Super Sized Roleplaying... more for our money?

[Stalker0]

For WOTC on others its probably a good marketing decision. For one you have limited marketing spaces on shelves, limited advertising budget, etc. While the old expression, don't put all of your eggs in one basket, is a good one, it might not apply in such an environment.

The efficiency of selling one megabook as opposed to many smaller books is a big bonus, think of all the money they save on cover art alone. And of course there's the wow factor as was mentioned. You can't help but think these books are better than anything you've seen before, there's just so much crammed in.

 

[MoogleEmpMog]

I'd be willing to pay 50% more for these books if I could get them with their individual chapters softbound like the 3.0 splats rather than a single immense hardback. That, for me, was the most convenient format for RPG material.

 

[Chupacabra]

Why so on the softbounds? Fell open better at the gaming table perhaps?

 

[Davelozzi]

If you're going to buy all of those books, how is it any different to buy all the same content in a single book?

Whizbang's comment about the size is the first reason. Having separate books is just easier to handle & transport. Plus if I'm GMing, I can spread out a couple of books open to the relevant page on the table, but a giant hardcover can only be on one page at a time.

The second reason is financial. For me, dropping $30 or so on gaming products 3-4 times is a lot easier to justify than dropping $100+ on a single product. After all, I only have so much money to spread around in any given pay period.

 

[greywulf]

Aww heck, I love my huge shiny books. Comparing even a lower priced beastie with something else of a similar price (say, a couple of DVDs) and there's no comparison.

Two DVDs might equal 6 hours enjoyment three or four times over, tops. That's around 24 hours fun if I'm feeling generous.

I might have read the book through once in that time, made a few notes and perhaps be part way through a scenario. I've had 24 hours value and the spine isn't even cracked. Ten times that, and a good RPG book is still going strong. Something like WLD, and I'm expecting over 1,000 hours of gaming funnery. It's worth every cent.

RPG books outvalue darned near any other geek hobby, dollar for dollar, so make 'em bigger and better all the way, I say.

And for those times when I want to live it small, there's always Microlite20

 

[MoogleEmpMog]

Why so on the softbounds? Fell open better at the gaming table perhaps?

Lighter to carry, more comfortable to read, easier to pick and choose from to carry to a game, and the binding, IMX, holds up better.

 

[Treebore]

I haven't bought any of the big books. I don't own WLD, Ptolus, etc... The most expensive item I have botught is Rappan Athuk Reloaded with Goodmans Known World the closest second.

Guess I am a sucker for boxed sets. Can't wait to see the ones Goodman has lined up for next year, and the two for Gary's Castle Zagyg. Its going to be an expensive year next year.
Plus I don't know if City of Brass is HB or boxed set. I think its supposed to be HB.

I do intend on getting Ptolus, but only as pdf. As I understand it, I'll be able to buy it in parts, and it will be well bookmarked, linked, etc.... So it will hopefully make it easy to use such a monster. Thats going by what I was told at GenCon, anyways. Hopefully they didn't change their mind on how the pdf is being offered. Guess I'll find out when I decide its time to buy it.

 

[Voadam]

Looking back over my older edition and other rpg stuff there are some big sources there too.

Planes of Chaos comes up as 328 on my pdf copy.

Gary Gygax's Mythus comes up as 418 pages.

The dragonlance anniversary adventure is 260 pages.

White Wolf's Exalted 1e is 353

 

[Voadam]

I haven't bought any of the big books. I don't own WLD, Ptolus, etc... The most expensive item I have botught is Rappan Athuk Reloaded with Goodmans Known World the closest second.

Guess I am a sucker for boxed sets. Can't wait to see the ones Goodman has lined up for next year, and the two for Gary's Castle Zagyg. Its going to be an expensive year next year.
Plus I don't know if City of Brass is HB or boxed set. I think its supposed to be HB.

I do intend on getting Ptolus, but only as pdf. As I understand it, I'll be able to buy it in parts, and it will be well bookmarked, linked, etc.... So it will hopefully make it easy to use such a monster. Thats going by what I was told at GenCon, anyways. Hopefully they didn't change their mind on how the pdf is being offered. Guess I'll find out when I decide its time to buy it.

I think RAR probably counts.

And I can confirm that the Ptolus pdfs are sold by topic, so you can get the one on the undercity, or the adventures, or the surrounding world and cosmology, or the organizations, etc. all individually. And the player's guide is free.

 

[Cassandra]

Of course RARe is actually a set of three books (dungeon, NPCs/monsters, maps), so it doesn't fall in quite the same category as Ptolus, for instance. The largest book is still 232 pages, though.