Not really... There are a couple of guys I'd be interested in if I hear they have a new project on the horizon.

But generally 'content is king' for me... One reason why I don't chase game designers is that their games tend to be inconsistent. Much like a John Carpenter film.

Basically none. So far, I only play D&D.

OSR stuff very frequently sells to me on the strength of the writer - Dyson Logos, Venger Satanis are a couple I will pay hefty £s to Lulu for their full price print softbacks. I look out to see if Basic Fantasy's JD Neal has put anything else out, and snapped up his Giants expy when it came out in hardcopy.

As far as the publishing houses go, I can't think of any current names that are big draws for me by I will look out for stuff by eg the late great Aaron Allston. Some Paizo staff writers before the 2012-present SJW hysteria I guess would be a draw, James Jacobs say but only for 2011 or earlier.

On the flipside, sure there are names like Bruce Baugh (or Dale 'Slade' Henson BiTD) which I will avoid if I see them on the cover. And being a murderous church-burning Nazi (or an SJW) may make me hesitate to buy your stuff for reasons unconnected to the quality of your product (although SJWs tend to put out RPG crappy product anyway; I suspect Nazism can be deleterious to product quality too but admittedly have no first hand evidence for that).

No, not in the slightest.  Companies, yes, concepts, yes; much as I love Star Wars I will never buy another Star Wars d20 product.

But I don't even know who writes most games.  Of course I haven't bought anything new in years so it's rather irrelevant.  Before I buy I have to be well convinced I like the product.  I absolutely will not buy a game I've never played.

Quote from: RPGPundit;965461Will you buy games based on who the designer is? Or refuse to buy games on that basis? Or do you never even consider the name on the product?

I refuse to fund SJWs or socialists that produce RPGs. I also won't buy from an author whose work is just meh. But I will give them another chance if they release something better written later on.

If I hear a name that I associate with folks who noisily insert their politics into games, I won't bother looking. If a game needs that kind of help then its unlikely to stand on its own merits.

There are only exceptional cases where I pay attention to a specific author of an RPG book.

In cases where the author has acted like an entitled jackass toward readers and critics. Or when the author has developed a large reputation for delivering quality books.

If Kevin Crawford of Sine Nomine does a Kickstarter, I will most likely back it.

Otherwise, in general, I just look at the project. Not surprisingly, most authors I like make projects I like.

But as much as I like Kevin Siembieda's writing, I can't get jazzed about Dead Reign. If I run a Palladium modern apocalypse with normal PCs, its going to be Systems Failure because I get everything I like in a zombie game, but with cooler adversaries.

Depends on how much they are charging? Monte Cook, Kenneth Hite, Greg Stolze and Fred Hicks names would automatically have my consideration. They all seem to value their names appropriately as well (i.e. I would pay $50 for a Monte Cook Game, and $25 for a Fred Hicks).

If Chuck Wendig did another RPG, I would buy it in a heartbeat. The books he worked on are a who's who of my favorite RPGs and supplements. Every single one.

Yes, just as I follow authors and directors. Generally the best way to find quality stuff in any medium.

Not at all given I only know of you, Cook, Raggi, Hite and the White Wolf/OP guys by name. I go with what interests me in the end.

Game design these days is often by committee.  For adventure modules I think it's a bigger deal.

OTOH, in OSR stuff, very few designers seem to have any sense when making their own OSR games and fewer seem to playtest. So I definitely avoid those that are prone to repeat past mistakes just because they are from the past. (Arrows of Indra largely avoids this, none of the nonsense about hit dice only being d6s and increasing by pips, or attack bonuses for fighters only going up once ever 3 levels, though it does use that single saving throw nonsense which doesn't make sense, as if all character classes react to the same dangers the same). Kevin Crawford is pretty much the only OSR designer who is actually a truly top not designer.  Al Krombach did a magnificent job with Warriors of the Red Planet. That's what "White Box" games should be like, keeping the simple stuff but ditching the stupid d6 and pip hit points and stupid attack progressions and yet keeping actual saving throws. The Beyond the Wall designers also did a good job

And in modules, some authors just like to screw players, putting them in contrived situtations with no way out or where the universe can be destroyed on a random role. Others like to try to out do Tomb of Horrors, but do it with stuff like packing it with tough monsters always with maximum hit points.  Some have good ideas but have no idea how to stat up monsters or NPCs

I agree about Crawford and BtW. Warriors of the Red Planet has been on my wishlist for a while, I guess I should pull the trigger. The fellow who did the White Hack is a more talented game designer than most pros.

I try to be even-handed. But I have to admit, along with pretty artsy covers, I am a sucker for a good reputation or previous satisfaction. Hey, it's part of the equation, I ain't gonna front. :cool:

None. Well, okay, a couple of exceptions. I've looked into just about every game Simon Washbourne has created (and purchased several of them, as well).