PHB errors and reprint schedule

[Wolfspider]

I'm no professional editor, but putting together something as small as the PrRC is a tough job. I can't imagine doing it for nearly 1000 pages, with dozens of authors, with a system still under heavy development! With 45,000+ views of the PrRC thread, there have been a lot of eyes on the pdf. Yet nearly a month after its first release, someone will post with an error that no one else has seen (or bothered to report at any rate).

Trust me, after you've actually tried to edit something as complex, you have a whole new appreciation for how GOOD the WotC books actually are.

Good point. I certainly wouldn't want to do what the editors at WotC do for a living.

Still...they ARE editors, and thus editing is the focus of their job. They SHOULD be good at it. It's inevitable that an error would sneak in, but it's really shocking to me that so many have been discovered in KotS so far, and only a relatively few people have seen the adventure.

This is the introductory product for the D&D 4e line, for goodness sake!

 

[MyISPHatesENWorld]

I don't mind mistakes as long as they're followed up with timely and complete official errata including rewrites of sample characters, descriptive text and tables and I'm not stuck with garbage answers along the line of, "just use the actual rules and ignore the rest."

 

[Piratecat]

I don't mind mistakes as long as they're followed up with timely and complete official errata including rewrites of sample characters, descriptive text and tables and I'm not stuck with garbage answers along the line of, "just use the actual rules and ignore the rest."

Hey, email me (kevin dot kulp at gmail) if I can help you access what's probably your original user account, or change your current name to something more personal.

 

[Digital M@]

I don't think I want to pay textbook prices for my game books.

I thought the exact same thing.

A company needs to make manoey and that includes limiting manpower as labor is the most expensive part of almost all business. If the designers are told to write the copy and make sure it is "perfect' and to proof each others work, then I am good with that. I have yet to get a gaming book from WotC that was so ad I could not understand it or that the errors detracted from my enjoymwwnt of the game or book. I do believe they put a valiant effort into getting it right the first time.

 

[Kwalish Kid]

Heh. That might not be the best example for a comparison. Go google some textbook prices.

Textbook prices arise because of the market for textbooks, not because of the care and attention to detail. The RPG industry faces competition far more directly than the textbook industry, so prices will always be lower.

 

[rob626]

oh the pain

Can't believe this hasn't been brought up yet.

One comment: Palladium. Choose any book printed by Palladium. Go ahead. I'll wait.

They have entire sourcebooks- yes, multiple sourcebooks!- over 100 pages long each dedicated to clarifying their mistakes, inconsistencies, print errors, and poor editing. *shudder*

Now, comparatively speaking, I am pretty well pleased with the quality of editing from WoTC.

 

[Wolfspider]

Can't believe this hasn't been brought up yet.

One comment: Palladium. Choose any book printed by Palladium. Go ahead. I'll wait.

They have entire sourcebooks- yes, multiple sourcebooks!- over 100 pages long each dedicated to clarifying their mistakes, inconsistencies, print errors, and poor editing. *shudder*

Heh. What's worse is that they do so much copying and pasting of rules and equipments lists and such that these editing errors get repeated in so many different rulebooks. Quite an epidemic, really.

Now, comparatively speaking, I am pretty well pleased with the quality of editing from WoTC.

Sure. So am I. But the editing in WotC books still sucks.

 

[tanj]

One comment: Palladium.

AEG. The 3rd edition of L5R was so bad there is a fan group that is still trying to make it work.

 

[Fiendish Dire Weasel]

AEG. The 3rd edition of L5R was so bad there is a fan group that is still trying to make it work.

Bwahahaha, Oh, thank you, I got a good laugh out of that excellent example of game book editing failure.

---

Anyways, isn't 4E supposed to have the largest budget and staff than any RPG ever? I'm not sure what excuse you could give for editing errors.

 

[Chowder]

Within a day of store owners receiving early copies of KotS, they found numerous editing problems. I suspect that the majority of errors in the core rulebooks will be found and posted here in the ENWorld forums within 48 hours of the release of the books.

This suggests two things:

1. WotC's editing is poor.
2. If WotC is looking for a way to improve editing in future products, I suggest showing the pre-release product to a handful of store owners and active ENWorld forum goers prior to sending it to the printer. Put them under NDA so they don't blab to the public. I suspect that they'll be excited enough to participate for free.

One could make the argument that the errors in KotS are only being found because large numbers of people are reading it. I don't believe this, though. I suspect that there are a small number of very dedicated, very analytical fans who are good at spotting errors, and if you get those people involved, they will do an outstanding job of substantially reducing the error rate in the finished product.

-Chowder