Why must the Spell Compendium be innovative?

[Li Shenron]

I'm missing something here. The Spell Compendium is, to me, a really useful resource that I'm very much looking forward to. Having 1000 spells in one place instead of scattered over 20+ sources is going to be *useful*. I hope they repeat the process once another 1000 spells get designed, so us magic users can reduce the number of books we need to tote round.

...

Why then, is Wizards being attacked for it?

You're right Merric, if there is one kind of product which has no reason to be innovative, it's a COMPENDIUM, or sotr-of-encyclopaedia.

I guess some people see the release of a compendium as a lack of innovation because they release a compendium instead of something else. It's not impossible that other compendiums are in the works, and some gamers may be preoccupied that this mean less books with NEW material.

I really don't think this book is going to be bad at all...

So, to my eyes, this is an *excellent* product.

...but yet I can't resist saying this: Merric, you're the Wizard's GROUPIE!!!!

 

[Odhanan]

I also agree with Merric. A Compendium doesn't have to be original. It has to compile and compact the contents much like an encyclopedia would. That's what the Spell Compendium seems to be doing.

 

[nothing to see here]

To be completely honest, WotC's putting out the d20 OGL is all in innovative they have to be for me for at least a decade.

joe b.

Amen. As the market leader it's debatable whether WOTC's competitive position would be benefit from excessive experimentation anyway.

 

[JackGiantkiller]

We're the Dm's. We're the players. Innovation is our job. Wizards, and all the third party publishers, just need to give us the tools to *be* innovative.

Don't get me wrong. I like new ideas, and I raid them from published products all the time. But that's lagniappe. I can have ideas on my own. Useful toolkits? Nasty gruntwork? Let the professionals handle that. I don't have time. I'm too busy coming up with new ideas.

edit Tools, not stools...

 

[Staffan]

I find it amusing that people complain at WOTC for not being innovative enough, when the last innovative thing they did (Magic of Incarnum) got them complaints for "What is this new crap?"

 

[Aaron L]

And huge. After all, how many books were the Wizards and Clerics Spell Compendiums combined? Add to that the ones created for 2E after they were produced, and all the 3E spells (regardless of which version of 3E) and you have a book that either will be unreadable due to small type, the size of a small coffee table, or electronic.

Actually it would have to be infinite in size to contain all future spells!


Talk about expensive! How much money would it take to buy an infinite book?

 

[Aaron L]

I find it amusing that people complain at WOTC for not being innovative enough, when the last innovative thing they did (Magic of Incarnum) got them complaints for "What is this new crap?"

Isnt it funny?


Or maybe sad?

 

[Nightfall]

Hmm. Must have missed the last update. Thanks for pointing that out, Reynard. In any case, I find a lot of these complaints kind of pointless IMHO. But there you are.

 

[Reynard]

Hmm. Must have missed the last update. Thanks for pointing that out, Reynard. In any case, I find a lot of these complaints kind of pointless IMHO. But there you are.

I have recently started working on a project of my own -- coming soon to a blog near you! -- and so I have bene paying more attention to the SRD. WotC doesn't really yell it from the rooftops when they update that thing, anymore.

 

[Edena_of_Neith]

I will say again that I support this product.
If you are the player of a wizard, sorcerer, bard, cleric, druid, or prestige class based on those classes, this book is a bargain for you (consider the cost of buying the hundred odd sources the spells from this book were taken from, then consider the importance of rules consistency - and when everything is updated to the latest rules that is a kind of consistency.)
For the person who enjoys playing these classes, this book is a godsend.

I would very much support WOTC releasing a Compendium of Feats book, by the way.

Thumbs up to Wizards of the Coast.

Edena_of_Neith