PHB Book Layout - Good or No so Good

[Herremann the Wise]

Hello Everyone,

I was wondering what people's experiences have been with the 4e PHB rule book now that you've more than likely used it extensively. Initially, I was happy with it but slightly underwhelmed in terms of layout and content.

Powers
The presentation of powers was a problem. While they could have been placed further into the book (like spells in 3.x), this would have left the classes decidedly bare-boned. Perhaps an index of powers similar to feats could have been used so that there was easier access to information? I don't think there is a solution to this and in the end, they have most likely made the best out of several difficult options. Could this have been successfully done any other way?

Clean Layout
The clean layout with loads of white space at first seemed quite good, but this is something that more and more, I have come to feel disappointed in (and perhaps irrationally so). I would love the book to be full of useful information with a lot more "busyness" than the clean lines delivered. Something where years later, I could sit down with a particular chapter and get some useful nuggets of information from. Something that has a little more longevity to its "readableness". In the end, the game was simplified and so was the presentation to match. Is it this that has drawn the "textbook" comments or something else?

[On a sidenote, could anyone recommend an rpg book that has done a really "busy" style of layout well?]

Magical Items in PHB
I suppose my other gripe at the time was that MIs (magical items) were in the PHB. This is something that I still think should never have happened. However, what gets put in to fill in the gap? More Classes or Class Builds?

PHB in Play
In the end, I would say during the game I rarely touch the PHB. Partly this is because we use power cards, but as well, I suppose the game is just simpler to run and play. Has this been your experience? I suppose in some ways, this is a huge positive.


So anyway, a year and a bit along, how do you judge what is effectively the flagship of the 4E D&D line? Has anything changed for you? Would you organise things or in hindsight do anything differently?

Best Regards
Herremann the Wise

PS: Anyone who starts any edition war nonsense is in trouble, so don't. This is discussion and opinion and generally it's not polite to tell people that their opinion is wrong (just different to yours which is obvious anyway and so does not need to be pointed out).
So yeah... be as critical as you like, but no impolite posts please.

 

[LostSoul]

It needs a Power index.

 

[fanboy2000]

I like it mostly because they got rid of those horrible brown lines. The power presentation could have looked less like "hey I'm a card game! Make your own cards!" but I've gotten over that.

On a side note, I love the art.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

While its generally attractive in its own way, I didn't care much for the overall layout of the PHB.

I found myself having to flip back and forth to find definitions of some terms or symbology. Usually, a lot of the idiosyncrasies of a game's terminology are defined early on- either in a given chapter or in an intro to the book, or even in well-placed sidebars.

This isn't to say I often found myself confused- I wasn't- because I've played enough RPGs I could generally figure out what something meant by its context. When I wanted confirmation of what I had figured out, it was simply a chore.

But I shouldn't have to. I can't say for sure, but I would imagine that this could be a barrier to the enjoyment of a gaming novice just picking it up without an experienced gamer around to pester.

I agree as well that the placement of powers would have been better had they been placed in their own chapter, much like feats, spells and powers from earlier editions. It made going through the class section a bit of a bother, especially if you wanted to skim through and compare non-power class features.

In addition, an index such as LostSoul mentioned would have been invaluable, especially if it noted how certain powers were variants of or built upon others, like the Feat trees of 3.X. Those were often quite handy when designing your PC.

 

[malraux]

If I were to lose my PHB, I'm not sure I'd bother to buy a replacement. I just don't use it. The compendium is better for looking up powers, magic items, rituals, etc (and even has all the errata). Power cards mean I don't ever need the class chapter in play. The DM Screen fills in the largest gaps. Occasionally we'll need something from the combat chapter, but that's every other session or so. But for that purpose, it is remarkably efficient.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

The [W] should have been explained earlier.

Oh, I guess that's not layout. I don't know, there is not much that I would want to change or improve. What do you mean with "MIs"?, Herreman?

 

[Herremann the Wise]

What do you mean with "MIs"?, Herreman?

Sorry, I should have spelled that out: Magical Items. Silly me taking the magic out of the MIs.
I'll edit the original.

Best Regards
Herremann the Wise

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

The [W] should have been explained earlier.

Oh, I guess that's not layout.

Definitely-and it is layout. If you introduce symbols, you should let the reader know what it means...RAPIDLY!

I mean, take a look through a math book- any symbol or special term you'll encounter is defined within a page or 2. That fosters learning.

 

[Wepwawet]

The one thing I don't like about the 4E PHB is the font size. It's too big.
Text should be the same size as the other books, and then you could have more content.
I can't find any good reason they used such big text

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

Sorry, I should have spelled that out: Magical Items. Silly me taking the magic out of the MIs.
I'll edit the original.

Best Regards
Herremann the Wise

Than I definitely disagree, they can go in the PHB. In practice, the players will have the magic items and need to reference what they do. So either they take a look at the DMG, the holy book they shouldn't have to look at all, or you have to copy it out for them. Or you have to account everything what these magic items might do. A player never should have to reference the DMG to understand what his character can do.

Unless you are hiding all rules from the players that govern their actions and decisions. But that would make the PHB _very_ differently looking. It would be all explaining a setting and how to describe and roleplay your character. No rules at all.