Dungeons & Dragons Dungeon Master's Guide: Roleplaying Game Core Rules, 4th Edition Reviews

• A volume of what you need, rather than what you'd expect

  
  By A3P4HLUL8F81JY on 2008-06-08
  This would be the third major re-imagining of the DMG I've experienced and this time WotC has very nearly made the book I wished I'd read before I first became a DM.
  
  The fact that I've DM'ed for decades doesn't diminish the enjoyment of this version, either.
  
  As with 3rd edition - A sizable amount of the book is devoted to telling DMs what to expect and what is expected of them. It boils down gamers and gaming sessions to a degree that more thematically-minded players might find offensive.
  
  Seeing the framework of an encounter spelled out in stark language (e.g. "Wolf Pack-Hard: 6 skirmishers of level n+2") or having player archetypes defined (e.g. "The Actor: Be sure the Actor Doesn't Bore the other players by talking to everyone and everything [or] Justify disruptive actions as being 'in character'") might ruffle a few feathers.
  
  There will likely be (yet another round of) accusations of WotC playing to the number-crunching wing of the gaming community.
  
  Here's the thing:
  
  Boiling the game down to its essential components is not limiting - it is instructive. Seeing the numeric skeleton of a gaming session does not mean that players will feel less inclined to flesh it out. I'd argue they'd have a better understanding of what they were doing when did so. Broad brush gamers are still free to ditch the lot and just improvise.
  
  In the big picture - the advice section is not essential content for seasoned DMs, but it's not throwaway material either. The troubleshooting section is a great collection of things I've learned the hard way. It's gratifying to see those lessons in print (obviously, I'm not the only one who keeps making some of those mistakes).
  
  For the number crunchers there are solid attempts at rules for disease and poison. In 3.0/3.5, they were two laughably inept concepts. In this version they might remain viable threats to upper level characters. (Does anyone in 3.5 have disease play a regular role in their campaigns? There's Lycanthropy and Mummy Rot - and a short list of things that aren't worth using once PCs are level 5).
  
  This time around, diseases and poisons are scaled to the same levels of PCs (witness the Slimy Doom - a Level 23 Disease: Attack +26 vs Fortitude). That's an extreme example - but at least there's some chance it will get noticed by a mid-level character. Poison scales up - but the only way to scale truly fatal toxins away from low level PCs appears to be by price (Pit Toxin, Level 25 Poison costs 156,250 gp. Don't freak out, though the game economy has been re-imagined - so a +6 Holy Avenger now costs over 3 million).
  
  Traps have been given a similar re-imagining, so there is the possibility that traps can matter above 10th level. It's still unclear to me if 4th edition rogues will be the chosen way to negate them (again, how often does any 15th level rogue in 3.5 roll to disarm a trap?).
  
  I was very impressed with the skill challenge rules. Rather than a simple up-or-down roll on something that matters, the entire party can be involved in attempting to net a given number of successes as a group. The bonus is, they must achieve the right number of successes BEFORE they fail a set number of times (e.g. make 6 successes before accumulating 4 failures).
  
  This makes big non-combat rolls less anti-climactic - and allows a challenge to involve the whole party. For example, say the whole party needs to "work the crowd" at a market to get information in a hurry. Everyone rolls and hopes that their tactless fighter doesn't sink their chances. This is a good game mechanic. I wish I'd thought of it.
  
  There are extensive sections on balancing XP rewards, creating settings and encounters (complete with examples) as well as rules for creating custom monsters. 3.0/3.5 came with guidelines for PC treasure by level, and this book has them as well.
  
  What you will *not* find in this volume:
  
  Rules for making custom magic items. Having thrown the door wide open in 3.0/3.5, it looks like the 4th ed is pushing it shut. This is a great shame, as players who enjoyed that freedom *will* miss it. While I would expect that these rules will appear in a future supplement - they belong in a core rulebook.
  
  The paradigm shift that began in 3.0 (from "DM has all the secrets," to DM/player collaboration) has resulted in the PHB getting fatter and the DMG getting thinner. 4th edition has continued this, moving magic items into the PHB so that the bulk of this book is adventure-building advice.
  
  It makes the DMG less of a reference book that you use in each session. Now, it's more of a book that you use when you prepare - but don't actually take to the session.
  
  This is not a bad thing - but fans of the old paradigm may think so.
  
  

• A huge leap backwards for true role playing

  
  By A1KO9O5M3AUNBQ on 2008-06-06
  I have been playing DND since good ole first edition and every one since up to nad including 3.5...so there was some excitement about the new system. In terms of pure roleplaying this new edition was going to either rock or blow chunks as it was quite different. I am reviewing the system in the terms of the roleplaying aspect(What DND is supposed to be) and not as any other game type. The end result....yup you guessed it...a huge step backwards.
  
  Gone is the incredible detail of characters that is the trademark of DND and in place is now AT WILL POWERS...or more simply...DND for Dummies. The true flavor of being a character is gone and now there are powers that remind you of playing a video game or an even better comparison...a Miniatures game! The Monster Manual shows the creature(The artwork is the one huge plus in this edition, but I dont buy games just for art) and the stats...which have symbols....very much like the minis game. The feel is hack and slash and the idea that you add half your level to attack...crazy no matter the class. I do like that there are 30 levels now, but to breadk them up into 3 tiers...no need.
  
  All in all our gaming group is staying with 3.5 and we will be fine with that...sad really....this is the first DND system we will not switch to. Different can be good, not just this edition. Too bad WOC listened to the online gamers instead of the true source of money (The Pure PRGers).
  
  As a side note, If I were going to rate this system as part of a minis game with the touch of roleplaying thrown on top of it....I think it is quite good. Similar to Battletech minis and adding the Mechwarrior RPG on top of it. It is simple and has clear and limited choices for advancement...all good for minis games....not RPGs.
  
  Any hope of a real RPG...say 4.5?
  
  

• An open letter to WOTC

  
  By A3L44BN5WE4958 on 2008-07-04
  Wow, it has been 20+ years since I felt the urge to write a letter to the creators of my favorite game. Back then I wrote to TSR in Lake Geneva to ask a simple rules question and got a hand typed letter back signed by the "Big Guy" himself. I was awed and shocked to get such a response.
  
  Unfortunately this time I feel compelled to write not asking a simple question but to say a complicated good bye.
  
  I have been playing since the very early days of TSR, since that time I have taken my D&D campaign everywhere with me; College, eight years flying around the world in the USMC, through the several moves across five states and now teaching the game to my three children. I am not the streotypical gamer, living in mom's basement and driving a 1977 AMC Pacer-wagon (though my Mom and Dad actually bought a powder blue one when I was in high school, needless to say I walked to school). I am a manager for a multi-billion dollar, multi-national corporation and make a very nice living at it. As such I have been able to collect over the years a rather large RPG library and have sitting on my desk almost every title WOTC has published, with the exception of the Eberron and Dragonlance series which I just not got into for one reason or antoher.
  
  But now it appears that it time for us to part ways.
  
  I purchased the new Fourth Edition rules and devoured them while on vacation. I read the books cover to cover and was completely disheartened at the end of my read. I could have cried. The game that I have played and loved since the 8th grade is dead. It hit me just as it did when GDW switched to the Traveller: New Era rules, the game I loved was gone and the publisher stumbled along with a similarly titled game that was but a shadow of the original.
  
  When my wife, who after a year of MMORPG'ing has only recently switched to tabletop gaming, saw how distressed I was she picked up the books and started skimming through. Although a veteran of only a few D&D 3.5 sessions she too saw this was not the same game we had played with my kids. After an hour or so she looked over the top of the PHB and asked me, "Do you think the guys at World of Warcraft know WOTC stole their game?" We discussed the new rules for quite a while and I began to make a list of what I would need to change in my current campaign so that I could bring the kids into the new edition. That list soon turned into a list titled "GOOD CHANGES" and "BAD CHANGES", thinking I could simply devise some house rules or cobble the 3.5 rules into place where the new 4E rule went against the grain.
  
  As the list progressed I soon found that there was little point.
  
  Lets face it you have shifted your target audience away from gamers like me to the new generation who demand instant gratification and who find that grinding through the lower levels is beneath them. I have had a few of these types play in my games over the years, the "Dave Bozwell type" from Knights of the Dinner Table, who B.A. lures to the gaming table by giving him a +12 Hackmaster Sword as a first-level fighter. As a manager of a business I understand that you have to set your sights on where the money is in the marketplace and it is apparent that you are going after Blizzard's 9-million WoW subscribers.
  
  I am sure you have read many of the naysayers on the forums and reviews of the new books on sites such as Amazon.com. While you will always have those who resist a change from a previous edition, I can honestly say that my objections to 4E are not because of some grognard stubbornness or wistful reminiscences for times gone by, but purely for mechanical and stylistic reasons.
  
  Stylistic? Yes. The theme of the game has changed, the mood, the ambiance if you will. As an example, in the DMG on page 124 under monetary treasure the portion reads, "By the time characters reach epic level, they rarely see gold anymore." Hmmm, so do they shop at Epic Level merchants and eat at Epic Level taverns? When I read this I could just imagine every merchant in town with a hand written sign in their stall at the market "NOTHING LARGER THAN A SILVER PIECE". That would throw a loop into Mr. Tough Guy trying to buy 50' length of rope at the bazaar with an Astral Diamond. Clearly a case of catering to this new generation, and where do I even begin with the pandering to the "It's KEWL to be evil" crowd with the inclusion of the Dragonborn and Tiefling.
  
  After all the years of my mother asking me when I am going to grow up and stop playing games, I am sorry to see that that time is here. I shouldn't say that I am going to stop, that is not true. My campaign will continue, sadly though without your support. I purchased the DMG and PHB the first day they were released with every intention of continuing my support of WOTC and 4E only to find that I was left behind. It all happened so fast I wasn't prepared to say good bye, but now after a few weeks of reading and re-reading the 4E material I have been able to justify my position and can now finally come to grips with the fact that this is the end of an era.
  
  

• Just say no

  
  By A3QFB618LIEFF8 on 2008-06-14
  OK....... I really REALLY REALLY wanted to love this game. To be honest I've been a sucker for every incarnation of DnD that's come out. I liked all of em in their own way. I prebought this one and every 'pre-book' they've put out... We were all so eager for this new incarnation. It read so well. I can't believe this, but this game has actually managed to depress me!! I HAVE played it. Just spent three hours playing, in fact.
  
  When we finished the party reported that they had the distinct feeling that we had just played a board game version of WOW. Now we all LOVE WOW in our gaming group.. but that's NOT what we sat down to play around a table. We saw nothing 'quick' or 'streamlined' about the gaming experience. We moved pieces around a board adhereing to movement rules and 'squares' for this and that in a fashion that reminded me way too much of the old 'Heroes Quest', albeit a complicated version! Were the game mechanics good? Yes. Why did I give it a 'one star'? Because whilst the game is a good miniature warfare game it seemed to rob the flavor of DnD. The character creation was extrememly confined and the selections were limited. Gone was the ability to customize your character to the point that you actually felt like you had something unique. You will feel as if WOC is controlling the direction your character takes. The game DEMANDED a board and game pieces.. I've always felt that DnD's flavor relied on the 'minds eye', which is so much more colorful in my head than staring at plastic pieces on a piece of cardboard. I do realize that the 'original' DnD was just that, a wargame with a fantasy element. But I feel it evolved into so much more... I guess we've 'returned to our roots'... so why do I feel like we climbed back into the primordial ooze?!
  
  A great deal of the time the magic users felt like they were 'hitting the hot button key'. They had one or two actions that they relied on every round to cause the maximum amount of damage. No inovation or imagination. Everything was geared towards 'how does this directly effect combat'.
  
  The DM's guide isn't that bad. Reminds me a LOT of the first edition book. Information on how to be an effective dm, traps, dungeons, and artifacts. Not what 'thirders' would expect, but not bad.
  
  The Monster Manual is awful. A third of the pictures are just rehashed from all the previous Monster Manuals. The book is concerned with stats so you can play your miniature game effectively. Again.... great if your into miniature gaming. The ecology and culture information is virtually non-existant. Make all the arguments you want about this now being in the pervue of the DM.. the honest answer is that WOC is being lazy. You have a vast variety of stats to place against your carefully created stats, but very little flavor to guide you in roleplaying the encounters.
  
  I have read that the streamlined combat will enhance the rolplaying as you'll have more time available.... that was really exciting.. too bad this wasn't the case. Going to miniatures and a combat board, whilst carefully figuring out where your party and the encounter is, everytime combat arose was time consuming. You'll also notice that you'll have to change the map everytime, of course, which is also time consuming.
  
  If you LOVE miniature wargaming. If Warhammer is something you daydream about.... this is the game for you! As a miniature game experience it ranks a three or four...
  
  If you love games that take place in your head fired by limitless imagination then your probably going to be disappointed.
  
  I really feel like power gamers are going to LOVE this game and probably flame me for my remarks. The game is geared towards being 'godlike'. I'm not knocking this. If you love powergaming and twinking then this is DEFFINITLEY the game for you. To each his or her own. You should buy it immediately... and keep DnD fiscally sound enough to perhaps manage an inevitable rewrite that might restore my faith.
  
  Ironically I'll be keeping my set... I think it'll make a great board game for those rare nights when I just wanna run through dungeons killings things and working off frustrations. According to the DMG I don't even need a DM to do this..... Sound like any RPG you ever heard of???? No story teller... no RPG. Just another board wargame.. albeit a pretty good one.
  
  Good day!
  
  
  

• Knee-jerk reactions are wrong

  
  By A33XPWYBA8LA7 on 2008-06-07
  So far as I can tell, many of the reviewer's reactions here are based on what they've heard- not what they have experienced. I've been playing DnD for a while and I remember this same EXACT reaction from people when 3.0 was released. What happened? the D20 system went on to become predominant within the realm of pen & paper RPGs, and completely replaced the inferior 2nd edition ruleset.
  
  Here's a suggestion: Read the books, play the game, THEN write a review instead of crying about something you haven't yet tried yourself.
  
  I just got done reading the new DMG (cover to cover) and I'm quite impressed with it. Both with the presentation of the information and the depth of material covered. It's a vast improvement from 3.5, which 30% of was devoted to magic items. The majority of the magic items have been moved to the Players Handbook and the new focus is on simply how to run a fun game.
  
  
• A Step Backwards
  By A1SK0PEHRA2D2W on 2008-06-06
  not exactly the next step in the evolution of the game. touted as a "steamlined" and "improved" re-imagining of the classic game that has been around in several incarnations over the past 30-some-odd-years; what it truly amounts to is an advanced tactical board game.
  
  much of what made the game great is stripped away in an effort to emulate mmo (massive multiplayer online) games like world of warcraft; intentionally dumbing down the game in an effort to market it to a wider demographic. elements of game play that focused on actual role-play and story telling are minimized in favor of combat.
  
  instead of taking what was good in both types of games and creating a higher, more elegant game that becomes greater than the sum of its parts, it instead is a souped up throwback to the chainmal days of d&d with mmo hidebound adhearance to mmo sensabilities.
  
  while i can appreciate that hasbro may have had the best of intentions in crafting this version of the game, it fails in the eyes of this and many other fans who have played for so many years. it plays more like other sword & sorcery genre board games (descent, runebound, world of warcraft), and may in fact be the best and finest board game in the genre. but, sadly, it is no true rpg and those who seek that out in this game will be sorely disatisfied.
  
  
• D&D for Dummies
  By ACYM0C7KL2MO3 on 2008-06-17
  This edition of Dungeons and Dragons has been "simplified" to where it's basically nothing more than a slightly expanded version of the D&D Miniatures game.
  
  The new rules are focused ONLY on running boardgame-style combat with miniature figures. After running three of four test sessions my players became VERY bored and insisted on going back and playing "real D&D."
  
  If you want to play this kind of tabletop miniatures combat, you'd be better of just getting the D&D miniatures game. Or the game "Heroscape."
  
  But if you REALLY want to play 4E, I suggest that you wait a month or two. The books will cost a lot less when they're on clearance.
  
  
• Not really D&D
  By A1ZNJYMCCZ2O6H on 2008-06-09
  I've been playing and loving D&D since 1982. This new edition isn't really Dungeons and Dragons anymore, but a new game that reads and plays like it was based on a computer game. If you love EQ and WoW, you'll probably like this. If you have played D&D before and enjoyed it, stay away from the 4th edition! It's made for video gamers with short attention spans, and not true D&D fans. All the richness and variety has been sucked out of the game. What a joke.
  
  
• Play D+D before? Skip this book
  By A37QB3GIMW6N1V on 2008-06-28
  To start with, this is not a review of Fourth Edition, I have been reading through the character and combat system, and I like 4th edition (and I date back to the days of the original Chainmail). That being said, this book is utterly useless if you have played the game before, any version. There are no charts (other than disease and traps). Most of it is advice on how to roleplay, and what to do if someone has a family member that died and missed 2 months of gaming (I kid you not).
  
  All the rules you need for 4th edition are in the players handbook. Heck, the monster manual is pretty worthless to if you are getting the modules, all the stats are in the modules. Magic Items, Combat Rules, all character powers, that is all in the PH.
  
  There are like 10 pages of stupid made up artifacts that you will never use, pages on how to make maps, how to make encounters, and how many bowls of chips you should have at a game session. Honestly, there is NOTHING in this book that is need to play 4th edition, I would recommend only the PH and the first module if you want a feel for the game.
  
  I do like 4th ediion though.. even though it seems like it was built as a video game engine. I have neices and nephews that it is really easy to explain to.
  
  
  
  
• On the subject of the dungeon master's guide
  By AQDEU442XDKAL on 2008-06-14
  Ok, I would like to start out with saying that in the beginning I thought that this would be twink gaming at it's finest, with such additions as the Dragonborn, Assimar, and Teafling as playable characters, when before they were reserved either for NPC or for 13 year old boys who would just like to be all powerful. That being said, the DM really dissapointed me. There were no magic items, say for the artifacts, in the whole thing, and instead, you are given charts on what to give your players from the PH, giving to much power to the players. This agrivated me even more when I realized that if I wanted to have the volume of magic items in the 3.0 DM,that I would shurley have to buy the 5 magic item books that are sure to follow this book in the coming year. Agrivating me still is the fact that now the golden rule "The DM is always right" no longer applies, for the simple reason that I can no longer make my saving throws behind a shield to prevent the adventure from either being to tough, or to easy. With the way the saves are worked out now with your save being like an AC, my gamers learn the magic number that they need to hit my fort, ref, or will saves, and can now tell when they hit or don't hit, taking the game from being ever changing and evolving, to a war game, which is exactly what this is. I tried, I really did, to give this game an honest shot, but when it takes a hour and a half to get through with one battle, I new that we were no longer playing D&D, but a war game, and if I had decided to put in any roleplaying, that it would have doubled an normal gaming session. Before you ask, yes, my gamers are experienced, with the lowest one being 2 years of playing and the highest one being 20 years of playing.I am going to also flame the PH and MM for other reasons, so go over to those books and read those reviews. And thank you Hasbro for trying to suck as much money out of us while spending as little money as possible, show us you really have a soul
  
  
• Abomination!
  By A1NDICFAOA9KN4 on 2008-06-10
  There is a section in this book on how to play D&D without a Dungeon Master. If i wanted to play this type of engine i would buy an under-funded MMO.
  
  :(
  
  
• The emperor has no clothes!!!
  By A2QSM5H2DGKEQ9 on 2008-06-14
  Wow... this books assumes your an idiot... most of it is teaching you how to be a DM.. why that might be necessary for many.. be warned. If your a DM and have been for any amount of time, very little is useful here. No magic items.. only artifacts. Detailed instructions on HOW to DM.. thats about the size of it. Very disappointing. I hated first edition dnd.. didn't care for second... really liked third... and thought we would continue advancing forward... Unfortunately I was SOOO wrong.. *weep* The emperor has no clothes folks!!!! OPEN YOUR EYES!!!
  
  
• World of Warcraft Refit
  By A1EZ3CNJBY443E on 2008-06-23
  D&D has been around in one form or another for 31+ years, which is about as long as I've been playing. The advantage of D&D and the D20 game system in general is that everybody knows it. There's no huge learning curve needed to just start playing the game. Every previous edition of D&D has understood this basic strength.
  
  Fourth Edition, plain and simple, is not D&D, and is not the D20 system. It's an entirely new game. Wizards of the Coast has made a huge mistake with this. They're trying to attract video game players by turning D&D into a pen and paper version of World of Warcraft. That tactic is simply not going to work. Current World of Warcraft players are not going to stop playing World of Warcraft to play this. Current D&D enthusiasts simply are not going to bother learning this new system, not when third party vendors are still supporting edition 3.5, and not while better RPG systems already exist (Note: This based on my discussions with customers from game stores in the fifth largest city in the US).
  
  Bottom line, fourth edition is going to go over for Wizards of the Coast the same way that "New Coke" went over for Coca Cola. My advice would be to save your money, and stick with an older edition of D&D. At its best, fourth edition is simply not an improvement over what has come before it. It's just something different.
  
  
• Horrible, don't waste your time
  By ATVUDKV87U7H0 on 2008-06-18
  If you like WoW, go play WoW. Don't waste 100$ and another 100$ on the all important miniatures and on these craptastic books just so you can play world of warcraft on paper!
  
  Notice how there are already used books available here and on ebay! Tell you something?
  
  
• Well, what can I say?
  By A24DZJPUXK8SD2 on 2008-06-21
  First of all, I have very little to add based on all the other responses. If you want to know how this version of D&D is bad, they'll tell you. What we need to look at now are the implications of this new era of gaming. This edition does not allow for the flexibility necessary to tell fun, unique stories. Not really. Not if you think about the limits imposed by the system and the archetypal themes the designers have abandoned in favor of playability or, rather, simplicity. The kind of role-playing I like to do focuses on the story, and I have always had an ear toward writing when I'm gaming. It's not like that for everyone, and some people may like the "game" elements of this edition. I don't like what I've seen and read because I don't feel like I can tell a good story with this rules set. This edition is more about powers and miniatures and those other elements of D&D. It's less about a generic fantasy system where everything is possible and more about combat and what story the designers have set forth. Role-playing should be less about what tropes the system demands and more about your own imagination. Just look through the books and see how the designers are telling you how to play. What races do what. What classes work this way. What powers this type of character should have. How you should interact with the rest of the party. The list goes on.
  
  
• Awful
  By AIED1TNURGDHT on 2008-06-12
  Worst D&D version ever. It is but a shell of what D&D once was and is now the shattered remnants of something that was grand. Rest in peace D&D. Quite possibly the worst rpg I have ever played.
  
  
• A Review from Someone Who Actually Played It: The DMG
  By A1C2W1AS1C1LPA on 2008-06-12
  First, I want to rebuke the most common complaints from people who read the books (but apparently didn't play the game).
  
  1) People say this is the death of role-playing, and the system is totally focused on combat. COMPLETELY UN-TRUE. First off, I am a self-taught 3rd edition player, and I can tell you from experience, 3rd edition has NOTHING on role-playing in any of the books. There is only HALF A PAGE dedicated to role-playing in the 3rd edition PHB. The 4th edition books actually have section on role-playing and personality development. I would also like to remind opponents of 4th edition that the amount of role-playing in a game comes from the DMs expectations, not the game mechanics. All the game mechanics (as in dice rolling) are geared towards combat (in 3rd and 4th edition). You don't need numbers to role-play. No matter how your character is statistically quantified, role-playing is still up to the person playing, not the character sheet in front of them.
  
  2) The complaint that 4th edition is only combat oriented is another fallacy. The combat system in 4th edition has been streamlined and simplified. I ran an encounter, and it ran so much smoother then 3rd edition. And I ask, what are the hall-marks of the heavy role-playing RPGs like white wolf? Simplified character creation and combat (like 4th edition). I also ask, What are the hall-marks or a war games? A slow and overly complicated combat system (like 3rd edition).
  
  3) The third complaint that I hate is that Wizards of the Coast is trying to market to the "world of warcraft" crowd. OF COURSE THEY ARE! It took WoW a year and a half to get an audience comparable to what it took D&D 30 years to get. By the way, about 9 out of 10 people I play WoW with, I also play D&D with.
  
  So lets recap: Opponents of 4th edition say that by making combat simpler, you are somehow focusing the entire game on it. And that by including sections about role-playing (which 3rd edition was sorely lacking) you are some how discouraging role-playing.
  
  Getting to the game I ran. I ran a 4th edition encounter with three 3rd edition veterans and a new comer to D&D. My three veterans loved it, and I found it so much easier to prepare a game. But the novice, who never liked 3rd edition, really enjoyed 4th edition. So soon I will be starting up a new 4th edition campaign.
  
  Remember, actual role-playing has nothing to do with technical rules used in combat, no matter what system of dice rolling you use, role-playing isn't effected by that.
  
  Simply said, 4th edition is new, innovative, and a better game. It isn't "dumbed down for stupid WoW players." Who the hell ever put points in "use rope" anyway?
  
  On the Dungeon Master Guide (DMG): The new DMG is a perfect combination of the DMG and DMGII from 3.5. The DMG is now something you use to build adventures, but not have to bring to your game (all the rules you need for a game are in the PHB). The DMG is perfectly split between technical information (which the 3.5 DMG had too much of). And practical DMing advise (which the 3.5 DMG was sorely lacking in). Overall, it is a great improvement to the DMG and D&D.
  
  
• I wanted more crunchy bits
  By AGQ4JM6HNI39D on 2008-06-16
  This is a great book for the beginning DM. I already own DMG1 and DMG2 (from 3.5 edition) and had already been doing skill challenges (where was this initially introduced?) just as described in this book.
  
  Its a fine book, but it only has a few rules that I might need to reference. The encounter building and the treasure are the only parts I'll probably need to reference, but that was only like 10% of the book.
  
  I miss the DMG being this huge tome of knowledge that I could just kick back and enjoy on a rainy day, (1st edition DMG comes to mind).
  
  
• must have been high when i bought this
  By AYMFEY30AL48T on 2008-06-21
  i ignored the bad signs, didn't download the leaked print copies online, and wow did i pay the price.
  
  this really is a video game without graphics, asking you to put the work into a game that has become a WoW clone. Just get WoW and play with your friends, you will be MUCH happier.
  
  if you want good table top, you're in luck because 3.5 stuff is now becoming dirt cheap. or try pathfinder rpg.
  
  
• Stop crying until you've actually PLAYED the game.
  By ATMY1V1JDLUWL on 2008-06-06
  People who are crying about how the game supposedly is horrible now sadden me. Have these people even PLAYED the game at all to see how it works out? Or did they just read a few pages and then cry doom? I think it's the latter here. Actually you DO indeed still have lots of RP opportunities and for those people who can't RP without rolling dice you do still have your social skills. I don't see at all how this version supposedly ruins your RP. I've had arguments with some people over changes like Paladins being any alingment and they say that actually allows for more creativity. Seriously, the only thing I'd agree with about reduced creativity is how muticlassing works now. Unlike the crybabies I'm at least going to PLAY and TRY the game out first.
  
  
• A welcome change
  By AOJGHMQYSR0WE on 2008-06-10
  Ok,I am not surprized many people are underating the 4th edition, it was the same with 3th edition.
  
  It have changed alot...but in my point of view it is for better.
  No more complicated multi face rolls (like Grappling for example), no more hundreds of skills, the new classes and races are cool, I like the power system, etc...
  I understand what people mean about online computer games, I play Wow and it is obvious the power system and the rules in general have something about online games....but check this....everything changes, D&D is changing bc it must change to survive! Why should a boy spend hours creating content for D&D if he can login and play Wow in seconds?...RPGs are changing and will change even more in the years ahead...if they wanna survive.
  I played AD&D since first edition and maybe I am one of those few who can say "I played and loved all editions".
  This one im lovin already, straight foward rules, dynamic and fast paced...full of intersting ideas (D&D Insider is something lots of people will use from times to times now a days)
  
  If u love D&D and want it to survive the next decade you should support the changes in 4th edition or we will all end playing WoW on our computer desks, we will have no more social games anymore, no more game tables with friends at home, there will be no more use for our imagination and creativity....no more Dungeons & Dragons. Never forget rules are just rules...RPGs are much more than rules..the rules are the medium to make the game work, we (the players) make the RPG happen...I am sure the 4th edition can give people an amazing experience if in the right hands.
  
  One last word..
  If u dont like the 4th edition why complaining? Continue playing 1st, 2nd or the 3th edition! There are tons of material from the past editions to play for a hundred years. Have fun and let the new generations have fun whith the 4th edition.
  
  and sorry about my english, it is not my native language.
  
  
  
• Best of the 3, but 4th Ed is still a train wreck.
  By A3ID5KAROZAJO on 2008-07-01
  I've been an absolutely RABID fan of Dungeons and Dragons in all of its incarnations since about 1980. I had all of the 1st edition and 2nd edition books, 3.0 represented a big change for me, but I grew to like it - and then 3.5 really fixed some of the bugs in 3.0 making it one of the most modular systems I'd ever seen.
  
  When the 4th edition of D&D was announced, it seemed premature. When the video of the presentations about 4th edition hit YouTube, I was intrigued - a lot of what I seeing sounded very promising. I began to let myself get excited about the new edition, then I read one of the preview books - and began to get nervous, but I figured, hey, this is just a preview - they'll work out the bugs. After all, version 3.0/3.5 had a few clunky spots, but if you worked through those, BAM, you had an amazingly well oiled machine, right? Then I get the 4th edition rulebooks. Wow, talking about a head shot. We have "new Coke" in game form.
  
  First, I believe it is entirely misguided for WotC to try to turn D&D into a MMO, yet that's effectively what they've done. The various classes are too homogenous, their roles are too rigidly defined, all of the powers and abilities have to work on a square grid. While this certainly "simplifies" and "streamlines" the system, it's effectively thrown the baby out with the bathwater as there's no "system" left. Gone are perennial favorites like the Druid, bard, and monk, and we get the warlord???
  
  Of the three Core rulebooks, the DMG is probably the best. It includes a lot of really good information for new DM's on how to engage players based on their playing style. Unfortunately, it's a part of an edition that has essentially removed the role playing aspect and replaced it almost entirely with "roll playing." With all of the action effectively taking place on a grid - the DM may as well be a decent Core 2 PC programmed to make the rolls.
  
  I sincerely hope that 4th edition is improved as additional supplements are released, but I'm not holding my breath (and I AM holding my dollars until I see evidence of improvement). At this point I see 4th Edition as an interesting game of below average depth and quality. I fear Gary Gygax is rolling over in his grave to see the "Dungeons and Dragons" name on it.
  
  
  
• Nothing to get excited about.
  By AV38HA259TT23 on 2008-07-03
  I borrowed a copy of this and the PHB from someone and read the pair of them from cover to cover just so I could say that I had read them. I've got all the 3rd edition books (some of which I wish I hadn't bought). Even if I had liked what I read in 4e I wouldn't drop 3.5 to play it simply because, for me and my group, 3.5 isn't broken and we've invested too much and effort into it to drop it for another system. 4e is, as many here have said, Wizards' desperate attempt to appeal to all those kiddies who'd rather be playing WoW or some other MMORG. They're clever buggers though. They raped an rpg called Earthdawn for 3rd edition, why not do the same to the most popular video game of the day. Im sure it'll work for them on the money side. It made them rich with 3.5. Im wondering what Wrath of the Lich King will do to their sales though. Who wants to play WoW without the graphics?
  4e? Its a streamlined, dumbed down, annoyingly uncomplicated DnD. Gone are all the cool things I love about 3.5. Where 3.5 allows for an endless array of characters, 4e looks to me to be not unlike WoW characters who come in about 3 versions per class, one of which is always going to be toted as the best 'build'.
  I've heard a lot of people criticize 3.5 over wizards having spells per day and it being limiting. I play a lot of successful wizards and I never have a problem. 4e though has spells that per day, per encounter, per round, etc. That's no less absurd to me. What the heck is a per encounter spell? That's absurd. What if the encounter is 1 rd and the next 25 rds? Not to mention they removed spells from the game. Its just sad.
  Thank you Wizards for 3.5. I don't need this latest dire wolf in WoW's clothing.
  
  
• Surprisingly helpful
  By A14AY8ID01APMH on 2008-06-10
  Despite the large amounts of whining you might hear about 4th edition, I believe all the changes are for the better. At least, for the better up from 3rd/3.5, which were terrible rules-wise. The production quality of the book is high and the content well-written.
  
  This book is (perhaps counter-intuitively) very light on rules and very heavy on guidelines, but even experienced DMs will learn a lot from it. You can never get too much advice on how to be a good DM.
  
  
• By far the best source of actual DMing information yet in one book
  By A12JYPBTZ64O6H on 2008-06-23
  By far the best source of actual DMing information yet in one book. Rather than focusing on player resources like prestige classes and magic items, this is the first time a DMG has focused purely on the DM, not the players. It's full of great advice even for advanced DMs, and tools to make DMing not only easier, but more fun for the DM. I highly suggest you pick this up if you think you might want to try DMing 4th edition D&D.
  
  
• The most excited I've been about D&D for a long time
  By ARPKJH9QSSJIP on 2008-06-08
  The new edition of D&D is a revelation. I've played every version since 1st edition AD&D, but this is the first time that everything has clicked so quickly, and I find myself nodding constantly as I read through the rulebooks.
  
  A number of classic D&D elements have been ripped out and replaced, but now everything is more streamlined and consistent, and makes sense from a gameplay balance point of view. While some aspects have been simplified, the range of choices available to both players and DMs, as well as the associated fun factor, have both been given a huge boost.
  
  Some "roleplayers" will be disappointed that there are less rules for dealing with roleplaying encounters, but I don't think these should be overly reliant on dice rolls in the first place. In my opinion, now that the rules themselves have been made more intuitive and less intrusive, there will be even more opportunities for having fun with roleplaying in D&D.
  
  
• The Best of a Bad Lot
  By A1BN0D0C5B1BU6 on 2008-06-21
  By and large, I don't recommend the 4E rules. The new edition has chopped out nearly all non-combat rules and otherwise severely limited the options open to both players and DMs. The Dungeon Master's Guide is the most useful of the three core rule books, but even that isn't saying very much.
  
  What's good here? The advice to novice DMs about building, pacing, and running an adventure is very useful. The basic ideas about combat roles for monsters are useful.
  
  What's bad? Well, the problem is that much of this advice is couched in terms of the broken 4th Edition rule system, which I've described elsewhere as the illegitimate lovechild of World of Warcraft and Hackmaster. It's all about comic-book fantasy combat. The only non-combat mechanic in the book - the skill challenge - is fundamentally broken at the mathematical level: parties need an 80% success rate to succeed at a skill challenge, and most PCs have no better than a 65% chance with most skills. So most parties will fail at most skill challenges most of the time.
  .
  Unfortunately if you ditch the broken rule system, much of the rest of the book is just useless. If you want or need DM advice, then pick this book up second-hand. I expect to see many used copies coming available soon as disgusted users sell off their books. There's no sense in paying full price when you'll have to pry any useful tips loose from the useless 4E rules matrix.
  
  
• Nice video game, bad RPG
  By A1SORZL733985Z on 2008-07-09
  You can read all the bad decisions Hasbro made on this dog in other reviews, but to be susinct: DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY. I have never pre-judged any of the D&D editions, loved 3.5 despite the wave of initial anger over it, but this time the critics are right. This is a video game, not an RPG, not even a good wargame. It is dumbed down D&D and really, really, silly. It reads alomst as a parody of the game - it plays like a shadow of it.
  
  
• A quick review
  By A1VC22D4G0C50Z on 2008-06-12
  As a person who started playing D&D with the pink Basic Box and then worked my way up to Expert, AD&D and finally 2nd edition AD&D (that is about 30 years of rpging) I feel that I can put my simply opinion into the ether.
  
  Many folks have complained that the Core Rules have lost much of the D&D flavor. I disagree. It seems to me that the Core Rules should be rules, and fairly generic, so that they can be applied to any setting. I all to clearly remember Basic through 1st edition AD&D not containing much in the way of flavor either. Instead the DM and players had to work together to create the world.
  
  How is 4th any different. I can take these rules and apply them to Greyhawk, Forgotten Realms (ick), Ravenloft, etc. with little difficulty. I would think that any half-decent DM/player could do the same thing. Too many folks are worried that they won't be able to Monty Hall their characters as easily as in 3rd edition.
  
  Get over it and enjoy the game.
  
  
• A DMG I Will Actually Use
  By AJIKFTAX7L59Q on 2008-06-22
  There's a lot to love about 4th edition but I will focus on the Dungeon Master's Guide.
  
  This is the first DMG I will actually use. It has excellent suggestions for dealing with different player types, gives you a lot of information on worldbuilding, and, most importantly, tells you how to quickly create custom monsters and NPCs.
  
  NPC generation took the most amount of time for me in my 3.5 games, sometimes taking hours to fill out a powerful boss for a final battle. With 3.5 a DM can create an NPC in a few minutes or customize a monster, turning them into an elite or even a solo mob with little more than some notes on a 3x5 card.
  
  Though the DMG no longer contains magic items, I still see myself using this DMG a lot more than any previous DMG I have seen.
  
  Ignore the haters - 4th edition is the game the way it is meant to be played.
  
  

• Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual: Roleplaying Game Core Rules, 4th Edition
• Dungeons & Dragons Player's Handbook: Roleplaying Game Core Rules, 4th Edition
• Keep on the Shadowfell (Dungeons & Dragons, Adventure H1)
• Adventurer's Vault: A 4th Edition D&D Supplement
• Dungeons & Dragons Dungeon Master's Screen