I have DMGII and Revenge of the Giants

[Jack99]

Woo! What level spread is Against the Giants? And who's the Big Big Bad at the end?

Also - how does the number of Giants in play at one time compare to the number of available miniatures that Wizards have produced already?

I am not sure about the spread. Front and back cover says 12-17th level, but the first page says 12-18th - twice. So somewhere in that ballpark.

The big baddie is

Spoiler

a weakened primordial called Piranoth (lvl 19 solo) and he doesn't come alone in the final fight. It looks like an interesting fight with fun terrain features and a skill challenge for an alternative method of defeating Piranoth.

As for the miniature thing, the book has the stats of 21 different giants included. I saw no relation between the existing miniatures and the composition of the combats.

 

[Jack99]

Tell me about your pact with Asmodeus that gets you these books early.

First rule of pacts, you do not talk about the pact!

Does the DMG2:

1) Show any sort of formula as far as making powers and weighting the balance of status conditions? (Daze is worth two dice of damage etc etc).

2) Anything on building/acquiring keeps or such?

3) Chapter 2 and the section on Encounters as Story - is there talk of objectives in combat beyond what we saw in the excerpt? Three paragraphs doesn't scratch the surface, imho.

There is a couple of pages of examples about encounters as story. I see no trace of making powers or anything about building keeps.

More like did they give an example of a companion?

Yes there is an example of a companion - a gnome! It is also correct that some things are missing from the preview. From a list of possible companions to a detailed "recipe" for creating companion characters

 

[Rechan]

Sweeet.

 

[Hawke]

Sweet! I'm hoping mine arrives on time as the Wednesday after release the players will need to take an NPC into combat and I'd love to use these rules... what info does the table contain (not the content, but the headings) other than level / hp / healing surges? Suggestions for #/amount of powers or is it driven more toward taking existing monsters rather than details about how to create classed NPCs (beyond what's presented in DMG1)

 

[Jack99]

Sweet! I'm hoping mine arrives on time as the Wednesday after release the players will need to take an NPC into combat and I'd love to use these rules... what info does the table contain (not the content, but the headings) other than level / hp / healing surges? Suggestions for #/amount of powers or is it driven more toward taking existing monsters rather than details about how to create classed NPCs (beyond what's presented in DMG1)

Basically you get both. Sort of. One table is a list of creatures that should fit well as companions, since their at-wills and encounter powers are roughly equal to players' at-wills and encounter powers.

The other table (the one mentioned) just gives an overview of the 4 roles (controller, defender, striker and leader) and what HP, #surges, AC and defenses they should have.

Last but not least, there is also a bit more than a page covering the crafting of a unique companion character.

 

[Jack99]

Skill Challenges! How much did they change in the updated rules? Does the math finally make any sense?

Looks like the updated rules available for download @ wizards.com. So a bit too easy (IMO). Lots of good advice and great examples to improve your skill challenge-making.

Can you give some info on the Rod of 7 Parts?

When you have all 7 pieces, it's (amongst other things) a +7 mace! Poor elemental that gets critted by that. +7d10 damage

I was just reading the thread about templates, so what templates are available in the DMG2. Also, what artifacts besides the Rod of Seven Parts appears?

Templates
Beast of Demogorgon
Champion of Bane
Chaos Warrior
Cursed Guardian
Dragontouched Warrior
Grizzled Veteran
Hellbound Soldier
Mad Alchemist
Slithering Idol
Spectral Assassin
Spiderblessed Spinner
Terrifying Haunt
Victim of the Mad Dance

Artifacts
Adamantine Horse of Xarn
Amulet of Passage
Cup and Talisman of Al'Akbar
Emblem of Ossandrya
Rash and Reckless
Rod of Seven Parts
Standard of Eternal Battle

 

[Jack99]

Regarding Sigil:

We get about 15 pages worth of information of post-faction war Sigil. From a quick look, it seems business as usual (but I must admit that it has been a while since I played D&D in Sigil, so some things could easily have been changed without me noticing it), without the factions of course.

First there is some general info about the city, what it looks like and how it "feels", architecture, fauna (razorwine), the Lady and her Dabus and of course the portals.

Then the wards are described in greater detail along with a map of the city. The chapter ends with a two-page spread called Faces of Sigil, where you get a short overview of 20-ish NPC's of Sigil (And yes Shemeshka, your alter ego does get a mention).

After that we get a couple of standard encounters, one for the streets and one for the sewers of Sigil.

We also get a couple of pages about the various Gate-towns.

After that, there is a short (5 encounter) paragon-level adventure that takes you on a trip around Sigil, Tradegate and the Shadowfell.

Overall, it's just like everything else setting-wise released for 4e from WotC. It's a framework, and as a DM, you need to flesh it out and make it your own. Some will hate it, some will love it. I do not see how more can be expected, considering it is not a full setting, but merely a part of the DMGII - but I am sure some will disagree with me.

 

[Shroomy]

How do the gate-towns work in 4e without the Outlands or the Great Wheel? Also, do we get stats for any NPCs in Sigil and are there any monsters (such as the dabus)?

Also, any new monsters in the Revenge of the Giants?

 

[Cadfan]

Can you estimate how much of the DMG II will be material that by its nature will not make it into the Compendium or into any electronic tools? That's the biggest determinant of whether I buy it.

 

[Jack99]

Argh, just did a huge writeup of Revenge, and I accidentally hit the backspace button..

Will retype tomorrow, when I have the time.

Can you estimate how much of the DMG II will be material that by its nature will not make it into the Compendium or into any electronic tools? That's the biggest determinant of whether I buy it.

Hard to say. I doubt any of the first 62 pages will make it into the compendium. After that, maybe 30-40% of the rest of the book will be in the compendium.

How do the gate-towns work in 4e without the Outlands or the Great Wheel?

Gatetowns can be anywhere, and they are basically towns built up around the gate to a certain place. Due to seeping planar energy, the gate-town and surroundings "takes after" (to varying degree) the place where the portal leads.

Also, do we get stats for any NPCs in Sigil and are there any monsters (such as the dabus)?

2 Dabus', 2 Sons of Mercy and the Kadyx, a level 21 solo Demon War Drake.