As per Mearls latest Legends & Lore column (http://www.wizards.com/dnd/Article.aspx?x=dnd/4ll/20140714), they decided to just up the page count rather than trim story material, stat blocks or entire monster entries (including modrons, who were on the cut list)
So that's what? 330 pages at $50 MSRP?
Sounds fair to me.
Good on them. That is really nice of them to do that.
Quote from: Sacrosanct;768795So that's what? 330 pages at $50 MSRP?
Sounds fair to me.
352 pages.
Can't have too many monsters.
I wonder which critters were "on the bubble."
At this stage of production, I'm not really sure I believe this. It looks like a bit of a cheap publicity stunt. Outside of stupid edge cases, I don't measure the value of my books by pagecount, so more stuff is... neat, I guess? I thought it was worth buying before; this won't change my mind.
I mean, I think it's a nice lie, so I'm not really going to complain too hard, but still a lie.
WoTC being owned by HASBRO means they have some serious financial people working for them. There is no way in hell they just woke up one morning and said, "Hey, why not add 32 pages because we're swell guys and we'll hope it doesn't damage our bottom line too much". They would have had this sussed out months ago. So I'm afraid I think Mearl's off the cuff announcement is 100% marketing.
Quote from: Stainless;768845WoTC being owned by HASBRO means they have some serious financial people working for them. There is no way in hell they just woke up one morning and said, "Hey, why not add 32 pages because we're swell guys and we'll hope it doesn't damage our bottom line too much". They would have had this sussed out months ago. So I'm afraid I think Mearl's off the cuff announcement is 100% marketing.
I think its more likely Mearls built some leeway into his cost to print. 32 pages should not drastically up the cost. At $50 the chance to overrun might have been built in.
It could also be the sales of the Starter Set were good enough that they could go with Plan B.
Quote from: CRKrueger;768855It could also be the sales of the Starter Set were good enough that they could go with Plan B.
This and they seem to be devoting more then a page to each monster.
Both 2e & 4e suffered from skimpy Monstrous Compendium/Manual at launch. Nice to see 5e tending toward a hearty selection of critters.
Quote from: Saplatt;768807I wonder which critters were "on the bubble."
Modrons at least we know. Which I'm happy they are in. Makes Planscape gaming easier.
Cheese and rice people you KNOW in your heart of hearts that Mearls (I've come to know him now as Master Mearls, but I digress...) is sincerely giving you 32 more unplanned pages from the graces of his wonderful amazing beautiful heart. Because he loves you. Why can't you just take his love unconditionally?!?!?!?
Poopie Jerk Heads!
#MearlsIsPeopleToo #feelings #DnDHeartsYou
On a side note, more monsters IS better regardless of how we came about the extra pages. Of course it's a marketing ploy, but some of us like to forget there is no Santa Clause until AFTER CHRISTMAS YOU SPOILING HEARTLESS FREAKS. *ahem*
#SantaLovesYouToo #hugs
Quote from: CRKrueger;768855It could also be the sales of the Starter Set were good enough that they could go with Plan B.
Maybe? Considering that the starter only goes into general release tomorrow .........
My FLGS did sell out on July 3rd though. If I hadn't pre-ordered when I went in to pick it up after work it would have been sold out.
At least you can't go wrong marketing wise by over delivering. More monsters is a good thing. :)
Color me slightly more interested. The 5e MM is the only book I am taking a shine to at this moment. If if is done well, it could be the ultimate D&D monster book. Cool art, easy to read, differentiated stats and combat abilities, plus background/ecology.
Due to a mishap with my wallet and a cancelled debit card, I am pleased to announce that my early ordered Starter Set order has been cancelled. I purchased it before it was known to be mostly cripple wear.
Yahoo!
Quote from: Teazia;769004I purchased it before it was known to be mostly cripple wear.
What? Not known to me. I have it, works fine for five levels. With Basic D&D can keep going.
Quote from: Kravell;769234What? Not known to me. I have it, works fine for five levels. With Basic D&D can keep going.
Yeah, I don't see how it's crippleware at all. I was surprised at the amount of content in it.
Yeah the crippleware tag on the starter set is BS, and this is coming from someone who was initially pissed off by the leaked outline of what it would contain. By page count, the starter set is really just a huge module and a set of pregens you can use in it if you want. When you add in the basic material posted for free, it is a complete game.
Quote from: Larsdangly;769246Yeah the crippleware tag on the starter set is BS, and this is coming from someone who was initially pissed off by the leaked outline of what it would contain. By page count, the starter set is really just a huge module and a set of pregens you can use in it if you want. When you add in the basic material posted for free, it is a complete game.
It also contains a rules booklet that isn't cluttered up with character creation and other stuff, which looks like a handy reference at the table without having to thumb through a big book. Putting the conditions on the back page for quick reference was a nice touch.
Quote from: Larsdangly;769246Yeah the crippleware tag on the starter set is BS, and this is coming from someone who was initially pissed off by the leaked outline of what it would contain. By page count, the starter set is really just a huge module and a set of pregens you can use in it if you want. When you add in the basic material posted for free, it is a complete game.
Yup.
Quote from: Larsdangly;769246Yeah the crippleware tag on the starter set is BS, and this is coming from someone who was initially pissed off by the leaked outline of what it would contain. By page count, the starter set is really just a huge module and a set of pregens you can use in it if you want. When you add in the basic material posted for free, it is a complete game.
For 12.60 USD no less. Even I could have afforded that if I was interested in it. And it seems they're going to do a second print run no less. I'm saving my money for the big 3 books.
After holding the #1 spot for RPGs for several weeks on Amazon, the Starter Set has finally fallen to #2.
Behind the 5e PHB at #1.