Maybe I’m wrong, but I expect a company like WotC to be able to catch stuff like this in time for their deadline. This whole “print it now, fix it later” mentality of theirs just feels sloppy to me. For what they charge for these things… I dunno. Maybe it’s just me. 🤷♂️
They have to set a deadline pretty far in advance, to coordinate with the board game and WizKids minis, which have to be finalized a year before release. And then they lock in the release date for the book with Amazon and distributors and book stores. They have an unforgiving publishing deadline. They can't delay things too long. When it's time to go to print then it's time and work has to stop, as they need to get several hundred thousand copies printed.
Plus, if you've ever edited anything in your life, you'd know there's always a mistake. You can edit a dozen times and still do an thirteenth pass and catch something that could be tweaked or tightened. Heck, sometimes the fans will find an error weeks or years after a book has been released.
This may be an apples and oranges comparison, but to give my own anecdote: I work as a graduate student in a STEM field, a program which is defined by regularly writing and publishing academic-quality papers. Whenever I am authoring such an article, much like in one of these books there are several authors collaborating to put together the final product. We each take turns adding our own sections as well as proofreading the previously written parts of the work. So, there will be multiple people going over the body of work multiple times before submitting the paper for publication. Even after all of that checking, when external reviewers read our paper they will still manage to find small errors in our writing, things related to spelling or grammar that arguably should have been caught in our own review. Beyond that, although it is rare there are also times when such mistakes get past the journal reviewers and into the published article.
My point is that even with a rigorous review process utilizing different groups of people it is entirely possible for mistakes to still find their way into the final product, and the articles I have experience with are nowhere near as long as these modules
But we aren't looking at errors in grammar or spelling here. There is a big difference between Evocation and Enchantment or Divination and Illusion. Changing those schools has a significant impact on game play.
But we aren't looking at errors in grammar or spelling here. There is a big difference between Evocation and Enchantment or Divination and Illusion. Changing those schools has a significant impact on game play.
That mistake is fairly understandable as if you look at the original UA for the lunar sorcerer those schools were originally Evocation and Divination, respectively. They likely had it typed up based on the UA before the mechanical changes were applied and forgot to change it when they applied the other changes to the subclass made by the design team. A mistake is a mistake, and I am glad they caught it before too long, but these things are not the cornerstones of the module. Id say this is a mole hill, not a mountain
But we aren't looking at errors in grammar or spelling here. There is a big difference between Evocation and Enchantment or Divination and Illusion. Changing those schools has a significant impact on game play.
That mistake is fairly understandable as if you look at the original UA for the lunar sorcerer those schools were originally Evocation and Divination, respectively. They likely had it typed up based on the UA before the mechanical changes were applied and forgot to change it when they applied the other changes to the subclass made by the design team. A mistake is a mistake, and I am glad they caught it before too long, but these things are not the cornerstones of the module. Id say this is a mole hill, not a mountain
I guess that depends on which portions of the book are important to you. If you bought it for the player options then it is a more important cornerstone than the module. As with most things in life, it is all about perspective. Not all things hold the same value for all people. What is important to one, may not be important for anyone else.
But we aren't looking at errors in grammar or spelling here. There is a big difference between Evocation and Enchantment or Divination and Illusion. Changing those schools has a significant impact on game play.
That mistake is fairly understandable as if you look at the original UA for the lunar sorcerer those schools were originally Evocation and Divination, respectively. They likely had it typed up based on the UA before the mechanical changes were applied and forgot to change it when they applied the other changes to the subclass made by the design team. A mistake is a mistake, and I am glad they caught it before too long, but these things are not the cornerstones of the module. Id say this is a mole hill, not a mountain
I guess that depends on which portions of the book are important to you. If you bought it for the player options then it is a more important cornerstone than the module. As with most things in life, it is all about perspective. Not all things hold the same value for all people. What is important to one, may not be important for anyone else.
It isnt so much an issue of me viewing the subclass as being an unimportant part, but moreso me seeing the mistake they made as fairly small. Its not that I think the mistake will have no impact whatsoever, simply that its not something egregious and troublesome. Its not a mistake of such a magnitude that would warrant a recall of the published books, either. WotC recognized they made a few mistakes and are using the only channel currently available to correct it. Would it have been better if this was caught earlier? Absolutely, but mistakes dont really occur at our convenience, and once again I want to reiterate that mistakes can still occur even after what a writer believes was a completely thorough review.
For the Lunar Sorc change specifically, I cannot speak for everyone else, but without this errata article I would not have even noticed that not having Enchantment and Illusion was a mistake. If I looked back and compared the published version to the UA version, I would have just assumed that they chose not to change Evocation and Divination and would have been none the wiser.
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I've seen game books released that were so poorly written they were completely unusable and it took years for them to get errata if they ever actually did. A few typos and a couple places where the wrong word was used for the rules? That's frankly normal for a game book release, and the fact that WotC had day-one errata for it shows that they're relatively on the ball instead of us having to wait six months or a year before they actually get around to correcting anything.
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Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
Maybe I’m wrong, but I expect a company like WotC to be able to catch stuff like this in time for their deadline. This whole “print it now, fix it later” mentality of theirs just feels sloppy to me. For what they charge for these things… I dunno. Maybe it’s just me. 🤷♂️
"Ship now, patch later" has become increasingly typical for software in the last 20 or so years, but at least digital publications can be patched. What this says to me is that they're considering the idea of making access to the books completely digital at some point, and it could become a supscription service. My vision is such that print material isn't very accessible, so I haven't bought print books for 5e anyway, but if 6e goes to subscription, I'll switch to something that's at least available in PDF where I can zoom and use inverse contrast as necessary. Level Up: Advanced 5e tends to have tougher monsters anyway, and dpellcasters aren't locked into a single mental stat (Faust made a pact for knowledge, not charm, so why can't a warlock cast from INT?).
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"There might yet be a heaven, but it isn't going to be 'perfect', and we're going to have to build it ourselves." - Philhellenes, Science Saved My Soul
I remember seeing someone on another thread float the idea that now that WotC owns D&D Beyond as their official digital platform, they should release new books digitally first and then release print version later. This would give them the chance to catch any mistakes before sending the book to print. While I am someone who prefers print books, I would not be bothered by releasing to the digital crowd early, especially if it helps to avoid dissatisfaction with the first edition prints. Plus, I imagine this would work to WotC's favor as a way to make their digital releases more appealing to general audiences ("Buy digital and have the content accessible on day 1!"). People who want more content get the product as soon as possible (without having to add in time for actually printing and shipping things to stores), WotC get more time to correct their text/print/ship, and serious collectors who want better quality books get versions with fewer mistakes.
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I remember seeing someone on another thread float the idea that now that WotC owns D&D Beyond as their official digital platform, they should release new books digitally first and then release print version later. This would give them the chance to catch any mistakes before sending the book to print. While I am someone who prefers print books, I would not be bothered by releasing to the digital crowd early, especially if it helps to avoid dissatisfaction with the first edition prints. Plus, I imagine this would work to WotC's favor as a way to make their digital releases more appealing to general audiences ("Buy digital and have the content accessible on day 1!"). People who want more content get the product as soon as possible (without having to add in time for actually printing and shipping things to stores), WotC get more time to correct their text/print/ship, and serious collectors who want better quality books get versions with fewer mistakes.
As others on the thread you referenced point out, that would not work, unless the digital versions were released months and months and months early. Making sure you have enough material during the supply chain issues that are plaguing the printing industry takes time. Printing takes time. Preparing product to ship takes time. Actually getting the product where it needs to be prior to release takes time. And that is before you add in additional time for reviewing submitted errors, editing books, reformatting the typespace to make up for the edits, and generally preparing the books for printing again, because you could not do that until the final errata of the digital content was complete.
It is one of those things that sounds nice, right up until reality hits.
While I am someone who prefers print books, I would not be bothered by releasing to the digital crowd early, especially if it helps to avoid dissatisfaction with the first edition prints.
Same thing here. I mostly just buy the physical versions of books. But I, too, would be fine with that proposal as long as the digital versions of the books wouldn't be rushed out and the physical versions wouldn't be delayed.
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I remember seeing someone on another thread float the idea that now that WotC owns D&D Beyond as their official digital platform, they should release new books digitally first and then release print version later. This would give them the chance to catch any mistakes before sending the book to print. While I am someone who prefers print books, I would not be bothered by releasing to the digital crowd early, especially if it helps to avoid dissatisfaction with the first edition prints. Plus, I imagine this would work to WotC's favor as a way to make their digital releases more appealing to general audiences ("Buy digital and have the content accessible on day 1!"). People who want more content get the product as soon as possible (without having to add in time for actually printing and shipping things to stores), WotC get more time to correct their text/print/ship, and serious collectors who want better quality books get versions with fewer mistakes.
As others on the thread you referenced point out, that would not work, unless the digital versions were released months and months and months early. Making sure you have enough material during the supply chain issues that are plaguing the printing industry takes time. Printing takes time. Preparing product to ship takes time. Actually getting the product where it needs to be prior to release takes time. And that is before you add in additional time for reviewing submitted errors, editing books, reformatting the typespace to make up for the edits, and generally preparing the books for printing again, because you could not do that until the final errata of the digital content was complete.
It is one of those things that sounds nice, right up until reality hits.
Yeah, it would effectively amount to selling a digital beta version a minimum of six to eight months before the physical release so people could fine the errors, the errors could be reviewed, fixes could be implemented, and then the book could be printed and shipped.
Worrying but not at all surprising considering WotC's more recent offerings... I read through a section of one recently and found about 6 spelling errors in a single section.
I remember seeing someone on another thread float the idea that now that WotC owns D&D Beyond as their official digital platform, they should release new books digitally first and then release print version later. This would give them the chance to catch any mistakes before sending the book to print. While I am someone who prefers print books, I would not be bothered by releasing to the digital crowd early, especially if it helps to avoid dissatisfaction with the first edition prints. Plus, I imagine this would work to WotC's favor as a way to make their digital releases more appealing to general audiences ("Buy digital and have the content accessible on day 1!"). People who want more content get the product as soon as possible (without having to add in time for actually printing and shipping things to stores), WotC get more time to correct their text/print/ship, and serious collectors who want better quality books get versions with fewer mistakes.
As others on the thread you referenced point out, that would not work, unless the digital versions were released months and months and months early. Making sure you have enough material during the supply chain issues that are plaguing the printing industry takes time. Printing takes time. Preparing product to ship takes time. Actually getting the product where it needs to be prior to release takes time. And that is before you add in additional time for reviewing submitted errors, editing books, reformatting the typespace to make up for the edits, and generally preparing the books for printing again, because you could not do that until the final errata of the digital content was complete.
It is one of those things that sounds nice, right up until reality hits.
Yeah, it would effectively amount to selling a digital beta version a minimum of six to eight months before the physical release so people could fine the errors, the errors could be reviewed, fixes could be implemented, and then the book could be printed and shipped.
Smaller presses, with smaller editorial teams, I'm thinking particularly of Free League with its most recent Bladerunner, One Ring, and T2K Urban Operations, etc. actually do do this, and it's a slightly tighter timetable. In some ways I could see this easily implemented via WotC producing advanced copy as UA for pre-order backers (which is what Free League does).
That said, I'm sure typos still come through Free League's process and I don't find the present errata as a death knell but something common to pretty much every 5e release. If folks want to augur bad moons on the rise for WotC, there's plenty of other stuff to jump on.
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Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
I remember seeing someone on another thread float the idea that now that WotC owns D&D Beyond as their official digital platform, they should release new books digitally first and then release print version later. This would give them the chance to catch any mistakes before sending the book to print. While I am someone who prefers print books, I would not be bothered by releasing to the digital crowd early, especially if it helps to avoid dissatisfaction with the first edition prints. Plus, I imagine this would work to WotC's favor as a way to make their digital releases more appealing to general audiences ("Buy digital and have the content accessible on day 1!"). People who want more content get the product as soon as possible (without having to add in time for actually printing and shipping things to stores), WotC get more time to correct their text/print/ship, and serious collectors who want better quality books get versions with fewer mistakes.
As others on the thread you referenced point out, that would not work, unless the digital versions were released months and months and months early. Making sure you have enough material during the supply chain issues that are plaguing the printing industry takes time. Printing takes time. Preparing product to ship takes time. Actually getting the product where it needs to be prior to release takes time. And that is before you add in additional time for reviewing submitted errors, editing books, reformatting the typespace to make up for the edits, and generally preparing the books for printing again, because you could not do that until the final errata of the digital content was complete.
It is one of those things that sounds nice, right up until reality hits.
Yeah, it would effectively amount to selling a digital beta version a minimum of six to eight months before the physical release so people could fine the errors, the errors could be reviewed, fixes could be implemented, and then the book could be printed and shipped.
Smaller presses, with smaller editorial teams, I'm thinking particularly of Free League with its most recent Bladerunner, One Ring, and T2K Urban Operations, etc. actually do do this, and it's a slightly tighter timetable. In some ways I could see this easily implemented via WotC producing advanced copy as UA for pre-order backers (which is what Free League does).
Catalyst Game Labs did it about ten years ago but dropped it as unfeasible. These days they release the physical and PDF versions of their books together.
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Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
I remember seeing someone on another thread float the idea that now that WotC owns D&D Beyond as their official digital platform, they should release new books digitally first and then release print version later. This would give them the chance to catch any mistakes before sending the book to print. While I am someone who prefers print books, I would not be bothered by releasing to the digital crowd early, especially if it helps to avoid dissatisfaction with the first edition prints. Plus, I imagine this would work to WotC's favor as a way to make their digital releases more appealing to general audiences ("Buy digital and have the content accessible on day 1!"). People who want more content get the product as soon as possible (without having to add in time for actually printing and shipping things to stores), WotC get more time to correct their text/print/ship, and serious collectors who want better quality books get versions with fewer mistakes.
As others on the thread you referenced point out, that would not work, unless the digital versions were released months and months and months early. Making sure you have enough material during the supply chain issues that are plaguing the printing industry takes time. Printing takes time. Preparing product to ship takes time. Actually getting the product where it needs to be prior to release takes time. And that is before you add in additional time for reviewing submitted errors, editing books, reformatting the typespace to make up for the edits, and generally preparing the books for printing again, because you could not do that until the final errata of the digital content was complete.
It is one of those things that sounds nice, right up until reality hits.
Yeah, it would effectively amount to selling a digital beta version a minimum of six to eight months before the physical release so people could fine the errors, the errors could be reviewed, fixes could be implemented, and then the book could be printed and shipped.
Smaller presses, with smaller editorial teams, I'm thinking particularly of Free League with its most recent Bladerunner, One Ring, and T2K Urban Operations, etc. actually do do this, and it's a slightly tighter timetable. In some ways I could see this easily implemented via WotC producing advanced copy as UA for pre-order backers (which is what Free League does).
Catalyst Game Labs did it about ten years ago but dropped it as unfeasible. These days they release the physical and PDF versions of their books together.
That was ten years ago. Right now, Free League has it's first supplement for 2TK as well as miniatures skirmish game (a first for FL I think) going through the process. Over the summer Bladerunner both the core rules and starter set, and an Alien scenario went through a process. KS starters get a DriveThru link, and proofreading notes are posted on their community board. The DriveThru link goes through passes of updates, until you're informed of the final to the printer's version. I want to say the process is under six months before shipping, but I'm not sure because FL has some problems with distro centers to consumer delivery, though that's not related to editorial and printing.
I could see WotC doing something like via D&D Beyond (heck today we're getting the first digital release ahead of physical). It'd definitely help online engagement figures, which seem to matter to DDB and possibly One D&D's final digital products. That said, they'd have to invest a lot more than they currently do in community management, and I'm not seeing that, though I'm also not privy to the goings on of D&D HR. I feel WotC knows community is important, but I think they don't really have a good grip on how to leverage it.
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Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
Worrying but not at all surprising considering WotC's more recnet offerings... I read through a section of one recently and found about 6 spelling errors in a single section.
The most hilarious people are those who have no idea why everybody is laughing.
Oh; I'm sorry, I have slightly higher standards for a professionally produced book than a random forum post. Call me naive if you like.
While these mistakes should be avoided, I am willing to accept what we have which is fewer mistakes than other books and if it means fewer printings are necessary in future with the physical version, that's good also. However, complacency is a concern: at what point does the 'release now, patch it later' model get out of hand, and what will anyone do about it (if anything)? I'm already unimpressed with the general amount of content in official publications, so I'd rather they make up for it with extra care be taken with dealing with editing woes, and not just until they think people have forgotten what happened with Hadozee. Today's Wizards of the Coast can only seem to do one or the other, and neither particularly well.
I can forgive Dragonlance's editing mishaps because I'm mostly satisfied with the contents of the book I'll use, and the errors within are sillier than they are dire. What I'm dissatisfied with is books that are very light on content and have editing issues, especially the insensitivity that occurred in Spelljammer.
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Zero is the most important number in D&D: Session Zero sets the boundaries and the tone; Rule Zero dictates the Dungeon Master (DM) is the final arbiter; and Zero D&D is better than Bad D&D.
"Let us speak plainly now, and in earnest, for words mean little without the weight of conviction."
Damn, tough crowd around here. I can only assume that no one on the boards (save 1 or 2) has ever made a mistake at work. Or more likely, you’re just in fields where your mistakes aren’t broadcast to the world.
Yes, people make mistakes.
In the past, I understand that publishers had a system called "proof-reading" which would catch such glaring mistakes.
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They have to set a deadline pretty far in advance, to coordinate with the board game and WizKids minis, which have to be finalized a year before release. And then they lock in the release date for the book with Amazon and distributors and book stores.
They have an unforgiving publishing deadline. They can't delay things too long. When it's time to go to print then it's time and work has to stop, as they need to get several hundred thousand copies printed.
Plus, if you've ever edited anything in your life, you'd know there's always a mistake. You can edit a dozen times and still do an thirteenth pass and catch something that could be tweaked or tightened. Heck, sometimes the fans will find an error weeks or years after a book has been released.
This may be an apples and oranges comparison, but to give my own anecdote: I work as a graduate student in a STEM field, a program which is defined by regularly writing and publishing academic-quality papers. Whenever I am authoring such an article, much like in one of these books there are several authors collaborating to put together the final product. We each take turns adding our own sections as well as proofreading the previously written parts of the work. So, there will be multiple people going over the body of work multiple times before submitting the paper for publication. Even after all of that checking, when external reviewers read our paper they will still manage to find small errors in our writing, things related to spelling or grammar that arguably should have been caught in our own review. Beyond that, although it is rare there are also times when such mistakes get past the journal reviewers and into the published article.
My point is that even with a rigorous review process utilizing different groups of people it is entirely possible for mistakes to still find their way into the final product, and the articles I have experience with are nowhere near as long as these modules
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But we aren't looking at errors in grammar or spelling here. There is a big difference between Evocation and Enchantment or Divination and Illusion. Changing those schools has a significant impact on game play.
She/Her Player and Dungeon Master
That mistake is fairly understandable as if you look at the original UA for the lunar sorcerer those schools were originally Evocation and Divination, respectively. They likely had it typed up based on the UA before the mechanical changes were applied and forgot to change it when they applied the other changes to the subclass made by the design team. A mistake is a mistake, and I am glad they caught it before too long, but these things are not the cornerstones of the module. Id say this is a mole hill, not a mountain
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I guess that depends on which portions of the book are important to you. If you bought it for the player options then it is a more important cornerstone than the module. As with most things in life, it is all about perspective. Not all things hold the same value for all people. What is important to one, may not be important for anyone else.
She/Her Player and Dungeon Master
It isnt so much an issue of me viewing the subclass as being an unimportant part, but moreso me seeing the mistake they made as fairly small. Its not that I think the mistake will have no impact whatsoever, simply that its not something egregious and troublesome. Its not a mistake of such a magnitude that would warrant a recall of the published books, either. WotC recognized they made a few mistakes and are using the only channel currently available to correct it. Would it have been better if this was caught earlier? Absolutely, but mistakes dont really occur at our convenience, and once again I want to reiterate that mistakes can still occur even after what a writer believes was a completely thorough review.
For the Lunar Sorc change specifically, I cannot speak for everyone else, but without this errata article I would not have even noticed that not having Enchantment and Illusion was a mistake. If I looked back and compared the published version to the UA version, I would have just assumed that they chose not to change Evocation and Divination and would have been none the wiser.
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I've seen game books released that were so poorly written they were completely unusable and it took years for them to get errata if they ever actually did. A few typos and a couple places where the wrong word was used for the rules? That's frankly normal for a game book release, and the fact that WotC had day-one errata for it shows that they're relatively on the ball instead of us having to wait six months or a year before they actually get around to correcting anything.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
"Ship now, patch later" has become increasingly typical for software in the last 20 or so years, but at least digital publications can be patched.
What this says to me is that they're considering the idea of making access to the books completely digital at some point, and it could become a supscription service. My vision is such that print material isn't very accessible, so I haven't bought print books for 5e anyway, but if 6e goes to subscription, I'll switch to something that's at least available in PDF where I can zoom and use inverse contrast as necessary. Level Up: Advanced 5e tends to have tougher monsters anyway, and dpellcasters aren't locked into a single mental stat (Faust made a pact for knowledge, not charm, so why can't a warlock cast from INT?).
"There might yet be a heaven, but it isn't going to be 'perfect', and we're going to have to build it ourselves." - Philhellenes, Science Saved My Soul
Backgrounds • Feats • Magic Items • Monsters •
Ancestries• Spells •SubclassesI remember seeing someone on another thread float the idea that now that WotC owns D&D Beyond as their official digital platform, they should release new books digitally first and then release print version later. This would give them the chance to catch any mistakes before sending the book to print. While I am someone who prefers print books, I would not be bothered by releasing to the digital crowd early, especially if it helps to avoid dissatisfaction with the first edition prints. Plus, I imagine this would work to WotC's favor as a way to make their digital releases more appealing to general audiences ("Buy digital and have the content accessible on day 1!"). People who want more content get the product as soon as possible (without having to add in time for actually printing and shipping things to stores), WotC get more time to correct their text/print/ship, and serious collectors who want better quality books get versions with fewer mistakes.
Three-time Judge of the Competition of the Finest Brews! Come join us in making fun, unique homebrew and voting for your favorite entries!
As others on the thread you referenced point out, that would not work, unless the digital versions were released months and months and months early. Making sure you have enough material during the supply chain issues that are plaguing the printing industry takes time. Printing takes time. Preparing product to ship takes time. Actually getting the product where it needs to be prior to release takes time. And that is before you add in additional time for reviewing submitted errors, editing books, reformatting the typespace to make up for the edits, and generally preparing the books for printing again, because you could not do that until the final errata of the digital content was complete.
It is one of those things that sounds nice, right up until reality hits.
Same thing here. I mostly just buy the physical versions of books. But I, too, would be fine with that proposal as long as the digital versions of the books wouldn't be rushed out and the physical versions wouldn't be delayed.
BoringBard's long and tedious posts somehow manage to enrapture audiences. How? Because he used Charm Person, the #1 bard spell!
He/him pronouns. Call me Bard. PROUD NERD!
Ever wanted to talk about your parties' worst mistakes? Do so HERE. What's your favorite class, why? Share & explain
HERE.Yeah, it would effectively amount to selling a digital beta version a minimum of six to eight months before the physical release so people could fine the errors, the errors could be reviewed, fixes could be implemented, and then the book could be printed and shipped.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
Worrying but not at all surprising considering WotC's more recent offerings... I read through a section of one recently and found about 6 spelling errors in a single section.
Smaller presses, with smaller editorial teams, I'm thinking particularly of Free League with its most recent Bladerunner, One Ring, and T2K Urban Operations, etc. actually do do this, and it's a slightly tighter timetable. In some ways I could see this easily implemented via WotC producing advanced copy as UA for pre-order backers (which is what Free League does).
That said, I'm sure typos still come through Free League's process and I don't find the present errata as a death knell but something common to pretty much every 5e release. If folks want to augur bad moons on the rise for WotC, there's plenty of other stuff to jump on.
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
Catalyst Game Labs did it about ten years ago but dropped it as unfeasible. These days they release the physical and PDF versions of their books together.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
Wild to me that timely errata would be treated as a bad thing.
That was ten years ago. Right now, Free League has it's first supplement for 2TK as well as miniatures skirmish game (a first for FL I think) going through the process. Over the summer Bladerunner both the core rules and starter set, and an Alien scenario went through a process. KS starters get a DriveThru link, and proofreading notes are posted on their community board. The DriveThru link goes through passes of updates, until you're informed of the final to the printer's version. I want to say the process is under six months before shipping, but I'm not sure because FL has some problems with distro centers to consumer delivery, though that's not related to editorial and printing.
I could see WotC doing something like via D&D Beyond (heck today we're getting the first digital release ahead of physical). It'd definitely help online engagement figures, which seem to matter to DDB and possibly One D&D's final digital products. That said, they'd have to invest a lot more than they currently do in community management, and I'm not seeing that, though I'm also not privy to the goings on of D&D HR. I feel WotC knows community is important, but I think they don't really have a good grip on how to leverage it.
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
Oh; I'm sorry, I have slightly higher standards for a professionally produced book than a random forum post. Call me naive if you like.
While these mistakes should be avoided, I am willing to accept what we have which is fewer mistakes than other books and if it means fewer printings are necessary in future with the physical version, that's good also. However, complacency is a concern: at what point does the 'release now, patch it later' model get out of hand, and what will anyone do about it (if anything)? I'm already unimpressed with the general amount of content in official publications, so I'd rather they make up for it with extra care be taken with dealing with editing woes, and not just until they think people have forgotten what happened with Hadozee. Today's Wizards of the Coast can only seem to do one or the other, and neither particularly well.
I can forgive Dragonlance's editing mishaps because I'm mostly satisfied with the contents of the book I'll use, and the errors within are sillier than they are dire. What I'm dissatisfied with is books that are very light on content and have editing issues, especially the insensitivity that occurred in Spelljammer.
Zero is the most important number in D&D: Session Zero sets the boundaries and the tone; Rule Zero dictates the Dungeon Master (DM) is the final arbiter; and Zero D&D is better than Bad D&D.
"Let us speak plainly now, and in earnest, for words mean little without the weight of conviction."
- The Assemblage of Houses, World of Warcraft
Yes, people make mistakes.
In the past, I understand that publishers had a system called "proof-reading" which would catch such glaring mistakes.