Biggest Problem With 5E

[vhfforever]

And it's a huge one, one I can barely get over...

...it's how the texture on the cover changes with the artwork. From standard to the glossy smooth, just like the old V:tR books did with their blood drops. The tactile sensation is enough to really throw me when I'm sitting there reading them. :)

[warmachine]

What bugs me is that the textures must cost more to print but D&D doesn't need that. Trashy novels need such gimmicks to stand out but D&D just needs good artwork and its name.

[Heartspan]

I thought the books were rather nice :P everything seemed easy to find and had nice art, so i don't really think those textures matter that much overall

[Aron Times]

At least it's not pleather. :belkar::vaarsuvius:

[Tenmujiin]

I thought the books were rather nice :P everything seemed easy to find...

You can't say that the spells section is easy to use though.

Try finding all of the wizard's evocation and abjuration spells and easily referencing them for your eldritch knight, if that took you less than an hour go help your arcane trickster friend reference his illusion and enchantment spells, also the wizard wants help working out which of his spells are part of his specialised school. Oh and the death cleric wanted help with determining which spells fall under necromancy. Was move earth available to wizards? how about sorcerers? Druids? (bet you can't answer that last one without checking at least 3 different pages)


i don't really think those textures matter that much overall

Even though you don't 'think those textures matter that much overall' they are still a negative for many people (myself included although I don't care that much, just a little bit) AND would have cost WotC extra to have implemented.

[Z3ro]

I actually liked the different textures. Made the book feel classy.

[Yorrin]

Try finding all of the wizard's evocation and abjuration spells and easily referencing them for your eldritch knight, if that took you less than an hour go help your arcane trickster friend reference his illusion and enchantment spells, also the wizard wants help working out which of his spells are part of his specialised school. Oh and the death cleric wanted help with determining which spells fall under necromancy. Was move earth available to wizards? how about sorcerers? Druids? (bet you can't answer that last one without checking at least 3 different pages)

spell list sortable by class and school (http://mouseferatu.com/index.php/news/august-8-2014-a-special-gift-for-my-fellow-dd-fans/)

[pwykersotz]

spell list sortable by class and school (http://mouseferatu.com/index.php/news/august-8-2014-a-special-gift-for-my-fellow-dd-fans/)

Which is nice, but the book doesn't help with that. Sadly.

[Soular]

Having grown up with Elmore, Caldwell, Easley, Parkinson et al., it's hard for me to really get into the artwork.

The new art is good, but it can not compare to how the "masters" paintings really drew you in and set the tone.

That's about my only gripe after the piss-poor editing job.

[DDogwood]

What bugs me is that the textures must cost more to print but D&D doesn't need that. Trashy novels need such gimmicks to stand out but D&D just needs good artwork and its name.

I'm not an expert in this by any means, but I don't think that the varnish on the 5e books would be any more expensive than the spot varnish they used on the 4e books. Printing the books in full colour is probably a much bigger cost issue.

That said, I think production values are a really big deal for RPGs. Let's face it, there are tons of great games out there, available for free or for very little. It's also ridiculously easy to pirate books, leaving the ethical problems aside - so having a nice-looking physical product is one of the best ways to ensure that people will actually shell out the money to support the game.

[Scirocco]

I'm not a fan either, it was definitely a surprise when I unpacked the book.

[archaeo]

Which is nice, but the book doesn't help with that. Sadly.

I don't think this is an unfair point, but honestly, why should 5e spend its precious real page count on things that can be better handled with electronic aids?

[TheDeadlyShoe]

Well, it would have made a better all-in-one reference, for one thing. But eh, I'm sure they were aware of this - the evil necessity of balancing page count and content claims another victim.

[Kerleth]

When it comes to presentation issues, I have the mother of all gripes. The pages of my phb are all ready falling out of the book!!!!!11!!!!! *screams in impotent rage*

Seriously though, I have 3rd edition, not 3.5 but 3.0 books that have been put through the ringer and are still good to go. I LOVE 5th edition, but the fact that their core book is falling apart may be the deciding factor when I'm on the fence about buying later products. Also, I'm waiting to see if some of their indexing issues are solved. I can see a couple arguments for not putting each class in a spell's description, or not putting short descriptions of a spell after the name in the lists. But no Monster by CR was a pretty big dunderheaded move, and it will be mildly annoying to have to flip through the DMG to check it.

They have my money for the core 3 and tyranny of dragons. After that, I'm leaning towards a nope honestly. Really love the game, but my money is limited, as is my patience for inferior products. *stupid phb binding grumble grumble

[TheDeadlyShoe]

You should photograph it and send in a complaint. Maybe they will replace it. (I have no knowledge of any precedent either way on this.)

[MaxWilson]

When it comes to presentation issues, I have the mother of all gripes. The pages of my phb are all ready falling out of the book!!!!!11!!!!! *screams in impotent rage*

Seriously though, I have 3rd edition, not 3.5 but 3.0 books that have been put through the ringer and are still good to go. I LOVE 5th edition, but the fact that their core book is falling apart may be the deciding factor when I'm on the fence about buying later products. Also, I'm waiting to see if some of their indexing issues are solved. I can see a couple arguments for not putting each class in a spell's description, or not putting short descriptions of a spell after the name in the lists. But no Monster by CR was a pretty big dunderheaded move, and it will be mildly annoying to have to flip through the DMG to check it.

They have my money for the core 3 and tyranny of dragons. After that, I'm leaning towards a nope honestly. Really love the game, but my money is limited, as is my patience for inferior products. *stupid phb binding grumble grumble

For whatever it's worth:

1.) Gaming companies often go out of their way to make amends for problems like this if you contact them to report it.
2.) My PHB is not falling apart, so if they replace it to make amends you can have some confidence that the new one won't fall apart like the old one did.

HTH,
Max

[MadBear]

I can't tell if the everyone on the thread is serious or joking...... however, if we're to the point that this is the thing to gripe about, then I think we can call 5th edition a success.

[pwykersotz]

I don't think this is an unfair point, but honestly, why should 5e spend its precious real page count on things that can be better handled with electronic aids?

Yeah, I don't exactly have a better way than what they did given their criteria. It's easy to nitpick, difficult to come up with better ideas.

[Stella]

I thought the books were rather nice.
They look nice, but my God, the price! I haven't seen the inside of one yet due to this. A friend has the PHB and I hope to meet up with him soon to check it out. And of course I've DLed the free content so I have at least a vague idea of what things look like in basic.

[Slipperychicken]

1.) Gaming companies often go out of their way to make amends for problems like this if you contact them to report it.

All kinds of companies do this. Giving refunds, credit, or exchanges for defective products is basic customer service. Your satisfaction is valuable to them, since it impacts both their reputation and bottom line.

If a customer walks away from a transaction unhappy, and proceeds to tell his friends (or strangers on the internet, in this case) about how much Hasbro sucks for selling him that crummy book, that can have an impact. It means that both he and his friends are less likely to buy as much stuff, and that news can spread even further to hurt sales. But if that customer instead goes back to Hasbro and returns it, and then gets a refund (like store credit or a free replacement book) he won't be as disgruntled, and probably won't complain as much.

[MaxWilson]

I can't tell if the everyone on the thread is serious or joking...... however, if we're to the point that this is the thing to gripe about, then I think we can call 5th edition a success.

I don't know about everyone, but it is my impression that the OP was speaking in irony.

[Yagyujubei]

thats minor compared to the binding issues that many have experienced. I've had my book for just over 2 months and the binding is already coming out. it's likely the pages will be completely loose in another month or two.

for shame wizards, for shame.

[yorkshiredave]

I like the covers, my biggest gripe is with the vicious cropping much of the excellent artwork has been forced to take. It would have been much better in many cases if the artwork had been commissioned to fit the available space. Far too many legless monsters and others cut almost in two.

I also received a PHB which fell apart within two weeks but the supplier made no fuss when I asked for a replacement, they didn't even want it back.