Wordclouds from the 4e and 3e PH's

[Puggins]

Really? 'cause last I checked, not all 3e spells were combat-related.

That's a dodge, and not a very good one at that. A good number of powers are very useable outside of combat. Every ritual is also meant to be used exclusively out of combat. Thus, if you assert that "spells" can be interpreted as non-combat material, I will gladly assert that both "powers" and "rituals" are non-combat, and we're back to practically no difference between 3e and 4e word clouds.

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

I think that Conan, Ffahrd, Aragorn and a whole host of other non spellcasters would disagree with you.

So you're saying that despite the existence of Thulsa Doom, Sheelba and Ningauble, Gandalf and Galadriel, that there are non-spellcasting heroes to which players might aspire?

Nonsense, I say!

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

That's a dodge, and not a very good one at that. A good number of powers are very useable outside of combat. Every ritual is also meant to be used exclusively out of combat. Thus, if you assert that "spells" can be interpreted as non-combat material, I will gladly assert that both "powers" and "rituals" are non-combat, and we're back to practically no difference between 3e and 4e word clouds.

Speaking on the context of these wordles: Rituals do not appear as big as powers or spells on the table. Of course that is to be expected if you split up one element into two. Rituals is still visible, apparently about as prominently used as Magic.

---

GP, Character(s), Spell(s), Levels and magic appear very often in the 3.5 DMG.

Adventure, Characters, Level and Encounter are pretty common in the 4E DMG.

Aside from GP, I note that "Table" also features prominently in 3.5. Kinda makes sense, there was a lot of random dice rolling tables 4E doesn't have.

Anyone found World in the 3.5 DMG? I did find Campaign, but not World. Campaign and World are around Adventure in the 4E DMG wordle.
What about planes in the 4E DMG?

I think it shows a little how the 3.5 DMG wordle is "hurt" by the magic item section. Too much focus on those terms.

It's also an interesting aspect of the 4E design that, while the magic items are in the PHB 4E, they don't seem to be very prominently used. I suppose that's because most items also come with some kind of power, so that they attribute more to the size of Action/Damage/Attack/Modifier/Levle/Power) bunch then to Orb/Rod/Neck etc.

 

[Hellzon]

I chuckled at how big "gp" is in the 4E DMG (and so large in the 3.5 one that you can read it clearly in the thumbnail).

Also, do we have to have edition wars in every thread?

 

[Remathilis]

I chuckled at how big "gp" is in the 4E DMG (and so large in the 3.5 one that you can read it clearly in the thumbnail).

Also, do we have to have edition wars in every thread?

Yes. The edition wars will continue until one side is proven right.

In other news, I too chuckled how "GP" is the biggest in the DMG. Magic Item Prices I guess.

Interesting, I think the Rules Cyclopedia one is the most telling (since the RC is the BECMI PHB, DMG, and MM in one). The fact there is not a lot of spells + all the rules for things like running a kingdom skews the wordle in ways different than either the PHB or the DMG worlds for ANY edition does...

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

Just saw the one for the RC:

I think it's lovely that the word "may" is front and center.

 

[Dragonbait]

I chuckled at how big "gp" is in the 4E DMG (and so large in the 3.5 one that you can read it clearly in the thumbnail).

As a player, that made me feel all funny and happy in that special place.

But then, why is treasure so sparese in published 4E adventures?

 

[Seeker95]

Combined DMG and PHB?

Because 4e and 3e placed various game elements differently to these books (3e magic items in DMG, 4e magic items in PHB as a prominent example), I would be interested in seeing these two combined into a single Wordcloud for each edition.

 

[Seeker95]

why is treasure so sparese in published 4E adventures?

Because 4e adventures include treasure the designer / author feels is important to the module, leaving the placement of the rest of the parcel content to the DM, who knows what his players / PCs want and/or need.

 

[morgul97]

This whole issue of word count in one edition vs. another strikes me as having much more to do with editing decisions than with content. This whole thing with "spell" being the big thing in the first three editions and "power" being the big thing in 4th is all about editing. Obviously, the editing of the books can effect the feel of the game in profound ways. However, I've always thought that the feel of an RPG is much more about how the DM presents the materials. If your DM could give a rip about story telling and makes it into a glorified version of chess, then that's what it is. If your DM doesn't care about combat and makes it combat light and awards XP for other things, then the game is going to be about story.