Wizards of the Coast/Kenzer & Company License Agreements Expiring

[Kae'Yoss]

I seriously doubt that we will ever see the D&D logo on a 3rd party product again.

I don't think so, either. Even though in this case the license isn't really wanted any more, I doubt they'd have gotten it back if they did want it. It seems like Wizards is not going to share its toys any more.

Personally, I think that will greatly diminish the D&D brand. I never bothered too much with KoK, but I understand that others did. And I do like Paizo's work. There's quality stuff in that circle that not only produces d20 material, but stuff that had the right to bear the D&D logo. A lot of this stuff was better than much of what Wizards put out themselves.

I guess more than a few people didn't see the different company. They just saw that it was D&D, never noticing that Kenzer made it, or that Paizo has been doing the Mags in the last years. Now, those companies won't produce anything bearing the D&D logo.

 

[Jolly_Blackburn]

Will we see more d20 articles and adventures in Knights of the Dinner table now that Hackmaster is...."changing"? Hackmaster just isn't my cup of tea, and seeing the magazine with old hacked D&D stats has always turned me off. Love the comics, and I like reading d20 articles (the uses for unseen servant was very nice, for example), but I've never liked Hackmaster's mechanics.

The typical issue of KODT has around 10% Hacmaster content (no accident).
Out of 80 pages 6 to 12 are usually d20 related. The rest generic or comprised of regular features.

I don't see too much changing since we'll continue to support Hackmaster.
Although the pendulum tends to swing. Sometimes we have more d20 content than usual.
Sometimes more HM material. And I'm sure you'll be seeing some A&8 content here and there.

But generic content has ALWAYS been our bread and butter as far as extra content. I think the appearance is that there's more HM content than there actually is (many people assume the generic stuff is HM).

Probably my fault. Six years or so back I did heap on the HM content fairly heavy. But that was to promote the game. When non HM-playing readers spoke up we came up with the 10% rule.

Hope that answers your question.

(btw we HAVE been running some official D&D material in recent issues -- more so than usual).

 

[Jolly_Blackburn]

Hmm.

I liked the Kalamar setting quite a bit. And I've only recently started getting into Hackmaster.

Pre-arranged or not, it's a little hard not to be suspicious of WotC with news of so many licenses ending in the same year.

I hear ya. Which is why I wanted to clear things up.

WotC may be tightening control but in our case they certainly didn't come gunning for us.

 

[rgard]

I like KoK. I develop my own game worlds, but have been more than happy to pillage KoK stuff for use in my campaigns.

As for whether this part of a WotC grand scheme, we'll have to wait and see if it works. Even if the grand scheme is true, I've seen nothing that would make me cringe like ADB did (or still does) with Starfleet Battles in the mid-90s.

Thanks,
Rich

Edit note: the 'or still does' means that I have no idea whether ADB lightened on fan produced stuff as I have not purchased any of their products or visited their website in at least 10 years.

 

[Contrarian]

Some friendly advice for KenzerCo:

You know what's confusing about this whole thing? The press release starts with the words "It is with regret that we announce," while KenzerCo's followups are say they don't really regret it.

People are interpreting this as bad news because the press release makes it sound like bad news. That's a "Spin Control 101" mistake. KenzerCo should be more careful writing press releases.

That's all I have to say. Carry on, everyone.

 

[kigmatzomat]

I've got KoK (somewhere) and it was a well done book. I decided it wasn't what I wanted to run but it was still a decent reference. I'm glad to see that you're keeping the setting in print.

 

[Jolly_Blackburn]

Some friendly advice for KenzerCo:

You know what's confusing about this whole thing? The press release starts with the words "It is with regret that we announce," while KenzerCo's followups are say they don't really regret it.

People are interpreting this as bad news because the press release makes it sound like bad news. That's a "Spin Control 101" mistake. KenzerCo should be more careful writing press releases.

That's all I have to say. Carry on, everyone.

lol. Point taken. But I'm not sure how much confusion there really is. Just questions on HM/kalamar's future.

Again -- my only interest in posting was to say it was expected and that WoTc didn't yank the carpet. (i.e. no bad guys here).

I don't think it's unsual to regret the end of a relationship while looking forward to the future. I think that's what the press release basically says.

 

[Jolly_Blackburn]

I've got KoK (somewhere) and it was a well done book. I decided it wasn't what I wanted to run but it was still a decent reference. I'm glad to see that you're keeping the setting in print.

I hear ya. My gaming library is filled with books I don't really use for play. But i keep them handy because they make great references.

I'm looking at a set of Last Unicorn's ARIA as I write this.

Never played it. Not even sure what it's all about. But they make great reference works.

 

[BiggusGeekus]

Pre-arranged or not, it's a little hard not to be suspicious of WotC with news of so many licenses ending in the same year.

I see it as the other way around.

They knew they'd regain control over the logo back so they decided to consolidate.

Of course, that's pure speculation.

 

[Belen]

Can't disagree with this more. Kenzer conistently puts out quality products. I, for one, look forward to seeing where they go from here.

Eh...Kalamar is a very boring setting with little to offer over the mainline D&D settings. The Kalamar CS was the first and last thing I ever purchased for Kalamar. The fact that they were forcing me to purchase the setting and a player's guide sucked donkey nuts. I want my rules bundled with the book rather than we forced to consult two books to make it useful.

This does not even account for how poorly they marketed the Necromancer adventures and how difficult it was to be found in gamestores.

I would have preferred that another company benefit from the logo. A company that put our exciting products rather than the boring fare that was offered.

I am sure that a lot of people enjoy the setting and I realize that it is my opinion, but the ending of the license is no biggie in my estimation.