Binding for Modules/Adventures [Archive] - Wizards Community

Binding for Modules/Adventures [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
sherretz
02-22-06, 11:05 AM I'm not sure if this is the right place to say this, so that it gets the most publicity, but I'm curious what you all think. Current adventures/modules are bound like normal books. I personally feel that if they were spiral bound, it would be easier to make a) detachable pages for maps and stuff, b) make it easier to photocopy specific pages for handouts/review, c) make it easier for the DM to show stuff to the players without showing too much of the adventure to everyone, and d) make the gaming table a bit tidier since you don't have a sprawled-out adventure book in front of the DM.

What do you guys think about this?
Illion the Red
02-22-06, 11:17 AM I'm not sure if this is the right place to say this, so that it gets the most publicity, but I'm curious what you all think. Current adventures/modules are bound like normal books. I personally feel that if they were spiral bound, it would be easier to make a) detachable pages for maps and stuff, b) make it easier to photocopy specific pages for handouts/review, c) make it easier for the DM to show stuff to the players without showing too much of the adventure to everyone, and d) make the gaming table a bit tidier since you don't have a sprawled-out adventure book in front of the DM.

What do you guys think about this?

I think this would decrease the durability of the books significantly, especially if they were spiral-bound. Ever have a spiral-bound notebook smushed between two textbooks?
sherretz
02-22-06, 11:24 AM You can use heavier-duty paper. I've seen them before; similar to the spiral bound road atlases you can get. This hardcover stuff is part of the reason why all the sourcebooks cost so damn much.
Illion the Red
02-22-06, 11:36 AM You can use heavier-duty paper. I've seen them before; similar to the spiral bound road atlases you can get. This hardcover stuff is part of the reason why all the sourcebooks cost so damn much.

I suppose if the paper was very heavy (perhaps some sort of laminate) it would work, but I'd still have a concern about the binding itself.

I thought the high prices were because they were the prices that the market would bear. If the books cost more than people were willing to pay, then people would stop buying the books. Since people still buy the books, then it's a pretty fair bet that the price isn't too high.

(This is not to say I like paying that much for a book, or that I, or anyone else, will do so indefinitely).
Seeker95
02-22-06, 01:45 PM Spiral may make it easier to do all of those things, but...
it also makes it easier to lose pages.
And if you lose a pagem, you can't do any of those things.

I like my modules bound the way they are.
2nd Ed Paladin
02-22-06, 01:55 PM The reason the mudules or any other book are not spiral bound is so they cannot be photocopied/scanned easily and pirated.

The 2ADD the Monsters Manuals (Monsterous Compendium actually) were in binders and i know of quite a few peope who just copied their friends.
Seeker95
02-22-06, 02:44 PM The reason the mudules or any other book are not spiral bound is so they cannot be photocopied/scanned easily and pirated.Although it is more difficult to copy and pirate a standard-bound book than to do so to a spiral-bound book, this has nothing to do with the decision-making process by which the publishers have selected the method they did.
2nd Ed Paladin
02-23-06, 09:23 AM Although it is more difficult to copy and pirate a standard-bound book than to do so to a spiral-bound book, this has nothing to do with the decision-making process by which the publishers have selected the method they did.

In order to not to be completely contrarian I'll agree that it is not the sole reason but I am sure as I can be (not being in the fantasy RPG publishing business) that a significant part of their decision is to protect their copyright.

That's why the only modules that you can get in PDF format are the free ones, even though it is likely a more convienient format for modules.
Thelandrach
02-23-06, 10:27 AM Spiral binding costs more money, as the individual pages need to be just that: individual pages. If you're printing perfect bound (like, say, Silver Marches or Red Hand of Doom), then there is some multiple of four sheets that were printed out with the pages all in odd directions, then folded up and trimmed so they're in the right order, facing the same way, and bound in a clump into the finished product. If you use spiral binding, you then have to cut them apart along the part that normally gets glued to the spine, then punch a bunch of holes, then run the spiral through it. It's a lot of extra steps, a lot of extra machinery and parts, more weight and volume in shipping (especially if you use heavier paper). WOTC is having a hard enough time as it is justifying publishing any modules.

For my money, I'd like to see modules printed in black & white, with no faux-parchment watermark. I realize the books are pretty; they're also really expensive. I'd rather pay $20 for black & white than $25 for in color; I know that fire is red, guys.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
sherretz 02-22-06, 11:05 AM	I'm not sure if this is the right place to say this, so that it gets the most publicity, but I'm curious what you all think. Current adventures/modules are bound like normal books. I personally feel that if they were spiral bound, it would be easier to make a) detachable pages for maps and stuff, b) make it easier to photocopy specific pages for handouts/review, c) make it easier for the DM to show stuff to the players without showing too much of the adventure to everyone, and d) make the gaming table a bit tidier since you don't have a sprawled-out adventure book in front of the DM. What do you guys think about this?
Illion the Red 02-22-06, 11:17 AM	I'm not sure if this is the right place to say this, so that it gets the most publicity, but I'm curious what you all think. Current adventures/modules are bound like normal books. I personally feel that if they were spiral bound, it would be easier to make a) detachable pages for maps and stuff, b) make it easier to photocopy specific pages for handouts/review, c) make it easier for the DM to show stuff to the players without showing too much of the adventure to everyone, and d) make the gaming table a bit tidier since you don't have a sprawled-out adventure book in front of the DM. What do you guys think about this? I think this would decrease the durability of the books significantly, especially if they were spiral-bound. Ever have a spiral-bound notebook smushed between two textbooks?
sherretz 02-22-06, 11:24 AM	You can use heavier-duty paper. I've seen them before; similar to the spiral bound road atlases you can get. This hardcover stuff is part of the reason why all the sourcebooks cost so damn much.
Illion the Red 02-22-06, 11:36 AM	You can use heavier-duty paper. I've seen them before; similar to the spiral bound road atlases you can get. This hardcover stuff is part of the reason why all the sourcebooks cost so damn much. I suppose if the paper was very heavy (perhaps some sort of laminate) it would work, but I'd still have a concern about the binding itself. I thought the high prices were because they were the prices that the market would bear. If the books cost more than people were willing to pay, then people would stop buying the books. Since people still buy the books, then it's a pretty fair bet that the price isn't too high. (This is not to say I like paying that much for a book, or that I, or anyone else, will do so indefinitely).
Seeker95 02-22-06, 01:45 PM	Spiral may make it easier to do all of those things, but... it also makes it easier to lose pages. And if you lose a pagem, you can't do any of those things. I like my modules bound the way they are.
2nd Ed Paladin 02-22-06, 01:55 PM	The reason the mudules or any other book are not spiral bound is so they cannot be photocopied/scanned easily and pirated. The 2ADD the Monsters Manuals (Monsterous Compendium actually) were in binders and i know of quite a few peope who just copied their friends.
Seeker95 02-22-06, 02:44 PM	The reason the mudules or any other book are not spiral bound is so they cannot be photocopied/scanned easily and pirated.Although it is more difficult to copy and pirate a standard-bound book than to do so to a spiral-bound book, this has nothing to do with the decision-making process by which the publishers have selected the method they did.
2nd Ed Paladin 02-23-06, 09:23 AM	Although it is more difficult to copy and pirate a standard-bound book than to do so to a spiral-bound book, this has nothing to do with the decision-making process by which the publishers have selected the method they did. In order to not to be completely contrarian I'll agree that it is not the sole reason but I am sure as I can be (not being in the fantasy RPG publishing business) that a significant part of their decision is to protect their copyright. That's why the only modules that you can get in PDF format are the free ones, even though it is likely a more convienient format for modules.
Thelandrach 02-23-06, 10:27 AM	Spiral binding costs more money, as the individual pages need to be just that: individual pages. If you're printing perfect bound (like, say, Silver Marches or Red Hand of Doom), then there is some multiple of four sheets that were printed out with the pages all in odd directions, then folded up and trimmed so they're in the right order, facing the same way, and bound in a clump into the finished product. If you use spiral binding, you then have to cut them apart along the part that normally gets glued to the spine, then punch a bunch of holes, then run the spiral through it. It's a lot of extra steps, a lot of extra machinery and parts, more weight and volume in shipping (especially if you use heavier paper). WOTC is having a hard enough time as it is justifying publishing any modules. For my money, I'd like to see modules printed in black & white, with no faux-parchment watermark. I realize the books are pretty; they're also really expensive. I'd rather pay $20 for black & white than $25 for in color; I know that fire is red, guys.