I retract. I'm under the weather and my indignation outpaced my logic. You're right, of course. The issue that threatens FLGSes is not that they are incapable of discounting, but rather that no matter how much they discount, they can't undercut online retailers.
No. The DMG has the action resolution rules for skill challenges, traps, damaging objects, non-standard combat (mounted, aerial, underwater), as well as the crucial p 42. It also has the key rules for encounter building, monster building, and awarding XP, action points and treasure. It also has parts of the default cosmology that aren't found in the other books (some gods, planes, etc).Did the combined 4E PhB + MM contain the basic mechanical rules for encounter balancing (CR and the like), constructing skill challenges (a major part of 4e GMing as far as I can tell), NPCs, magic items, and magic item construction?
The bard was also in the 1st ed AD&D PHB. (Appendix 2?)bard (2e, 3e)
That might explain the different perspective from the Australian posters upthread. Australian salaries have grown significantly in real terms over the past 20-odd years, whereas I think they've been mostly stagnant in the US except for a brief period in the mid-90s.Well, it's absolutely true, as I understand it, that our salaries are not, on average, keeping up with inflation and cost of living.
This is not something that's in WotC's ability to fix.
Concerning the price in FLGS':
Just being curious here. Does US law prohibit the publisher to grant different customers different discounts? If not, WotC could make special offers to FLGS to enable them to compete with the big online players.
Something like 12 or 24 copies for 70% discount instead of 40%. (Numbers drwan from the air).
Fair enough.I guess in 4e it could have been 'all you really need is a PHB and a 1 month subscriptuon to DDI'.
Since we live in a strange world of asymmetrical monetary conversions, I will have to pay 50€ for n Italian translation of the PHB that will hopefully be printed before Xmas.
But I will do that gladly.
Since I already own 3 different DMG from different editions, I guess that no matter what I will pass on that this time (as I already did with 4E with no regrets).
Then I'll buy the MM with some afterthoughts, since any edition since AD&D MM as been a turn off.