Spelljammer 64-page Spelljammer books?

[Urriak Uruk]

Just for the record, having gone back and looked: Dragon of Icespire Peak is 52 pages long, and the Adventure proper after introductory material and the hub location is 36 pages. Chris Perkins packs 14 Modules into there, an average of 2.5 pages each...with maps, and keyed locations, even.

I think he can deliver 12 small, episodic Adventures in 64 pages, with 4-5 pages each. Might be better for his process than being asked to stretch an idea to 256 pages.

I will say, as someone who ran through those adventures... they aren't so much "adventures" as little mini-dungeons. A couple do have pretty good stories tied to the dungeons (the gnome one is great) but most do feel like "hack and slash" mini-dungeon locales.

Which is not exactly a bad thing, but I don't think they're as well-written or complex as Candlekeep Mysteries, for example.

 

[Parmandur]

I will say, as someone who ran through those adventures... they aren't so much "adventures" as little mini-dungeons. A couple do have pretty good stories tied to the dungeons (the gnome one is great) but most do feel like "hack and slash" mini-dungeon locales.

Which is not exactly a bad thing, but I don't think they're as well-written or complex as Candlekeep Mysteries, for example.

Absolutely agree, and I think that's about what to expect here: briefly sketched modular episodes, Perkins said it will be a "Planet of the Week" style.

 

[Quickleaf]

Is it something you want? I'm feeling like gift giving today.

I'd say give it so someone excited about it imho, only thing here I'm excited about right now is Dragonlance and I know my brother will likely get that (and share it via DDB). Very kind offer though!

Hey, I'm so excited I changed my avatar! Just saying.

 

[Urriak Uruk]

Is it something you want? I'm feeling like gift giving today.

Hey I won't lie, it's something I want. The price point is a little dodgy for me to support, as I think the release could have been a bit cheaper if it was the same but in one book instead of a slipcase. So due to that I probably won't be getting it for some time.

 

[Mezuka]

After talking to my group, there is a lot of interest for a Spelljammer campaign. I pre-ordered my copy this week.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

Just for the record, having gone back and looked: Dragon of Icespire Peak is 52 pages long, and the Adventure proper after introductory material and the hub location is 36 pages. Chris Perkins packs 14 Modules into there, an average of 2.5 pages each...with maps, and keyed locations, even.

I think he can deliver 12 small, episodic Adventures in 64 pages, with 4-5 pages each. Might be better for his process than being asked to stretch an idea to 256 pages.

And on top, of their own the modules are quite useful. And they even work well enough for a sandbox style campaign.

The only "lazy" part is the adventurer bord. But overall, I think they really did a terrific job, especially if you think how cheap it is.

lazy in the sense of, simple and a bit too much metagaming for my tastes. But for brand new people playing the game, it is perfect (when I was new, adventurer bords in the tavern were commonplace too).

 

[Steampunkette]

So... honest opinion?

Three 64 page books is better than one 256 page book. But only if handled right. And I don't think they're quite handling it right.

Break it down Core Books style. Player's Guide, Monster Book, DM's book.

Most of the setting and upward facing material goes into the Player's Guide which the DM reads, too.

DM's Book expands on what is in the Player's Guide, giving the deeper background of organizations and entities, setting threads, and mechanics.

Monster Book is just monster stats, locations, and lore.

Then, the DM can hand the players the Player's Guide before the campaign starts and let them read it cover to cover. There's nothing in that book that provides them too much information or whatever. It's -just- player-facing options and setting information that is common, or common enough, knowledge. No risk of them flipping to the DM portions of the book to learn more about background stuff or stat blocks for setting NPCs or Monsters because all of that is in another book.

Then make 64 page Adventures going forward... and you've got content and a half.

It's how I was looking at organizing Sins of the Scorpion Age for release. A Player's Guide with basic information about all the important cities and stuff in the world, then a Narrator's Guide with greater depth of each of those locations and DM-facing materials. Sold together at "Book Price" or you can buy the Player's Guide separately for a little less.

Because that's another thing... getting the Player's Guide to Spelljammer into players' hands separately and at a cheaper price point would be -huge-.

 

[Reynard]

Because that's another thing... getting the Player's Guide to Spelljammer into players' hands separately and at a cheaper price point would be -huge-.

At the very least, I bet it will be sold separately on Beyond.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Yeah, I really wish they hadn't done it this way. Any way you slice it, you're getting less for your money (significantly less, compared to previous offerings). While I like the slipcover idea in theory, its not worth losing that value.

The sad thing is, I've mostly moved on from WotC, but I love Spelljammer. I don't like that the last thing I'll likely buy from them is such a bad deal.

 

[Reynard]

Yeah, I really wish they hadn't done it this way. Any way you slice it, you're getting less for your money (significantly less, compared to previous offerings). While I like the slipcover idea in theory, its not worth losing that value.

The sad thing is, I've mostly moved on from WotC, but I love Spelljammer. I don't like that the last thing I'll likely buy from them is such a bad deal.

POage counts alone aren't the defining factor of whether a book is worth the cost. I'd argue it isn't that important, actually. Hours of entertainment gained is the best metric IMO. Now, maybe Spelljammer will be a bad value on that front, too. Who knows? But just because it is 30% fewer pages (or whatever, I didn't do the math) doesn't mean you will get 30% fewer table hours or even reading hours out of it. I bought the Ravenloft book, for example, and read it for maybe 4 hours. Then I ran 20 hours of games out of it. Well worth the cost, even if it had been half the length.