Re: [Wargamer] At just 112 pages, DnD's next book is more of a booklet

On Wed, 16 Jul 2025 01:34:23 +0200, Kyonshi <gmkeros@gmail.com> wrote:

Ok, this is mostly one of those fluff articles that I sometimes skip
when finding stuff to post, but I find it notable for 2 reasons:
1. 112 pages is far from a booklet. The bloat of the books in the last
few decades didn't really help endear it to me, but I remember when 112
pages was a solid sourcebook.
2. the author does point out that the last few sourcebooks were thinner
though, and speculates what it means for WOTC as a whole. And despite my
misgivings about calling a 112 pages book a booklet, the company seems
to be affected by some structural rot that seems to make it likely that
they just can't produce as much as they want right now.

So I had to go back and check
(these are the sort of things I find fun to do ;-)

- Dungeons & Dragons: Men and Magic (1974, "white box")
       36pp. (Even if you include the first three books, it tops
              out at 120pp)
- Dungeons & Dragons Basic Rule Book (Holmes, 1977, "blue box"))
       46pp for the rulebook (just under 100p if you include
              the whole box set)
- Dungeons & Dragons Basic Rulebook (Moldavay, 1981, "red box")
       64pp for the rulebook (just over 100pp if you include
              the whole box set)
- Classic Dungeons & Dragons Game (1994, "black box")
      128pp, but that includes a 60pp adventure module
              embedded into the main booklet
- Dungeons & Dragons Rules Cyclopedia (1991, hardback)
      306pp (but ~60pp are dedicated to sourcebook material)
- Dungeon Master's Guide 1st Ed* (1977)
      244pp (but... it's Gygax. Succinct he was not ;-)
- Dungeon Master's Guide 2nd Ed (1988)
      194pp
- Dungeon Master's Guide 3rd Ed (2000)
      257pp
- Dungeon Master's Guide 4th Ed (2006)
      226pp
- Dungeons & Dragons Basic Game (2006)
      32pp for the "Dungeon Master Book" and another
      32pp for the "Advanced Rulebook"
- Dungeons & Dragons Essentials Starter Kit (2010, 4th Ed rules)
      32pp for "Players Book" and
      64pp for "Dungeon Masters Book"
- Dungeon Master's Guide 5th Ed (2014)
      322pp
- Dungeons & Dragons Essentials Kit (2019, 5th Ed rules)
      64pp for rulebook (and another 64pp for adventure)



112 pages doesn't really seem so skimpy in comparison. ;-)

None of which really proves anything, of course. Like I said, I was
just pulling this info for the heck of it. After all, you can have a
fun game with a single page of rules; you can have fun playing a game
with thousands of pages.**  D&D can fit into either category.

I'm really not opposed to a streamlining of the rules and I think
112pp is adequate for the purpose. More importantly -to me, at least-
is what PRICE they're selling this new version, and what their plans
are for the future. Because if they're selling it at the same price as
the current game, then yeah... that's a bit much. Also, I'd like to
hope that this streamlining means that they intend to support the game
with more supplemental material to make up for the deficit.

But just the simple page-count by itself isn't enough of a red-flag
for me to condemn the game.










* of course, this is just 1/3rd of the total package, as it doesn't
include the Players Handbook or Monster Manuals. A lot of the material
in the PHB is a repeat of what is said in the DMG, though (and, at
least in 1st Ed, pretty much all the monster stats are included in the
DMG too)

**shout-out to all you Advanced Squad Leader fans ;-)