Zaruthustran
The tingling means it’s working!
Miniatures handbook was neat. A few new classes, a few new prcs, a few new feats.
Then Complete Warrior. 80 prcs. Oddles of feats. More base classes.
Complete Divine is coming. More of same.
Complete Dwarf (called Races of Stone) is a herald of books for races. It has 20 more prcs, and 40 new feats. Yikes!
This is a Complete Overload. A year from now, a new player will be presented with a list of 20 base classes and a feat list that numbers in the high 200s. There is such a thing as too much choice, a point where the class-based system of D&D gets washed out and becomes essentially skill-based. A point where the advantage of D&D (universal game language, where everyone knows what a Fighter is and what the Power Attack feat does) becomes overloaded: where no one knows what a Stonelord is or what the Elusive Target feat does (trick question--it does three things).
Style and feel issues aside, there is the issue of simple portability. A backpack simply can't hold all three core books, plus the splatbooks, plus the sundry books, plus dice and beer. Sure, you only need take what you actively use and you're unlikely to need every book. But isn't it troubling if the rules for one single game takes an entire ROW on your bookshelf? That way lies Rifts, White Wolf, and madness.
I know there's no requirement to buy all these books, the game runs just fine with only the PHB, and so on. I guess having too much content is a better problem to have than too little content. Still, I'm curious if I'm the only one feeling more than a little overwhelmed--or who feels that dev time could be better spent clearing up existing rules issues.
-z
Then Complete Warrior. 80 prcs. Oddles of feats. More base classes.
Complete Divine is coming. More of same.
Complete Dwarf (called Races of Stone) is a herald of books for races. It has 20 more prcs, and 40 new feats. Yikes!
This is a Complete Overload. A year from now, a new player will be presented with a list of 20 base classes and a feat list that numbers in the high 200s. There is such a thing as too much choice, a point where the class-based system of D&D gets washed out and becomes essentially skill-based. A point where the advantage of D&D (universal game language, where everyone knows what a Fighter is and what the Power Attack feat does) becomes overloaded: where no one knows what a Stonelord is or what the Elusive Target feat does (trick question--it does three things).
Style and feel issues aside, there is the issue of simple portability. A backpack simply can't hold all three core books, plus the splatbooks, plus the sundry books, plus dice and beer. Sure, you only need take what you actively use and you're unlikely to need every book. But isn't it troubling if the rules for one single game takes an entire ROW on your bookshelf? That way lies Rifts, White Wolf, and madness.
I know there's no requirement to buy all these books, the game runs just fine with only the PHB, and so on. I guess having too much content is a better problem to have than too little content. Still, I'm curious if I'm the only one feeling more than a little overwhelmed--or who feels that dev time could be better spent clearing up existing rules issues.
-z
