So is the book included in here have the same exact contents of the DMG?
No, the DM's book in the DM's Kit has sections from the DMG1 and DMG2, but not the entirety of either book. I believe there is also some new info, but not much. Think of it as a "best of" . . . taking the best parts of the current DMG books and rewriting them a bit for new DMs.
So... if I bought the DM's Kit, would I still need to buy a copy of the DMG?
Magic items are no longer a bonus for your character. They are as needed as feats or powers or anything else.
Not letting players choose most of them (with you then setting them into the adventure as you desire and throwing in a few curve balls) is ridiculous.
No, you wouldn't HAVE to . . . but you might want to . . .
The exact powers that items have are _not_ necessary. Those are what are 'bonuses' for the character.
However, by putting the magic items in the PHB, WotC inadvertently made the players think they were entitled to pick and choose magic items to optimize their characters.
By putting this back into the hands of the DM, a lot of the optimization issues that people have had can go away.
Disagree on both counts, MI's are designed to be a customization point for the players to use. Putting it in the hands of the DM doesnt do anything about optimization, its still there. The only objectionable optimizations are/were theorycraft anyway even tho WotC never let that get in the way of a nerf.
Putting it in the hands of the DM doesnt do anything about optimization, its still there. The only objectionable optimizations are/were theorycraft anyway even tho WotC never let that get in the way of a nerf.