What happened to ODA?

[wynteriii]

What happened to production of the Olde Dugeoneers Almanack?

[SmootRK]

Solomoriah decided that it was going to be extremely difficult to maintain, so he broke it back into its individual Supplements instead.

[wynteriii]

I see

[Solomoriah]

Actually, it was going to be hard to complete. The Almanack started out as a compendium of supplementary material, sort of a "companion" volume if you get my drift; but I quickly realized it would be a muddled mess unless I made some decisions about what to keep in and what to leave out.

But I found I had no criteria for the decision. Unlike the Core Rules, the Almanack did not have any obvious, consistent rule for this. Everyone had their own opinion, and few agreed.

Then I realized, whatever I decided would become a sort of "canon" that I just didn't want. Supplements were supposed to be completely optional... compiling them into a "finished" work would give them a force that they didn't deserve.

So in the end, I dropped it.

[dymondy2k]

Solo..
I think the keeping the supplements their own thing is a wise choice. It allows people to mix and match what they like, for example I like the variety of different takes on the same classes, my choice for a ranger may not be somebody elses. I really do love the whole 'bolt on' element of this game.

[SmootRK]

Solo..
I think the keeping the supplements their own thing is a wise choice. It allows people to mix and match what they like, for example I like the variety of different takes on the same classes, my choice for a ranger may not be somebody elses. I really do love the whole 'bolt on' element of this game.

I agree. Being able to cherry-pick options is ideal for most. I also like that there are, in fact, several versions of certain options so that one can choose the one that most closely fits their vision of each. Other games usually produce one that is considered cannon, so that one must house-rule to fit their campaign/game and the rule lawyers get to call it out as 'not the right way'. Having no one right way lends to the Game Master's control over content, by denying the rule-lawyers any one source for their arguments.