Is the DMG 2 recommended?

[babinro]

I'm prepping for a purchase of D&D books (namely primal power) online and I really don't know if DMG2 is worth the hard earned money.

I find I primarily refer to DMG 1 for traps, templates, and the less common rules such as flight, underwater combat and the like. I get the impression the book may have been a little disappointing based solely on the lack of feedback it seems to have gotten on the forums.

The DMG 2 I'm sure has a bunch more traps/templates (I loved the chandelier in the preview and have used it as a template for many environment based traps)...but does it offer enough to justify the purchase?

 

[Mouseferatu]

DMG2 should be required reading for anyone who ever wants to run a D&D game. I've been playing since I was 9, I've kept up with every edition, I've been running games that entire time, and this book still has more useful DMing advice than any other I can think of.

It's one of those rare D&D books where I can say "I'm really glad I didn't work on this," and mean that in a good way. I'm getting more out of reading it than I'd ever have gotten out of working on it.

The mechanical parts of it are pretty cool, but honestly, the best reason to get it is for the advice and suggestions. I'm actually reading it through cover-to-cover.

 

[Garthanos]

Well it's on my wish list ;-), because of alternate rewards (at minimum.)

 

[the8bitdeity]

I bought it, and love it. That said, I didn't buy it for crunch, I bought it for the Robin Laws brain dump about cooperative storytelling which takes up a good chunk.

 

[AllisterH]

I find I primarily refer to DMG 1 for traps, templates, and the less common rules such as flight, underwater combat and the like. I get the impression the book may have been a little disappointing based solely on the lack of feedback it seems to have gotten on the forums.

The DMG1 I thought got great feedback. The only argument against it I heard was that it was not that great if you've been a DM for 10+ years.

As for the DMG2? Fantastic product.

 

[Daern]

another thumbs up here. I just got it today and reading through I'm pretty stoked. The cooperative storytelling section is great. (I had to stop and answer an email with my players about cooperatively planning the next phase of the campaign.
The companion character rules are great too.

 

[Starfox]

To me, this reads like a verdict of "Burrow this from a friend and read it".

Is there a reason to own this book?

 

[Jaysue]

To me, this reads like a verdict of "Burrow this from a friend and read it".

Is there a reason to own this book?

Perhaps by purchasing it you are encouraging more books of its kind to come into existence?

 

[babinro]

In my group, I'm the one that actually purchases the books since I host the games. So borrowing will be out of the question. I have a feeling I wouldn't be referring to it much compared to other products, but it is very encouraging to hear such positive feedback so far.

 

[OchreJelly]

I'm about 1/3 of the way through it. After DMing 20+ years, it still offers me new approaches to running a campaign. The way I look at it, it's like a collective brain dump of 20+ years of veteran DM advice. It's very contemporary in its advice ("never say 'no', when to break the 'never say no' rule etc.).

If something like that seems valuable to you, then go for it. I don't foresee myself using it at the table very often (similar to DMG1), but it will be useful for prep. I haven't even really gotten to the crunchy bits yet.

All that said, there is a bit of retread of content that has appeared via DDI articles, like some of the skill challenge stuff.