Post An6aAPHphQX19o4YWO by ludovic@chabant.social
 (DIR) More posts by ludovic@chabant.social
 (DIR) Post #An6aAPHphQX19o4YWO by ludovic@chabant.social
       2024-10-17T16:07:28Z
       
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       I backed the Ars Magic Definitive Edition crowdfunding, but the thing that gave me pause was the marketing around a “massive” and “expanded” rulebook. I don’t want massive #TTRPG rulebooks! Why is everybody making rulebooks bigger with every edition? Can’t we go back to <256 pages? https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/atlas-games/ars-magica-5th-edition-definitive
       
 (DIR) Post #An6aAQDyDH2I47Gz8i by lextenebris@social.vivaldi.net
       2024-10-17T18:07:39Z
       
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       @ludovic The best edition of Ars Magica was second edition, which was relatively thin, straightforward, and straight to the point. No crazy elaboration.I think the reason that people keep making rulebooks bigger and bigger with every edition is that they aren't designing to a minimum viable standard. They want to cram in more art because people like art. They want to cram in more rules because some people really like rules, and rules mastery is how they demonstrate their fandom.They have forgotten an essential piece of information: they're writing a game. The game needs to be manageable and playable.At this point, my favorite game publications are 6x9 and run about 250 pages but have generously sized fonts and white space. It is the superior design layout languageI'm happy to accept 6x9 zines, which are 32 pages and do exactly what they say on the cover. I'll probably get more use out of them.Massive door stoppers are for display, and I own a lot of games which exist purely to show off my collection. Ars Magica: Definitive is going to be one of those books, but I don't expect ever to play out of it.#TTRPG #ArsMagica