D&D General Nord Games - Yikes

[Zaukrie]

Nord Games was hit HARD by the OGL issues last year. And the owner lost his dad the day he laid off the company! Yikes. Love, love, their products. I'm bummed to learn of this for him and for the workers and the community.

 

[Alzrius]

Damn! I just bought some books of theirs last month; their team was really helpful and communicative, and I was very impressed with them (plus, the books are awesome as well). It's a shame that they're having such a hard time.

 

[Zaukrie]

I just love the ones I have from them. I may need to buy more if my situation improves a bit...

 

[jgsugden]

His tale as it related to the OGL aligns with a concern I've been raising - the loss of customers for D&D, especially due to the edition wars, resulting in harm to the community. As people divide away from D&D (whether into other options or just away from buying RPGs) it makes it harder for third parties to support the hobby due to decreased customer pools for each product they sell. The more people that support one dominant system, the more room there is for financially viable third parties in the industry to build on that system.

 

[mamba]

A shame, hope 2024 and beyond goes better for them again, I like their products. Started with the two bestiaries and Dangerous Destinations, and have bought / backed a lot of their line since. Definitely will go with Wondrous Worlds too, not sure about the Monster Oracle, will have to see more first.

 

[Alzrius]

His tale as it related to the OGL aligns with a concern I've been raising - the loss of customers for D&D, especially due to the edition wars, resulting in harm to the community. As people divide away from D&D (whether into other options or just away from buying RPGs) it makes it harder for third parties to support the hobby due to decreased customer pools for each product they sell. The more people that support one dominant system, the more room there is for financially viable third parties in the industry to build on that system.

I agree completely. In fact, we've seen this before, where a large number of third-party publishers for a single, dominant system is what eventually leads to a wider, flourishing community that then experiments with other, broader RPG systems.

Green Ronin. Kobold Press. Heck, even EN Publishing. All started out making d20 products during the boom days of the OGL, and in doing so ended up cultivating a new generation of talented writers as well as stabilizing their business to the point where they were positioned to branch out into different systems later on. That's why I shake my head whenever I hear people opine that the loss of faith in the OGL will lead to more creativity in the industry; it's a short-term gain that precedes a long-term decline.