Rules Compendium excerpt

[Plane Sailing]

I don't think the RC fixes much, it's just a collection...a reprinting under one cover.

I'm a bit concerned that it makes some changes which go beyond reprints but doesn't seem to 'fix' something as 'break' established rules.

Like the excerpt about Anti-Magic field which says that it doesn't break line of effect for spells, when everything they have previously written says it does...

 

[Li Shenron]

I can't help but thinking this could really be the most useless book ever

I was expecting the same idea as Spell Compendium: a collection of lots of additional rules from supplements, and some new stuff. Instead it's 100% reprinted stuff (I hope I'm wrong, but...), and the worst part is that from the index it looks to me like 90% is actually from the PHB and the DMG. Two books that you're always going to bring to the gaming table anyway, so this book is not even going to spare you some weight.

The nicety of the book is that it fits well in a book collection, because it's a sort of "summary" of all 3.5 rules, well written and everything (and probably incorporating something even from the FAQ and the Sage Advice). But usefulness I see very little.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

I can't help but thinking this could really be the most useless book ever

I was expecting the same idea as Spell Compendium: a collection of lots of additional rules from supplements, and some new stuff. Instead it's 100% reprinted stuff (I hope I'm wrong, but...), and the worst part is that from the index it looks to me like 90% is actually from the PHB and the DMG. Two books that you're always going to bring to the gaming table anyway, so this book is not even going to spare you some weight.

The nicety of the book is that it fits well in a book collection, because it's a sort of "summary" of all 3.5 rules, well written and everything (and probably incorporating something even from the FAQ and the Sage Advice). But usefulness I see very little.

Thinking about it, I can agree - it cannot really replace taking the PHB and DMG with you. But I am very interested in the incorporated clarifications and the designer notes. On top of that, it might still be handy at the gaming table, because you can now open it for many rule adjucations, instead of flipping through DMG and PHB...

 

[jdrakeh]

On top of that, it might still be handy at the gaming table, because you can now open it for many rule adjucations, instead of flipping through DMG and PHB...

How is flipping through a third book any more handy? That is, what's the difference between flipping through the Rules Compendium and flipping through the PHB or DMG?

 

[Li Shenron]

On top of that, it might still be handy at the gaming table, because you can now open it for many rule adjucations, instead of flipping through DMG and PHB...

Yeah but that I would have certainly agreed if the book had contained rules from lots of different books other than the PHB and the DMG. First because the PHB and DMG actually have rules quite packed together and easy to find (combat chapter and magic chapter for the PHB, "running the game" chapter for the DMG), and second we are all already familiar enough with these 2 books to know where to find stuff

 

[resistor]

How is flipping through a third book any more handy? That is, what's the difference between flipping through the Rules Compendium and flipping through the PHB or DMG?

a) There's only one of it, versus two of them. So I don't have to waste time figuring out which book subject X is in.

b) It's nicely organized. My current process is something akin to "quickly search printed errata" -> "figure out which book X is in" -> "figure out which chapter X is in" -> "find X in chapter Y"

In particular, the densely packed format of the PHB and the DMG make this hard. I often don't remember exactly which chapter something is in, and even if I do, the most commonly referenced chapters (Combat and Magic) are so large and densely-packed that it's hard to scan through them quickly to find a rule.

One of the biggest benefits of the RC is the encyclopedic layout. If I want the rules for bullrushing, I just leaf through to the entries in alphabetical order!

Given this, I easily foresee the RC replacing the PHB and the DMG as my go-to book for rule-adjudications. The PHB and DMG will still be there (mostly for spell descriptions and magic item descriptions), but I won't be opening them every time a rules question comes up.

 

[werk]

How is flipping through a third book any more handy? That is, what's the difference between flipping through the Rules Compendium and flipping through the PHB or DMG?

The idea is that it contains errata that you don't have in the core books unless you've been writing them in as a hobby (and actually found them in the first place).

Which really just causes more confusion from my perspective.

I've seen two snippets from the RC so far, one makes a bad call (The AFM excerpt PS mentioned), and the other is a reprint without any additional clarification (grapple).

Do better.