PHB Book Layout - Good or No so Good

[Mathew_Freeman]

Oh, yes. I really miss those. (I still want to know what happened to the halfling thief taken by ghouls in the 1E example. )

All I can say is:

NOM NOM NOM.

Or possibly:

I can haz halfling-burger naow?

 

[Cadfan]

I learned the game from the PHB, and it worked reasonably well at that task. There were a few odd issues, like terms being used before they're defined, but it worked out. While I feel like some information could be moved around to be explained earlier, the overall layout made finding what I needed to know very, very easy. The correct chapter for a given piece of information was almost always obvious.

Now that I KNOW the game, though, I don't use the PHB. Ever. I've gone 100% electronic. We use homemade character sheets customized for each character and based on the character builder's information.

 

[RangerWickett]

Visually, I wish they'd used patterned colors rather than plain swatches. Instead of having the same green, red, and black for all powers, they could have had different patterns in the color to represent arcane, divine, primal, and martial power sources. For instance, consider the background patterns on magic card frames:

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Also, I love PHB2 art, but PHB1 didn't do it for me. It definitely needed more flavor. I think the first page should have been a quick overview of "This is what a roleplaying game is, and here's what Dungeons & Dragons in particular is," and then they should have ended with, "Now let's look at a sample game."

Then the next 5 or 6 pages could have been a narrative section of a game, perhaps with a bit of skill challenge involved, and an illustration on each page showcasing the action. Really drive home that RPGs are more than just slower versions of World of Warcraft; they let you have a unique story.

 

[Aloïsius]

True. Which goes back to what I said about the 4E PHB being good, IMO, for referencing things, but not good for getting the feel of the game just by reading through it. You're exactly right that, if you're looking for the feel of each class on an initial flip-through, the older set-up is better.

And I think this could not be a good idea. Why ? because of computers and searchable pdf or the D&DI. I have painfully erated my PHB, but I never use it, because it will never compete with a small laptop. Especially since I use it as a character sheet and to keep notes about the campaign I play in. My 4e books are collecting dust...
However, computers screen are not so good to be used for a front to back reading. And that's where real books should shine, but they don't in 4e.

 

[Halivar]

I had always assumed that 3.x items were in the DMG to force players to buy two books instead of one. Coming from that perspective, I felt that putting the magic items in the 4E PHB was a boon to players at significant personal expense (more players, I would imagine, are only buying one book instead of two).

 

[Mallus]

I think the layout makes for a (very) tough first read-through, but eventually works fine as a reference book.

 

[MrMyth]

As far as the format itself, I'm a big fan of it - easy to track stuff down, easy to read, and laid out (mostly) intuitively.

But needs a waaay better index, and needs to make it easier to track down a few specific pages. (The leveling chart and the conditions summary foremost among them.) A better index/table of contents would solve pretty much all the problems I have with the format - everything else is just what I'm looking for, aside from maybe switching the order of the combat and equipment sections.

 

[Obryn]

Honestly, I hardly ever use it. Character builder + compendium is great for me!

-O

 

[doctorhook]

I DM 4E.

I like Magic Items in the PH; it keeps the players out of my stuff.

I like Powers listed in the classes chaper; it would really suck if they were all flopped together alphabetically in the back like in 3.5E, because it would take you forever you compare the differences between your powers.

I especially like the Combat chapter, where everything is listed alphabetically; it's so much easier to find whatever rule I'm looking for, and I use that section regularly.

 

[amysrevenge]

It needs a Power index.

Everybody says this, but I just don't see it.

Look at it this way. I can imagine three main reasons you need to look up a power in the book.

1) You already have the power, and want to see what it does.
2) You are deciding which power to take next.
3) You are making a character and trying to choose a class.

As far as 1) goes, in my opinion you should have your current powers written out somewhere, either in card form or on a sheet of paper. Nothing bogs down a game so much as someone flipping through the PH to look up what their powers do (and while an index might reduce the time spent flipping, I would think that finding the power in the index and turning to the page wouldn't be that much faster than finding the class and flipping forward to the right level of power).

For 2), please explain to me how an alphabetical listing of all powers for all classes will help you choose a level 7 Fighter encounter power more quickly than a list of all Fighter level 7 encounter powers could? And even if the index was organized by class and level rather than alphabetically, how would a list of powers help you choose, when none of the rules are on the list? I just don't see how

Fighter Encounter 7
Come and Get It, page 80
Griffon's Wrath, page 80
Iron Bulwark, page 80
Reckless Strike, page 80
Sudden Surge, page 80

would be any help at all. And a list of all powers arranged alphabetically rather than by class and type would be worse than useless. I really think that the current layout of powers is the only way to do it.

And again for 3), neither an alphabetical listing of all powers nor even a list of powers sorted by class and type (but without rules) will help you choose a class. You need to see the full text of the powers to decide if you want them or not.