Olaf the Stout
Hero
Would I buy a new PHB every year? No.
Would I buy one every few years? Maybe. It would depend on how many things were changed.
Would I buy one every few years? Maybe. It would depend on how many things were changed.
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D&D 5E Would you buy an updated PHB every year?
- Thread starter Li Shenron
- Start date
Mercule
Adventurer
Not a prayer -- even at gunpoint. I've bought the PHB. Why would I need another, barring spilled pop or some other destructive event?
Personally, when someone says/writes "errata", I get an echo that says, "I do not think that word means what you think it means."
Errata aren't changes to the rules. They're corrections of typos, missing words, etc. Things an editor should have caught, but didn't. If you wanted to play fast and loose with the term, you could use it to refer to a clarification of the original intent that was poorly worded in the published work, but that's stretching it (I'd put it in a FAQ).
When you start changing things, whether it's a "broken" rule or something else, that's no longer errata. That's stuff that goes into a Dragon article or an Unearthed Arcana or PHB2 type book as an optional rule (even if it's very strongly encouraged).
My 5E PHB should last me just as long as my 1E PHB has -- which is to say as long as I want to play the edition of rules it covers. That's beyond the printing of the 6E PHB, whenever that comes. The 5E PHB contains the rules of 5E play now and forever -- the end.
True errata can be added into later printings of the PHB. Including anything beyond that is what goes into a new edition. Seriously, I cannot fathom how that isn't self-evident.
When they "fixed" the Polymorph spell in 3.5E, I tuned out. That single act showed a complete lack of professionalism from WotC. It looks like they have their heads on straight with 5E. I've really been enjoying it and expect to restock my shelf with new material. If they even twitch in the direction of rules-changing "errata", though, I'm outta here. By November, I'll have everything I need for a complete system.
Personally, when someone says/writes "errata", I get an echo that says, "I do not think that word means what you think it means."
Errata aren't changes to the rules. They're corrections of typos, missing words, etc. Things an editor should have caught, but didn't. If you wanted to play fast and loose with the term, you could use it to refer to a clarification of the original intent that was poorly worded in the published work, but that's stretching it (I'd put it in a FAQ).
When you start changing things, whether it's a "broken" rule or something else, that's no longer errata. That's stuff that goes into a Dragon article or an Unearthed Arcana or PHB2 type book as an optional rule (even if it's very strongly encouraged).
My 5E PHB should last me just as long as my 1E PHB has -- which is to say as long as I want to play the edition of rules it covers. That's beyond the printing of the 6E PHB, whenever that comes. The 5E PHB contains the rules of 5E play now and forever -- the end.
True errata can be added into later printings of the PHB. Including anything beyond that is what goes into a new edition. Seriously, I cannot fathom how that isn't self-evident.
When they "fixed" the Polymorph spell in 3.5E, I tuned out. That single act showed a complete lack of professionalism from WotC. It looks like they have their heads on straight with 5E. I've really been enjoying it and expect to restock my shelf with new material. If they even twitch in the direction of rules-changing "errata", though, I'm outta here. By November, I'll have everything I need for a complete system.
