"splatbook" definition ?

On Feb 16, 11:26 pm, MangroveRoot <zcukpk... DeleteThis @sneakemail.com> wrote:
> I've been seeing the term "splatbook".
> Can someone provide a definition, or examples?

In D&D, most of the books are splatbooks. Anything that has any
options in it accessable to the players. Generally you wouldn't say
the Monster Manuals are splatbooks for instance, but even they could
be considered such as all of them have playable races, and most have
conjurable creatures, and creatures that can be polymorphed/wildshaped
into, or be made animal companions. Some even include additional
feats. Setting Books generally wouldn't be considered Splatbooks
either, but pretty much all of them include at least prestige classes.

- Justisaur
 >> Stay informed about: "splatbook" definition ? 

MangroveRoot wrote:
> I've been seeing the term "splatbook".
> Can someone provide a definition, or examples?

Drop one and you'll hear why they got that name.

As for the definition, they are cyclical accessories released for
every edition since 2e that cause system bloat, and eventual
collapse. Hey, it's not the official definition, just an
observation. Hey, it's not the official definition, just just an
observation. Hey, it's not....

--
It's a bit like painted checkers with some die rolls to see which
checker wins. -mdono.
 >> Stay informed about: "splatbook" definition ? 

On Sun, 17 Feb 2008 10:14:10 -0800, Varl <bsmith.DeleteThis@premier1.net> wrote:

>MangroveRoot wrote:
>> I've been seeing the term "splatbook".
>> Can someone provide a definition, or examples?
>
>Drop one and you'll hear why they got that name.

I thought it was because the * looks like something that went splat.
 >> Stay informed about: "splatbook" definition ? 

MangroveRoot wrote:
> I've been seeing the term "splatbook".
> Can someone provide a definition, or examples?

A book that contains options, i.e. toys or crunchy bits, for the
*players* to choose from. Character creation/advancement elements
similar to those available in the core book, and intended to be
*equivalent* in power to those. Examples of crunchy bits are spells,
feats, magic items, prestige classes and new core classes.

The various Complete books for D&D 3rd Edition Revised are examples, as
are the similar books for the original D&D3rd Edition.

Splatbooks also exist for other RPG systems. Usually, each splat book
will then be specific to a particular nation or clan (as in Vampire),
although in systems with character classes (such as Spycraft) you can
see splatbooks that each cover one or a few character classes.

--
Peter Knutsen
sagatafl.org
 >> Stay informed about: "splatbook" definition ? 

Varl wrote:
> MangroveRoot wrote:
>> I've been seeing the term "splatbook".
>> Can someone provide a definition, or examples?
>
> Drop one and you'll hear why they got that name.

Wrong, actually. Splatbooks are so called because of White Wolf's approach
to naming them, where you had things like Clanbook Ventrue and Tribebook
Children of Gaia. People online started calling them *books after the
convention of using the asterisk as a wildcard symbol (like in searches for
*.zip which will bring up all your ZIP files no matter what they're called),
but since certain people *also* had the habit of calling the asterisk
"splat" because of its appearance, the term "splatbook" came into vogue.

So, anyway, the strict definition of a splatbook is any supplement for a
game which focuses on one of the game's character types, broadly or narrowly
conceived. So obviously the vampire clans, werewolf tribes, and mage
traditions from the old World of Darkness started it off, and in the new
World of Darkness the books covering the vampire covenants, clans, and
bloodlines, the werewolf tribes and lodges, the mage orders and paths, all
qualify - where something like World of Darkness: Chicago or Boston Unveiled
would *not* qualify, because the focus isn't on a character type.

In the setup of the new World of Darkness, you sometimes hear the
supernatural gamelines corebooks themselves called "fatsplats", because each
of them deals with the biggest category of supernatural character types -
vampires, werewolves, mages, Prometheans, changelings, hunters.

When it comes to D&D, we have examples like Sword & Fist, Tome & Blood,
Complete Divine, Complete Scoundrel - but, arguably, you could call books
like the Expanded Psionics Handbook and Magic of Incarnum "fatsplats",
though the usual term (taken from a mention of its use at Wizards of the
Coast by either James Wyatt or Rich Baker, I think) is "capsystem", in the
sense that it's an extra system of options added on top of the core D&D
rules.

--
Christopher Adams
Sydney, Australia
 >> Stay informed about: "splatbook" definition ? 

On Feb 17, 1:14 pm, Varl <bsm... DeleteThis @premier1.net> wrote:
> MangroveRoot wrote:
> > I've been seeing the term "splatbook".
> > Can someone provide a definition, or examples?
>
> Drop one and you'll hear why they got that name.
>
> As for the definition, they are cyclical accessories released for
> every edition since 2e that cause system bloat, and eventual
> collapse. Hey, it's not the official definition, just an
> observation. Hey, it's not the official definition, just just an
> observation. Hey, it's not....

wow.. it took 4 replies to get this one... slackers.
 >> Stay informed about: "splatbook" definition ?