Having been corrupted by D&D's "3 rulebook" approach, I feel it to be sensible to go for the 2 books approach: both a "player facing" book and a "GM facing" book.
Having run Thousand Suns, although it's been awhile, just my opinion but honestly it's more about page count. It's mostly about ease of use and the ability to quickly find what I need. Off the cuff, I'd say up to around 300 pages is perfectly fine in one volume, 400+ pages definitely two volumes, and 300-400 is a gray area that's probably better determined by whether there are enough other advantages to two volumes to go that route.
Of course, the AD&D manuals are hardcover, so I thought I’d see how long they and a few other handy games were. These numbers include the covers themselves.
AD&D 1e: DMG (240 pp), PHB (130 pp), MM (112 pp), total 482 pages
Bushido (FGU box set): book 1 (84 pp), book 2 (52 pp), add in another dozen pages or so for the map and random encounter and reference guide foldouts, so around 148 pages
Stormbringer (Games Workshop hardcover): 236 pages, but only 132 are the original rules; the rest comprise the companion and seven additional adventures
Empire of the Petal Throne (Tita’s House of Games spiral-bound): 112 pages, plus the pull-out map of Jakálla
So, was AD&D a bad influence? It’s often been noted on this blog how users would commonly ignore rules (grappling, weapon speed, …), not to mention organizational issues like the DMG including rules needed for character creation. But why are modern game books so long?
If you are a new game, hoping people will try you, I would suggest one book. If you can't fit everything you would like in, a companion is a possibility. Needing several purchases to play only works if people are sure they want to play you.
Having been corrupted by D&D's "3 rulebook" approach, I feel it to be sensible to go for the 2 books approach: both a "player facing" book and a "GM facing" book.
ReplyDeleteHaving run Thousand Suns, although it's been awhile, just my opinion but honestly it's more about page count. It's mostly about ease of use and the ability to quickly find what I need. Off the cuff, I'd say up to around 300 pages is perfectly fine in one volume, 400+ pages definitely two volumes, and 300-400 is a gray area that's probably better determined by whether there are enough other advantages to two volumes to go that route.
ReplyDeleteagree on size guidance. (disclosure, I own lots of books, but no thousand suns)
DeleteI am amazed by those page counts. Are modern RPG books commonly that long? Classic Traveller made do with three digest-sized books of 52 pages apiece.
Deleteyes they are, and modules are now hardcover, and 1000 pages is common
DeleteOf course, the AD&D manuals are hardcover, so I thought I’d see how long they and a few other handy games were. These numbers include the covers themselves.
DeleteAD&D 1e: DMG (240 pp), PHB (130 pp), MM (112 pp), total 482 pages
Bushido (FGU box set): book 1 (84 pp), book 2 (52 pp), add in another dozen pages or so for the map and random encounter and reference guide foldouts, so around 148 pages
Stormbringer (Games Workshop hardcover): 236 pages, but only 132 are the original rules; the rest comprise the companion and seven additional adventures
Empire of the Petal Throne (Tita’s House of Games spiral-bound): 112 pages, plus the pull-out map of Jakálla
So, was AD&D a bad influence? It’s often been noted on this blog how users would commonly ignore rules (grappling, weapon speed, …), not to mention organizational issues like the DMG including rules needed for character creation. But why are modern game books so long?
Three books? You left out the Monster Manual.
ReplyDeleteFour books? What about Deities and Demi... ok, I'm going, I'm going.
DeleteIf you are a new game, hoping people will try you, I would suggest one book. If you can't fit everything you would like in, a companion is a possibility. Needing several purchases to play only works if people are sure they want to play you.
ReplyDelete