why did WoTC never make a Equiptment Compendium

[oxinabox]

Really with the popularity of the Spell, and Magic item Compendium.
Youy'ld think the logical thing to do would be to make a single book that conains all the weapons and armour and mundane equiptment from all the source books.

(more like Spell Compendium, than MiC)
Could have been tied in with upgrading the A&E guide to 3.5

I think a Equiptment compedulum would be really handy.
So I'm statting out a Two weapon fighter,
and I'm thinkng I wouldn't mind doing 1d10/1d10.
Might get bastard sword proficency and Oversized TWF.
hmm, there goes 2 more of my feats, and i'm already down 3/4 from TWF,
I wonder if there is an exotic double weopon that does 1d10/1d10?
Hmm not one in complete warrior...
Hour later I found by accidenbt that were was one in a sidebard in EPH.



sure there is crystal keep, butthe legalisty of htat is querstionable, and it doesn't have pretty piuctures or nice decription

[Aron Times]

In before Magic Item Compendium.

[Foryn Gilnith]

Not enough stuff. You'd get a little pamphlet compared to some of the other books. I think it would sell well, although the point is moot.

[Edge]

In before Magic Item Compendium.

The OP isn't talking about magic items, but mundane weapons and equipment.

In response to the original question, I assume it either never occurred to them, or wasn't considered important enough. To be honest, magic enhancements soon begin to outdo basic mundane equipment, so it's scope of usefulness in a game would favour lower levels, I guess...

[Kylarra]

3.0 had the Arms and Equipment Guide, which isn't quite the same as this, but essentially you'd have a lot less varied types between mundanes. Your choices would pretty much be "what abilities do I want?" and then choice of materials to in addition to that. The majority of exotic mundane weapons while flavorful are pretty much strictly weaker than their more common counterparts, whereas with magic items, you've got all sorts of utility options.

[Magnor Criol]

Not enough stuff. You'd get a little pamphlet compared to some of the other books. I think it would sell well, although the point is moot.

This. There's really just not that much out there. There's what you see in the PHB, and what you find in the A&E guide, but beyond that, if you combine all the weapons in all the splatbooks you'd come up with just a couple handfuls of exotic weaponry, and barely a palmful of martial weapons.

Even when you pull in all of these, write fluff descriptions for each one, do the same with the armors and shields, and then add a chapter for special materials...it's still going to be a very small book.

[oxinabox]

3.0 had the Arms and Equipment Guide, which isn't quite the same as this, but essentially you'd have a lot less varied types between mundanes. Your choices would pretty much be "what abilities do I want?" and then choice of materials to in addition to that. The majority of exotic mundane weapons while flavorful are pretty much strictly weaker than their more common counterparts, whereas with magic items, you've got all sorts of utility options.

I was thinking it could have been tied in with upgrading the A&E guide to 3.5 (it is technically 3.0, IIRC)

That would brink it's toalt size up toi book worthy,

Sure while magic items are more usefull and interesting you can put them on to mundane equiptment.

I think i would be great.
Like having all thje armours/weapons from frostburn, stormwrack, CompWar, PhB, in one place.

[Fiendish_Dire_Moose]

An equpiment compendium would either be a gigantic reprinting of the seventeen thousand books I already have and fail to sell (I will kill you Rules Compendium*), or it would be an over priced pamphlet no one would buy.
Seriously though, all the best weapons are easy to find because you know where they are. Most non PHB weapons are copy pastes anyway. Seriously, the broad bladed weapons? Does the joke ever die?


*Seriously, my DM was (in my opinion) dumb enough to buy it.

[KillianHawkeye]

*Seriously, my DM was (in my opinion) dumb enough to buy it.

Actually, I found that Rules Compendium was quite an interesting book and very useful for quickly looking stuff up at the table. Different strokes for different folks, eh?

[Foryn Gilnith]

Rules Compendium doesn't have enough rules. >_<
Equipment Compendium would be fairly useful. Many of my characters skim through many, many books: Frostburn, RotD, Dungeonscape, Secrets of Sarlona, Waterdeep: City of Splendors, et cetera. But again, no release.

[Tyndmyr]

Rules Compendium doesn't have enough rules. >_<
Equipment Compendium would be fairly useful. Many of my characters skim through many, many books: Frostburn, RotD, Dungeonscape, Secrets of Sarlona, Waterdeep: City of Splendors, et cetera. But again, no release.

I agree, rules copendium fails not just because it's a summary of stuff people already have, but because it doesn't summarize enough. It's one of the more slender books, yet it's still labeled as costing twenty seven bucks.

An updated Arms and Equipment would only be worthwhile if they literally gleaned all the mundane gear from everywhere, including setting specific stuff. Otherwise, it'd be weak.

[Starbuck_II]

So what do we expect?
Alchemy items, weapons, armor, adventuring gear, mounts?, special materials, and what else?

I can only see 100 pages with all of that stuff.

[Zeta Kai]

I rather have had a Feat Compendium, thank you very much.

[Foryn Gilnith]

How large would that be? In truth, I suppose WotC could make more money splitting it up into installations; but they don't seem willing to release more 3e stuff. And before the announcement of 4e, having a compendium rush would raise suspicions or some nonsense.

[Raewyn]

I rather have had a Feat Compendium, thank you very much.

Seconded! I would so totally buy a copy.

[The Dark Fiddler]

"Misc Compendium"

A Compendium for things that couldn't fit in their own Compendiums.

[Curmudgeon]

There are enough uses of skills outside the Player's Handbook that I'd really like to have a Skill Compendium.

[oxinabox]

So what do we expect?
Alchemy items, weapons, armor, adventuring gear, mounts?, special materials, and what else?

I can only see 100 pages with all of that stuff.

Well, lets see:
Stromwrack: 5 pages (+8 more if you include vehicles)
Sandstorm: 10 pages
Dungeonscape: 13 pages
Frostburn: 5 pages (+1 special materials +1 vehicels)
A&E: 35 (+17 if you include vehicles (excluding mounts), additional +18 if you inculde mounts, additional +12 if you include hirling)
PHB: 22 pages (yes i would want the PHB all reprinted)

Comp Warrior: 6 pages (=1 Special materials)
Comp Adv: 12 pages
DMG: (+2 special materials)
DMG2: (+6 weapon templates)
BoVD: 10 pages
BoED: 6 pages
HoB: 3 pages
I don't have Complete Soudrel but i imagine there would be some there

counting everything including the stuff in brackests we're at 192


Plus maybe 1/4 page per additional book i'ld say this is reasonable, half the books won't have anything, but then if you include fluff text, and picture which the original books may not have had, it brigns it up.
I'm talkign things with noncrunch:
Citysacpes laws for weapons,
Epic Handbooks additional currencies (favours)
theres a fair bit in the Races of X books.

then there is a lot of stuff from settigns that is not setting depenedent.
wich i would also like to see.
(though this would require the disclaimer: "not all items are availabl3e in all setings, as always check with your dm as to weath this particular item is avaialble in your campaign)

I have no problem with stripping A&E to the bone, as it's not 3.5 content anyway.

could also have mopre detailed crafgting rules

[Fax Celestis]

Why not just a Metacompendium? One book, all the feats, mundane gear, and skills out of all the books?

[Sstoopidtallkid]

Why not just a Metacompendium? One book, all the feats, mundane gear, and skills out of all the books?

I've seen a torrent of that, though it also included all the classes, setting information, and races. And a fair bit of other information as well.

[Zeta Kai]

Seconded! I would so totally buy a copy.

The potentially best part of a Feat Compendium would be that some of those bad feats could be fixed. Toughness would be consumed by its better progeny, Improved Toughness. The "+2 to Skill X & Skill Y" feats could be boosted to +4 or +5. Weapon Focus & Weapon Specialization could be merged into a single feat that's worth it for a non-Fighter. And so on, & so forth, until all the feats are decent enough for anyone to take without being embarrassed.

I would so buy that book. WotC why don't you want my money? What's wrong with you guys?

[Volkov]

The same reason why EA doesn't put all the content of the sim's expansion packs in the first game. To make you buy more stuff to milk some extra cash.

[oxinabox]

The same reason why EA doesn't put all the content of the sim's expansion packs in the first game. To make you buy more stuff to milk some extra cash.

No, it's not like that.
Ity's more like, they've released, the 8 (idk really how many) sims expansion packs over 5 years.
then release a Pack edition containing all expansion, just before the stop making them.
Or like releasing a pack containing just the furniture of all of them.

you could use your argument for spells compeduim, - if it has all the spells from a stack of the splatbook (all but acouple) why would you buy the splatbooks?
Well
A) the splat books were going out of print,
B) theres more than just spells in the splatbooks
C) you've already got the splatbooks but don't want to have to search through a dozen of them to find the spell you're looking for

[ken-do-nim]

The OP isn't talking about magic items, but mundane weapons and equipment.

In response to the original question, I assume it either never occurred to them, or wasn't considered important enough. To be honest, magic enhancements soon begin to outdo basic mundane equipment, so it's scope of usefulness in a game would favour lower levels, I guess...

Yeah, 3.5 is just too high fantasy to have an entire book based on non-magical gadgets, even if they are pseudo-magic like alchemical. Personally, I'd love a lower magic d20 game where the equipment became more important. You'd probably want to reintroduce weapon vs armor type adjustments back into the system.

[Akal Saris]

I loved the 2E Arms & Armor book (I think that was the name?), so I'd also like to see an Equipment Compendium, especially one compiling all the poisons and alchemical inventions from all the books and magazines.

[bosssmiley]

Quick answer: because non-magical gear in WOTC D&D is utterly trumped by magical gear in terms of power and utility under the unstated-but-pervasive "Muggles can't have nice things" law. James Bond gadgets in D&D = minor magic items.

Also, conservation of detail applies: why bother statting a scuba suit in a game that already has potions of water-breathing?

[PlzBreakMyCmpAn]

"Misc Compendium"

A Compendium for things that couldn't fit in their own Compendiums.

How do we decide what qualifies? AHHHHHHH the paradox!

I would so buy that book. WotC why don't you want my money? What's wrong with you guys?

Because there is only 1 'version' of D&D and it just came out. Or didn't you hear? [/untroll]

[kjones]

Why not just a Metacompendium? One book, all the feats, mundane gear, and skills out of all the books?

I suggest The Compendium Of all Compendiums That Do Not Contain Themselves.

[bosssmiley]

I suggest The Compendium Of all Compendiums That Do Not Contain Themselves.

I hear Godel weeping.

[taltamir]

100 pages? Unless it is full of pictures and fluff it is gonna be 5 pages... although it would be nice if they made it as a pamphlet... free pdf download or sold it for CHEAP.