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There's a thing in books called an "index"...
There's a thing in books called an "index"...
I'd consider it poor organization if you had to use the index every time you open the book.
I'm having flashbacks now to the core rule book for Exalted now... whoever organized that garbage is a degenerate who belongs on a cross.
I agree that if I, say, were to look for Aurochs or Bison stats, "Herd Animal" wouldn't be the first thing that popped into my head in terms of where in the book to look for them.
Mostly, though, the books make things relatively easy to find.
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There's a thing in books called an "index"...I'd consider it poor organization if you had to use the index every time you open the book.
I'm having flashbacks now to the core rule book for Exalted now... whoever organized that garbage is a degenerate who belongs on a cross.
I agree it would be poor organization if that WERE the case... but I really don't see any problem here at all. There's an purely alphabetical listing of monsters in the front of the book (Aurochs in A's and Bison in B's) that also includes the parenthetical, if there is one (herd animal), that will let you look at similar creatures next to eachother instead of hunding all over the book, such as the different types of Dragons.
So, in short, the Bestiary is both consistant and alphabetical, and I have no idea what this person is complaining about.
There's a thing in books called an "index"...I'd consider it poor organization if you had to use the index every time you open the book.
I'm having flashbacks now to the core rule book for Exalted now... whoever organized that garbage is a degenerate who belongs on a cross.
You really find it that hard to remember that the two types of dolphin are on the same page?
The only reason the types of monsters you list are grouped that way, is to save space. If you notice each of those you have listed only take up half of a page. To put them in “order” as you have suggested would not be a good business model if you are trying to save on printing costs. Also, as others have stated, there is a list in the front and back of the book to look up specific creatures.
You really find it that hard to remember that the two types of dolphin are on the same page?There's a thing in books called an "index"...I'd consider it poor organization if you had to use the index every time you open the book.
I'm having flashbacks now to the core rule book for Exalted now... whoever organized that garbage is a degenerate who belongs on a cross.
I really have no opinion on the organization of the bestiaries as I never use hard copy versions besides looking at the pretty pictures randomly. I was mostly replying to the idea that having an index solves illogical organization issues (which I have no opinion on whether or not the bestiaries have).
I dunno, that's kinda what an Index (or TOC) is for--navigation. The Bestiaries generally have such quality organization that they're unnecessary, is the problem, meaning that we aren't accustomed to ever needing them. So the few times it does come up, it becomes this whole big thing.
Fun Fact: Hippos are closer-related to whales and dolphins than to other land mammals.
I dunno, that's kinda what an Index (or TOC) is for--navigation. The Bestiaries generally have such quality organization that they're unnecessary, is the problem, meaning that we aren't accustomed to ever needing them. So the few times it does come up, it becomes this whole big thing.
Disregarding the quality of the organization in the bestiaries, which I have no opinion on, I see the first part of your quote as saying, "Well the car has airbags, that's what they're for. Why design to try to prevent the crash?" That shit should be a last resort >_<
...once again I'm saying all of this with Exalted's core rule book in mind, as opposed to any particular Paizo product. But I think the point still stands.
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The table of contents and index should be a last resort?
If you're opening a text book, glancing at my shelf, I see Surveying: Theory and Practice 7th Edition (a 1400 page book about Land Surveying). I need to look up the formulas for a circular curve, and I don't know the exact spot in the book; where do I find it out?
Opening the cover, I find the TOC on p.ix, and scrolling for a minute, on p.xxiv I see that Geometry of the Circular Curve is in chapter 16.5 and on p.847. Alternatively, I could have opened the rear cover to the Index, and in less than fifteen seconds, I find the entry for Circular Curves, 844-848.
Both methods help me isolate content within the volume, and, as demonstrated, are first resorts to locating the information in lieu of a search box or searchable pdf.
The table of contents and index should be a last resort?
. . .
Both methods help me isolate content within the volume, and, as demonstrated, are first resorts to locating the information in lieu of a search box or searchable pdf.
Agreed. I am starting to wonder if its the fact that the individual favors the almost immediate gratification of having electronics do the work for her/him rather than spend some extra seconds reading something s/he didn't intend to read.
Which in turn activates my inner old man on a porch, voiced by Waldorf and Statler, descrying the potential loss of literacy and patience (which is really odd now that I think about it... Waldorf and Statler just mocked things... every things... any things...).
To chaoseffect: White Wolf just had wretched editing across multiple game lines. There were times when the table of contents and the index were bad (if they even had an index, which was more likely it was just a few words pretending to be an index...).
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I like how it's organized. All the dragons should be in the same area, not sorted by the first letter of their color.
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My only complaint with the bestiaries is something that happens occasionally with the variants.
I flipped through one of the bestiaries going crazy trying to find a 'Skaveling' as it showed up on the list of undead at the back.
On a later look through I found it under the bat entry. Since its an undead bat.
Just a minor problem though.
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My minor complaints aside, I want to reaffirm that I have a deep and abiding appreciation for Paizo's organizational skills, the fact their indices actually reference the right locations, their table of contents are accurate and so on.
This may sound like damning by faint praise, but anybody who's ever had to muddle through FASA books of yesteryear (and notice that FASA of yesteryear is gone), know the nightmare of poor organization in rules books.
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They group dolphins and orcas
I remember in the days of the Yellow Pages, that bars were listed under taverns.
Dude, your head would have exploded.