player’s handbook falling apart
A few months ago I was flipping through my player’s handbook and noticed the first few pages pulling away from the binding near the bottom of the book. After a couple more weeks of my player’s handbook falling apart, it became clear I needed to do something. Each time I used my book I’d end up with multiple sections of it falling out. Upon closer inspection it seemed the glue applied to hold the pages in was defective and/or not applied properly. Along some areas of the binding it didn’t appear that there was any glue at all.
I contacted Wizards of the Coast (WotC) about my player’s handbook falling apart and they offered to replace it. Only problem, I’d have to mail the book back to them which meant that I’d be without my player’s handbook until they sent me a replacement. As I’m actively playing two separate D&D campaigns, not having a PHB for a few weeks wasn’t a great option for me.
A friend suggested I have my book coil bound instead of sending it in and waiting for a replacement. I headed to Staples office supply, showed them my book and asked if they could put a coil binding on it. They said they could, however, they didn’t have the plastic cover sheets and I’d need to wait a couple days. They also mentioned they probably wouldn’t be able to include the original book cover. That was fine – I just needed the pages held together. I handed them my book and they told me to come back in a couple days.
The day I went to pick up my book I found a single page from my Player’s Handbook had worked its way out and was sitting in my laptop case. I brought the page in and asked if they could add it in. Thankfully they could. They cut the old coil binding off, punched holes in the page, lined everything up and recoiled the binding. Unfortunately that one page just slightly sticks out as it doesn’t exactly line up with the others. While not the best binding job in the world it looks much better than my book did falling to pieces.
Is your player’s handbook falling apart?
You have a few options:
- Replacement: Contact Wizards of the Coast and see if they’ll send you a replacement. This requires you to send in your PHB so you would need to be able to live without your book for a few days. Here’s a link to WotC’s help page on replacing a defective product.
- Buy a new Player’s Handbook. This can be cost prohibitive. WotC has been very good about replacing defective books so check with them first. Not all of the Player’s Handbooks fall apart so if you’re lucky you may get one of the good ones if you choose to buy a new one.
- Have your book coil bound at a office store.
Should I get my player’s handbook coil bound?
I am happy with my decision to do so. Ultimately it’s up to you. The great thing about a coil bound book is that you can lay it flat on the table. One disadvantage to a coil bound book is that it’s a bit flimsier than the hardback book and the holes may tear along the coil binding over time. To put a coil binding on it’s necessary to cut the hard cover off as well as the edge off the pages. This may cut off anything close to the inside border of the book. One area I noticed a close cut was the character sheets towards the back of the book. Not really a problem since I have a pdf version I print.
How much does coil binding cost?
Not much at all. I paid under $5 to have my book coil bound.
Overall, I’m very happy with my decision to have my player’s handbook coil bound. It didn’t take long at all, was super cheap and looks great.