Quote Originally Posted by OldTrees1 View Post
Good example.

I think it makes sense for the NPC details to be located in one place rather than repeated each time the NPC comes up, however the information should be consolidated and page numbers provided. Even then, some information (for example the NPC's motivational context related to the encounter) it might be possible to give a summary on the encounter page.

This is also why, when I GM, I rarely use spells outside the big spell books (PHB or some kind of Spell Compendium) unless I am using an online compendium.

D&D expects the GM to occasionally access each book. Improving that user experience would be ideal.
Aye. There's no one size fit all for the perfect formatting just like there's no one size fits all for dming/game style but any attempt to help out the fledgling DM would be greatly appreciated.
Magic currently coaching somebody who is brand new to not only DMing but the genre in general. You can physically see the stress drain from their face when you hand them index cards with quick references for NPCs on them so they can stick them in the pages or one with an actual graph of success chances with a given DCS for abilities checks.