Is an index important to you

[MonsterMash]

just make this visible to anyone who hasn't visited for a couple of day.

 

[woodelf]

But, except for Terrain, you already get that. Table of Contents does it in alphabetical, there's always a By Type listing right near there, and a By CR in the back of each Monster book.

What do you mean by "already"? Every one of those things is, by definition, an index [of the contents of the book]. IOW, you value indices--you're just used to them being there. A book that has one or more of those is not "without an index".

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

What do you mean by "already"? Every one of those things is, by definition, an index [of the contents of the book]. IOW, you value indices--you're just used to them being there. A book that has one or more of those is not "without an index".

Yes, they are an index, but I never said I needed them. I'm honestly just fine without them. That post was simply pointing out that there ARE those things in Monster Books. I do just fine flipping through to the right page, and can do it very quickly even in the middle of a gaming session.

 

[MerricB]

Of course this is a lopsided poll. It asks the wrong question.

Indices are a great tool in the right book. However, would you really want to lose two pages out of MM3 just to have an index (which is already covered by the format of the book, not to mention the table of contents?)

I can very happily use Complete Warrior without an index. It has a clear table of contents. I don't want to lose a page of two of actual content just to have an index.

OTOH, Sharn: City of Towers requires an index. Its usefulness is severely degraded by the lack of one.

Indices are not something that should appear in all books. Instead, they must be assessed on a case by case basis.

To take an extreme example, should the Sunless Citadel have had an index? The adventure is struggling to fit in the space provided in the first instance. To lose a page of that...

The simple-minded "All books should have an index" response ignores that.

Yes, I think indices are important, but only in the appropriate books.

Cheers!