Do you want updated core books?

[Jack99]

Again, oddly enough, I havent bought a D&D book for a while cause the power creep is getting to be too much. Like you said, the original game works fairly well.

Odd, since most of the powerful classes and paragon paths are in the original PHB. There has been a certain amount of powercreep, I will give you that, but almost all the most broken things were in the PHB1.

 

[Mengu]

Urgh. No thanks, not for me.

I'd be fine if all the purely mechanical expansions (like the "Power" books) were electronic-only. But as for for the core rules, and for any books that aren't almost pure crunch (Draconomicon, Manual of the Planes, any setting books, etc.), if I can't get 'em in hardcopy, I'm not getting 'em.

I realize my opinion for the electronic crusade is not likely to be popular at all, but if I could access Manual of the Planes as an interactive software that lets me click through the planes for some brief descriptions, and shows me a map of Sigil, lets me click through the prominent establishments giving me details on each, with a cast of NPC's I could plop into a tavern at a moment's notice, I'd be much more likely to use it, than a hard copy of a book that I might leaf through once or twice to steal ideas from.

I'm not talking sci-fi here. The technology is here to do this, it can be done without taking away the best things about tabletop play. And IMHO, that is the people, and not the books or the papers or the pencils. Obviously opinions differ though. Some people won't feel satisfied until they hold a product in their hands, and I understand that, and some will say roleplaying is dead unless you can drool over your first PHB staying till wee hours of the night reading it.

 

[korjik]

Odd, since most of the powerful classes and paragon paths are in the original PHB. There has been a certain amount of powercreep, I will give you that, but almost all the most broken things were in the PHB1.

Errata to fix broken stuff I dont mind. That or I just fix it. Creep is alot more difficult to adapt to.

Technically, I also include breaking original design principles in power creep, so I would pretty much consider the entire psionic power source to be creep even if it wasnt any numerically better. All the other power sources are mechanically identical, so psi should have been also.

This is all personal opinion tho. Except for the errata being as big as the PHB, that can be checked I really dont like that 4e has gotten to the point where is has more errata than star fleet battles, or that they are tweaking the system more than SFB gets tweaked. I dont want to have to keep up with the errata. Every time someone goes 'wait, didnt that change' time gets wasted that could be used in better places.

 

[Dungeoneer]

Facts on the ground:

1. The errata is free.
2. The errata is ongoing.
3. The errata is an attempt to improve the game.
4. The game is perfectly playable without the errata.
5. If errata'd core books were released there would be great lamentations and gnashing of teeth as people complained that they were "forced" to buy the core books over again.

Based on these points, I think that errata'd core books are probably a bad idea, however much they may appeal to the completist in me, at least until the end of the edition's life-cycle.

Count me among those who find that DDI is "doing it right." Digital distribution allows all kinds of stuff (video games, documents, operating system) to be continually updated on an ongoing basis. There's no reason that the rules of a role playing game should not take advantage of this. And if you find this approach unsatisfying, you can ignore it, just as I have turned off the automatic updates to my OS.

I think if you consider the alternatives to DDI it highlights just what a good solution it is. Very few people want to buy ".5" versions of all the same books they bought two years ago. Of course we could just have no updates, ever. But the fact is that the designers are never going to get it perfectly right the first time. With this you run the risk of a game that is 'broken' out of the box and quickly becomes obsolete or unusable.

I do want updates. I don't want to buy all the books again. I like online errata and I like DDI.

 

[Badapple]

I'd buy a new version of the MM1, provided they went through and not only updated all the monster stats, but redid the stat blocks to the new MM3 format and polished up some of the problematic original monsters with revised or whole new powers/etc. and included a couple new monsters as a bonus.

 

[Dungeoneer]

I'd buy a new version of the MM1, provided they went through and not only updated all the monster stats, but redid the stat blocks to the new MM3 format and polished up some of the problematic original monsters with revised or whole new powers/etc. and included a couple new monsters as a bonus.

I'd kinda like to see a Monster Manual All Stars book, with new-and-improved versions of some MM1&2 monsters. Definitely in the new stat block format.

 

[Argyle King]

For me, I'd be keen on updated books which were paperback.

While I would normally be against buying the same book twice, and I am aware that I can just add sticky notes of errata or whatever to the books I have, there are two main reasons I would like an updated book.

1) The new products are different enough from where 4E started that I *do* feel there are a couple issues that arrise when mixing old with new. This isn't just errata; there has been some fairly rapid power creep as well as what seems to be a very different set of design ideals upon which the new products are built, Like I said, this goes beyond errata. The ideals upon which the game is built have changed, and the method for building things has changed enough that some of the old material -while still compatible- doesn't always match up well with new material.

2) Again, I know I can put notes of errata into my books via sticky note or whatnot, but there's enough of it now that it is not always easy to keep track of. I am glad errata is provided, but there is a lot of it to keep track of. At home I can ignore it and play just fine, but, if I want to participate in a gaming event at a local store or something like that, sometimes I am not even sure how to make a character which is in line with the same rules they are using.


However, with that being said, I'd need to be convinced that I want to buy any more 4E products at all before I would be open to buying updated versions of the books I have.

 

[Zaran]

Facts on the ground:

1. The errata is free.
2. The errata is ongoing.
3. The errata is an attempt to improve the game.
4. The game is perfectly playable without the errata.
5. If errata'd core books were released there would be great lamentations and gnashing of teeth as people complained that they were "forced" to buy the core books over again.

I don't agree that people would feel forced. I don't think anyone batted an eye when they put out an errata'ed Star Wars Saga and it too had free downloadable errata posted on the website.

They are still selling the Core DnD books now. Why not update those rules so the new people buying them plus those of us who want updated copies can buy them? I think alot of people saying no assumes that those books have done their run and won't sell well anymore. If that's the case they might as well start working on 5th edition.

 

[Zaran]

I'd buy a new version of the MM1, provided they went through and not only updated all the monster stats, but redid the stat blocks to the new MM3 format and polished up some of the problematic original monsters with revised or whole new powers/etc. and included a couple new monsters as a bonus.

Yeah, I think this would be the only reason to update MM. I don't think they made too many "updates" for the Monster Manual.

 

[SabreCat]

I'd kinda like to see a Monster Manual All Stars book, with new-and-improved versions of some MM1&2 monsters. Definitely in the new stat block format.

I.e., the Monster Vault?

For me, I'd be keen on updated books which were paperback.

Like the Rules Compendium?