Totally true.
Getting Overwhelmed by "Everything is Core"
- Thread starter Lhorgrim
- Start date
Totally true.
Yeah, I just got it. So far I am using PHB1/DMG1/MM1/MM2.. I think it's enough and maybe get PHB2 just to treat my players. How necessary is AV? Besides giving them magic items?
Piratecat
Sesquipedalian
Heh. I love it as a DM, to the extent that I'm not sure I'd be playing 4e without it. It works well for making my prep incredibly fast. I'm not sure I'd find it very useful as only a player.Noone here has a DDI subscription, we all consider it a ridiculous waste of money. Game works fine, so there is certainly no need for it.
The Alchemical Items are good for equipping enemies with, as well as giving low level PCs some semi-magical firepower - I think they're a good encounter-building resource. The mounts & vehicle stats might come in useful sometime, but aren't really necessary. I'd say AV was not necessary as such, but for my GMing style it has a lot of useful content.
Overall I would put AV a bit ahead of DMG2 for DMing utility, but definitely behind MM2.
A number of my players have it, and they love it intensely - and they don't read the magazines or anything. Indeed, one of them (being a Mac person) doesn't even have the Character Builder. However, they spend time every session looking through the new powers in the Compendium, especially when they need to level up.
They also give me magic treasure suggestions based on the Compendium.
For me, it allows me to look up their powers when I'm surprised by one of them. (They dominated a Vampire Lord yesterday with Soul Puppets) I also love the Monster Builder. So easy - and it cuts down my preparation time massively.
Cheers!
The Little Raven
First Post
I find the fluff superior to what was in the previous editions of the game, and the best part is, they don't overstuff their books with it unlike previous editions.
Keldryn
Adventurer
I do like the "core" aspect in that races and classes are supported beyond the one book that introduces them.
The amount of PC options is quickly getting overwhelming for me. The game is very playable with just the PH/DMG/MM set of books.
The Player's Handbook 2, Arcane Power, Divine Power, and Martial Power make for a nice supplement to the options found in the Player's Handbook, filling out most of the concepts and archetypes from prior editions that didn't make it for the initial release.
The DMG2 is a fantastic and useful book for DMs, and the MM2 is actually the first book of that name that I bought under any edition. The Adventurers' Vault does a good job of supplementing the somewhat sparse equipment chapter in the Player's Handbook.
This set of books makes for a very complete and flexible core D&D game for me, and I think that I will probably be much more selective in which books I purchase and use in the future. Psionics was never really my thing, and the hybrid classes look complicated and inelegant, so the PH3 doesn't look like a "core" purchase for me, and I'm not sure what the DMG3 will have to offer that will make it appealing. The previews of Martial Power 2 look to me like the well is starting to run a bit dry and we're getting into more esoteric character concepts and options. We've already covered the majority of the "core" D&D concepts that have been present in all of the previous editions, so what I would define as "core" is pretty much complete at this point.
I do have a DDI subscription that I think is very useful as a DM; if I were only playing then I don't think it would be worthwhile.
The amount of PC options is quickly getting overwhelming for me. The game is very playable with just the PH/DMG/MM set of books.
The Player's Handbook 2, Arcane Power, Divine Power, and Martial Power make for a nice supplement to the options found in the Player's Handbook, filling out most of the concepts and archetypes from prior editions that didn't make it for the initial release.
The DMG2 is a fantastic and useful book for DMs, and the MM2 is actually the first book of that name that I bought under any edition. The Adventurers' Vault does a good job of supplementing the somewhat sparse equipment chapter in the Player's Handbook.
This set of books makes for a very complete and flexible core D&D game for me, and I think that I will probably be much more selective in which books I purchase and use in the future. Psionics was never really my thing, and the hybrid classes look complicated and inelegant, so the PH3 doesn't look like a "core" purchase for me, and I'm not sure what the DMG3 will have to offer that will make it appealing. The previews of Martial Power 2 look to me like the well is starting to run a bit dry and we're getting into more esoteric character concepts and options. We've already covered the majority of the "core" D&D concepts that have been present in all of the previous editions, so what I would define as "core" is pretty much complete at this point.
I do have a DDI subscription that I think is very useful as a DM; if I were only playing then I don't think it would be worthwhile.
Thanee
First Post
Only DM'ed H1-H3 in 4E so far, so prep work was = 0.
I can see the character generator as being a useful tool for many.
I always prefer browsing the books over using a program like that, though.
Bye
Thanee
Jack99
Adventurer
Only DM'ed H1-H3 in 4E so far, so prep work was = 0.
I can see the character generator as being a useful tool for many.
I always prefer browsing the books over using a program like that, though.
Bye
Thanee
You are a DM and you can't see how a monster builder with every single monster published and the ability to quickly tweak or change it can be useful to a DM?
While the CB certain merits to be worth something, to a DM the compendium and the Monster Maker should be a 100 times more useful.
jdrakeh
Front Range Warlock
This. Nothing past the original three core books is required. 4e is no different in this regard than past editions of D&D.
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