D20 Fears

I am interested in the concern out there that D20 is inhibiting the development of new and better systems. I am not sure if this is true or not, but I am not going to dismiss it as an invalid opinion. It might very well have merit. On one side, I am excited about all the recent D20 stuff that has hit the shelves. I bought my girlfriend an Atlas Games module, for example, that she could run. We had several to choose from. It's great to have that many resources for your game. I can envision a time when three or four sections of the local game & hobby shops will have nothing but D20 stuff. Would be wild... But, right now, I think overall quality is low. There are a ton of adventures for it, but like 60-75% are very amateur with dorky pictures and lame excuses for dungeon crawl plots. As another point, Atlas Games is producing D20 stuff! In my opinion, Atlas is one of the best game companies out there. The stuff they produce is just heads and tails above most everyone else (again in my opinion). But, I have not seen them announce the end of development of any of their game lines. Rather, I believe that they are going to use D20 to attempt to spring other players into Ars Magica and other game lines. Good plan. On the other side, we see Pinnacle and some other companies announcing D20 games. Would Weird Wars be better using Pinnacle's own system? I don't know. How about AEG's Farscape D20 RPG? Would it be better using a special Farscape dice system? I think this topic is nearly dead -- people have been arguing about it since D20 was announced. Time may be the only judge.... But... we have a very good example of what may lie ahead. Take a look at WEG's Star Wars [d6] and WotC's Star Wars [d20]. Is there really a difference in the game because of the stats? I've played both. In the end, what mattered to me was that it was Star Wars. The system mattered little... It works, it flows, and its' Star Wars. In any event, I ramble. Someone shoot me. Nathan Hill http://www.mysticages.com/