I Want My Boxed Sets!

[Zerovoid]

Man, I hated those boxed sets. Give me a nice classy hardcover with everything all in one place any day. Stupid loose leaf monstrous compendium pages... wierd cardboard pages covered with runes... bah

 

[Trevalon Moonleirion]

I've really really got mixed feelings on the boxed sets... Let's divide this into pros and cons:

Pros:
Material is separated into smaller booklets--you don't HAVE to take the entire box with you if you don't want.

Maps! I loved getting several maps and having a decent place to store them.

With multiple softcover booklets in the box, I always felt like if I wanted to get a map out of one of the books for my own use, i could, because i wouldn't be hurting the book too much by photocopying it. With hardbacks, I'm always worried about the spine and all of that stuff.

You can add books/paper/notes to the box pretty easily.

The nifty little extras like cardstock sheets or a setting specific DM screen were always nice.

It does sort of feel like Christmas opening up the boxed sets...
Cons:
Boxes are fragile and easy to smash/sit on/rip etc.

Boxes are bulkier for travelling DMs

Hardbacks are much more durable.

I really don't give a rat's ass about "monstrous compendium" 5 hole punched sheets.

 

[ForceUser]

You know what? I would pay 70-80 bucks for a boxed set that came in an aluminum box. Something more durable than cardboard; one of the great things about the boxes is as mentioned by many above - you could plop all your notes, maps, and handouts in the box.

Aluminum. Definitely.

 

[Trevalon Moonleirion]

Aluminum, eh? While were getting crazy... why not something really nifty, like steel?

Isn't there a new book coming out with metal covers?

 

[Aristotle]

You can carry extra stuff in a boxed set, but the box just takes the wear and tear instead of the books inside it. A metal box might solve some of that. I prefer to carry stuff in a laptop bag. The compartment is "book sized", fits all of my core books and campaign books, and has straps to hold the books in place. An accordian file built in to one pocket can hold loose documents, and the other external pocket can hold thin books (like adventures).

Maps are a valid point. I'd rather not have to deal with glue or perferated paper to get my map out of a book, and if the setting needs lots of maps that method becomes almost impossible.

Of course, while were on the subject of alternative substances for boxes... Am I the only person who thought that the cloth map that came with the original Dark Sun campaign was the coolest thing since sliced bread? It fit the setting, but even better... it stood up to punishment! My poster maps have long since worn through on the creases and have become tattered, but my cloth map of Athas is still beautiful!

Maybe the cost of doing cloth maps is prohibitive, but I wish more settings would go that route. I'd be happy to pay an extra $5 to $10 for a good quality cloth map in place of the fragile paper ones.

 

[Breakstone]

Trevalon- I believe that's the Mongoose Publishing's Judge Dredd book.

Anyway, here's my idea:

What if they made boxed sets that included books, maps, miniatures, and all that. However, you could also get said books seperately, for a lower price.

For example, if they made a Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil boxed set, it would include:

Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil (divided up into different books for the different sections, maybe?)

Large maps of the towns, temples, and surrounding areas

Appropriate tile mats for your game

Appropriate, and maybe even some unique, miniatures

It would cost more than just the book, but less than buying everything seperately, plus it would have unique miniatures and mats.

How about that?

 

[mmadsen]

The ones I used a lot (the original Forgotten Realms setting, the first Cyberpunk game), I liked because I could put extra supplements and sheets of notes in the box, and keep everything in a nice, neat package for the game.

Right, but you need just one box for that, not one per supplement. For instance, if D&D came as a boxed set instead of three hardback books, you'd have the one box you'd need to carry your character sheets, notes, modules, etc. to your friend's house for the game.