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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Emberashh" data-source="post: 9348665" data-attributes="member: 7040941">Something else to consider here is that formatting makes a difference even with big systems. As an example, I recently, in a bout of depression impostor syndrome spurned on by breaking my diet, ended up examining the PF2E PHB, comparing its equivalent section on Combat to my own Combat document. (I was basically freaking out at imagined terminally online nerds saying my system was too complex)And some interesting stats appeared. For one, both have a page count roughly around 43-45 pages. And despite this, I can honestly say my take on Combat is simpler, if very different compared to most systems. Less math or weird particulars, but more procedural, and I'd argue a similar depth when taken as a whole. But here's the stickler. PF2E has a word count of around 38k Words. Mines roughly half that at 21k. Where PF2E uses what I believe is a 10 or even 8pt font, as well as a double column approach (and not to mention pretty long paragraphs) on each page, mine utilizes a larger 12pt font size, and no columns. It I utilized the same formatting, I could probably condense my whole combat system to 20 pages or less. Especially so if I also dropped the Addendum sections I have included (to give more context to the system) that wouldn't be there normally. Dropping that alone cuts the page count down to 24 just off the bat, and with the same formatting I bet I could halve that again. If I extrapolated, I bet if I did that, I could condense everything in my game that touches on Combat (re: the Combat rules, and a lot of like 3 or 4 other Pillars of the game, including all the Character options) to around the same page count PF2E uses just to lay out its combat rules by themselves. So the thing to remember about really big rules text is that they can obscure how simple they might actually be. After all, while PF2E has its detractors still, most who aren't simply hostile to it recognize the game is fairly simple to play in spite of its density, even without online tools like the Archives or builder apps. My game, despite the not so imagined people who jump to the conclusion that it won't be, is going to be even more condensed than that, but while also providing a similar depth across all of its experiences rather than just combat. My books by the end will probably be comparable to 5e or PF2E in size, but will be much more densely packed in terms of the gameplay they can deliver on.</blockquote>

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