I think I'm over crunch

[ForceUser]

To continue a train of thought I started in another thread, I think I've had it with crunchy rulebooks. I'll round out the "Complete" series because it won't do to have just half a set, but other than that I think I'm done with the generic rulebooks. I have dozens of 3.x rulebooks. I have rules upon rules sprouting out of my ears. Enough already.

This is a shift for me. Traditionally I bought rulebooks for crunch & avoided fluff because I provide my own fluff in my homebrews, thank you very much. So if I don't need fluff and I'm sick of endless feats/spells/prestige classes/whatever, then I guess I'm done. Weird.

How about you?

 

[GSHamster]

I got oversaturated with rulebooks about a year ago, and sold off most of my "crunch" books (pretty much only kept the core books).

I have, however, started buying Campaign Settings. It's kind of weird, because I know that I am far less likely to actually use them compared to regular supplements. However, I think that they probably contain the most innovative and imaginative roleplaying material out there, and I quite enjoy reading them.

You could always start picking up minatures or something if you're desperate to spend money. You can always use more minatures.

 

[Menexenus]

Another convert to the anti-crunch crusade! Can I get an amen?!

 

[Express]

Another convert to the anti-crunch crusade! Can I get an amen?!

Amen. More fluff. Stuff about towns, and campaign settings or region sourcebooks. Maybe even an adventure. No more "races of" stuff, with racial variants. Don't fill the above sourcebooks with more feats or spells. More adventure hooks, maps. Let the madness end!

Erm not really that big a deal but I would like to see a slackening of crunchy stuff for a while.

 

[Woas]

I like both crunch and fluff. But if it came down to someone with a gun to my head and demanded me to take a book with lots of crunch or lots of fluff, I would take the fluff book...

 

[Malar's Cow]

Another convert to the anti-crunch crusade! Can I get an amen?!

AMEN BROTHER!

[Rant on] I don't think I can stomach another book with more skills, feats, prestige classes, spells and combat options. Please give us more fluff, pretty please? City dynamics, organizations in a fantasy setting, guilds, anything but more racial variants and number crunching. [Rant off]

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

I haven't been overly swamped by combat options, feats or even spells yet, but I am swamped by PrCs and broken combat options, broken feats, and broken spells.

 

[chris7476]

Another convert to the anti-crunch crusade! Can I get an amen?!

Amen and a hallelujah. I feel everytime a new book comes out, I have to spend a day and half going through it and house ruling it to death. I RARELY use anything as-is anymore.

Stuff about towns, and campaign settings or region sourcebooks. Maybe even an adventure

I would love some books on creating adventures or short scenarios with detailed maps, etc. I'm up to my eyeballs in feats, PrC's, etc. The new "environmental" series sounds like it has potential (Frostburn).

 

[Amal Shukup]

Another convert to the anti-crunch crusade! Can I get an amen?!

Amen! Sing it brother!

A certain amount of non-core and 3rd-party crunch was/is a very good thing. Players need their options - stuff to keep their characters feeling fresh - and DMs often need to tack on the extra bit of this and that. But I'm saturated. I'm not even getting the 'Complete' books - if my players gotta have 'em, they can buy 'em.

That said, I like my fluff to be substantial. Not too big (don't make me re-write my setting's history or add another moon to accomodate something) but chewy, y'know?

Plug and Play micro-setting bits are good: Towns, communities, guilds, criminal organizations... A book of humanoid tribes would be cool. Or a Dwarven city. A sea-elf principality and environs I could drop behind a barrier reef somewhere. The key is plug-and-play. Can I drop it into the Realms, Eberron, or my homebrew relatively easily? Sold.

Instead of yet another monster book (or worse, subraces), how about a book of advanced/leveled monsters and monster groups built using core rules? A clan of werewolves, say, or a dragon sorceror with half-breed progeny and a raft of servants etc. I can fit 'Steve, the half-dragon Minotaur Pirate' and his rapacious crew into my world a lot easier than a dozen new humanoid races. I'd pay more if Blackdirge wrote it...

And I'm not just looking for page after page of stat blocks, I want descriptive text, roleplaying notes, motivations, plot hooks, background... All formatted for easy use...

Maybe not 'fluff'. Certainly not crunch. Chewy?

A'Mal

 

[Atom Again]

Another convert to the anti-crunch crusade! Can I get an amen?!

Testify! I'm sick to death of "Feats, Prestige Classes, and Exciting New Rules for XYZ."

Back in the 2e days, we had Planescape and Ravenloft, each of which had dozens of amazing books, most crunch free and just simmering with incredible ideas (what people today call "fluffl" for some reason. :\ )

These days it's "WOTC proudly announces the Complete 12th Level Half-Elf Illusionist Handbook! Chock full of feats, prestige classes, and magic items! Customize your 12th level half-elf illusionist to a degree hitherto undreamed of! Only $29.95!"

Bah. Bug off.

I've got my three core books, and that's it for me, baby. No more friggin' rules.