Phb Ii

[Nebulous]

At this rate we'll be at DMG III by next summer. A long, continuous stream of supplements and minor upgrades until the undeniable 4th edition rolls around. Oh well. I just would like to see WotC change their art. The "look" of 3rd edition doesn't work for me anymore, but that's just me.

 

[Nightfall]

Neb,

Yeah this gaudy jewely stuff is kind of tiresome. The color scheme though for DMs versus Players, that's fine.

Phil,

You are so right. Money drives everything. If its a bestseller, people want a sequel (especially the publishers). If it's a smash hit, bring on more! The RPG biz is not about what's great or good for the industry, it's what sells now and in the future.

 

[smootrk]

I would love to see a revamp of the the PHB... sort of a 3.6 version. A PHB that consolidates the most worthy of the the Races, Classes, Feats, Skill Descriptions (for those new uses that were thought up), and other stuff found in the various Complete Books, Races Books, Unearthed Arcana and other books. Essentially the stuff to get a character built.
Then, separately, a complete book of spells (as this takes up the most space).

I would also be up for Campaigned flavored Core Books. A complete PHB just specific to Eberron or to the FR or Dragonlance, or other settings. These books would have redundant information if compared to each other or to the (Greyhawk Flavored) original core books. As a side note - it would be good marketing because WOTC could sell essentially the same base material multiple times to those who might play in multiple published campaigns.

 

[Ranger REG]

Why do I think there will be a PHB II?

Money.

So, it is a safe assumption that whatever WotC put out with the D&D label will be bought? I find that hard to believe, considering that the only way to make money is to give money -- invest -- in a development project.

And perhaps I'm the more ... what's a better word than "sane"? ... pragmatic person here (though there are a few of us out there), but I don't see how a PHB II would benefit us and therefore line WotC's pockets and wallets.

As for using the "best of" compilation approach, wouldn't that diminish the value of the current products available. I mean, taking the best material from Eberron would just decrease the sale of the Eberron Campaign Setting book.

Something like this, I would expect Time-Warner to be involved. "D&D's Best of the 70's & 80's" in your choice of print or DVD.

 

[Turanil]

I think WotC has done ample PHB II with Unearthed Arcana and the Complete series.

Now, for those who absolutely want a PHB II, you can still buy Arcana Unearthed/Evolved by Monte Cook, which is basically that.

 

[the Jester]

I agree with Iron Wolf, in the sense we add the best of the feats, new skill uses, and possibly a few of the new classes. (In my mind that means Hexblade, Warlock, Scout or Ninja, Favored Soul.)

That would make me about 95% less likely to buy it. Most of the new base classes and races are crap, imho, and if I already have the rest in other books (except a feat or two) why would I bother to buy it?

A PHB II that included a few reprinted things would be ok- I wouldn't mind a collection of the domains and some other stuff that doesn't require wholesale campaign revision to fit in (the new races especially fall into that category imo; you can justify allowing scouts when they weren't around before more easily than suddenly changing the demographics of the kingdom to reflect ten new races).

Any future PHB II would have to convince me that it's worth buying. The DMG II, from what I've heard so far, is pretty convincing. I think it's because it will fit neatly in any campaign. Hexblades and ninjae don't, nor do goliaths, illumians, etc.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

So, it is a safe assumption that whatever WotC put out with the D&D label will be bought? I find that hard to believe, considering that the only way to make money is to give money -- invest -- in a development project.

If that were true, K-Tel wouldn't have made all the money it did.

People buy things available in other formats all the time for the sake of convenience. The truth is, the number of people who buy all the WotC products is pretty small. A "Best of" player's book would have a wide audience among all the rest of the people.

And perhaps I'm the more ... what's a better word than "sane"? ... pragmatic person here (though there are a few of us out there), but I don't see how a PHB II would benefit us and therefore line WotC's pockets and wallets.

You are not necessarily representative of the wider audience. How much D&D material do you own? How much do you spend in a year? Do you think either of those numbers is typical?

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I agree with Crothian, a point-buy class system like the 2Ed Player's Option series (but better) would be worth buying. In a limited sense, that's what Green Ronin did for Paladins/Holy Knights in The Book of the Righteous- my single favorite 3rd party D20 product to date.

Perhaps a few player-centric tables (like ALL of the official WoTC weapons, armors & equipment; a master Feat list), and some indices to locate stuff in other books, perhaps?

All of that, I'd consider buying.

Beyond that, though...I'm pretty sure we don't need yet another reprint of the best of WoTC with some various additions thrown in.

If that's what they offer, count me out.

 

[Ranes]

The DMG2 is top of my wants list right now but I don't want a PHB2. DMG2 is designed to help running a standard, core game of D&D and any variant thereof. Players and DMs who want an expanded game have the Complete options, Unearthed Arcana and a swathe of other books. Collating material from these in order to make a PHB2 would only devalue these other books (something a DMG2 doesn't do) and could backfire in public relations terms given the amount of overlap such a book would inevitably contain. Whereas, if it contained nothing but new player options, it would compete with the titles already in print.

On the face of it, I can see that a PHB2 might appear to be an automatic success, especially given the industry's (and the fans') response to the DMG2. But WotC has already gone a different route with 3e player options and, to me at least, there doesn't seem to be a viable niche left for a PHB2 to occupy.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Collating material from these in order to make a PHB2 would only devalue these other books (something a DMG2 doesn't do)

How does DMG2 collating material from other works, such as Underdark, not take away some of the value of those other books?