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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Hussar" data-source="post: 5949155" data-attributes="member: 22779">Honestly Pem, I believe there is a significant segment of the gamer population that reads RPG books for enjoyment even if those books will never see the light of day during their game.  The completists out there that have far more material than they could use in their lifetime are an example of this.  I think Paizo taps into this segment rather well too.  There are what, five or six Pathfinder adventure paths now?  I've kinda lost track.  There is just no way that any group is going to be able to play through what's already available, never mind that there is more coming out every month.But, it's spectacularly popular with its fans.  Why?  Well, I believe (and I'm more than willing to be wrong here) that there are a number (apparently a fairly large number) of gamers for whom game books are every bit as important as actually playing.Honestly, I'm not one of them.  I'm really not.  I read a game book once, then reference as needed and only buy something if I think I will use it right away and use it a lot.  Otherwise, I can't be bothered anymore.  Long gone, for me, are the days when I'd pore over my Encyclopedia Magica reading about all those fantastically funky magic items that had appeared in D&D up to that date.But, I think there are still lots of people who do think that the experience of reading the book is enjoyable enough that re-reading is worth it and spending significant amounts of time reading new material is fun.  If the books are written like manuals, that enjoyment is gone, thus, they're not going to like the game, regardless of what the game actually is.  Their enjoyment has nothing to do with how good or bad the game itself is, but, based at least in part, in how enjoyable it is to read about the game.At least, that's my understanding of it.  Thus we get B.T.'s reactions to the books.</blockquote>

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