In a message dated 6/28/00 4:13:37 PM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
<< I've seen a lot
of small press material (and most "d20 companies" are likely going
to be small press*), and for every good book/supplement/game out there,
there is a crappy one, either in presentation, content, or both. Just
because someone puts out a shingle that says "d20 Publisher" doesn't
mean that they are automatically going to be producing top-notch stuff.>>
Oh how true this is.
Running an RPG company, even a small one, is not an easy job. Many people
try, but only some of them are any good at it.
Nearly every year at GenCon you see some start-up company with a new RPG that
is obviously a formalized version of their home rules for D&D. The PR about
how many races, classes, and spells the games feature is a dead giveaway.
These well-meaning folks honestly seem to think that gamers will snap up
their rules when they realize it has 11th level spells and winged elf PCs.
These companies almost never reappear the next GenCon.
Now d20, in a way, may make this phenomena even worse, because now any D&D
fan with a computer and a savings account can plug into the D&D rules
directly. This is a long way of saying that we should expect a great deal of
crap to come out under the d20 banner. Which is fine, because the market will
sort the wheat from the chaf like it always does, but a lot of people are
bound to learn some hard lessons about the gaming industry.
And for the record, I do think d20 is a fine idea, and I'm sure there will be
many quality products as well. A dose of realism never hurts though,
especially when people are starting game companies. I've seen a lot of
friends ruin themselves going down this route, and it's never fun watching
others make the same mistakes.
Chris Pramas
"Wine is strong, a king is stronger, women are even stronger.
But truth will conquer all."
Inscription, Rosslyn Chapel, 15th Century
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