Why won't WOtC let another company publish...

[Arkhandus]

Forgot a few shorter points: One, there are so many people that could oversee/advise/whatever on projects by other companies regarding old D&D settings, and they're probably too busy with work at Wizards of the Coast.

Two, folks would rather not see their favorite settings messed up by inexperienced/inferior designers from other companies that don't have the same grasp of 3E game mechanics and the earlier settings' details/background that many WotC employees would have. There's no assurance that whoever worked on the revived settings would be skilled, competent game designers with good familiarity; they could just as easily be folks just trying to get a D&D property and make money off of it, maybe thinking they were handling it well but unwittingly messing up the mechanics or background details.

Third, as others have mentioned, it's not likely the market could support a few more lines worth of setting books. There are already a bunch of books being put out as-is, and most aren't selling much because of the sorta-glut.

 

[Imaro]

No, he's saying that WotC has to assume that it could be inferior (or even gets a reputation as inferior). WotC in licensing the property has to be concerned about that. That's his point.

Yes concerned but that isn't the total possibilities, otherwise liscensed games would never make any money. It's funny you say this because I've heard numerous complaints about the WotC produced corebook in comparison to the other sourcebooks for the Dragonlance Campaign setting.

 

[Imaro]

Forgot a few shorter points: One, there are so many people that could oversee/advise/whatever on projects by other companies regarding old D&D settings, and they're probably too busy with work at Wizards of the Coast.

Two, folks would rather not see their favorite settings messed up by inexperienced/inferior designers from other companies that don't have the same grasp of 3E game mechanics and the earlier settings' details/background that many WotC employees would have. There's no assurance that whoever worked on the revived settings would be skilled, competent game designers with good familiarity; they could just as easily be folks just trying to get a D&D property and make money off of it, maybe thinking they were handling it well but unwittingly messing up the mechanics or background details.

Third, as others have mentioned, it's not likely the market could support a few more lines worth of setting books. There are already a bunch of books being put out as-is, and most aren't selling much because of the sorta-glut.

Just to address these points briefly before I gotta hit the sack...

My major problem is that this line of thinking has already posited the negative as TRUTH. Yet we've seen the weaker d20 companies fall and the stronger ones thrive and even do innovative and interesting things with the d20 system. Not to mention the fact that WotC ultimately decides if a company gets the rights to publish it.

From earlier posts I get the impression that WotC isn't even considering the idea. Just a blanket no to any company.

You still haven't addressed the limited run or limited one book model.

Personally I feel there is way more mechanics glut ie. feats, PrC's, types of actions, skills, special uses for skills, spells, magic systems, fighting systems... than there is any type of setting glut. Besides if a setting is innovative enough, or interesting enough it can succeed ie. Midnight, Iron Kingdoms etc. I feel like this part, the imaginative part of the game, is lacking in 3.x and it stems from IMHO being on top and not wanting to take risks for innovation. That's cool, like so many people have said it's a business and blah blah blah. But lets not forget the hobby came from innovation upon an existing framework and wasn't achieved without some risks being taken.

 

[arscott]

In fact, that's why I think that Paizo has a shot of actually getting the Spelljammer setting, assuming that Erik decides to try for it. Paizo has a working relationship with WotC and a reputation for putting out quality products, and great customer service when something slips through the cracks (such as the GameMastery Campaign Workbook).

Plus, Spelljammer is so radically different from standard D&D (even moreso than dark sun or planescape) that it's less likely to cut into WotC's own sales.

 

[Ranger REG]

You are assuming it would be crap, and we all know what assuming does...
How about option 3 where a satisfying(to the majority of the fans) product is made and sells well. Thus a minimum of dissapointed fans

I know what assuming does. I assumed that the licensed Ravenloft line would do well under Arthaus/Kargatane supervision and continue to this day.

I assumed that the licensed Gamma World line would continue under the Sword & Sorcery/White Wolf supervision.

And I assumed wrong. I should have not come out of my pessimistic shell.

The only thing that went well is the Dragonlance line. The few drawbacks are "When's the next product?" and "Are you trying to sell those products through book trade? I'd like to order them through my Borders store (and rack up Borders Reward points)."

 

[Imaro]

I know what assuming does. I assumed that the licensed Ravenloft line would do well under Arthaus/Kargatane supervision and continue to this day.

I assumed that the licensed Gamma World line would continue under the Sword & Sorcery/White Wolf supervision.

And I assumed wrong. I should have not come out of my pessimistic shell.

The only thing that went well is the Dragonlance line. The few drawbacks are "When's the next product?" and "Are you trying to sell those products through book trade? I'd like to order them through my Borders store (and rack up Borders Reward points)."

Its funny you mention that I just traded my corebook two days ago for the runequest book (Yes I admit it I really want to play in the Lankhmar setting.) I really wasn't into Dragonlance like that, thought the original novels were cool when I was younger but stopped reading them and was a little lost now as to where to pick up.

I guess lately I've been jonesing for some sword and sorcery/dark fantasy as opposed to epic(high?) fantasy and the only settings I actively support now are Greyhawk(for my C&C game), Dark Legacies(D&D), and Iron Kingdoms(D&D or true20). Was into Eberron for a while but IMHO, Eberron draws more from anime and two-fisted tales type stories than anything I consider sword and sorcery.

Of all the old settings I would be most willing to purchase Planescape, it caters to the Neil Gaiman, China Mieville and Simon R. Green type books i've really taken a liking to lately, but crosses it with the Imaro/Conan/Eternal Champion/Lankhmar stories I grew up on and still love. Books such as the Lord of the Rings/Shannara series etc. bored me. This may sound funny for someone who has played D&D since they were nine but I didn't read LotR until I was in college and only after a now ex-girlfriend cajoled me into it. We traded my Elric books for her LotR books, and she totally loved the Elric stories(still haven't gotten those books back but its okay cause this girl is hot and it gives me a reason to call her once in awhile, in fact.... )

Sorry about that, back on subject, I found LotR kind of well meh. Later I read it again and liked it more but my heart is with sword and sorcery. This I think is becoming a divide between older players and younger players(on second thought might have nothing to do with age, maybe its just sensibilities). It's the genre that Dark Sun most emulated and I also feel that's why the setting appealed to so many. As alien as Dark Sun and Planescape were to "standard fantasy" their roots were firmly in the Sword and Sorcery genre.

I understand some of the reasons people have given, but like I said I can't understand why a one book campaign book, with a limited print run would be that big of a risk, no more that a supplement like Book of the Nine Swords or even the Tome of Magic. In fact I think that if they announced it was a limited release and then took pre-orders alot of people would order the books just because they had a limited print run. And before anyone gets to spoutting about this being a money grubbing scheme, Lets remember they did release limited edition PHB, DMG and MM1

P.S. I didn't mean to stray this far off topic, sorry for the rambling and oh yeah...BRING BACK Dark Sun and Planescape!

 

[Angel Tarragon]

Damn! Those would have been a pair of fine books on my shelf. Oh well...

You might want to get your hands on Dragon #319 and Dungeon #110.

 

[Ranger REG]

Its funny you mention that I just traded my corebook two days ago for the runequest book (Yes I admit it I really want to play in the Lankhmar setting.) I really wasn't into Dragonlance like that, thought the original novels were cool when I was younger but stopped reading them and was a little lost now as to where to pick up.

That's okay. I stopped reading when Dragonlance made the transition from AD&D to SAGA. In my own view, everything after The Second Generation does not happen.

 

[broghammerj]

Folks would rather not see their favorite settings messed up by inexperienced/inferior designers from other companies that don't have the same grasp of 3E game mechanics and the earlier settings' details/background that many WotC employees would have. There's no assurance that whoever worked on the revived settings would be skilled, competent game designers with good familiarity.

It sounds as if you assume that WOTC designers are the best. I would argue that they have cast off most of those so called "skilled" writers such as Cook, Baur, Reynolds, etc. Admittedly they have good people now, but many of the most experienced people were let go because they cost too much. Some of those had aspirations outside the company and didn't want to stick around with the direction WOTC was taking.

A lot of the new material I have seen now from WOTC is the most unimaginative, bizarre, and/or totally niche material out there. The incomplete stat blocks, errors, etc seem to be getting worse. But then again that's just my opinion.

 

[Ranger REG]

It sounds as if you assume that WOTC designers are the best.

You'd be surprised how many of the D&D and d20 Modern label fans have that assumption. It goes along with their assumption that third-party d20 products are "third-rate."

:\