[DL] Re: D20 (was Rant!)

["John Goff" <johngoff@cavtel.net>]

> >   I had hoped that the D20 deadlands book would have
> > been published (Pinnacle could have struck while the
> > iron was hot!) and I think it would have drawn more
> > people into Pinnacle's great games.
>
> From what I understand the delays had nothing to do with
> Cybergames.  PEG had shelved the game until the licensing
> agreement was finalized.  Based upon some initial IP-type
> things that the initial d20 license included, I don't blame
> them.

That's absolutely correct.

I was on tap to write--and very enthused about--the D20 project. I'd even
selected the art and begun preliminary work on the rules set when the
decision was made to push the project back indefinitely. To say I was
disappointed would be an understatement; I believed that project alone might
have vaulted Deadlands and PEG into a power niche.

However, I'll also be the first to admit it was a sound business decision.
Even Ryan Dancey _strongly_ recommended not pursuing major conversions of
the sort until the D20 STL was finalized. Doing so, he cautioned, may
endanger ownership and rights with regards to IPs linked to D20. An
adventure might be fine, but a full game was a lot hanging in the wind.

It's now four months after that warning and the D20 STL remains
unfinalized--with no definite end in sight. I'm pretty sure that by the time
it is finalized Deadlands D20 will have missed the boat, but I believe that
Cybergames made the right decision at the time. The Deadlands IP is a very
unique property with a lot of potential; it's PEG's bread and butter. It's
not something that should be wagered, no matter how sure the bet looks.

Just my opinion,

John Goff