Thank you August Hahn and Mongoose

[Azgulor]

Ok, as a Lone Wolf fan and apparent Mongoose whore, I finally got caught up on my Conan purchases to the point where I could afford to get the Lone Wolf RPG series. While I'm late to the party and disappointed that Lone Wolf with be a new, non-d20 version, I wanted to express my gratitude to Mongoose and August Hahn for such a terrific game.

After seeing the treatment Conan got, I expected a love of the source material to be evident in the Lone Wolf RPG. I have to say, though, my expectations were surpassed! Additionally, I have found the OGL treatment to not only capture the flavor and essence of the gamebooks but it is also one of the best d20/OGL treatments I've ever seen.

Thanks again for such a great line of books. While I won't be using the new rules, I may pick up the new books for setting info. Hopefully, the OGL version will continue to see some support in Signs & Portents as well as on this forum.

Azgulor

 

[Kojiro]

Mongoose stabbed this game in the gut after four products. I'm a bit concerned the 2nd edition will result in a similar fate.

 

[Greg Smith]

Don't miniatuires count as products?

 

[toothill man]

also its joe denvers version mongoose have gone for not a bad thing at all 8)

 

[Kojiro]

Don't miniatuires count as products?

Only in the loosest context that I'm using. I mostly mean supplements. We get what... a core book, two accessories, and adventure? That wasn't even trying. :x

 

[Azgulor]

While I would love to have seen more OGL Lone Wolf books, I've been blown away with the quality of the ones that were released. They captured the themes and setting of Magnamund perfectly. They are also now treasured books of my RPG collection b/c of how well done they were - both from a source material setting as well as a d20/OGL.

Do I feel somewhat cheated by the shift away from the OGL version? Yes, but I can't speak to how well they sold. However, given that a new RPG is being launched, it would appear that the license has been profitable for Mongoose.

Mongoose needs to serve its owners and employees by being as profitable as it can be. Given that they've given me two fantastic games (Conan and Lone Wolf) as well as several quality d20 supplements, I wish them continued success. Unfortunately, my days of trying new systems out are behind me. I reluctantly came to D20 after abandoning D&D in search of "better" systems. A decade and several systems later, I realized there is no perfect system for all genres. Conan intrigued me enough to check D20/OGL out. After all, if D20 could do swords-n-sorcery instead of just D&D-style fantasy, perhaps there was something to this new edition of D&D and the d20 license and OGL.

I haven't looked back since. I've rabidly purchased as much of the Conan line as my wallet will afford. I purchased d20 Modern and saw how d20 could be customized for a wide variety of genres. I purchased OGL Cyberpunk and plan to get OGL Horror next. By purchasing these and other 3rd-party products, I learned how easily d20/OGL can be modified/house-ruled to support whatever genre I want to run/play. D20/OGL may not be perfect for all games, but it's very tweakable and as I said, I had already learned there was no such thing as a perfect RPG.

Gaming companies have predicted that WotC will pull the d20 License. I don't see how they can pull the OGL, but I'm not a lawyer. What I do see is a return of a period where system wars continue, diehards won't be dissuaded from their game of choice, and all companies will see shrinking sales as a result.

I suspect (and hope) that Mongoose will continue to thrive and prosper, but I bet it will do so as much from its non-RPG products as its RPG lines. As a customer, a move away from OGL and/or d20 games means Mongoose will get less and less of my gaming budget. I've found a framework system that I can modify to suit my and my players' tastes and I have years worth of material I haven't even started to use yet.

RuneQuest - no thanks. Why would I start over from scratch when OGL and d20 games already fit the bill? New Lone Wolf - I already have a Lone Wolf RPG that is fantastic. I don't need simpler, I want interoperability.

Sorry for the long winded response. RPGs are a labor of love to GM, so I'm passionate about this little hobby of mine. Here's to Mongoose and the Lone Wolf OGL RPG. You have my sincere thanks (and my money ). If you're ever looking for market data on OGL-purchasing trends, put me in the YES to Lone Wolf and Conan OGL camps.

Azgulor

 

[Azgulor]

Don't miniatuires count as products?

Products, yes. RPG products, no. Let's face it, when people speak of RPG line support, they're talking primarily about sourcebooks and adventures. Lots of people play without miniatures.

Azgulor

 

[Argamae]

I mostly mean supplements. We get what... a core book, two accessories, and adventure? That wasn't even trying.

You have a valid point there.

I too was more than surprised to hear that they dumped LWRPG to make a new one?! I don't think that a new system, even a simpler one, would attract more of an audience than OGL/D20.

 

[Rikki-Tikki-Tavi]

I too was not happy with the change. I won't be picking up the new stuff.

 

[Methos]

I too was not happy with the change. I won't be picking up the new stuff.

i will
i am happy that the world of lw is still alive

 

[Xex]

Azulgor, that was an informative post. Though you have indicated you are not in the market for any more systems, I suggest you try out wfrp v2, and Legend of the Five Rings 3ed. You only need the corebooks for each (well, maybe the bestiary too for wfrp); at the very least try L5R 3ed; its an AMAZING game with a great system, and with tons and TONS of roleplaying possibilities, especially in the drama/romantism department, something most games with d20 can't do very well.

 

[Smiling Fox]

I did not think WFRP could be improved, but the 2nd edition is so much better than the 1st edition. The only thing I'm afraid of was that the flavour of the 1st edition would be spoiled (incorporating Sylvania among others, generally making the game more WFB like), but so far I must say that the unique flavour of the game has been conserved and improved.

 

[Ghost Bear]

I mostly bought the RPG book for the background material in it rather than the rules (although I've dabbled in online Play By Board RPGs). So in that regard I'd probably be reluctant to pick up the core book unless there was significantly different background info to the d20 RPG, which is unlikely. I'd be interested in future supplements though.

-GB

 

[Launcelot]

I seem to recall Joe Dever mentioning in one of the old Lone Wolf newsletters (downloaded from Project Aon), that he had created a full Lone Wolf RPG with the rules from the books. Since it was never released (AFAIK), it's probably something Joe has always wanted to do for some time.

I'm very excited about the new release of the gaming books (even if the plot is modified somewhat) and even moreso about the release of a ruleset based on the books - for years I've been playing with my own custom set based on the books, so it will be a treat to see what Joe himself had in mind.

The d20 books were great: I bought them initially to play Lone Wolf characters in a DnD campaign and eventually just used them as excellent source material for my gaming books based Lone Wolf campaign.

As another poster said in this or a different thread on the topic, many of us 'older' gamers no longer have the same level of enthusiasm for bigger and better gaming systems and actually prefer streamlined systems that still make sense but allow you to focus on the campaign/storyline/role playing itself and spend less time crunching numbers.

All told, I'm saddened to see the d20 support end, but even more excited to finally see a comprehensive set of rules based on the gamebooks and no longer have to endure the agony of knowing that Joe Dever had just such a set of rules laying around somewhere (or in his head), but that it was never released to all Lone Wolf fans! :mrgreen: