Yes they have editors.
I've been playing RPGA since 4th edition came out and STILL haven't read any of the errata.
there is an entire area dedicated to errata. Every time i get a new book I have to look up errata to see what changes have been made. And it can be a little exshauting making characters with 2 or 3 books and then a stack of papers printed out to double check everything. Does anyone at WotC read what rules they are making up? Its my biggest complaint against WotC and I was recetnly reminded of it thanks to a forum about some feat and how it was terribly broken and in that thread they mentioned another feat. There are some things that would seem like common sense. How do these things get past inspection?
the same way it got through in 3rd ed: you have a group of 20 (i really don't know how big the playtest staff is) guys VS... how many players?
and maybe more importantly, how many gaming preferences? too much PC power, not enough PC power, less feats, better feats, more fluff, less fluff, no fluff, marshmallow fluff, ect... you can never please the fanbase. EVER. best you can do is keep on trucking and pick up hints at what would actually improve your work.
at least they're not waiting the long times after release before giving errata anymore. i'm happy they're acknowledging that they're only human and are willing to quickly fix their mistakes.
There is always room for improvement.
I am a fan of a 3.5 like system Pathfinder hailed as some as 3.75
Now I am only using this as an example.
But in 3.5 you got all your starting skill point multiplide by four and then you may add points to your class skills freely to a max of four plus one for every level beyond first however for cross class skills must pay twice the ammount of points for a skill to a maxium of two plus one for every two levels beyond first.
Now pathfinder said, no multpling by four just your set class skill plus your intel bonus and class skill you get an automatic bonus of plus three.
The systems work in the exact same maner achiving the same goals.
ie making it impossiable for some one with a class skill to fail a DC 5 check in there chosen class skill which they have spent points in at first level.
Most of the times fair is complex.
But some people see ways of improving on things.
If people didn't do this we wouldn't have hot showers we would just get water and put it in a bucket with holes in it.
Ok a gross overstatment but still.
You can always work with your working system or you can get the little upgrade that makes it easier and GENERALLY thats what errata is ment to do.
Or fix something completely broken.
This thread is now my property.
I laughed hard at its sheer randomness.
Not to derail: I don't think I've ever checked errata for anything. Some mistakes are so blatantly obvious, some are nitpicking, and any balance issues that my group is unhappy with get houseruled away. I found errata somewhat more important for wargames, where stuff being "official" is important, but for non-competitive roleplaying games, slightly unnecessary.
2) Printing out a few sheets of paper is much cheaper than spending an extra 20 to 30 dollars to buy the fixed version of the books in a year or two time.
3) A lot of the fixes aren't even big or actually change a damn thing. Most often the errata is only a clarification of a rule such as they word something in a more easy to understand way. So often there doesn't seem to be a change in the rules but rather a clarification.
4) The few big changes are easy to memorize such as the stealth, DC tables, and Skill Challenges.
5) You don't need the errata at the game all the time for the small mistakes. If a key word such as Implement or Charm was left off of a power then all you have to do is copy it down on the paper or index card you power is written on. After you have written down the fix you don't need the errata for such things until you level up.
I don't see where there is much to complain about. The mistakes are being fixed ASAP rather than taking forever. They are easy to find and access. If my books get destroyed then I can buy the fixed/corrected reprints once they're out and then I wont need to errata for those books. Until then I'm fine with printing it out or just looking at it on my laptop.
I agree with others here - errata are generally a good thing, IMO. There are always going to be typos/mistakes/oversights. It happens in everything printed. But in RPGs, a typo can change a rule to mean something completely different. It's good that they put out a compilation of corrections so that they're all in one place. :P
... I should probably check for errata for 4E before running my game, huh?
I agree with others here - errata are generally a good thing, IMO. There are always going to be typos/mistakes/oversights. It happens in everything printed. But in RPGs, a typo can change a rule to mean something completely different. It's good that they put out a compilation of corrections so that they're all in one place. :P
Just a few things. Look up the changes to skill challenges and the DC table changes in the DMG and look up stealth rules and damage/resist rules for the PHB. Those, if I remember correctly, are the more important ones. Most everything else is just the adding in of an attack line or key word that was left out or the rewording of something to make it sound clearer.
Just a few things. Look up the changes to skill challenges and the DC table changes in the DMG and look up stealth rules and damage/resist rules for the PHB. Those, if I remember correctly, are the more important ones. Most everything else is just the adding in of an attack line or key word that was left out or the rewording of something to make it sound clearer.
There's also the "attacking an invisible target" thingy that got updated in the PH2. It may be detailed with Stealth, though.
There's also the "attacking an invisible target" thingy that got updated in the PH2. It may be detailed with Stealth, though.
I think it's talked about in stealth. Yeah, if I remember correctly a lot of the combat and ritual rools changes from the PHB are addressed in the very back of the PHB2 along with a few new rules.
I think it's talked about in stealth. Yeah, if I remember correctly a lot of the combat and ritual rools changes from the PHB are addressed in the very back of the PHB2 along with a few new rules.
Yeah, that's where I got that from. I couldn't remember if the Stealth Errata was separate from the attacking invisible, though. Makes sense for them to be together as one could cause a need for the other. Oddly enough, the first time I read the invis enemy errata, I saw it was exactly what our interpretation of the existing rules/houserules were already doing. :D
http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/UpdatePH.pdf
http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/UpdateDMG.pdf
http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/UpdateMM.pdf
http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/UpdatePH2.pdf
If you need any of the others then just let me know or you could find them if you wish.
Yeah, in the Appendix: Rule Updates in the PHB2 there is basically a lot of the rules updates for the PHB in there. They even tell you what page in the PHB to turn to so that you know exactly what is being modified.
Yeah, it was nice to see.