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Oct 26, 2010 -- 4:16PM, patweb wrote:

But what was wrong with the sheets & rule book?

My issue with the sheets is there just isn't enough space to write all the power information, so the players have to scuffle over (likely) one book to verify what they can do.

The rule book though I do love: I wish the Essentials books took some lessons from it, as I find them to thick for comfort in digest scale and they have layouts that spread individual things over multiple pages to often. 

My issue with the sheets is there just isn't enough space to write all  the power information, so the players have to scuffle over (likely) one  book to verify what they can do.

Pretty much sums up that pont.  While I applaud the effort of a simplified, helpful character sheet, it's actual usefulness for play is less than ideal.  A better choice would have been to provide a filled out sample of a real character sheet, and provide those rather than a few, fairly useless back to back half-sheets.

Rulebook: I don't like the layout. There is pleny of wasted space on pages. Personally, I think they made it smaller for two reasons;

1. To fit in the box
2. To mask how little information it actually contains.

I don't have an issue with less information per se, as this is a gateway product and the rules need to be somewhat lighter.  However, I would have prefered a full size, but thinner rule blook. They could have then put in a full size, useful character sheet similar to that found in the back of the 4e PHB.

Box choice: They used a boardgame style rather than rpg style. Why? I figure because Castle Ravenloft and the upcoming Wrath of Ashardalon were packaged that way. It wouldn't surpise me if the PM for all three was the same. Everything about the packaging screams to me of someone more used to packaging a boardgame rather than a rpg. The oversight of the cardbacks makes more sense when looked at it ths way, at least to me.  If GW was a boardgame, I wouldn't have such an issue with the packaging and contents, but it's not and I do.  

Ok, rant over. Didn't mean to, but the more I thought about it, the more it irked me. Having spent nearly ten years working in the industry and knowing how  game manufacturers operate and how certain decisions get made, I can be  rather opinionated when it comes to design choices.

Anyhow, end of the day, mine is just one opinion in this sea we call the interweb. Besides, it doesn't mean the game is any less fun.