Special Edition PHB?

[Ranger REG]

So, you use them as shelf decor?

 

[Len]

So, you use them as shelf decor?

95% of the time, yes. Man, if books were ugly I'd be living in a disaster zone.

 

[Ron]

Catalog copy: "Created with the collector in mind, this special release now sports an embossed, leatherbound cover and premium, gilt-edged paper, along with beautifully designed endpapers."

Hardcover, 320 pages, $75.00 October 2004 pub.

-neg

Edited for spelling mistake.

So it is 320 pages as the normal edition. Unless they are actually insering notes in the sides, it seems that this will really be the old PHB in a fancy paper.

 

[MerricB]

You know, sad person that I am, I'd really like to get this edition of the book.

Consider what edition you have of the Lord of the Rings. I know I have a falling-apart cheap paperback edition. My father owns a beautiful Folio edition of The Hobbit - Hardcover, slipcase, illustrations.

There have been a few LotR editions recently done really, really nicely (art by Alan Lee, hardcover, etc.) I'd like to have one of those as well!

The materials that go into an edition of a book can have a real effect on the price - but sometimes they are worth it for certain people. I haven't quite been able to convince myself that I need a really good copy of the LotR - but the 3.5E Player's Handbook may be something else altogether. This is a beautifully presented copy of my favourite version of D&D!

Resisting it is going to be very hard indeed!

Cheers!

 

[jgsugden]

Andy Collin's Comment:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I don't believe that this will be anything other than a fancy version of the existing (3.5) PH. It's a collector's item.

Errata was discussed, but at this time I believe the decision is to not include it. Due to the low number of copies printed, and the high price, we didn't want to make anyone feel like they needed this book to play their game.

There certainly won't be anything new in it.
Andy Collins
Senior Designer
Wizards of the Coast Roleplaying R&D

Andy Collins would know ...

 

[Snapdragyn]

Well, I own the leatherbound slipcase versions of both "The Hobbit" & "The Lord of the Rings". I can certainly see paying for those; they're classics & IMO owning a nice version of each is money well spent. I'm sure I'll be pulling them out to read again every few years, & each will provide the same entertainment value then as they do now.

However, what I seek in a classic work of literature is not what I seek in a rulesbook that sees near-daily use & will be revised every 5-7 years (my guess) anyway. I don't see the point in retaining a nice copy of a rulebook for my personal archives; I take good enough care of the regular copies that the few dings they'll get won't really impact their ability to sit on a shelf gathering dust once I've moved on to newer rules sets.

 

[DaveMage]

I think it's terrible that they are making such a premium book and not even fixing the errata.

$75 for a pretty reprint with errors.

No annotations. No special features.

That's just sad.

I *AM* a collector and I think this news is so disappointing that I will not buy this book.

 

[diaglo]

Now if they put out a hardback edition of the original game, I would actually be more interested

now you are talking.

 

[diaglo]

...are sold in very limited print runs, are signed by the author, etc.

when i bought the 2000ed version of OA...they were giving you the option of buying signed copies or unsigned copies for the same price... i got one of each.

 

[buzz]

It's kind of funny that, at every stage of speculation in this thread, people have chimed in to state how much they hate WotC. First they were jerks for releaseing a special edition that did have new and improved content, and now they're jerks for releasing a special edition that *doesn't* have new and improved content. On top of this, they're apparently jerks for releasing a special edition at all.

Gamers are weird.