Hi,

books shipping today in the UK - I should have them tomorrow.

Cheers,
KAL

Zenopus wrote:In the PHB reprint, they've used the reversed version of the "Magic Mouth" on page 108.

See this 2008 Acaeum thread for a description and picture (by chromaticknight) of the two different versions of the image:
Player's Handbook reversed art, different print version?

And here's a pic (by untimately) of the reprint, showing the reversed artwork alongside an original also with the reversed artwork:

This picture also shows the reduction in image quality in the reprints. Many details are lost due to reduced contrast. The eyes at the bottom of the stairs (on the left in these pictures) are hardly visible in the reprint.

Correction: According to one Acaeum member who messaged me, the orientation of the image above is also found his copies of the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 9th printings of the Player's Handbook, but is reversed in his 7th, as it is my only two copies (also 7th printings). There was apparently some confusion in the original thread (linked above) which I was referencing. So Wizards has used the original orientation in the reprints.

Zenopus wrote:

Zenopus wrote:In the PHB reprint, they've used the reversed version of the "Magic Mouth" on page 108.

See this 2008 Acaeum thread for a description and picture (by chromaticknight) of the two different versions of the image:
Player's Handbook reversed art, different print version?

And here's a pic (by untimately) of the reprint, showing the reversed artwork alongside an original also with the reversed artwork:

This picture also shows the reduction in image quality in the reprints. Many details are lost due to reduced contrast. The eyes at the bottom of the stairs (on the left in these pictures) are hardly visible in the reprint.

[ Image ]

Correction: According to one Acaeum member who messaged me, the orientation of the image above is also found his copies of the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 9th printings of the Player's Handbook, but is reversed in his 7th, as it is my only two copies (also 7th printings). There was apparently some confusion in the original thread (linked above) which I was referencing. So Wizards has used the original orientation in the reprints.

By the quality of the art reproduction, I'd say that would've been the least of their worries. I opened up the MM so far and was not really pleased. I just don't understand how they could go through the all the hassle of re-laying out all the text, tables, etc (which is a huge deal in and of itself), and then leave the art to be this quality. Some of it translated ok, but then some of it looks like a cheap photocopy. For instance I'm looking at the Balor demon, Dispater, Cloud Giant, the Night Hag, the Satyr...just to name a few. I wonder if they tried or thought to try scanning different prints of the book? It's not as if the art were a minor part of the manual...

*sighs*

I really don't know how everyone was expecting the art to be an exact duplication. It's a copy of a copy folks. It never was going to be perfect. Been saying so since they were mentioning scanning the original books.

Maybe that's just being familiar with the process for so many years. I had some clue what to expect. :?

I guess my expectations weren't as high as some folks here.  I do agree that the art reproduction doesn't show many of the finer details found in the original books but as a whole, I'm pleased with the reprints.  I love the sturdy feel, the stitched binding, the cloth bookmarks and the quality in general.  They are pretty books.

That being said, these are likely to hit my bookshelves and stay there because to me, you just can't beat the originals.  The original PHB, MM and DMG covers are so iconic to me that I can't imagine using the newer books when I'm running a game.  Aside from my preference for the original classic covers, I also much prefer the paper used in the originals.  I know that the glossy paper is the standard these days but I much prefer the paper used in the originals.

Still, the new books are a nice addition to my collection and will look good on the shelf.  I'm happy I bought them and with some of the money from the purchase going to the Gygax Memorial, so much the better.

New AD&D rule:  When rolling Dwarf hit points, the first Dwarven hit die shall be named Bashful.  The second is Doc, then Dopey, to be followed by Grumpy, Happy, Sleepy and Sneezy ...
:lol:

ExTSR wrote:

Toric wrote:That being said, these are likely to hit my bookshelves and stay there because to me, you just can't beat the originals.

But in the reprint MM, all dwarves have 7 HD. You'll need 'em to go up against PCs...

I'm immediately changing all my dwarf NPCs to match WotC's new rules. It's obviously the right thing to do.

:D

Well, errors are unfortunate if not expected since from what I understand they actually re-typed the text and weren't just formatting from a scan.  That kingdom of 7 HD dwarves is really going to scare my players.  Thankfully dwarves are generally lawful good.

Again, the books are pretty but will probably live on my shelves as I prefer the good old originals.  I hope a nice chunk of the proceeds for these ends up with Gary's memorial.

I'm very happy to say that the premium reprints were released in Italy too at the beginning of August  8)  It seem that the Italian WotC distributor changed its mind  :roll:  Anyway, they are selling quite well and I'm getting a very favourable feedback from Italian buyers  :D  I hope to see more premium reprints in the future...  :mrgreen:

Don't have any SA reprints to compare any longer, but I'm guessing from what I recall they still had the flats then.