D&D 5E The Size of Books

[Jester David]

If you hate the 160 page books of 3E, I'd hate to see your rection to the 96-page books of 2E. Yet, I sometimes feel I got more out of those books than later editions.

I'd like to see D&D books go back to a slim volume for the core rules and softbacks for the splats.

I got my start in 2e and agree that the softcover splatbooks were nice, as they were cheap. I don't mind thin books, I mind expensive thin books that are only a couple bucks cheaper than something with 60+ extra pages.

And we really, realy, need a beginner's box so we can make the hardbacks as thick as needed without worrying about it. Face, once you get most folks hooked, they want as much as they can get their hands on.

I think the days of affordable beginners boxes are over. They don't make sense any more. Give that content away as free web content. Get people hooked for cheap.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

There should be a balance between size, format, and price.

160 pages in a paperback for $20 is fine. The same in a hardcover for $30 is a no-go. There are some allowances for full color and amount of art, but I would not mind a return to a mix of hard- and softcover.

 

[Jester David]

The D&DI Compendium is formatted for mobile devices. I keep it bookmarked on my Kindle Fire, and I don't need to bring books to D&D anymore. I sincerely hope we get an official Character Builder app for iOS and Android..

1) This requires a net connection while an app/ PDF does not.
2) I always had problems with the Compendium on my iPad. It never liked long entries and kept scrolling back up to the top of the page if I let go with my finger.

 

[Libramarian]

I think the days of affordable beginners boxes are over. They don't make sense any more. Give that content away as free web content. Get people hooked for cheap.

Yeah a free online quickstart package (basic rules+adventure) is a must.

 

[airwalkrr]

I don't like the huge pathfinder books. It is one of the reasons I have resisted picking up the system. I also don't like the fact that all the GM rules and monsters are in the same book with the information for player characters. I have always felt that information for the dungeon masters belongs in a separate book. It is fine to give players information on animals they might summon or use as familiars/companions, but aside from that I think information meant for DMs should be separate.

And when I am a player, I don't like toting around a huge tome. I like just being able to grab my Player's Handbook and go.

Honestly though, I love the fact that pathfinder rules are practically all available online. I don't really play the game, but if I did, I'd probably never carry any books at all. I'd just have my laptop or tablet handy to access the information as needed.

 

[Razjah]

There should be a balance between size, format, and price.

160 pages in a paperback for $20 is fine. The same in a hardcover for $30 is a no-go. There are some allowances for full color and amount of art, but I would not mind a return to a mix of hard- and softcover.

I agree. I like books priced and sized like Savage Worlds Explorer Edition ($10 for a 160 page, 6.5" x 9" or roughly 16.5 cm x 23 cm), Song of Ice and Fire Pocket Edition ($24.95 for 287 page, 6" x 9" or roughly 15.5 cm x 23), the D&D Essentials like ($19.95 for 310, same size as SIFRP), and Burning Wheel Gold [hardcopy] ($25 for a just under 600 page, about 5.5" x 8.75" or roughly 14.5 cm x 22.5 cm).

These books are all smaller, more novel-like in size. This, I have found at my college's role playing games club, made the games more accessible feeling to new players. They weigh less than the D&D styles books or the massive tome that is the PF core book, and more importantly, they cost less. When I try to convince people to try a game dropping $20 for a book is a lot easier to handle than $50 for the Pathfinder book or $35 or more for D&D books.

The other thing is that these books are much easier to throw into a bag and read while waiting at an office, on a bus/train/plane, and can get conversations started with non-gamers. The big textbook sized books often scare away non-gamers because it seems like a ton of work to learn the game.

 

[blalien]

1) This requires a net connection while an app/ PDF does not.
2) I always had problems with the Compendium on my iPad. It never liked long entries and kept scrolling back up to the top of the page if I let go with my finger.

That is a good point. I always took it for granted that my DM has WiFi. Although I don't know what kind of offline solution would work since Wizards is very wary of piracy and people subscribing to D&DI, downloading all the content, then unsubscribing a month later.

 

[DM Howard]

I don't mind having bigger books but I'd rather the player's handbook be small. Any bigger than 4E's PHB is too big IMO. On top of that the price point of the Pathfinder PHB due to it's size can price out interested parties. For some the price is too much for a lark they may or may not like.

I never wanted to take my Pathfinder book anywhere because it was so dang huge. It was like a was lugging around a Mathematics text book for Actuarial Science or something.

In other words, if really pressed, I'd rather have more books that are smaller and are a little more specific to there subject matter. Book for druids, books for bards etc.

 

[DEFCON 1]

Is there any reason besides price that makes one larger, heavier, combined player/DM tome better to have than three separate ones? Sure, that one book probably would cost less than the other three combined... but what other reason is there? I don't see one, myself.

Because why would I wish for WotC to release product in a format that would deliberately make them less money overall, as that would just shorten the lifespan of this edition even more than it already is going to be? Make the product good and I'll pay for the extra paper and ink to use for those other two books.

 

[Razjah]

Is there any reason besides price that makes one larger, heavier, combined player/DM tome better to have than three separate ones? Sure, that one book probably would cost less than the other three combined... but what other reason is there? I don't see one, myself.

This has always confused me, I don't really think there should be "player books" and "DM books" for game systems. I prefer game systems with a little more transparency about how the game is run (i.e. Burning Wheel). I don't like having sections of the rules "for the DM only" because it seems like the game designers don't trust the players.

I've said before how I like smaller books, I'm not arguing for the big Pathfinder style book. Instead, I want one book with all the rules, about the size of the 4e Essentials books.

In other words, if really pressed, I'd rather have more books that are smaller and are a little more specific to there subject matter. Book for druids, books for bards etc.

I understand this, small affordable books for specifics, it would be great. But this would almost definitely become a splat-book nightmare. The Big Book of Bards I, II, III- repeat for each class. This is my problem with D&D 3.5 and 4e's book explosions and power creep .