John Stark wrote:Posted by Rhuvien over at the Pied Piper site about this thread here at the Acaeum:



From this thread: Link

Figured you all would like to know what this guy thinks of you.

See, its exactly this kind of self-righteous nonsense that is going to fan the flames worse than they already are.

Did you folks here at the Acaeum catch what he's saying? Your character is called into question because you've vented some anger about not getting what you paid for.

No thought at all about the fact that RJK made this mess himself by stating he'd shipped all outstanding orders weeks ago, and then not following through.

No thought at all that folks work hard for their money, and expect to get what they've paid for in a timely fashion, from a business that was supposed to be earning the trust of their customers.

If this doesn't meet the definition of vapid fanboyism, I don't know what does.

AdderMcOne wrote:Hi Everyone,

I've held off posting on this thread for my own reasons up to now.

Do I have any stake in the argument? Yes, nearly 500 hundred of them.

Those that have posted on both sides have expressed their opinions,
and as has been stated before, nothing new is likely to be said within
the next few days, unless Rob himself jumps on or people start to get the goods.

I am posting now to request, and this is just a suggestion mind, that
we put aside this particular discussion until after EGG's laid to rest.

A couple of days won't hurt and I wouldn't normally suggest something
like this as I respect a heck of a lot of guys on here, and their
right to express their opinions on this.

For no other reason than as a sign of respect to EGG.

Pied Piper Publishing's Philosophy and Mission Statement


Preface: A Short History of D&Dâ„¢-Compatible Products


Dungeons & Dragonsâ„¢ has come a long way and in many formats from the time when its first doughty fans and creators were assembling the wood grain box sets in EGG's basement.  We all thought then that it was such a great concept and fun to no end and wanted to get it as fast as possible into the hands of eager fans. That small but dynamic beginning has lead to a multi-million dollar industry, has spawned imitators of the games, and has driven the creation of volumes of fan-based material, as well as spurred the publication of semi-professional, licensed and compatible material for it.


One of the very first licenses approved for AD&Dâ„¢ was for Judges Guild. During that time I was put in charge for a short period to oversee and edit the line, making sure that Judges Guild was representing the license as agreed upon and that the material was consistent with the rules as already published and forthcoming. Judges Guild exceeded their intent of presenting the compatible material in the best possible light; and that only continued to promote the game in a good way because of that, building awareness of AD&Dâ„¢ and creating a strong secondary arm to further invigorate TSR's already strong sales of the brand. They did such a good job of this in fact that Bob Bledsaw of JG is specifically thanked in the credits and acknowledgments of the Dungeon Masters Guide.


Mayfair Games came upon the scene later with their compatible products, in turn creating a contention between them and TSR  which extended in and out of court for many years afterwards until the Mayfair line of AD&D compatible products was eventually bought out by TSR.  During their run of many years Mayfair produced a copious amount of professional looking product which varied in content from average to excellent. Many of these products are still sought after by collectors today, noting that they were in widespread cases appreciated by a good portion of consumers in the AD&Dâ„¢ community who were clamoring for more and more material, whether it was compatible, licensed official, or official.


In 1986 I launched my own fantasy role-playing game company, Creations Unlimited, and basing the main game terms upon the Mayfair model, brought to market with these CU STATS five products (the four modules of the Maze of Zayeneâ„¢ series and Garden of the Plantmaster) and had in the works a sixth, The City of Brass. The company folded due to many industry problems, which included TSR doubling their own product offerings while reducing prices, which in turn drove distributors to buy their lines rather than more pricey and often unknown and untested small publisher offerings. That coupled with the DRAGON Magazine's cut in subscribers around that time and TSR not allowing Creations Unlimited to advertise in the pages of the DRAGON due to the use of AD&D game terms in our products, sealed the fate of the company.


In noting the two latter examples, I will emphasize that in neither case was TSR successful in stopping the publication of compatible materials, only in curtailing their dissemination. The main reasons for this are best found in the various matter involving the different court rulings for or against Mayfair and TSR, but by the time Creations Unlimited appeared on the scene TSR and Mayfair had had enough of the courts and were both properly informed on where they stood and how they should operate in lieu of the prior judgments.


Soon after Wizards of the Coast bought out the financially-crippled TSR, one of its executives, Ryan Dancey, proposed releasing D&D's core terminology set to the public, thus the birth of the SRD (System Reference Document) and OGL (Open Gaming License). Any content (called, interestingly enough, "open-game content" or OGC) released under the OGL (including the D&D SRD) can be used by gamers and publishers in accordance with its terms of use set forth in the license. This allows for the creation of compatible published content, such as what Pied Piper Publishing offers, to be made available to consumers, as well as allowing fans to create such material at their pleasure. This has opened up many professional, fan-oriented, or other self-publishing avenues not only for games past, but for a new realm of compatible games of the future, all based around a simple and well-known terminology set.


The OGL empowers the many existing companies today, such as ours, that publish compatible content for a game we love so much that we don't want to let go. There is no magic wand involved here, no trickery, nor remake of the past rules as otherwise set in stone.  Simply put, the OGL is the bridge for those who wish to use what was and for those who would like to tinker with what might be.  It's a sublime ending or starting point for game designers, just as it was intended to be.  But more importantly, it is the only thing one needs to fuel compatible product design and publication of same. We all have Ryan Dancey to thank for this simple yet formidable idea as realized through the SRD/OGL. By extension, those at Wizards of the Coast then who approved of his plan should be thanked as well.


What Does this Mean for the Future of Compatible Material? (The Pied Piper Transition)


We cannot speak for other companies who are now making the transition to the OGL to publish their compatible products.  From PPP's view we were the first to recently do so, although we hedged our bets on using the OGL in the first product release, Cairn of the Skeleton King, by using the compatible aforementioned CU STATS rather than the familiar terminology of the SRD. Every product since then uses the SRD terminology with which all players and GMs are familiar, and expect all products in the future to stay 100% to this course.



The use of our ‘First Edition' Brand logo on future products  also continues to guarantee the following from Pied Piper:


That all products are compatible as designed by using the OGL.
This demarks a quality we are proud to continue with as the roots of the company actually spring from the very start of the game as we know it.
This also marks our products in a primary light as being First Editions, as the majority of them are signed and numbered.
This indicates to online or direct retailers that this is a trusted and tested line of products, assuming a high and meticulous level of production, editing, and creative content which we have been known for, a quality which has in the past gained for our various authors, artists and graphic experts  recognition through awards, commendations and praise from our community and other industry professionals.
This also indicates the pride we take by such attachment. We in no way assume to be the only company publishing such compatible product, but we intend to do the association justice in all respects and then some.
In association with our trade phrase, "Pathways to Enchantment," this branding will continue to identify PPP as raising the bar on product content to levels which many of us hoped would have been achieved in the past had it not been for politics and other unfortunate occurences which otherwise muddied the "road that goes ever onward." We are already progressing along that path with a solid base of encouraged customers and industry professionals who realize that the vision that once was can be had again.
Our branded First Edition products will be synonymous with "no creative limit," as our intent is to push the idea of Fantasy, which has no boundaries, to its very limit and once there take a deep breath and continue happily onward.
Such branding will indicate that ALL product has passed my rigorous inspection and expectations of high quality or else it would not have made it to print.

Pied Piper Publishing has many great products forthcoming as well as many already published.   We are listening to the reviewers, to the informed critics, to our fans and professionals.  In fact I read every such communication and respond to each personally, which guarantees that no voice goes unheard or unanswered.

We appreciate your past patronage if you are a former customer giving our statement of intent a look; and if you are a new person here who is considering trying our products please peruse the site at your leisure and take full note of what we are doing, or attend our forums where I can be found at different times on a daily basis. I will answer any pointed question directed my way just as I did during my days at TSR.  Pied Piper Publishing will always maintain a high level of involvement with its fans and encourages their input.

Sincerely,


Robert J. Kuntz
President, Pied Piper Publishing

dcas wrote:That is true, "Pod Caverns of the Sinister Shroom" is also excellent.