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Message: <blockquote data-quote="CountPopeula" data-source="post: 4393090" data-attributes="member: 27250">I have a couple of things to throw in here.If the 4th edition books included all the same core classes and races as 3e, would people be disappointed in that? I would. I think the exclusion of some old classes and races for the inclusion of new ones is a good idea. I don't think it makes it incomplete.I don't think naming the new PHB as PHB 2, 3, 4 etc. is doing anything other than giving players a little more leverage when dealing with unreasonable DMs (and how many times have we heard "core classes only!" from some uptight, grumpy DM on the message boards, if not at the table?) and sells on name recognition. It also can serve to make the line slimmer, selling more of one book than of 3 different books. For example, Stromwrack, Sandstorm, and Frostburn are probably my favorite 3e books. But they're all stretched out with spells and prestige classes that aren't all that good. If you took the rules from all three books, and most of the races, and about 1/4 of the prestige classes and spells... you'd have a pretty good book.Lastly, I think Wizards has avoided putting out too many true "splatbooks." The 3e prestige books and arguable the updated "complete" line, but... Mongoose and Green Ronin put out what are really splatbooks, like the Advanced Race Codex line or the Slayers Guides. If 3e and 4e were splatbook based, the line would look more like White Wolf's, with a parade of "Classbook: Fighter" and "Racebook: Human" that are 90% setting-based, system-free and 10% power creep. This is something TSR did a lot that wizards cut back considerably, I think. The books that get called splatbooks from WotC at least have some utility to them, and add things like new races and classes. True splatbooks only deal with existing races and classes, without adding much to the game. Wizards, to their credits, gives a lot more content in their books than the splatbooks White Wolf, Green Ronin, and Mongoose put out.</blockquote>

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