D&D 5E What belongs in a $50 PHB?

[Kyle Ropp]

looking back at the 4e PHB, it was a 300 page book that had a readable layout, a good amount of options ( have only used the phb1 and essentials books for my whole 4e career) but some things confounded me, like having magic items in the players hand book. That seems like more of a DMG thing to me.

It seems like PHB1 was trying to fluff out some stuff just so it could justify a DMG existing.

I honestly cant see why the PHB couldn't absorb the DMG or DMG absorbing MM and leave two $50 purchases (PHB and MM or PHB and DMG) rather than 3.

those are my two cents, probably not going to happen but thats how I feel.

So.... what would you expect from a $50 PHB?

what makes a chapter more suited for a PHB, DMG and a MM in your opinion?

Lastly what makes a MM worth a purchase? Obviously variety, art and implementation (Cough MM1 4e Cough) but what else how do you feel about the art style? etc.

 

[Halivar]

A PHB + MM should have everything you need to run the game. The DMG should be a nice-to-have option that has significant value-add for DM's new and old alike, but no actual rules. More akin to 4E or PF than 3.x or prior. And as much as people hated it in 4E, the PHB should also have the magic items table (although I suspect most people are over this one, as PF has done this since its inception).

 

[Shadowsoul]

Great art, fantastic rules, and a high page count.

 

[Ichneumon]

A $100 bill?

But for me to give up that much beer, I'll want it to be beautifully presented, with a full set of classes, races, spells, and rules, along with the downtime system. How much 'DMG stuff' should there be? Well, I don't know exactly how much extra page space 50 bucks gets you, but for enough to run a full game, with all magic items and some monsters, you'll probably need 80-100 extra pages. That assumes the bulk of the advice has moved online.

 

[DMZ2112]

A PHB + MM should have everything you need to run the game. The DMG should be a nice-to-have option that has significant value-add for DM's new and old alike, but no actual rules. More akin to 4E or PF than 3.x or prior. And as much as people hated it in 4E, the PHB should also have the magic items table (although I suspect most people are over this one, as PF has done this since its inception).

...Yeah, I guess.

Really, the DMG should contain all of the rules of the game, as well as a lockable binding (Bluetooth, of course, we're not savages), and the PHB should provide no more information than is absolutely necessary for the player scum to whine petulantly about the violence of their characters' deaths and the duration and severity of their suffering.

...But I am apparently in the minority.

Personally, I am hoping for a Fantasy Flight-WH40KRP level of production quality, but I'd settle for no great honking white band across the cover.

 

[keterys]

Folding the DMG into the PH and making it as complete a system as possible seems fine.

Personally I'd have rather gone the other route, with smaller chunks that are easier to sell to new players or friends, rather than single tomes that you're more likely to share at a table. But it wasn't my decision, obviously enough

 

[keterys]

...and the PHB should provide no more information than is absolutely necessary for the player scum to whine petulantly about the violence of their characters' deaths and the duration and severity of their suffering.

...But I am apparently in the minority.

I'll admit I can find nothing in your first statement I can agree with, at all.

I can't speak for majorities or minorities, but I'd prefer a game that was less adversial and more about group fun.

 

[Jacob Marley]

Generally speaking, if it is something that has a long-term effect on my character sheet, then it should be in the Player's Handbook. So, that includes races, classes, skills, feats, spells, alternate class features, alternate race features, familiars and animal companions, equipment, and yes, magic items. As a player, I want one book to access everything that I will need to run my character.

At a $50 price point, I'd like to see all the races and classes from the first 1e, 2e, 3e, and 4e Player's Handbooks. That includes Assassins, and Gnomes, and Warforged, and Warlords (or close approximations thereof). I'd like to see a lot of options to customize the character.

Mostly, what I want is one book. I don't want to have to access a Dungeon Master's Guide if I find a magic item. I don't want to have to access a Monster Manual if I buy a horse. For certain, corner case items, like a griffon, sure, Monster Manual; but for the most part one book.

 

[DMZ2112]

I'll admit I can find nothing in your first statement I can agree with, at all.

I can't speak for majorities or minorities, but I'd prefer a game that was less adversial and more about group fun.

No offense, dude, but, uh, rookie mistake.

Mostly, what I want is one book. I don't want to have to access a Dungeon Master's Guide if I find a magic item. I don't want to have to access a Monster Manual if I buy a horse. For certain, corner case items, like a griffon, sure, Monster Manual; but for the most part one book.

I'm kind of surprised by the fact that I agree with you. I would have fought this idea tooth and nail prior to the launch of D&D4, but I guess Pathfinder has effectively cut the nostalgia cord.

Now, I still expect the D&D5 bestiaries to be titled "Monster Manuals," and I expect there to be a "Dungeon Master Guide" at /some/ point, but I would be happy with an initial single book release.

...As long as that book is called the "Players Handbook."

EDIT: I would also accept

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS
Players Handbook and Dungeon Master Guide​

 

[Dungeoneer]

looking back at the 4e PHB, it was a 300 page book that had a readable layout, a good amount of options ( have only used the phb1 and essentials books for my whole 4e career) but some things confounded me, like having magic items in the players hand book. That seems like more of a DMG thing to me.

It seems like PHB1 was trying to fluff out some stuff just so it could justify a DMG existing.

I honestly cant see why the PHB couldn't absorb the DMG or DMG absorbing MM and leave two $50 purchases (PHB and MM or PHB and DMG) rather than 3.

those are my two cents, probably not going to happen but thats how I feel.

So.... what would you expect from a $50 PHB?

what makes a chapter more suited for a PHB, DMG and a MM in your opinion?

Lastly what makes a MM worth a purchase? Obviously variety, art and implementation (Cough MM1 4e Cough) but what else how do you feel about the art style? etc.

Fifty smackers will net you the 13th Age Core Rule Book, which has everything you need to create a character, the rules of the game, a bestiary, a setting overview and a sample adventure.

At $50.00, I expect the 5e PHB to deliver similar value.