its powers ranges from Time stop to Redefine Reality! (Jokes around it has good e]things once in a while).

Demanding official things says you want things from the publisher of the D&D and its associates, dragon is one, for that matter.

 

[jaerdaph]

I prefer "Genuine Imitation!"

 

[Nifelhein]

I prefer "Genuine Imitation!"

Or that!

LOL!

 

[Stormfalcon]

Basically, the "official" label has about the same authority as the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval, i.e. not a whole lot. All it means is that someone at WoTC took a look at it, gave it the okay, and that's that. Just how reliable that okay was is a matter of debate, since there's a substantial number of people who regard the Dragon material to be unbalanced. Also, keep in mind that the RPGA does not allow Dragon material in its games (at least, not since I last checked). In short, acceptance of official material (outside of errata) is not universal, and the label should be taken with a grain of salt.

 

[BrooklynKnight]

You cant really go by RPGA because they also have additional restrictions in addition to the regular rules.

 

[dreaded_beast]

just my opinion, but why the negative vibes against dragon and wotc?

seems as if people don't think much of wotc or dragon magazine, as if they are just in it for the money, which is true to some extent, since they are money-making businesses after all. it's as if people look down at them for actually trying to make a buck from their product. i get the feeling that there is an "elite" attitude, as if not using any wotc products makes someone a better gamer, as if it something to be proud of not to use wotc products.

i've always respected wotc for making dnd open source and am dissappointed when people still see wotc in a negative light. it is their game and they didn't have to do that but they did, which allows people to just buy products from other publishers and not wotc. i believe that wotc deserves at least some respect for making that choice, which i feel is lacking when others talk of wotc:

"we used you to get the bare minimum to play dnd and now that we got it, we're not going to buy any of your other products because it's all crap anyway"

that's a very extreme example, but that is how i feel at times when it comes to other gamers' views on wotc.

this isn't meant to be inflammatory, just how i feel and what i believe is true to some extent

in regards to "official", ever since i started playing dnd, i've always considered dragon magazine as "official" and anything produced by wotc as being "official". my definition of "official" is that the rules can be taken as canon and supersede any other rules produced by any other party or can be integrated with existing "official" rules. this is taking into account that wotc makes mistakes as well, but that is addressed by the erratta that they put out.

however, that can only go so far, since every gaming group plays their own way and has "house" rules. i feel that "official" is important for groups that need rulings on situations that are not covered in the core rules, but are covered in "official" products. i believe that "official" brings some sort of "industry standard" that everyone can refer to when there is doubt about how something should be handled, in other words, consistancy.

however, most gaming groups probably have a multitude of their own "house" rules, so "official" goes only so far, where "house" rules usually supersed "official" rules. every campaign is different, so the rules are tailored to fit their campaign. in fact, in one of the core rule books, the main rule is to change whatever you want to fit the way you want the game to be played.

this makes me wonder what it means when "kingdoms of kalamar" is an "official" dnd product. i think it was the first non-wotc product to be "official".

 

[El Ravager]

Dragon having official rules content means that teh important rules updates and additions will be printed in that magazine. If you don't keep up and buy each issue and use all the rules, then you aren't really playing Dungeons and Dragons.

Wait. I this isn't White Dwarf.

My bad.

=========
El Rav

 

[maddman75]

I do have a somewhat negative view of WotC. I love third edition, and the first few hardbacks were really good. The splats started pretty bad (need I go into Sword & Fist?), but got better and better as they went on. But the later books held no interest for me. Book of Vile Darkness was the last one I bought. ELH is pretty much the opposite of what I want in epic level rules. SHB was okay, but not nearly as useful as the 2e Castle Guide. The revision changed way too much for no appearant reason. Changing the area of effect or range on every other spell only serves to make it more incompatible.

As for dragon, it used to be great. But it turned into an ad for the latest book I had no interest in, so I stopped buying it.

I really feel by letting all their best talent go into the third party market, they really hurt themselves.