Geoffrey wrote:I strongly support the idea of the entire rules being in a 64-page book.
I agree, but wonder how well it can be done.
Consider, if you will, the 1974
OD&D plus
Greyhawk supplement (I'm assuming that the added stuff would be roughly equivalent in scope to that of Supplement I):
- Men & Magic = 36 pages
- Monsters & Treasure = 40 pages
- Underworld & Wilderness Adventues = 36 pages
- Greyhawk = 68 pages
Keeping in mind that two "pages" of the little books is roughly one standard page (for a regular 8.5"x11" rulebook), so the three original books (no thieves) cover roughly 56 standard pages and the three original books plus Greyhawk cover roughly 90 standard pages. This all covers character creation, spells, monsters, magical items, and wilderness campaign information. Everything one might need to play!
Castles & Crusades, another "3E lite" game with similar philosophy, is even wordier:
- Player's Handbook = 128 pages
- Monsters & Treasure = 128 pages
That's 256 pages, total. I think some of the "flavor" could be taken out of
C&C to conserve space, but it's not like the books are just filled to the brim with artwork.
As another example, Matt Finch's
Swords & Wizardry (Core version with thieves, etc) weighs in at 82 pages, at least for the PDF version I have.
OSRIC (an AD&D "clone") is a whopping 400 pages!
I think that 64 pages would be a tough volume to write.
(1) The OD&D books are pretty high-density in rules. An author would have to be pretty tight with word count. Not impossible, but a worthy task indeed.
(2) Each DCC spell is supposed to have its own effects chart. That in itself will consume quite a bit of space.
Just my two cents.
Marv / Finarvyn
DCC Minister of Propaganda; Deputized 6/8/11 (over 11 years of SPAM bustin'!)
DCC RPG playtester 2011, DCC Lankhmar trivia contest winner 2015;
OD&D player since 1975
"The worthy GM never purposely kills players' PCs, He presents opportunities for the rash and unthinking players to do that all on their own."
-- Gary Gygax
"Don't ask me what you need to hit. Just roll the die and I will let you know!"
-- Dave Arneson
"Misinterpreting the rules is a shared memory for many of us"
-- Joseph Goodman