Pathfinder 1E Do you look for specific authors? (slight Paizo tie-in)

[Glyfair]

Definitely. It is a factor, but not a limiting factor.

I didn't expect it would be limited. Mostly I was wondering whether it would be a good idea for Paizo (and other game sites) to list the author in the adventure's blurb on their listing page.

 

[BadMojo]

It's not a huge influence for me, but I definitely have a few favorites as far as authors go. I'll give Monte Cook, Bruce Cordell, Keith Baker and Wolfgang Baur (just to name a few) stuff a closer look just because I've enjoyed their work in the past.

My main influences for buying are content, reviews or word of mouth and the track record of the game publisher. I like Goodman Games stuff, so I'll be more apt to look more closely at their products than something from a publisher I've never heard of.

 

[Odhanan]

I didn't expect it would be limited. Mostly I was wondering whether it would be a good idea for Paizo (and other game sites) to list the author in the adventure's blurb on their listing page.

I think it's always a good idea to list the authors of a particular work, particularly in a small hobby like ours. Maybe that's just me?

 

[Faraer]

Even with the developer's role in RPG books, the author is by the far the best advance indicator of a new book's quality and how you'll like it. The undervaluing of authors is one of the main creative problems of the RPG culture and industry, fostered by the long history of publishers playing down authors as replaceable scribes in favour of brands, even to the extent of not always putting their names on the cover. (And even turning the Gygax/Greenwood/Cook authors into brands rather than giving them the respect they'd get in most other publishing fields.) The ENnies' listing of products by publisher rather than author, and multiple-author books that don't credit who wrote what, are examples of the problem.

 

[DaveMage]

In my case, it's not that I look for specific authors, but rather for specific author-topic combinations. For instance, if it's Greyhawk, I look for Erik Mona to be involved. If it involves demons, Erik and James Jacobs. If it's Eberron, you can't go wrong with the creator, Keith Baker. And so forth.

Ditto.


Edit - though it's not so much as it affects my purchasing decisions, but my *playing* decisions. I'm more likely to play an adventure written by an author or company I like than one I do not.

 

[Mistwell]

Jonathan M. Richards. If he writes it, I buy it.

 

[ShinHakkaider]

I know this topic has appeared before (quite a while ago, IIRC), but as my POV has changed somewhat I wanted a fresh perspective.

Do you make purchase decisions based on the author of the product?

I used to. But now I follow publishers (Paizo, Goodman Games and Necromancer mostly).
Interest first, then publishers.

 

[Olaf the Stout]

Jonathan M. Richards. If he writes it, I buy it.

Ditto. Do you know if he has written anything that has been published recently?

Maybe he will come along and answer that question for us himself (hint, hint).

Olaf the Stout

 

[Eytan Bernstein]

For me, it almost entirely depends on the subject matter of the product. There are some designers I really like (and I don't want to name names because I wouldn't want to leave any out), but I still only purchase a product if it appeals to me. I tend to get most of WotC puts out because most of my current freelancing is for them, but even then, subject matter appeals to me more than just about anything. That said, there are a few authors who make me more likely to want to purchase books.

 

[Richards]

Ditto. Do you know if he has written anything that has been published recently?

Maybe he will come along and answer that question for us himself (hint, hint).

Olaf the Stout

Let's see, my last published Dungeon adventure (ever, it now seems) was "Vlindarian's Vault" in issue #141. I've got an article scheduled for the last issue of Dragon, "The Ecology of the Tarrasque," that I co-wrote with Ed Greenwood. And I recently wrote the "Template Troves IV" PDF for Silverthorne Games - the manuscript is currently in the layout-and-artwork stage, so it should be released sometime in the near future, I would imagine.

Johnathan