Rethinking the Core Books

[Glade Riven]

I get that the Players Handbook, DMG, and Monster Manual is traditional. But is this the best way to organize everything? Here is an idea of revamping core: Rules Compendium, Player's Handbook, and Dungeonmaster's Kit

Rules Compendium: All the core rules, organized for easy learning and look-up. Includes both DM and Player's rules, movement, skills, etc. Covers the role of both players and dungeon master.

Player's Handbook: Focuses on character options, such as race, class, feats, spells, etc. With the general rules shifted to the compendium, the book doesn't have to be as thick (and therefore not as intimidating to new players).

Dungeonmaster's Kit: Book or box set, the DM kit has everything a DM needs to run a game: sample dungeon, traps, NPCs, a decent monster selection, etc. If a box set, throw in some tokens and a map.

 

[delericho]

Boxed Starter Set, single Core Rulebook, and then supplements. Oh, and make everything available online.

And if the game can't fit in a single decent-sized Core Rulebook? Then it's too complex.

 

[Hassassin]

Basic set with a short players' guide (at most around 50 pages), an even shorter DM's guide and one adventure. These rules should be enough to play published adventures, but don't have to offer many customization options for players, nor cover epic level play.

Advanced players' guide(s) with more options and advice, but no more rules. Epic level rulebook for very high level play. Advanced DM's guides with "rules" for building your own adventures and worlds, and guidelines on how to make rulings based on the core rules.

 

[Tallifer]

Basic set with a short players' guide (at most around 50 pages), an even shorter DM's guide and one adventure. These rules should be enough to play published adventures, but don't have to offer many customization options for players, nor cover epic level play.

Advanced players' guide(s) with more options and advice, but no more rules. Epic level rulebook for very high level play. Advanced DM's guides with "rules" for building your own adventures and worlds, and guidelines on how to make rulings based on the core rules.

This is an excellent idea. It accords well with what I just read in this other thread about Epic stuff: http://www.enworld.org/forum/new-horizons-upcoming-edition-d-d/316369-should-epic-ph1.html

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

I think a separate intro kit is a good idea, that is a self-contained low-level game. But I think the PHB/DMG/MM organization is too iconic, and effective, to change.

A player should only have to buy one book, plus dice, to be able to play. If there's a Rules Compendium, plus Player's Guide -- that's two.

Though the Basic Rulebook was useful in having everything in one book, I'm inclined to use the page space to give players more options up front, while reserving some mysteries for a DM-specific book. The core mechanics to play the game can still be resident in the PHB.

 

[Crazy Jerome]

Boxed Starter Set, single Core Rulebook, and then supplements. Oh, and make everything available online.

And if the game can't fit in a single decent-sized Core Rulebook? Then it's too complex.

Agree with that as written, though I'd make the first three "supplements" in that model the PHB, DMG, and MM. Partly because of tradition and expectations, but also because I see a role for all three of them to get the most common extensions and options to the core out quickly and coherently.

Not having to reprint the core rules in them makes them even more valuable. Get a few extra classes, races, options, etc. in the PHB than you otherwise would have. DMG has more room for advice and examples. It doesn't change the MM much, but everyone likes more monsters in the early stages of the game, and it seems that a MM by itself always leaves out a few things that a lot of people want.

The other thing I like about this model is that you can pretty much start with any combination you want that includes the Starter Set. If you want Starter Set + MM, it works. Starter Set by itself, works. And so forth. Part of the objection to the PHB, DMG, and MM has always been that they are mutually dependent. This setup removes that objection.

 

[tvknight415]

Two words...

Rules... Cyclopedia...

 

[BluSponge]

I get that the Players Handbook, DMG, and Monster Manual is traditional. But is this the best way to organize everything?

Hard to say. If the game is indeed as modular as the developers are suggesting they are going for, maybe? Maybe not.

However, I think simply as a matter of economics, the days of the three book buy in are numbered. At $35 a pop, it cost over $100 to buy into 4e. That's a lot of scratch for an RPG these days, considering the buy in for most RPGs is about half of that. I don't think lapsed/new players should have to drop an additional $20-30 to get a taste of the new edition before deciding to go all in.

If WotC really wants to go back for that old school feel, I think a boxed set with three books that call back to the original brown box might be the way to go. Not a Basic/Expert set, but the core system and everything you need for a lot of play in a $35-40 box (with a few bells and whistles, sure!). Everything else goes on top of that. No reason you can't release a "monster manual" that includes all the same monsters but with expanded description and fluff later.

But that's just speculation on my part. Package it in a way that works best for the game. Not because AD&D1 did it a certain way.

Tom

 

[OpsKT]

Boxed Starter Set, single Core Rulebook, and then supplements. Oh, and make everything available online.

And if the game can't fit in a single decent-sized Core Rulebook? Then it's too complex.

As stated, I agree. I'm tired of 2-3 books to play one game. I started D&D with the Red Box (the real one, not that abortion of a Essentials introduction) and was sooo happy when they finally combined them all into the D&D Rules Cyclopedia.

A part of my youth died when some jerk stole that book from me.

Really, the core game should be playable out of that one book. Period. For both players and GMs. D&D/Pathfinder are about the only 2 games left (okay, three if you count World of Darkness for any game not based on mortals) that you need more than one book to get started. Sure, give us options and settings (with options) in supplements (like Shadowrun, BRP, or Savage Worlds) but for the love of the gods, have D&D be one book again. Please!

Or I KILL you.

...

Okay, not kill. But I'm not buying a new edition for sure if the game has a $60+ entry cost. The one book setup is actually in my Top 4 requirements to even look at the new edition.

In particular as they will make me wait a while for the new Eberron books, so why hurry as that is the only D&D setting I run?

 

[CleanCutRogue]

I'm an advocate for 1 core rulebook and everything else optional. The starter boxed set is a great idea to get folks started, maybe allow them to advance to level 3 or something. It has been a long time since a version of the game existed that seemed properly targeted towards kids who can't muster more than 12 bucks to see what all this "D&D" stuff is all about...