Vicar In A Tutu
Explorer
I recently snagged a copy of The Rules Compendium, and having read much of the book, I can only say that I love it. I have played 4E from the launch in 2008, and although I'm not a fanboy, I certainly like the system very much. But I wasn't always a fan of the presentation. The rules compendium is the way 4E should have been presented from the get-go, IMHO. The first thing I noticed, was the emphasis on improvisation, both on the part of the DM and the players. The sidebars (example: page 34) explain the importance of not making every single encounter a fight and instead letting the characters attempt to solve obstacles with clever (and quite often, bizarre) ideas. A small but nice touch is the brief improv suggestions at the end of each skill description, along with a suitable DC. For example, one of the improv suggestions for Acrobatics, is "Slide down a staircase on a shield while still standing (hard DC)".
The Rules Compendium also impresses on the reader the importance of a setting. This doesn't have to be one of the established D&D settings (although it does give a short description of the campaign settings released for 4E, as well as briefly detailing the default D&D 4E world, the gods and the planes), the point is that it shows the importance of the world, and doing that in a book titled "The rules compendium" is a way of demonstrating that D&D isn't just all about rules, it is about flavour; the creation of - and immersion in - worlds of your imagination.
I also think the art direction is better in the rules compendium than in PHB1. The emphasis on setting shines through in the sense that although many pieces display combat, quite a few seem to illustrate fantastic places and characters simply exploring. I love the picture on page 81 of the lone traveller walking towards a strange city on a hill, on each side of the road running all up to the distant city are statues of mysterious robed and hooded men holding glowing lanterns. It's a shame this picture is so small, in the art gallery, it was a fullpage piece. The only chapter-opening artwork i was disapointed with, was the piece on page 262. I'm not a fan of fullpage pieces that only illustrate a single character, without background or context, especially when the character is so dull as this one (rawr I'm an elf archer! yawn snore)
The book is easy to read and reference, and so far it has proven a joy to use. However, I really missed the rules on rituals (the sidebar on page 134 was not enough). It would have been cool if the part on rituals included not just the full rules (except the write-up of the actual rituals themselves of course), but also inspirational sidebars that give DMs some help in making the players want to use rituals, maybe even how to integrate rituals into adventures in new and exciting ways. I just feel that rituals is a part of 4E that has been neglected, and maybe even the base rules don't work like they should (no one in my group ever uses rituals, they generally tend to cost too much gold and take too long to cast).
Overall, a wonderful book. I'm looking forward to reading Heroes of the fallen lands!
The Rules Compendium also impresses on the reader the importance of a setting. This doesn't have to be one of the established D&D settings (although it does give a short description of the campaign settings released for 4E, as well as briefly detailing the default D&D 4E world, the gods and the planes), the point is that it shows the importance of the world, and doing that in a book titled "The rules compendium" is a way of demonstrating that D&D isn't just all about rules, it is about flavour; the creation of - and immersion in - worlds of your imagination.
I also think the art direction is better in the rules compendium than in PHB1. The emphasis on setting shines through in the sense that although many pieces display combat, quite a few seem to illustrate fantastic places and characters simply exploring. I love the picture on page 81 of the lone traveller walking towards a strange city on a hill, on each side of the road running all up to the distant city are statues of mysterious robed and hooded men holding glowing lanterns. It's a shame this picture is so small, in the art gallery, it was a fullpage piece. The only chapter-opening artwork i was disapointed with, was the piece on page 262. I'm not a fan of fullpage pieces that only illustrate a single character, without background or context, especially when the character is so dull as this one (rawr I'm an elf archer! yawn snore)
The book is easy to read and reference, and so far it has proven a joy to use. However, I really missed the rules on rituals (the sidebar on page 134 was not enough). It would have been cool if the part on rituals included not just the full rules (except the write-up of the actual rituals themselves of course), but also inspirational sidebars that give DMs some help in making the players want to use rituals, maybe even how to integrate rituals into adventures in new and exciting ways. I just feel that rituals is a part of 4E that has been neglected, and maybe even the base rules don't work like they should (no one in my group ever uses rituals, they generally tend to cost too much gold and take too long to cast).
Overall, a wonderful book. I'm looking forward to reading Heroes of the fallen lands!
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