No love for DMG II !?!?

[Crothian]

I put up a review of it

http://www.enworld.org/forum/reviews/265450-dungeon-masters-guide-2-a.html#post4938358

 

[Shroomy]

I can let slide the reprinting within reason. Reprinting some good skill challenges for instance, or reprinting the traps article (It has all the detailst o make traps).

As far as skill challenges, SO MUCH has been written (a weekly article on them!) that it would be hard to not repeat themselves.

There's also the virtue of having everything in one place for ease of reference instead of spread out across multiple DDI articles. Also, its not like their hiding any reprinting, as they're pretty up front about it.

 

[MerricB]

Reprinting has a long, proud history in D&D. AD&D - collated D&D with additions from the supplements and the magazines (like the Illusionist and the Bard). AD&D's Unearthed Arcana was primarily reprints from Dragon mag...


Cheers!

 

[weem]

Really enjoying it here - and it will, to date, be the only 4e book I will have read from front to back (I'm almost done).

There was a lot in there I was doing already, or had things I had already thought to do but hadn't tried yet - but there was still plenty of new ideas as well.

I'm just tossing my vote into the "very good book" bucket

 

[applenerd]

So it seems like the consensus is that it is a good book. I'm a ddi subscriber so I've been buying less books in 4e than 3e overall. I'm thinking of running a some games for some friends soon however.

If you guys had to pick which book would be potentially more helpful if you were only going to buy one, would it be DMG2 or MM2? It seems like maybe DMG2 might be a better buy since I have ddi but I'm curious what you guys think. Any cool stuff in MM2 that isn't already in ddi?

 

[Hawke]

I'd certainly say DMG2 over MM2 if you have DDI. Sure there's some great new fluff, but I find it easier to create fluff around monsters than to come up with some of the great stuff they have in DMG2.

I'd like to echo the comments that the reprints make me wary. Not bad enough to make me disappointed with this purchase, but I do not want to pick something up in the future. I'm a DDI subscriber, and since they dropped PDF support (I purchased all books in PDF format prior to the drop) I've relied only in DDI. Eberron Player's Guide (requirement for a friend's campaign as I was 100% unfamiliar) and DMG2 are the only two I've bought since and have been very pleased.

I do want to see a big article with Terrain Powers in it... seems like you could do a lot! These are cooler than Traps, I think.

 

[caudor]

I'm interested in the book. The big draw for me is companion characters since I do not have a full group right now. Could someone shed some more light on how these characters work? Here's a couple of specific questions:

Are companion characters equivalent (or close) in power to a regular PCs? For example, could two regular PCs and two/three companion characters survive something like The Keep on the Shadowfell if all the roles are covered?

Finally, do companion characters level up or get XP? Can they keep growing with the party?

Thanks

 

[Kelvor Ravenstar]

Are companion characters equivalent (or close) in power to a regular PCs? For example, could two regular PCs and two/three companion characters survive something like The Keep on the Shadowfell if all the roles are covered?

Finally, do companion characters level up or get XP? Can they keep growing with the party?

Companion characters seem about equal in power to a monster of the equivalent level, but less powerful than a full PC. In the Heroic tier companion characters only have 1 at-Will, 1 Encounter power, and 1 Utility power of equal to or less than the companion character's level. They gain more utilities and encounter powers in the paragon and epic tiers, but since they have no daily powers I think they will be weaker than a full PC over the long term, and definitely less versatile.

The companion characters are treated as full party members for the purpose of encounter budgets and gaining XP, and as such guidelines for advancing them in level are presented.

 

[caudor]

Thanks Kelvor, that's what I needed to know. Now the DMGII is a must-have for me.

As soon as I get the book (I ordered), I'm going to work with my two players to fill out the gaps in the party with CCs. Then off to the Keep on the Shadowfell they will go. It will be interesting to see if they fare well or get slaughtered

Thanks again.