Books: Front-to-Back or Reference Material

[KB9JMQ]

I do both, I read them cover to cover and reference them bit by bit

This is what I do also. Sometimes though when I am bored I will sit and read them cover to cover again

 

[Umbran]

In order to make good use of a book as reference, you must first be fully familiar with it's contents. That generally means you have to read the whole thing before you can really use it as a reference.

Not to mention that you paid $30 for the thing. If you then let the thing sit there with most of the pages unread, you're being a bit wasteful. If you don't read it, you don't know which bits are good and which are bad...

 

[Bendris Noulg]

Well, I do a little of both, but in a quasi-predictible manner...

1. I start to read the material cover-to-cover; if the flavor/fluff factor is compelling, I'll finish it in this manner.*

2. If the flavor/fluff doesn't keep my interest, I'll flip through it looking at specific rules-components that I might be interested in.

Regardless of either of these, once I transcribe all the material I am using in my game into our rules, I shelf the book or burn the pdf to CDRom. I tend to grab and flip (or open and scroll) through random books from time to time just to see if there's something I'll use now that I didn't use before, but most everything I will use gets noticed the first time around.

And finally, I have bought some material that was just gawds awful; I tend to give it away to someone else.

* It is interesting to note that, if not for the SRD, I likely would have never finished reading the Core Rules. Go figure.

 

[shilsen]

Cover to cover.

 

[Pants]

I usually flip, but occasionally I'll read cover-to-cover.

I read Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil cover-to-cover and I am starting on the Book of Fiends, but I am reading the more interesting parts first.

 

[Gez]

I first read them entirely. Then after it's only occasional flippage for inspiration or for reference.