DMG to include a "starter town".

[Tewligan]

Nothing save the shrieking wrath of 10,000 angry grognards.

That flapping sound you hear is the sound of thousands of fatbeards trembling in rage!

 

[Reaper Steve]

Just to be clear:
Does this mean the 4E DMG with have both:
1) a detailed town, and
2) a starting adventure, or at least a starting/sample dungeon?

If so, then rock on! I think both would be awesome inclusions, especially if the two are tied together.

The right way to present this would be:
1) Here's a town, with design tips and rationale to help you make one of your own,
2) Here's a dungeon, with the same
3) Here's a few pages that make an adventure using both, and provides guidance for making your own, like above.

Something like that would go a long way toward recreating the 'shared D&D experience,' getting new gamers started immediately, and giving them lessons to continue on their own.

 

[Nebulous]

Just to be clear:
Does this mean the 4E DMG with have both:
1) a detailed town, and
2) a starting adventure, or at least a starting/sample dungeon?

If so, then rock on! I think both would be awesome inclusions, especially if the two are tied together.

The right way to present this would be:
1) Here's a town, with design tips and rationale to help you make one of your own,
2) Here's a dungeon, with the same
3) Here's a few pages that make an adventure using both, and provides guidance for making your own, like above.

Something like that would go a long way toward recreating the 'shared D&D experience,' getting new gamers started immediately, and giving them lessons to continue on their own.

I agree that it's a good idea, but i think that the DI can better provide this. Along with full color handouts, printable taverns, and so forth. Actually, the DI probably WILL continue on this route no matter is included in the DMG.

 

[Wormwood]

Just to be clear:
Does this mean the 4E DMG with have both:
1) a detailed town, and
2) a starting adventure, or at least a starting/sample dungeon?

If so, then rock on! I think both would be awesome inclusions, especially if the two are tied together.

Oh preach it brother!

I can't believe that in 2008 an RPG would require three books to play without even including a starting setting/scenario.

 

[Friadoc]

WW games are far less rules intensive, and the little demo they provide is normally an incredibly chopped down version (for example, normal Trinity had a minimum of 15 powers for each Aptitude in the core book, while the quickstart had 3). I dunno about the nWoD quickstarts, but the original ones had you using d6s instead of d10s and had about 1/10th of the content of the single core book. D&D requires far more material to be able to play (because of party roles), so a quickstart for D&D would be much larger.

Actually, from experience, the current WoD demo packs are a lot less watered down and follow the rules of the mainbooks they demo for quite closely and well.

Most of these demos, especially the first one, are ~50 pages with the first third of the book explaining the system, rules, mechanics, and so forth.

They're more like GURPS Lite when it comes to a system introduction than those earlier, less accurate demo packs from back in the day.

I use to heavily demo for White Wolf, back in the day, starting with Kindred of the East, and the fan-downloadable stuff is a lot more up to snuff with what we use to be given to do demos.

It's pretty nice and easy to do, in my view.

 

[Puggins]

Bah, I've always thought Hommlet was a bunch of sentimental, overrated rot compared to Orlane or the Keep, but hey, who asked me? I still enjoyed it back in the day, and I'll enjoy it again, I bet

And for the life of me, I can't fathom why people don't want examples of towns or dungeons in a book called The Dungeon Master's Guide. The original 1e DMG had an example dungeon (unfinished) and an example play session (unfinished). It also had a list of all MM monsters in list form that was a colossal waste of space that would've been far better spent fleshing out both examples. Never mind all this rubbish about "hand holding." Give me an example of a town that'll inspire me. That sounds like 10 to 20 (or more!) pages well spent.

 

[Aeolius]

Personally I feel they should put a "starter town" in a web-enhancement and use those pages in the DMG for something more valuable, like guidelines governing undersea adventures.

 

[WyzardWhately]

WW games are far less rules intensive, and the little demo they provide is normally an incredibly chopped down version (for example, normal Trinity had a minimum of 15 powers for each Aptitude in the core book, while the quickstart had 3). I dunno about the nWoD quickstarts, but the original ones had you using d6s instead of d10s and had about 1/10th of the content of the single core book. D&D requires far more material to be able to play (because of party roles), so a quickstart for D&D would be much larger.

Well, I think that you could fit a wordcount comparable to the 3E adventure game into a book the size of a monthly issue of KoDT, but I might be wrong. Even if I am mistaken, a pamphlet-sized adventure module + pregens + town, handed out gratis in gaming stores with the PHB , would be both brilliant and easy.

 

[The Little Raven]

Well, I think that you could fit a wordcount comparable to the 3E adventure game into a book the size of a monthly issue of KoDT, but I might be wrong.

Dunno how big those KoDT books are, so I can't really give you a response there.

Even if I am mistaken, a pamphlet-sized adventure module + pregens + town, handed out gratis in gaming stores with the PHB , would be both brilliant and easy.

And would be more expensive to support over the life of 4th edition than just placing a pregenerated iconic D&D town in the DMG.

 

[MojoGM]

I think this is a great idea, and I'll most certainly use it (and have been DMing for 20+ years, so I'm no newbie). I got some use out of Saltmarsh in the DMG 2 books as well.

But I kind of wish they would not use Homlett, but rather just a town map and a few key locations (but with #'s on the map that can be filled in as a DM wants). In fact, I'd love to see a whole book of nothing but detailed town and city maps with numbered locations that I can name and detail myself (without having to learn cartography for a graphic representation).

But maybe that's just me...