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

[Wulfgar76]

I'll turn this on its head -- cost of printing aside, if Wizards needs three 300-page sourcebooks to explain how to play D&D5, I might not be interested anymore.

Me too. I'm sure the five-pound 500-page Pathfinder rulebook has triggered seizures in those trying to read the whole thing.

I'm cool with a $50 PHB, but if this is going to be the 'rules light' version of D&D, for that price it better contain a LOT of player options (classes, subclasses, feats, and spells). And resemble a very handsome coffee-table 'Grimoire' full of pretty art.

 

[Umbran]

I'll turn this on its head -- cost of printing aside, if Wizards needs three 300-page sourcebooks to explain how to play D&D5, I might not be interested anymore.

Well, it is possible that the PHB contains not just the most basic elements, but also some "modular" elements.

 

[DMZ2112]

And resemble a very handsome coffee-table 'Grimoire' full of pretty art.

Cover by Komarck, interior by Lockwood, plates by Elmore.

 

[Jacob Marley]

Optional things belong in the DMG. Magic items are listed as optional things. Characters don't get them unless the DM specifically decides to hand them out - they're entirely in the DMs control explicitly. Races however are not listed as an optional thing. While the DM can houserule them out, that's a houserule and it's not explicitly optional. Magic items are.

I doubt that you and I will see eye-to-eye on this issue, [MENTION=2525]Mistwell[/MENTION]. If there is an option that affects the character sheet, then it belongs in the Player's Handbook. Magic items affect the character sheet, they belong in the Player's Handbook. It's just more convenient for the player, and at this point in my gaming career I value having that convenience.

Now, I will grant you this: if Wizards were to support a digital product, that I could download onto my laptop, that linked the Core Three books together, so that I could easily click on a hyperlink and jump from one book to the next, then I'd be perfectly happy with whatever breakdown you want for your dead trees version.

I'm _super_ dubious of this concept of hiding things from the players. But carry on, if that's what floats your boat.

Indeed.

 

[frogimus]

Personally, I'm content with the supplement they bundled with Ghosts of Dragonspear. I find more value in that than them bloating it with an additional 100 - 150 pages of fluff and art. I would be more willing to pay the $50 for a well made Starter than an artbook with some game rules smattered about.

 

[Morrus]

I'm not a printer, but I work with printers, and I can tell you that $20 does not get you much in 2014.
Whatever it is, it will be softcover or booklet style, and not contain a lot of art or flair.

A colour hardback 300 page book costs less than $20 to print with bulk discounts. Heck, if you're willing to do it in China, even less.

 

[Kobold Stew]

I doubt that you and I will see eye-to-eye on this issue, [MENTION=2525]Mistwell[/MENTION]. If there is an option that affects the character sheet, then it belongs in the Player's Handbook. Magic items affect the character sheet, they belong in the Player's Handbook.

While I do not agree that magic items need to be in the PHB, the question of options and the character sheet is a real one.

Feats, for example, (assuming current expectations hold) are labeled as optional rule; indeed, they are the only "module" we've been shown.

Are Feats PHB or DMG material?

For me, they are clearly PHB -- I want players to see that, and to engage with it as they imagine their characters, and I'd be said if that module were kept from the player's first point of entry.

 

[Wulfgar76]

Cover by Komarck, interior by Lockwood, plates by Elmore.

And not a single piece of 'awesome sauce' art by Wayne Reynolds.

 

[DMZ2112]

A colour hardback 300 page book costs less than $20 to print with bulk discounts. Heck, if you're willing to do it in China, even less.

Wow, seriously? $20/unit, just for paper and ink? I think that qualifies as "not much," personally.

 

[Halivar]

A colour hardback 300 page book costs less than $20 to print with bulk discounts. Heck, if you're willing to do it in China, even less.

I'll gladly pay extra to avoid the 4E smudges.