Post/Author/DateTime	Post
PoeticJustice 08-08-05, 07:27 PM	As much as I love it, arguably the best supplement of the line, it has one very significant flaw that destroys the book's value. Why should you forget about the Explorer's Handbook? Because it very well might break. The glue holding the back of mine together has all but failed a mere 4 days after intially opening it. Upon further inspection, I have found that it is not so much a book as many small pamphlets glued inside a hardback cover. Upon inspecting the other copies at my FLGS, all had the same condition; pages were loose and the glue smelt funny. It is outreagous to charge 30 dollars for a product that fails within half a week. What's worse, Wizards joke of a return policy doesn't allow for returns in these instances, as the product was not technically broken at purchase. Shoot me a PM and I'll email you pic of this travesty, and I have contacted Wizards and begun to raise Cain over this...annoyance. If they fail to satisfy I will not buy anymore D&D product. The other copies purchased by the myriad members of the board may be perfectly fine, but I advise all to inspect their books before purchasing, particularly the later chapters.
zentr 08-08-05, 08:55 PM	Thanks for the heads up. I'm looking forward to the book, but I will take a close look at the binding.
Tek 08-08-05, 09:02 PM	Sigh. First that weird strange paper of Races of Eberron and now this. What the hell, Wizards? Why are you doing this to Eberron, seriously.
Azual 08-08-05, 09:33 PM	Dude... buy it from borders. It has, like, a 30 day return policy. I know people who treat it like a library. But the book, read it, return it. Say it was for a friend, but they didnt like it.
memorax 08-08-05, 09:38 PM	I am not suprised. The quality of the bindings in the books has gone downhill significantly as of late. My Waterdeep book felt like the spine would break if I tried to open too wide. Stormwrack and Weapons of Legacy all have this problem. I hope this problem gets resolved and resolved soon. It's not something they can hide. I actually did a test. I took my Faith and Pantheon book but and opened it wide enough to have both the front and back cover touch the table. I took the Waterdeep book tried to do the same and could not open it bast a 45 degree angle.
Edymnion 08-08-05, 09:39 PM	Well, if worse comes to worse, that just means I can take my loose pages, throw them in my scanner, and make a PDF out of them, and read it on my laptop.
Azual 08-08-05, 09:42 PM	ooh, a little testy arent we
Azual 08-08-05, 09:44 PM	to be fair, the faiths and pantheons book is older. Newer books have less loose bindings.
KP91 08-08-05, 10:47 PM	So far my WoL is holding up, I know whenever I open the ECS I risk losing the entire Forgotten Forge adventure.
Medesha 08-08-05, 11:42 PM	I haven't had any problems since my 3.0 PHB fell apart. And my Magic of Faerun fell apart too, but that's because I tried to pick it up whilst standing on the back cover (not recommended).
Siberys 08-09-05, 12:27 PM	Did you leave it somewhere hot? The same thing happened to my MM v3.5, because we left it in a hot car in the middle of a mall parking lot, then quickly picked it up.
lugnut71 08-09-05, 12:30 PM	I haven't had a problem with any book and I tend to have all the current ones with a few exceptions. Of course I treat all my books very well so I'm not a good example.
Pax 08-09-05, 12:52 PM	The only book I've had this problem with recently (meaning, where the fault is not clearly due to wearing out after long, hard use) is Races of Stone ... andit just wasn't worth the time, effort, and expense to send it back to Amazon.com for a replacement.
MrFilthyIke 08-09-05, 01:09 PM	Mine is holding up fine after a week of reading. Maybe a bad batch made it to your area. I'm sure if the bindings bad, WotC can get you a replacement and lay the fault on the printer, but I'm not specialist. Rather than go ballistic, contact WotC directly first. You'll get more with honey and all that. You tend to react fisrt and reflect later PoeticJustice, I've noticed this. :)
ieattrollsforbreakfast 08-09-05, 01:35 PM	There are always some books that fall apart, whatever the release. It is probably an isolated incident, and your FLGS was unlucky enough to get a faulty one. Contact WotC and I'm sure they'd be glad to replace it.
MrFilthyIke 08-09-05, 02:09 PM	There are always some books that fall apart, whatever the release. It is probably an isolated incident, and your FLGS was unlucky enough to get a faulty one. Contact WotC and I'm sure they'd be glad to replace it. Seconded IETFB comment.
King Donkey 08-09-05, 02:13 PM	Did you leave it somewhere hot? The same thing happened to my MM v3.5, because we left it in a hot car in the middle of a mall parking lot, then quickly picked it up. I wouldn't suggest leaving any of the recent WoTC books in cars especially in FLORIDA. My friend's copy of Five Nations completely dissolved and ALL the pages came out. Never had this problem with a Palladium Book. Nope, the problem with Palladium books was always the content...NEVER the binding. C'mon Wizards....you've got the money.
Edymnion 08-09-05, 02:38 PM	There are always some books that fall apart, whatever the release. It is probably an isolated incident, and your FLGS was unlucky enough to get a faulty one. Contact WotC and I'm sure they'd be glad to replace it.Well, like he said, the return policy may not cover it. Although, I find it highly unlikely that it was falling apart when he bought it, or he wouldn't have bought it. Contacting WotC and requesting a replacement is a good move to make.
MrFilthyIke 08-09-05, 05:06 PM	Never had this problem with a Palladium Book. Nope, the problem with Palladium books was always the content...NEVER the binding. C'mon Wizards....you've got the money. And you admit to buying Palladium?? :eek: :eek: :eek: ... ... ... Ok, I have some Rifts books myself. :D But not one of my WotC books has ever fallen apart. Maybe you all are just abusive to your books. :P
Altaris13 08-09-05, 05:34 PM	Just to chime in here, none of the WotC books in any of the half-dozen gaming stores in my area fall apart that I've ever heard of (except for being abused and thrown across a parking lot or two.) However, the SW mini's we get consistently have at least 2 which seem to be half-melted. Bad batches suck.
Manyfist 08-09-05, 06:08 PM	My ROE is fine... the pages are thick and very sturdy book. I got CA, ECS, ROE, MM 3.5, DMG 3.0, PHB 3.0, MMII, and XPH, and I carried all except for my ROE to school filled with Books and stuff, only thing is wrong is the corners show some Wear and tear. I got CA, ROE, and ECS from Borders, no problem. I got XPH from Amazon, MM 3.5, DMG 3.0, and PHB 3.0 from Half Price, and I got MMII from Barnes & Nobles. No problem with my books and I live in Texas, Dallas. I left my books out in the sun no problem, you probley got a bad batch, complain and return it. Get your stuff from Barnes & Nobles or Borders. I would also wait a little bit before getting the book, 1st Batches tend to be weak compared to others. ;)
PoeticJustice 08-09-05, 07:49 PM	Thank you all for the feedback, commiserating, and advice. After 24 hours, the title of this thread seems needlessly inflammatory, so I'm going to change it. I like Wizards as a company. I think they do a good job and try their best to put out an attractive product. In all of about 10 years purchasing from their lines, this is the first negative experience I've had. I did actually buy the book during my lunch break last Friday, which was pretty hot (if you live around Washington DC you know that already), and I did end up leaving it in a hot car for about 6 hours, so that may very well have been the problem. I was able to get a new copy, but it took some wrangling from WOTC because their policy, as written, doesn't usually cover this. My concern with the binding remains. Check the book closely before you buy it to make sure that the glue doesn't smell, that the chapters are not beginning to separate from one another at the binding, and of course, that pages aren't falling out. Of course, none of this was happening when I bought it, only after. Wizards agreed to furnish a new copy at their expenese but it took a lot of effort on my part and a 2 hours on the phone. Save yourself the trouble, caveat emptor.
Edymnion 08-09-05, 08:55 PM	So, other than that, how is it?
PoeticJustice 08-09-05, 09:02 PM	I'm afraid you'll have to be a little more direct, as I'm not sure what you're asking, but in regards to the book, I'm shipping my copy out tomorrow and have no idea when I'll get a new one back. EDIT: If you want a general opinion of the book. It's good. It's worth the buy if your copy sticks together. The content is well written, everything is usable, and is highly entertaining. Prestige Classes are good, adventure sites are good, organizations are good. Personally, it's my favorite next to ECS. But that doesn't change the fact that my product was put together cheaply.
Edymnion 08-09-05, 09:23 PM	Yeah, I was inquiring as to the quality of the material presented in the book, not the quality of the book itself :D
PoeticJustice 08-09-05, 10:35 PM	Well, if you want my reactionist, adolescence-addled opinion, it's of higher quality than any other supplement in the line. Everything is interesting. It also shows you how to frame an Eberron adventure by breaking down a dungeon crawl into three separate locations rather than focus on one area. The prestige classes feel pulpy and are balanced pretty well, and also are distinctly eberron; that is to say that it would be difficult to trasplant them anywhere else, with the possible exception of the thunder guide. There is an extremely helpful table giving Lightning rail distances/rates/travel times, the quintessential airship tower and rail station are both present within the book. There is a small aount of psionic material, including an adaran monastary and its defenses (which do, incidentally, aswer the question of how the Kalashtar hold out against all of Sarlona) as well as a quori monolith.
Save-vs-DM 08-09-05, 10:48 PM	I give this book a pretty good review. All the material is unique and I really, really like the flavor of the prestige classes. I'm actually liking the trend of not so many prestige classes in these newer books...leaves more room for fluff. I sorely miss my indexes. The front index is all right for most stuff, but not great. It has maps of airships! Maps! Airships! Yay! Cheers, Save vs DM
ccerose 08-09-05, 11:37 PM	Out of the 6 Five Nations that showed up at my FLGS, 4 of them had bad bindings. Fortunately, I was there when the shipment arrived, so I had my pick of the litter. All of the copies of the Explorer's Handbook seemed to be in good condition. No glue coming out of the bindings and pages secure.
anarco_rata 08-09-05, 11:59 PM	well, i think the books don't fall apart, but are extremelly delicate. My PHB3.0 broke when a friend grab it a little too hard...watching the pages fly in front of me almost gave me a hearth attack...i saw lidda flying and tordek looked at me... since then, i treat my books like there where terminal patients, my players get exasperated, but nobody brokes mah kids anymore.
Taigis 08-10-05, 12:18 AM	Dude... buy it from borders. It has, like, a 30 day return policy. I know people who treat it like a library. But the book, read it, return it. Say it was for a friend, but they didnt like it. I realize the original posters problem has already been solved. In response to this post I would say it would be much better to tell the bookstore the truth. If you have a damaged book because the binding fell apart, tell the store. Considering I work at one of the major chains, I can tell you that we would accept it as a return due to a damaged binding or faulty printing. If you don't tell the store its damaged, they may end up putting it back on the shelf and someone else may try to buy it. If the store knows its damaged, it can be returned to the publisher properly. Once again, just be honest. Taigis
Gillecu 08-10-05, 12:38 AM	Dude... buy it from borders. It has, like, a 30 day return policy. I know people who treat it like a library. But the book, read it, return it. Say it was for a friend, but they didnt like it. I work for Borders, and our return policy does, indeed, rock, and people do treat us like a library, especially the dorks who come in and read the papers and magazines without paying for them, grrrrr..... Anyhoo, back on topic, I've never purchased a badly bound book from WotC, not D&D, not Star Wars, and not D20 Modern, but I've seen badly done books before. That's usually the fault of the binder, not the publisher.
PoeticJustice 08-10-05, 12:58 AM	I warned the FLGS to keep an eye on the relatively small shipment (two books, counting mine) that he ordered. Jim, the owner, said that inevitably they all fail as a 'bad batch'. I'll admit, I overreacted. It is something to see a beloved and relatively expensive toy break in less than a week through no discernable fault of your own, though.
ekomega 08-10-05, 02:47 AM	I work for Borders, and our return policy does, indeed, rock, and people do treat us like a library, especially the dorks who come in and read the papers and magazines without paying for them, grrrrr..... Anyhoo, back on topic, I've never purchased a badly bound book from WotC, not D&D, not Star Wars, and not D20 Modern, but I've seen badly done books before. That's usually the fault of the binder, not the publisher. I never understood why people shopped at Borders, other than they are ignorant of these facts. I only buy stuff from there that is in perfect condition. I don't want used goods and have to pay the new price for it. I think it's very misleading and dishonest for Borders to have this policy and not inform everyone that a lot of people take advantage of it. On topic, I am going to check out my FLGS copies very carefully. When I bought 5N the book was so stiff that I had to open it very slowly for fear of the spine cracking in half. I checked the binding and everything on 5N (eventually), and was satisfied, and I guess I have to do the same thing for EH. Thanks for the warning.