From Newsgroup: rec.games.frp.dnd

Ok, this is mostly one of those fluff articles that I sometimes skip
when finding stuff to post, but I find it notable for 2 reasons:
1. 112 pages is far from a booklet. The bloat of the books in the last
few decades didn't really help endear it to me, but I remember when 112
pages was a solid sourcebook.
2. the author does point out that the last few sourcebooks were thinner though, and speculates what it means for WOTC as a whole. And despite my misgivings about calling a 112 pages book a booklet, the company seems
to be affected by some structural rot that seems to make it likely that
they just can't produce as much as they want right now.


Source: https://www.wargamer.com/dnd/forge-of-the-artificer-pages


At just 112 pages, DnD's next book is more of a booklet

Eberron: Forge of the Artificer is half the size of a normal Dungeons
and Dragons sourcebook, but itrCOs also significantly less expensive.



Mollie Russell

Published: 5 days ago
Dungeons and Dragons

DnD's next book, Eberron: Forge of the Artificer, will be only 112 pages
long, a D&DBeyond blog post confirms. Most first-party 5e books have an average of 200 to 250 pages, so this next supplement will be half the
usual size. However, the blog post from July 10 also confirms a lower-than-normal price. Wizards of the Coast's pre-order page offers
physical copies for $29.99 (-u22.03).

Forge of the Artificer expands on the well-loved Eberron setting. The
DnD classes will get a new version of the Artificer 5e, with four
revised subclasses as well as the brand-new Cartographer. 17 new DnD
2024 backgrounds are promised, along with 28 feats, new spells, and
extra bastion options.

The book also adds five revised DnD races, including the Warforged and, strangely, the previously-axed Half-Elf. The book also features over 20
new monsters and three campaign frameworks for "pulpy, high-flying, and intrigue-filled" Eberron adventures.

Wizards of the Coast seems to be short on resources since the release of
its new core rulebooks. Its previous DnD book, Dragon Delves, is also on
the slimmer side at 192 pages. This is closer to average size, but over
50 pages of Dragon Delves are dedicated to historical art of various
dragons. We've acknowledged in our Dragon Delves review that the art
adds its own value to the book, but it does mean that the adventure text itself is closer to 140 pages.

As outsiders, we can only speculate on why Wizards has opted to publish smaller sourcebooks. Perhaps the departure of Jeremy Crawford and Chris Perkins (and the search to replace them) has caused structural hiccups.
Maybe the mammoth task of overhauling D&D's trio of core rulebooks was
so great that it left little room to plan ahead. Or maybe Wizards of the
Coast is saving its manpower for a chunkier project on this year's DnD
release schedule - that double-whammy of Forgotten Realms books, perhaps?

Whatever the reasons, this change in output is noticeable. Wargamer
editor Alex Evans argues that D&D's biggest challenge right now is
growing too complacent, particularly as much-hyped rivals like
Daggerheart are on the rise.


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From Newsgroup: rec.games.frp.dnd

On Wed, 16 Jul 2025 01:34:23 +0200, Kyonshi <gmkeros@gmail.com> wrote:

Ok, this is mostly one of those fluff articles that I sometimes skip
when finding stuff to post, but I find it notable for 2 reasons:
1. 112 pages is far from a booklet. The bloat of the books in the last
few decades didn't really help endear it to me, but I remember when 112 >pages was a solid sourcebook.
2. the author does point out that the last few sourcebooks were thinner >though, and speculates what it means for WOTC as a whole. And despite my >misgivings about calling a 112 pages book a booklet, the company seems
to be affected by some structural rot that seems to make it likely that
they just can't produce as much as they want right now.

So I had to go back and check
(these are the sort of things I find fun to do ;-)

- Dungeons & Dragons: Men and Magic (1974, "white box")
36pp. (Even if you include the first three books, it tops
out at 120pp)
- Dungeons & Dragons Basic Rule Book (Holmes, 1977, "blue box"))
46pp for the rulebook (just under 100p if you include
the whole box set)
- Dungeons & Dragons Basic Rulebook (Moldavay, 1981, "red box")
64pp for the rulebook (just over 100pp if you include
the whole box set)
- Classic Dungeons & Dragons Game (1994, "black box")
128pp, but that includes a 60pp adventure module
embedded into the main booklet
- Dungeons & Dragons Rules Cyclopedia (1991, hardback)
306pp (but ~60pp are dedicated to sourcebook material)
- Dungeon Master's Guide 1st Ed* (1977)
244pp (but... it's Gygax. Succinct he was not ;-)
- Dungeon Master's Guide 2nd Ed (1988)
194pp
- Dungeon Master's Guide 3rd Ed (2000)
257pp
- Dungeon Master's Guide 4th Ed (2006)
226pp
- Dungeons & Dragons Basic Game (2006)
32pp for the "Dungeon Master Book" and another
32pp for the "Advanced Rulebook"
- Dungeons & Dragons Essentials Starter Kit (2010, 4th Ed rules)
32pp for "Players Book" and
64pp for "Dungeon Masters Book"
- Dungeon Master's Guide 5th Ed (2014)
322pp
- Dungeons & Dragons Essentials Kit (2019, 5th Ed rules)
64pp for rulebook (and another 64pp for adventure)



112 pages doesn't really seem so skimpy in comparison. ;-)

None of which really proves anything, of course. Like I said, I was
just pulling this info for the heck of it. After all, you can have a
fun game with a single page of rules; you can have fun playing a game
with thousands of pages.** D&D can fit into either category.

I'm really not opposed to a streamlining of the rules and I think
112pp is adequate for the purpose. More importantly -to me, at least-
is what PRICE they're selling this new version, and what their plans
are for the future. Because if they're selling it at the same price as
the current game, then yeah... that's a bit much. Also, I'd like to
hope that this streamlining means that they intend to support the game
with more supplemental material to make up for the deficit.

But just the simple page-count by itself isn't enough of a red-flag
for me to condemn the game.










* of course, this is just 1/3rd of the total package, as it doesn't
include the Players Handbook or Monster Manuals. A lot of the material
in the PHB is a repeat of what is said in the DMG, though (and, at
least in 1st Ed, pretty much all the monster stats are included in the
DMG too)

**shout-out to all you Advanced Squad Leader fans ;-)


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