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Originally Posted by capnzapp

How do you know that?

You seem unnecessarily confrontational. I know it because I read it in the FAQ and because I've taken advantage of the same system to purchase a previous product (Castle Shadowcrag) while sponsoring the current project (which, at the time, was Empire of the Ghouls).

As I said in my original post, the only product you can't buy that way is the first one because Baur promised those sponsors that the product would remain exclusive to the sponsors. When he went back to them to see if they would be willing to waive the exclusivity he'd promised, at least some of them were NOT okay with that.

Regardless, the price of these are sky-high, well out of proportion for a 4E adventure PDF.

PDF for Keep on the Shadowfell: $21 for 145 pages
PDF for Thunderspire Labyrinth: $18 for 113 pages

The WotC adventure modules appear to be about $0.15 per page in PDF format.

Hall of the Dwarven King is $25 for 96 page plus a 48 page "bonus" product.

So we're talking about a $0.02 per page difference. I have difficulty describing a 10% price difference as "well out of proportion".

For basic membership only! Does this put you on speaking terms with the author? Oh no - those twenty-five bucks get you "a copy" of the PDF (not even the original, eh?) and wait for it... "when it arrives"!

As I mentioned in my previous message, I'm not a big fan of the process. But I can't imagine how you could have failed to understand basic English here. A $25 purchase plan for this products gives you "access to the design essays, design discussion, a copy of the PDF when it ships in late spring..." (emphasis added).

What part of the phrase "design discussion" is unclear?

This Mr Baur must harbor delusions of grandeur indeed...!

Anyone producing a product you don't want must be "harboring delusions of grandeur"?

Your hypocrisy is incredible.

In any case, the sponsorship requirements for Open Design have been met several times now. I'm not sure how repeatable, concrete, and verifiable success constitutes a "delusion".

I'm not a big fan of the way Baur chooses to do business, either. But it's not unethical. He's perfectly up-front about exactly what he's charging you for and how he's charging you for it. If you don't like it, don't buy the product.

But openly lying about what Baur is doing while calling him names doesn't seem like a very mature thing to do.

And let me also say this: It's clear you don't value any of the procedural aspects of the process. But those are a large part of what you're paying for when you purchase access to the Open Design project. I can see your point of view insofar as I have little or no interest in purchasing access to the design discussions, having access to beta test material, or the like.

But, on the flip-side, I'm also able to understand why some people WOULD be willing to pay for that.

Someone selling a product you don't like doesn't constitute delusion, egomania, or charlatry. Nor does it seem deserving of contempt.

Regardless, this sort of information is desperately lacking from the review.

And simply reviewing a product whose distribution method you don't like seems even less deserving of contempt.