D&D 4E 4E Book advice

[Islanddoc]

Buying a book today, I have all 3 PHB,s DMG1, MM1, all Power 1 books and a few others.

Would you reccommend MM2, DM2 or Martial 2 or something entirely different. I am a DDI susbscriber.

I try to limit myself to a book at a a time. I DM a lot but all my players are in low levels.

Have been playing since 1980 and have all editions. Had considered FR but still have all my 2nd and 3rd edition FR stuff.

So big question is what is most important books to own hardcopys of???

 

[AbdulAlhazred]

Well, Hmmm. Its true most of the material on monsters and splat book stuff is in the Compendium, but I've always been partial to having the books (and there is definitely SOME rules text you miss out on with DDI). Monsters too have some background and whatnot that doesn't make it into DDI.

It really depends on what you're interested in. There are plenty of interesting supplements like Open Grave, Draconomicons, etc that have some interesting stuff in them IF you want a book on a particular subject.

DMG2 is a well written book. Nothing in it is vital, but there are a good number of things in there that are good ideas and useful material. Honestly its a book I don't open every day but I think I got my money's worth on it.

 

[Joshua Randall]

As you've already got DDI for the player-oriented crunch, I'd go with DMG2 or MM2.

4e FR is very different than pre-4E FR, which may or may not matter to you. Definitely flip through any FR book before you buy it, though.

 

[Peraion Graufalke]

Since you're a DDi subscriber I'd recommend "fluff-heavy" books:

DMG2
Manual of the Planes
The Plane Below
The Plane Above
Underdark
Open Grave

The Draconomicon books' fluff isn't that interesting to me personally; your mileage may vary. Also, I'd say they don't have that much fluff compared to the other books I listed above.

 

[Mr. Teapot]

DMG2 would be my top pick, as it's a good book for a starting DM or a good review for an experienced one. And little to none of the info therein is available through DDI.

MM2 only ranks a little below DMG2, and mostly because you have DDI to give you the monster stats. MM2 monsters are much better made than MM1 monsters, and produce more fun more consistently.


Various fluff books are nice as supplements if you're running a campaign relating to those themes (undead, the underdark, the planes, whatever). Or if you want to know as much as possible about the points of light setting. But none are totally essential. (On the other hand, they offer a bigger percentage of things not in the Compendium.)

 

[TikkchikFenTikktikk]

If you are a DM, get the DMG2, especially before your players hit paragon.

I also like Adventurer's Vault a lot, but am not a DDI subscriber. Everything in these books is probably already online.

 

[Taed]

I'm a DM and I didn't find the DMGs all that useful (though I use published modules which I modify as I see fit). There's a few key pages (such as treasure level groupings), but they just didn't do it for me.

The next book that interests me is the Players Strategy Guide. I see myself reading it for ideas for myself and for my players, and then loaning it out to them for a week each rotating. I haven't "seen" the book yet, so I might change my mind, but the excerpts so far have been good.

 

[Mengu]

The books I only ever open seem to be PHB, DMG and DMG2. I think I lost/misplaced my MM six months ago. Only reason I miss it is because of the pictures.

Most books are a good initial read/look through, and then go to the library for my players to borrow.

 

[Herschel]

DMG2 hands down. It's great and not as rules heavy (which is in DDI) but more focused on flavor and philosophy.

 

[Piratecat]

Underdark is a fantastic book with great flavor text. If you don't get the DMG2, consider getting that instead.