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Message: <blockquote data-quote="MadLordOfMilk" data-source="post: 4609419" data-attributes="member: 77691">I went out and got the Monster Manual and DMG, so you can finally add that to my list.Well, part of me bought it just because it was cool, but yeah the tables of information help. The PHB was because to me it seemed like the one book you really NEED to have a copy of, given that it has all of the combat rules, classes, feats, etc. in it. Plus, I don't think RPGs are as fun unless you can make your own character, so yes not having to rely on just the pregens was a big reason also, but we did use a couple though! It's great if someone wants to jump in for a session and try the game out, things like that. One of our now regular players randomly came to one of the sessions (he's friends with everyone who plays) and his Dragonborn Paladin happened to score a perfectly-timed crit to save the day against Irontooth when the party started dropping like flies <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />Not having a MM hasn't been much of a problem, as I can just take stat blocks from other creatures in KotS. For making a campaign, though, it'd probably help quite a bit to have a good reference point, though I could also technically just come up with everything myself.Not having a DMG has certainly made things interesting, but nothing ridiculous. I had at least a little to go off of, and KotS at least covers the basics in the front of the adventure book. We've done a bit of experimentation to see what works and what doesn't. I've read up a lot on ENWorld trying to find general advice, which has definitely helped out. Probably the biggest thing I've noticed is have someone else track initiative; it makes life a LOT easier, surprisingly! We also wrote it directly on the battle mat in the corner our most recent game which seemed to work well for letting people know when they were up.As far as DMing, I certainly have a good grasp of how to run things from the mechanical side, but making it go smoothly can be tough. The first couple encounters were a bit rough getting through; our first session was spent making characters then only getting done with the very first encounter of the campaign. "Well, guys, we've spent a few hours, and technically according to the rules, we've passed about... 36 seconds in-game time, as every round is 6 seconds." Next session was just MORE kobolds and the initial town encounter. I've tried asking for one player to give a recap of the last session (another tip I got from ENWorld!) which I'd hoped would let me figure out what stuck out most to people and what didn't. The first time, the summary was just "Kobolds." "What?" "That's basically it, Kobolds." Ultimately I've found out the plain open-field encounters are generally pretty boring, whereas the more there is to do, the better. Ultimately without a DMG as a guide, I've had to do a lot of winging it as far as everything non-mechanical, but it's gone fairly well so far. I just went out and bought one, which I think should help a lot.A local game store <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /> Although I got the PHB at Barnes & Noble where, btw, I could find every other book for 4E, and a bunch of 3.5 books, but the PHB I had to ask someone and we had to find it, ultimately finding a stack hidden near the back wall on the floor at the side of one of the aisles hidden under another stack of manga... *facepalm* The rest I've gone to a game store near me. I can get stuff a tiny bit cheaper online but I like supporting the local shop, who also will order stuff if they don't have it which helps avoid shipping (which is how I got the battle mat, actually). They also tend to give random freebies to me whenever I get something there - first time in there my friend and I got a free, fairly cool d6 with the store's name on it instead of the 1, this last time he gave me two copies of a D&D miniatures map, stuff like that.Martial Power is definitely useful, and I want to get a copy of that. Adventurer's Vault I'm torn on whether or not I want to get it. Probably will if only for the alchemy stuff being unique, but I don't think I'd have *too* much trouble coming up with items to hand out.The smallest chessex one. It just baaarely doesn't quite fit all of the KotS encounters, but it's easy enough to modify them to fit. Before getting the mat we were using maps I found <a href="http://www.enworld.org/forum/4e-fan-creations-house-rules/235278-printer-friendly-keep-shadowfell-maps.html" target="_blank">here</a>. The cardstock idea I also read about on ENWorld, and I printed out the free Castle of Shadows counter pack from Fiery Dragon (designed for KotS) to use. I still have all the printed out map sheets in my binder that I take with me whenever we play, but we normally use the battle mat now. Dice-wise I think I'm up to about 8 or so sets; I keep 3 with me and leave the rest out for other people to use, though people are slooooowly getting their own dice.Well, it wasn't a total side-step of the price hurdle, but it did help quite a bit! Resourcefulness was key.</blockquote>

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