D&D 5E Who would want to see rule books annotated with developer quotes on the system's mechanics?

[miniaturehoarder]

As an aside, this is the kind of thing I'd love seeing in an "annotated rule book" or something like that. Other things that could fit:

"You might think Sneak Attack does a ton of damage, and you'd be right, but it's about on par with what a fighter deals with all their extra attacks."

"Yes, Agonizing Beam applies to each hit of Eldritch Blast. That just means that the warlock can, more or less, keep up with martial characters in sustained damage."

"No rule should allow concentration on multiple effects at once. The whole point of concentration is that the effects are powerful, but you only get one of them at a time."

"Magic weapons are lower rarity than magic armor, because magic weapons speed up combat and armor slows it down."

That sort of thing.

100 times this.

I like that idea.

That would be a fun read. Do we have any compiling of Dev’s quotes to try and build a rough Companion Pamphlet?

 

[Leatherhead]

So it would be a massive book with RAI and game developer diaries included? That would be nice, but I doubt the market for such a thing would be huge.

I could see it as an E-book (of some kind) or a "collectors edition reprint"

 

[Morrus]

It's been done before, and I'm doing it in my game.

I personally enjoy the insight; however, seeing behind the curtain can reduce the authority of the writer. Which is fine, if you're OK with that.

 

[SteveC]

It's called 13th Age, and I like it a lot.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

It's been done before, and I'm doing it in my game.

I personally enjoy the insight; however, seeing behind the curtain can reduce the authority of the writer. Which is fine, if you're OK with that.

It would feel like a special edition DVD with audio commentary. SOmetimes you get insight into a great and beautiful story... and sometimes you get a very disappointing look at fart jokes when you thought the story was so much deeper.

 

[Evenglare]

It's called 13th Age, and I like it a lot.

This.

 

[Greenstone.Walker]

I believe the authors have deliberately gone for a natural language presentation, rather than rigidly defining terms. Having developer quotes would be good for when the natural language is fuzzy and the GM has to make a call.

 

[Uchawi]

You can have natural language and clear language together. They are not mutually exclusive. So on that end I would opt for more clear language, and less ambiguity. I don't see the later as a design feature.

 

[delericho]

Yes.

Especially with 5e's increased emphasis on DM rulings, it would be very helpful to have explanations of why things work the way they do. That should help the DM to adjudicate them, but also should help the DM if he decides that he doesn't like the assumptions that the designers have made and so wants to change them.

 

[painted_klown]

I voted for "I'd read compiled annotations". I think it would definitely be interesting to reag such notes, but I'm not so sure it would be enough to make me want to buy the 3 core books again.