WotC and D&D

[Nightfall]

AK,

I don't appreciate you attacking a man I consider a great RPG reviewer. If you don't like his opinions fine. But no need for personal attacks.

 

[Agamon]

I'm very happy that they allowed for d20 and the OGL, as that led to Mutants & Masterminds and Stargate SG-1, which I am playing right now.

Not too pleased with the 3.5 thing though. I play Living Greyhawk, and everything is swiching over to 3.5 and I don't want to invest into any more than just a PHB, especially since I probably won't start a new D&D camapign until 4E comes out.

 

[Orius]

For the most part, yes. After WotC bought TSR 7 years ago (that long? Wow!), there was a marked improvement in product. Late 2e had some good stuff, and 3e as a whole has been good. The whole d20 system I think has done a lot of good in revitalizing the game.

There are a few complaints, though. I think the 3.5 release was far too soon. I've heard people say it fixed a lot of problems, and that may be good. I don't know. I just think that an RPG can't realisitically spit out a new edition every year or so like WotC does with Magic. I'll just have to see what happens here.

The art is not as good. I like the classic TSR look, and dislike the body piercings, heavy tattooes, and pieced together look of clothing and armor. Not a big problem since the look doesn't change the fact that the rules are good.

Cover prices on books. I know a lot of people whine about how expensive the books are. But last time I was up at the local Borders, there was a bunch of official D&D and assorted d20 hardbacks, and the d20 stuff was noticably cheaper than WotC's stuff. For example, a WotC hardback might have a cover price of $30, while a d20 book of similar length would be priced at like $25 or $20. I don't know why that is, maybe the d20 publishers use crappier material in publishing the books. Maybe WotC pays their employees more. Maybe WotC is just gouging us. I don't know. It doesn't seem like a very bright thing for WotC to do though, pricing themselves noticably higher than the competition.

 

[Orius]

I'm quite happy with the way WotC is handling D&D. With regards to suppliments, I'd rather have them releasing a few high-quality suppliments every year (like they're doing now), than dozens of mediocre suppliments with a few gems here and there (like TSR did back in the days of 2e AD&D).

Seconded, thirded and fourthed. It seems like back in the 2e days, T$R milked D&D for all it was worth. And that was a shame. I think WotC is going back to the old days when new D&D stuff was anticipated. So that's great.

WotC also regularly updates their web site with free maps, NPCs, classes, races, and adventures. Plus, WotC was the very first company to make their gaming rules available for absolutely free (via the SRD). They took a big risk by doing this, and I respect them a lot for this.

I agree here as well. They provide a lot of material to use that they're not making profit on, and that's great for us players. I'd like to add the ESDs on to this as well, they made the classics availale for those who want them, even if they're not going to support them. And even the free classics downloads are good too, there's enough free Realms stuff to probably run a decent campaign. Becuase of that, I would not pirate .pdfs of D&D stuff on Kazaa, simply because WotC has been generous.

 

[Darrin Drader]

A WotC hardback might have a cover price of $30, while a d20 book of similar length would be priced at like $25 or $20. I don't know why that is, maybe the d20 publishers use crappier material in publishing the books. Maybe WotC pays their employees more. Maybe WotC is just gouging us. I don't know. It doesn't seem like a very bright thing for WotC to do though, pricing themselves noticably higher than the competition.

One word - color.

Compare to the following books - Babylon 5 core book, Farscape, Conan RPG, Gamma World Player's Handbook. All of those have a price tag of $30 or more, and one of them isn't even in color. The price of WotC's books is not price gouging. For the quality of product that is being offered and the fact that it is full color, every single book released could go for $40 plus, but its not.

 

[Orius]

I feel similar but would be happier if they made more regular contributions to the OGC pool beyond the SRD.

Oh, I agree. When it comes to OGC, WotC has been downright miserly. In fact, not only have they added little beyond the Core Books (psi rules, some monsters from MMII I don't care about), they've actually taken stuff out of the OGC, mostly monsters.

 

[Orius]

Bad analogy. Last I checked, there was no rules forcing people to convert to 3.5e. It's not like the gaming police are going to kick down your door and arrest you if you keep playing 3.0. D&D is not an MMORPG.

I've got to meet these gaming police people keep talking about someday. I'm curious to know what they look like, to see if they goose-step, that sort of thing.

 

[Sir Elton]

I personally like the way WotC has been using D&D. However, as a non-miniature user in D&D, I don't relish the idea of miniatures being used in my campaigns. So, I hate it when everyone assumes that you need miniatures to play a game where the main component is your imagination.

Besides, if anyone forces me to use miniatures, I'll just pull out my Yugi-Oh cards and say, "Here are my miniatures." I honestly don't think that miniatures are really needed to have a satisfying game.

1. 3.5: I really don't care. I decided to write my own d20 RPG, thanks to the SRD. Okay, I care a little bit, but you can be sure that I'll be de-emphasizing miniatures as a needed element of play.

2. WotC pricing: WotC isn't fleecing me one solid bit. Their books are much better than other RPG books. Both content and production value. Besides, I have more fun creating my own T.V. Show then sitting down and watching a t.v. show, or taking in a movie, or for some reason, watching a DVD (imagine the amount in power bills I could save!). RPGs are the cheapest, and probably one of the most satisfying, forms of entertainment in the world.

So it's a pretty open and shut case for me.

 

[Orius]

Quick thing I'd like to point out here.

2e... The 'revised and updated' Player's Handbook for AD&D 2e came out in 1993, about 4 years after the initial 2nd edition PHB. Then a mere 2 years later, the Player's Options, which were a far greater change in rules than the transition from 3.0 to 3.5 (in my opinion).

Actually, they both came out in 1995. I should know, I have the original 2e PHB (a 1994 printing, IIRC), but the revised DMG. And Player's Option was just that, an option.

 

[Orius]

One word - color.

Compare to the following books - Babylon 5 core book, Farscape, Conan RPG, Gamma World Player's Handbook. All of those have a price tag of $30 or more, and one of them isn't even in color.

Ah ok, I see.

Still, I wouldn't mind sacrificing the color for a lower price tag. Some of you may disagree, but I don't buy game books to look at the pictures.