[WOTC] Revised Corebooks for July confirmed with info

[Fast Learner]

Man, the D&D core books are SUPER EXPENSIVE! I wrestle with my kids in the living room and it's totally free to do so. That means playing D&D is an infinite number of times as costly, since it seems to have been established that we can compare man-hours of various leisure time activities on a quid pro quo basis. What a rip off gaming is.

Of course, it does make quite a bit of sense once you factor in the amount of actual entertainment and fun you receive for your money.

I know I wouldn't hve any fun wrestling with your kids in your living room.

 

[Conaill]

I bet the main changes to the PHB will be to add in all the corrections and clarifications from the FAQ. After all, that's what everybody has been asking for, right? (So why does everybody seem to be complaining now?) That alone, plus perhaps some combat examples such as the (corrected versions of ) Gamestoppers could easily add an extra 10-20 pages. So yes, WotC WILL release most of the changes online. In fact, they already have

Look at it this way: If they're claiming 25% new and revised content, but at the same time they're expanding the page length by 34 pages, that really means only 16% of the original PHB content will get revised. That is not much!

Beyond the FAQ-based clarifications/errata, yeah there will be some "upgrades" in weak classes. Most likely in terms of adding flexibility, such as allowing for a non-TWF ranger, giving Sorcerors access to some CHA-based class skills etc. Minor, but since these are changes to the core classes, you're likely to see these changes online.

Then there will be some "exclusive material". Think of the sort of stuff WotC has published in their online supplementary material: a few extra spells, maybe a feat or two. This stuff may not ever make it into the SRD, just like the online spells haven't made it in either.

 

[jgbrowning]

Beyond the FAQ-based clarifications/errata, yeah there will be some "upgrades" in weak classes. Most likely in terms of adding flexibility, such as allowing for a non-TWF ranger, giving Sorcerors access to some CHA-based class skills etc. Minor, but since these are changes to the core classes, you're likely to see these changes online.

I'd like to see them on-line. In the SRD. I'll wait and see if that happens.

joe b.

 

[Agnostic Paladin]

I just thought of something I'd like to see in the DMG.

For magic item tables, I'd like to see tables that give you an item value and then the DM picks an item near that value; this will make it easier to add new items to the game world.

Or some other moodification of the charts that takes into account all the new items that DMs will want to use from other sources.

 

[Wolf72]

I dont want to spend another 90 dollars for three books I already own, but if the changes are worthwhile, perhaps I will buy them.

I am a ranger junkie, and have always felt that they are under-powered in 3rd edition. Perhaps the revised PHB will restore my faith in rangers.

estoy de acuerdo!!!!

geez, another 90 bucks ... especially when my wallet is getting even thinner!

l

 

[DonAdam]

Jeez, if that was the case the corebooks would all have swipes of TSR artists from the 90s and 80s.

Brutal.

True, but brutal.

 

[Elwolf]

Personally I think its a scam to make money. Wotc should post all changes clarifications and extras on their website. Saving us, the gamers, $90.
Its not like someone could play the game with out the original books and use the content of the website to play for free. For most of us we already spent atleast $60 and for others much more. For those of you comparing entertainment costs, did you not see a movie because you played the game? You more than likely will still spend the $8-$10 on a movie you would like to see. Therefore you aren't saving the money by purchasing the books instead of going to a movie.
I thought RPGer's were sensible people. Most products, when not properly working are recalled and a new product is sent out. Why won't WOTC do just that? If its to big of an expense, why change it?
You more than likely work hard for you money, right? Don't throw it away to have the latest and greatest. I say we stand together and tell Wotc to stop rippin' us off. Don't consume the corperate BS. Save your money and buy something you actually need. Like more dice, pencils, paper and caffeine.

Ahh who am I kiddin'...see ya at the stores in july. (I'll be window shopping though.)

I've seen similiar attitudes on Wizard's boards as well - as well as more ticked as well (up to and including muttering about a lawsuit ), and I have to say, I just don't get it. This talk of "wrong" information, comparisons to car recalls etc - have people been completely unable to play 3e for the last two years due to the faulty nature of the three core books? My lurking at this site, particularly the story hour forum, would suggest to me that that's not the case.

As for the "Why print them? Why not just a pdf of the changes?" Why not print them? Hopefully they will put up some form of pdf with the run down of changes, but for those who are starting out, why shouldn't they be able to get books that contain the changes, rather than having to then download a file of modifications to their books?

Without any solid indication of what's being changed, I just can't see that there is anything to get worked up about (yet).

 

[Negative Zero]

something puzzles me. does everyone own copies of all three books? it certainly seems that way. when i started playing DnD, (which, admitedly, was not all that long ago) owning a DMG or MM as a player was decidedly taboo. there was one copy of both of those and only the DM had access to them. in the 6-7 years i've been playing, i've only ever owned the PHB. when someone else wanted to DM, the books got passed on to him. why does it seem like so many people own all three? what is it that i'm missing?

anyway, with respect to this idea of a web spplement: personally, i think that it'd be a heck of a lot simpler to browse a revised book than to flip through an outdated one, and then go check said supplement to see if there are any applicable changes. it's just more convenient.

~NegZ

 

[Zaruthustran]

something puzzles me. does everyone own copies of all three books?

Of course not. But this site attracts hardcore D&D gamers/DMs--the type of people that have all three core books (and probably all the class books).

-z

 

[Roman]

Negative Zero - a disproportionate number of DMs comes to these boards, so no wonder most of us own all three of the books.

Anyway, as far as price goes... Many people are comparing the price of one book to two movies, which means that movies cost about $15 in the USA. In my country, though, going to the cinema costs about $1 (or even less) and the books cost $40 (or even more) each, so as you can see that the cost of the three books is equal to 120 visits to the cinema for me... Also, the minimum wage in my country is less than $100 per month and the average wage is less than $200 dollars per month (Ok, I do not make the average wage, but still...). Let us for the moment assume that the average wage in the USA is $2,000 per month, so for a player in my country the relative cost of the three books is the equivalent of spending $1,200 on them in the US. Now, some people are willing to spend that kind of money on it, but most will think about it twice to say the least. Sure, if WotC is only interested in the US market, this makes sense for them, but let them not be surprised if they loose foreign markets to much cheaper local RPGs. Now this price tag is not going to stop me from buying the books (if they are good and if they do not make miniatures essential), but it may well stop many. Some of those will stick with their old books and some will move to other RPGs.