Duplication in Triplicate – How many elf books do I need?

By John Wommer

In a recent survey, d20 Magazine Rack asked for opinions on declining d20 product sales. At the time of this writing, the leading indicator by respondents was "Too many publishers with too many products". Ironically, this response closely resembled an idea I had for GM Perspective when I was accepted to write for the column. So this time, we'll explore a GM's perspective on when too much is, well, too much, and how to make a good choice from the multitude.

In the early days of gaming, there was TSR, and a handful of companies that produced similar products, though without the same level of success, and usually centered on their own system. One notable exception was Judge's Guild, who created supplemental booklets and modules using the TSR D&D rules openly, even publishing an expanded "to hit" chart before the hardcover PHB was released by TSR (this was the 70s, when we couldn't do math ourselves, everything was a chart - for those of you new to D20/D&D, find an old timer and ask them to compare and contrast the 1st ed "to hit" chart and "THAC0" - then run as their head implodes).

Judges Guild was quite successful at creating such products, but - so rumor says - failed to do one small thing, namely get permission to use TSR's copyrighted material in their books. TSR sued (or threatened to sue), and Judge's Guild stopped creating product directly using TSR material or references. This set the stage for a sort of paranoia to set in the corporate mind set of TSR, who routinely imposed or threatened legal actions against any who used their material, or sometimes referenced it, in the name of protecting their copyright and brand source.

Through the years of TSR there had been a small handful of companies that attained permission to use the D&D rules, typically for modules, but for the most part any company wanting to "compete" with TSR had to do so from the ground up - starting their own rule set, world books, modules, the works. The rise and fall of the first wave of the RPG movement rose and fell almost entirely on the fortunes of TSR. (And before we commence with the angry responses, I have played and loved a number of other systems, big and small. GURPS, W.E.G.'s d6, Rifts, I.C.E. before MERPS - and even more. As successful and great as those systems and companies are or were, none had the impact of TSR, so that's who I'm referencing. It's not a dig or put down of the other companies, it's just in reference to their economic impact. Besides, how many non-SJG produced GURPS products have you ever seen?- same idea, different economic scale.)

So when WoTC bought out TSR and announced both the re-invention of D&D as well as the D20 OGL, there was this shocked silence across the RPG scene - the legal beagles of copyright were to be set aside and, within the rather generous boundaries of the OGL set in the SRD, the D&D system was going to be available to anyone - anyone - who wanted to take a stab at being a publisher. Immediately, the RPG landscape sounded with three score and seven clicky-clacking keyboards as the more industrious and entrepreneurial set about to make their fortunes, or tell their long held stories.

Which brings us to today, when - I'm guessing here - there's something like 1,162 books of elves, with one or two more or less on dwarves, and 3 gnomes guides. I don't know about you, but it amazes me that so many creative people all got together individually and thought " I know, I'll just expand the core concepts of race and class - that'll do it". While I realize, from a business point of view, that originality isn't always rewarded, how many Drizzt Do'Urden ....err.... drow books do we really need? Of course each company's variant is going to be touted as the best, and of course each is going to say that theirs is an original work - and indeed it is - but how much of the same originality can an industry take before something gives? And more important to us as GMs, which (if any) of this originality should we add to our cart and go home with?

Before I start shopping, I tend to go through a sort of mental checklist. Like most folks these days, I have little spare cash to throw at my hobby, so each purchase of RPG stuff goes through this same process - sometimes for a few rounds before I throw down the plastic or coinage.

The first decision is, ironically, the most important, and the most difficult. Do I need this? If you're like me you already have an extensive library of books available, and adding another transcends the mere cost of the item, but includes such decisions as where will I put it? do I have another book that fulfills the need? is my need legitimate or a knee jerk reaction to the "cool factor" of the book?
At this stage, compare the need to buy the item to the product's direct application to your campaign - does it enhance my world? Does it conform to my game's "vision"? Do I have current resources (books, PDFs, internet freebies / site content, or prior campaign notes) that - even with some modification - could fulfill this need as well or better? And, finally, do one of my players have a resource I can borrow to fulfill the need, or can one of my players develop an acceptable resource. Never forget that your players are a creative, imaginative group of people who have a vested interest in making the game fun too. In this context, players are a resource that may be useful.

A second decision that often occurs concurrent to the first is the balance of Time vs. Money vs. Content. While assessing the resources at your disposal, don't forget to count your own creativity. Nothing can serve you as well in a game as what you've made yourself specifically for that game. However, creation is a time consuming process, and not everyone has the time to invest - either because of a deadline (game Tuesday night, campaign starts next month), because they have other commitments that do not allow for a lot of creating time.

If you don't have the time to invest, then it's looking like you'll invest money. As a long time sales person, I can tell you that there are two values that every product is said to have - it's inherent value and it's perceived value. Inherent value is a tangle thing - how much is the product "worth"? What materials were used (hardcover or soft? PDF?), what did the company pay for content (famous author or unknown staff? Illustrated? Color illustrations?). Perceived value is harder to define - what is the product worth to the purchaser? - and is essentially what we're talking about here. It breaks down to "does the buyer feel that the amount they are being asked to pay equals the satisfaction they think they will get from the product?" It's the question you have to ask yourself as you start to look for a product to use.

For us, the most important aspect of the value of the product is it's content. The primary question at this point becomes : Does it do what I want? Does it mesh with my vision of my world? of the vision of my players? of what I want for my campaign? Of how I apply rules to my game? Then there is the question of the amount of modification that the product may require. Even if you use all the books and rules of a given company, there will be some that you may have to modify to make work with your game. If the product is wholly original in concept or rules, then the modification (or integration) work required may be substantial. Often originality is important - but so is usefulness.

Sometimes, the appeal of a unique new product has to be weighed against the it's usefulness, especially in an established game. There can be such a thing as "too unique", no matter how cool the product is or may seem. Unless you are willing or wanting to start anew, you must weigh the use of unique or strictly world specific products that you may consider purchasing.

So now that you've decided to buy, the question becomes which company? which author? The same tool that has, to a large extent, created the great flood of product we see today (the internet) also has given a wealth of tools with which we can judge which products to purchase.

First are previews - often pages or excerpts from the product which publishers place on the net so that we can get a feel for the content, "voice", and quality of their work. There are usually "blurbs" as well - brief descriptions that tantalize and give a list of features and contents of the product. Just remember that blurbs are sales tools, written by the company to entice you to buy, and are by their very nature biased in favor of the product.

Second are reviews - these are everywhere on the net these days, and the challenge here is to find ones that you feel judge a product as you feel you would, and in learning how to read a review to make it a useful tool for what you want. The best way to find reviewers who judge as you feel you would is to take a product you already own, think of how you would judge this product, then read some reviews of that same product and see if any match your opinion. If the reviewer matches your opinion a number of times (or if you feel they are fair in their assessment) then you know that you may trust them on future reviews.

The other important aspect of using reviews is in finding what you need from the review, even if it is contrary to the reviewers overall opinion of eth product. In my own campaign, I knew that I wanted to have magical air travel, but did not want to create my own rules. As I still had a lot of other aspects to work on, I kept my eyes out for a product I might be able to pick up to do the work for me. I saw a review for Bastion Press' Airships. In the review, the reviewer praised the quality of the product, but was disappointed that it did not present much in the way of world or background information. I immediately went and bought it. I already had the world & background information - my own. The challenge I was having was finding a product that didn't integrate so much background and world flavor into itself that it made it unfit for me. What the reviewer saw as a short fall was just what I was looking for (and I'm no reviewer, but I enjoyed Airships and look forward to using it's rules in my game).

And, on the topic of reviews, I would be remiss if I failed to mention this very site. d20 Magazine Rack has garnered much praise for it's fair and comprehensive reviews, as well as a wealth of reviewed product to choose from. If you haven't scanned the rest of the site, check out all the wonderful resources right here.

Finally, take into consideration the track record of the company and author of the product. There are some very good established writers out there, and most of us have our favorites. An author whose work you've used or enjoyed in the past is most likely to satisfy again, if their product meets your other criteria. Often the challenge here is to separate the various steps above from your immediate reaction of desire for something new from that author, or their company. When Monte Cook announced Arcana Unearthed I looked through his design diaries, weighed the information that he released prior to the book, and decided to forgo purchase right now. I love Monte's work. I have several Malhavoc Press PDFs, and have incorporated much material from those into my world already, but the AU material was too much of a departure for me to use right now, and I'm not looking for a new world or system. Deep down the game geek in me is dying to have this book, but I have other, more pressing needs to meet right now.

Ultimately, the steps listed above should not be considered to be linear. Often the process may be used in a different order, may have several points considered concurrently, or may be simply overridden by the need to own that product out of sheer desire. If you see a product that you think you may want, you can consider whether you could do something similar yourself to save cash, or in a decent period of time; do the reviews match the blurb? and is the entire product useful, or just a portion?

For example, if you're thinking of adding a race of ice elves to your campaign and a book offers a variant of them that you like, consider the entire cost versus what you're getting. If there is no other information than the ice elves in the product that you want or need, then you're spending $25 for 3 pages of information. Is that worth it to you? Could you ( or one of your players) do something similar? Is there a website that has a similar race?

Think of the steps above as a system of checks and balances to help you make an informed, educated choice rather then buying a product that will sit on your shelf gathering dust for years or until the next yard sale. Then when you're ready to buy, you will be the proud owner of a useful, enjoyable product that enhances your gaming experience.

Hopefully the tips above will help the next time you consider adding to your game library, and give you some tools to whittle down the competing products into a list you'd like to have. Next time, I'll deal with the challenges and rewards of home brew rules with "By The Written Code - Keeping Everyone On The Same Page".

Have Fun!
-John