Scoop!?! New Magic Item Format in D&D: The Complete Animated Series

[Dire Bare]

Looks to continue the trend of (useless) fluff and (glaringly) obvious information.

Hopefully they expond on how a helmet takes the Head slot.

While a helm obviously sits in the "head" slot, other magic items aren't always so straightforward. And all you guys know it too! Yes, most of the information in the beginning of the new format could be gleaned from the existing paragraph format . . . duh . . . but the whole idea is to make it easier to glance and quickly get important info rather than re-reading an entire magic item description. Hmm, a lot like the spell format oddly enough . . .

Sometimes I think people like to complain just for the sake of complaining. (not sure why that surprises me here on the intertubes) In the WotC thread some poster actually in all seriousness accuses WotC of a sinister plot to waste valuable space in an effort to destroy fun and steal our hard-earned money (I'm overstating what I read, a bit).

Sigh. I don't mind of course if some folks don't care for the new format versus any of the older formats . . . it's just that the histrionics and made-up reasons to complain just get to me after a while.

Anyway, I like the new format!

 

[Gentlegamer]

Why couldn't they just have sold the book seperately? I'd be much more interested in wasting my money on that than I would wasting it on the series.

The series isn't a waste of money!

 

[Gentlegamer]

Did you guys know that our very own Plane Sailing invented the shadow demon? Go dig out your 1e Fiend Folio -- that's him!

Neville White?

 

[Gentlegamer]

Oh, but they DID improve. By the time the big column of fire that was Venger's master showed up, they were non-nonsense veterans. Bobby and Eric had mastered their weapons to a degree that rivaled Diana and Hank. In the faerie dragon episode, they were about as competent with their magic weapons as the lizardmen that used the items in the volcano-prison episode (the one with Stronheart).

Gary (Co-Producer) has said that the second series of the show was to change the format a bit so that the kids relied on their skills rather than the gimic of their magic items. The unproduced script for the series finale was supposed to lead to this.

 

[JoeGKushner]

While a helm obviously sits in the "head" slot, other magic items aren't always so straightforward. And all you guys know it too! Yes, most of the information in the beginning of the new format could be gleaned from the existing paragraph format . . . duh . . . but the whole idea is to make it easier to glance and quickly get important info rather than re-reading an entire magic item description. Hmm, a lot like the spell format oddly enough . . .

Sometimes I think people like to complain just for the sake of complaining. (not sure why that surprises me here on the intertubes) In the WotC thread some poster actually in all seriousness accuses WotC of a sinister plot to waste valuable space in an effort to destroy fun and steal our hard-earned money (I'm overstating what I read, a bit).

Sigh. I don't mind of course if some folks don't care for the new format versus any of the older formats . . . it's just that the histrionics and made-up reasons to complain just get to me after a while.

Anyway, I like the new format!

I don't think that it's some evil plot. It's just more fuel for wasting space that's become fairly common in most formats. Useful to some, useless to others.

 

[Jedi_Solo]

It's just more fuel for wasting space that's become fairly common in most formats. Useful to some, useless to others.

If it's useful to some then it isn't really wasted space. You may never need that line but that doesn't mean some (maybe most, maybe very few) will need it.

I fully agree that if they removed one or two lines, over the space of 1000+ items a lot of space will be saved allowing us to supposedly get more items. I say "supposedly" because we can't be sure what the space would be replaced. I'm assuming more items but I could be wrong.

However, I am willing to give them more lines if that means that it'll save me time next summer when I blank on what slot a particular item uses or if Item Type X uses the same slot as Item Type Y from three pages back. This will especially be useful for items that don't require a slot or items that need to be held. Just as an example - do you need to hold a Pearl of Power for it be used? As far as the book says you don't, but does that mean that it just works from the bottom corner of your backpack? I'm assuming yes but just using an example I've been asked before. The slot listing seems to be able to answer that question (since the bow is listed as not using a slot but needing to be held). I'm glad to see that it will seem to appear for every item because if it didn't appear I know that would be the one item my brain will blank out on one day next year.

After all, I know I will NEVER use all of the items in that book. There are waaaaay too many items already for me to ever use - so I won't be sad to lose out on a few of them. I may have found those items to have been really, really cool - but I'll never know those are the items I missed out on so I will never really care.

 

[Scribble]

personally I'm a mix on the new formats.

Like the Monsters. The new stat blocks I love. Easy to glance down at the book and use the monster right away. (Organizing is good, thats why DM's screens are a big seller)

But the added paragraphs of stuff afterwards I don't always need.

 

[Joshua Randall]

I like the new format. Organization is important. Good use of bolding and line spacing is important. Simplicity is important.

Does it "waste" space? No. It uses space effectively.