the Jester
Legend
Okay, so we have all seen the "new" stat blocks by now, right? The way I see it, we have a movement towards longer stat blocks goin' on here. The new magic item format, though cool, takes up a lot more space. The new monster format, though hotly debated, is a move in the right direction imho (at least as far as the basic stat block you see in Dungeon and whatnot goes), but it is also longer; I believe that the word is that most monsters in MM4 will take up two pages.
Then there is the new prestige class format, which abuses the concept of fluff and drags out two pages worth of info into six pages. Blech!
Anyhow, what I'm getting at is, it seems to me that there is a trade being made- more in-depth content at the expense of not having more content. (Prestige classes are the most egregious example of this tendency with their new format, but rumor has it that MM4 will have relatively few monsters in it. Given that these monsters will be better-developed, all other things being equal, how do you feel about this? Not just in the context of the Monster Manual 4- in general, with the trend towards longer stat blocks. How much of the trade-off- deeper coverage of each game element in a given book but less elements to work with- is worth it? How do you feel about this?
Then there is the new prestige class format, which abuses the concept of fluff and drags out two pages worth of info into six pages. Blech!
Anyhow, what I'm getting at is, it seems to me that there is a trade being made- more in-depth content at the expense of not having more content. (Prestige classes are the most egregious example of this tendency with their new format, but rumor has it that MM4 will have relatively few monsters in it. Given that these monsters will be better-developed, all other things being equal, how do you feel about this? Not just in the context of the Monster Manual 4- in general, with the trend towards longer stat blocks. How much of the trade-off- deeper coverage of each game element in a given book but less elements to work with- is worth it? How do you feel about this?