D&D 5E What belongs in a $50 PHB?

[ExploderWizard]

Players behind the screen?! Heresy!

Heck I wish more of them would do just that!!! Point is, once they do then they are DMs for that game and so can use the DMG.

 

[Derren]

And how much should large-format, full color gloss, 300+ page hardcover books full of commissioned art go for in your world?

Nice that you show so openly that you do not read posts.

$50 is ok for the page count, but the content you get is not enough (not a full game).

 

[Imaro]

And how much should large-format, full color gloss, 300+ page hardcover books full of commissioned art go for in your world?


Also, I forgot that only WotC 'price gouges', the $50 rulebooks of Pathfinder and 13th Age get a free pass.

I think you were corrected in another thread but just in case you didn't see it... those aren't PHB's... they are corebooks for the game which include all the necessary rules to both play and run a game.

 

[RangerWickett]

I'd go for two books:

Player's Handbook
320 pages. How to Play, 8 races, 13 classes, gear, spells. Roleplaying guide. Bestiary of creatures you can buy, summon, or acquire as familiars.

Two 16-page gazeteers -- one of the Forgotten Realms, one of Eberron -- containing setting information and a few setting-specific character options like dragonmarks, or organization-based feats for the Harpers, Red Wizards, etc.

Finally, a 4-page dungeon with basic monsters, designed to be played with one PC and one friend handling the monsters, with a random table for 8 possible magic items to be found as treasure. For kicks, have it be orcs who have kidnapped a baker, and the boss orc is about to tuck into a pie when the party arrives.

Dungeon Master's Guide
320 pages. How to Run, lots of GMing advice, a chapter on adventure design, Monster stats (and design guidelines), Trap stats (and design guidelines), Magic item (and design guidelines).

Two 8-page adventures, one in Forgotten Realms, one in Eberron. Only one map in each, with a focus on story, roleplaying, and character motivation. Using only monsters, traps, and items referenced elsewhere in the book.

 

[Wulfgar76]

Nice that you show so openly that you do not read posts.

$50 is ok for the page count, but the content you get is not enough (not a full game).

Content has nothing to do with it. A book of that size and specification costs that much in 2014. Thats the economic reality.

 

[Mistwell]

I think you were corrected in another thread but just in case you didn't see it... those aren't PHB's... they are corebooks for the game which include all the necessary rules to both play and run a game.

Again, and to be clear the quote named two books and one was Pathfinder, you are incorrect. Pathfinder does not include the bestiary in that book. It's definitely not all the rules to run a game.

The other book named is Numenera, and it's retail price is $60, not $50. See Amazon for that.

So neither example proves the point. One requires a minimum of a second book, the other is more money.

 

[Derren]

Content has nothing to do with it. A book of that size and specification costs that much in 2014. Thats the economic reality.

You might want to reread (there it is again) the thread title.

"What belongs in a $50 PHB"

Answer: A complete game.

 

[Wulfgar76]

I think you were corrected in another thread but just in case you didn't see it... those aren't PHB's... they are corebooks for the game which include all the necessary rules to both play and run a game.

Yeah I got it:

$50, 300 page book with Player Info only - an outrage

$50, 300 page book with Player Info, a chapter for noob DMs and a little bestiary - groovy

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

What belongs into a $50 PHB?

Everything you need to run the game.

Plus a $10 off coupon for an adventure module.

 

[Umbran]

The desire to have magic items (and other stuff) not in the base book for the game suggests to me that people think players aren't also DMs.

No, it suggests that GMs like to be able to surprise their players with things that are new to them. Anything that's in the PHB should be fair game for players to read, and the GM should expect that the players might read anything in the book. That means means anything that players shouldn't read (like, say, Monster descriptions) probably shouldn't be in the book.

Magic item descriptions? Do you want the players to be able to identify all the cool properties of magic items just from the first few words of your description of it? Then fine, but the magic items in the PHB. I, personally, would prefer they have to do some discovery - and get the cool experience of finding out in-game, rather than out-of-game.

Mind you, I expect that, "Players aren't also GMs," is probably a good assumption. From what I've seen, folks who are interested in playing far outnumber those who are willing to run games.

Maybe that happens, but it's definitely not the optimal situation. The best option for the game, IMO, is to have as many people running it as possible.

The best option for the game is to have as many people involved in playing it. Lowering the average buy-in for a player tends to remove a barrier to entry, and thus likely increases the number of folks playing.

I think having the PHB at $50, but with what we'd traditionally call DMG content, is not the best choice, as that price point will tend to discourage casual player pruchase. I think a slimmer PHB, at a lower price point, with further buys for the GM, ends up being better for the players. And better for the players should, for the most part, be better for the business.