Hardbounditis

[drothgery]

Or they're use a minimum of books during a session. I normally only have to crack open the Core books once we're at the table. Everything else I need is generally in my notes.

And as a player, you generally only have to bring stuff that's relevant to your own character. So I bring a PH, CAdv, and the ECS when I'm playing a Fighter/Scout in Eberron, and brought a PH and an XPH when I'm playing a Kineticist in the DM's 3.25-ized Dark Sun.

 

[solomoncane]

Personally, I like Mongoose's approach of offering a full-sized hardbound and "pocket-sized" paperback. Throw in a pdf offering and you would have the best of all worlds.

Obviously, only primary rule & setting books would merit such treatment, but one can dream...

 

[Sleepy Voiced]

I gotta say I'm torn on this one. I'm a sucker for the cult-of-the-Hardcover, they look nice, they stand up to wear and tear pretty well, and they just feel a bit higher in quality. However, all these hardcovers have made me broke. I know they are only a little more expensive than softcover, but with WotC producing around 12 a year that I am interested in, then add all the third party books in hardcover, it adds up. So now I don't really have a choice between hard- or softcover, I can't afford either! Additionally, as one who usually travels to a game, as DM, I dread the load of books I need to take. It has seriously affected how I run my game. I usually choose 2-3 books outside of the core 3 to use in a campaign and stick to those alone so I don't have to cart around another hardbound book just for a monster or two. In some ways it has simplified things, but at other times I feel like my game would be enriched if I had access to more of the options I own in books, but just can't haul around town.

 

[Ed Cha]

Man what are you people doing with your books. I always hear someone saying this or that isn't any good (usually the binding) and I just don't have these problems. maybe you guys are just getting to use them a lot more than me. incidentally I didn't vote because I don't really care if its hardback or softback (for the above reason) just so long as it's a good product.

I bought one book that I flipped through twice and then the third time the spine fell apart off the glue. Really terrible. Fortunately, the publisher posted a thread right here at EN World about offering exchanges. I sent mine in and got a replacement! But, of course, the fact that I did have to pay $4 for the Priority Mail shipping and not have the book for a couple of weeks is annoying.

Another time I bought a book, looked at it once or twice and the cover got all bubbled up. That's not good, especially considering I've had some books last 20 years without anything besides scruffing.

Do I think some hardcover books are published by sub-standard conditions? YES.

 

[Gez]

I've several of the old Mage: the Ascension softcovers.

If you don't pile them up neatly with a hardcover on top, then the cover just slowly starts rolling itself up. Round and round like a spiral. Once, I left the Book of Shadows overnight as a test, and it came full circle and even a bit more.

So, hardcovers all the way. They don't do that funky stuff softcovers do.