How often do you read a rulebook through?
- Thread starter Crazy Jerome
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Steely_Dan
First Post
I often pick up pre-4th Ed PHBs and have a read, this evening I have been perusing the Basic Rulebook (Moldvay).
As someone else said, I could never sit on the crapper with the 4th Ed PHB (the good thing about it is I remembered pretty much all the rules after first read, but those powers sections make my eyes bleed).
As someone else said, I could never sit on the crapper with the 4th Ed PHB (the good thing about it is I remembered pretty much all the rules after first read, but those powers sections make my eyes bleed).
Jan van Leyden
Adventurer
My times of reading RPG rulebooks front to back seem to be long over. The last books I'm sure to have read this way are the D&D 3.0 PHB (sans spell descriptions) and DMG. Some time after that I stopped doing so.
Nowadays I skim them focusing on the important stuff (character generation and task resolution).
Rulebooks I might read through in the near future are StarWars 2e and DCC RPG.
We'll see.
Nowadays I skim them focusing on the important stuff (character generation and task resolution).
Rulebooks I might read through in the near future are StarWars 2e and DCC RPG.
We'll see.
I never read an RPG book cover to cover. What I do instead is browse. I'll look at a chapter here, a chapter there, whatever sparks my interest. (If it's a core rulebook for an unfamiliar game, I'll read all the way through the "rules" sections, but revert to browsing when I get to the character options and monsters and such.)
How much and how extensively I browse depends on how engaging the book is. I still browse my AD&D and BD&D books despite not having played either game for years. I don't browse 4E books at all, and indeed have largely quit buying them.
How much and how extensively I browse depends on how engaging the book is. I still browse my AD&D and BD&D books despite not having played either game for years. I don't browse 4E books at all, and indeed have largely quit buying them.
Steely_Dan
First Post
This sums me up on all counts.
I have pretty severe memory issues most likely brought on by severe sleep apnoea. Because of this, I can barely remember what I ate for breakfast, let alone what I read in a book a week ago. My short-term memory is like a sieve. In compensation for this, I'm a very strong kinesthetic learner. That is to say, I learn by doing.
Although this is a much slower method of learning and often requires making a lot of mistakes, once I have learned it this way, I never forget it. I also find it's simply more fun, since you delve head-first into the game and everyone at the table just figures things out as you go. This helps with bonding and weeds out the argumentative types
Although this is a much slower method of learning and often requires making a lot of mistakes, once I have learned it this way, I never forget it. I also find it's simply more fun, since you delve head-first into the game and everyone at the table just figures things out as you go. This helps with bonding and weeds out the argumentative types
Stormonu
NeoGrognard
B/X, 1E, 2E and 3.0E, I read front to back at least once, though I usually skimmed the spell & monster sections (I read those as needed). In fact, back in 1E, I went item by item through the books (combining the 1E PHB/DMG & UA) to write down the rules (sans GG's comments) in a reorganized format for quicker reference.
3.5 I skimmed, and I read all of the 4E PHB (skimming over powers), but skimmed the 4E DMG (I was under pressure to DM 4E while learning it). I went back more thoroughly to reread all the 4E books to make my 4E Races & Classes document.
Most other systems, I'll do a quick read-through and go back and reread sections as the rules come up in play (after the game). I certainly don't sit down reading rules like I used too - for one thing, I'm tired of learning new rules systems.
3.5 I skimmed, and I read all of the 4E PHB (skimming over powers), but skimmed the 4E DMG (I was under pressure to DM 4E while learning it). I went back more thoroughly to reread all the 4E books to make my 4E Races & Classes document.
Most other systems, I'll do a quick read-through and go back and reread sections as the rules come up in play (after the game). I certainly don't sit down reading rules like I used too - for one thing, I'm tired of learning new rules systems.
The Red King
First Post
Cover to cover. Several times. And sometimes even if I'm not playing that particular game system.
I like to be up on my rules.
I like to be up on my rules.
Viking Bastard
Adventurer
Other than some super-slim games (FUDGE, Old School Hack, Microlite20 etc.) I have never read a rulebook from start to finish. I usually end up reading the entirety of it over time, say over a couple of months.
Didn't as a kid; didn't as a teen; don't do it now.
Didn't as a kid; didn't as a teen; don't do it now.
KidSnide
Adventurer
QFT. I find the survey odd. I'm sure I have read most paragraphs in my AD&D DMG and my 3.5 PH at least a half-dozen times, but I can't say that I've ever read them from cover-to-cover.
The 4e books are mostly awful for browse-ability. It's my primary game, but I bet half of my 4e material will be dumped in a box for storage without ever having been read.
-KS
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