One thing I found interesting is that Paizo has chosen to take the magic items out of their own section in the back of the book, and instead include statistics on the magic items when they first appear, and I'm curious as to what other people think of this change.
I mean, I'm ambivalent about it. While it is very convenient to have all the magic items in the back of the book in one easy-to-find section, I also have to admit having the stats for new magic items right when they appear can be handy - especially when you're dealing with the item in a combat or the like.
My one concern is if the number of pages for the adventure itself has been reduced as a result. I'd much rather have fewer pages of the serial fiction (or no pages of it and more maps, including maps for random encounters) than to lose pages of the module itself due to descriptions of the adventure appearing in the main part of the book. (Mind you, I've not bothered counting pages to compare the two. And it may very well change from book to book so...)
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I like to have stats where ever the new _____ is mentioned. That means less page flipping. The page count should be the same, since they are just moving the information to another page.
I do not have the book, so I am assuming all that did was move the words to a different page.
I like the new layout and agree that the fan fiction nonsense should be dropped altogether, they are dead pages that I flip passed on my way to the new monsters.
I hadn't even noticed that the adventure page count had dropped, the adventure did not seem any shorter as I read through it.
I don't know if the adventure page count is "lower" (in theory they could have expanded the AP by the two pages removed for new magic items). Though I also have to wonder if the number of magic items has declined as a result. ;) Not that this is a bad thing, mind you. Given the expense of making magic items and the inability to create economies of scale, magic items are some of the most commonly rare items in the Pathfinder multiverse.
(Though at least it isn't as theoretically disturbing as magic items in the Elder Scrolls universe... which runs off of soul essence. And constantly needs new souls to keep operating. And hey... apparently animals have souls as do monsters...)
Page-flipping remains an issue, though, as you have to flip BACK to that page in question should there be more than one of that magic item, someone decides to us it (which means keeping notes on where to find the magic item), or even if you're just a GM who enjoys flipping to the magic item section to see if there's anything you want to yoink and add to your own campaign! ;)
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Page-flipping remains an issue, though, as you have to flip BACK to that page in question should there be more than one of that magic item, someone decides to us it (which means keeping notes on where to find the magic item), or even if you're just a GM who enjoys flipping to the magic item section to see if there's anything you want to yoink and add to your own campaign! ;)
That leaves just one solution: print the magic items on every page! :P
I like it better the new way. I think the adventure has grown by the two pages, with the magic items spread out.
The other plus side is that they now don't need to be restricted to printing exactly 2 pages worth of magic items. If they need less, there's more space for adventure words. If they need more, they can do that too.
That is also true. And there are those who would say that is a good thing... and those who consider it a bad one.