Review of Mordenkainen’s Magnificent Emporium by WotC

So after gushing about this book for several paragraphs, you gave it 3.75 because of the availability constraints? Really? How about you add that in a post-script, but not have it affect the score? I'm sorry you had to drive and get the book, and maybe WotC will learn from this fiasco, but in a month's time are any of us going to remember or give a crap about this roadblock? Remember, there was a time when this was NEVER going to be available. We're lucky to have it at all.

 

[da_samus]

i read the review (pretty good actually) but with the riprint stuff you got me confused

i don't own DMG2 nor AV1&2 so my main question is

should I buy this book ?

i would get it from amazon.co.uk (i am in Europe, Greece actually) in an order with DMG2 in really good prices (18$ each) but after reading all those replys a am a little mixed about it.

should i get AV1&2 instead or should i get all 3?

i DM with PHB1,DMG1 & MM1 (with some calculation in monsters) and we lack magic items

 

[Neuroglyph]

i read the review (pretty good actually) but with the riprint stuff you got me confused

i don't own DMG2 nor AV1&2 so my main question is

should I buy this book ?

Personally, you can never have enough magic items! I own all three books myself, but I also tend to be a completest when it comes to collecting books for a particular game. AV1 and AV2 definitely have more items in them than does MME, but AV1 has very little in the way of "fluff" text regarding the nature and origin of a magic item. And AV2 has more fluff than AV1, but much less than MME.

So if you're just looking for magic items in bulk to add to your game, my opinion is grab AV1 & 2. But if you're looking for more role-playing with magic item acquisition, or looking for vintage D&D magic items updated to 4E rules, then MME might be a better fit.

 

[Windjammer]

i would get it from amazon.co.uk (i am in Europe, Greece actually) in an order with DMG2 in really good prices (18$ each)

Apart from MME, which is hard to get with ordinary online retailers, you should check out thebookdepository.com - they are owned by Amazon, give you free shipping worldwide, and their prices are consistently lower than Amazon UK or Germany. I buy a lot of D&D and Pathfinder over there, and while it takes long to deliver, and there are occasional problems with packaging quality (you'll usually get a full refund though), it's the best online value for money I've found in the past five years.

but after reading all those replys a am a little mixed about it.

should i get AV1&2 instead or should i get all 3?

i DM with PHB1,DMG1 & MM1 (with some calculation in monsters) and we lack magic items

A significant factor of anyone's buying decision is which PC classes the items are for - i.e. which PCs you got in your current (and foreseeable) campaign. Beyond some really nice items that are class neutral (consumables, immurements, and what not) 4E's magic item books are de facto companion volumes for specific books which introduced new classes. I consider the following a very reasonable break down:

PHB 1 --> You need AV 1.
PHB 2 --> You need AV 2.
Heroes of the ... --> Mordenkainen's ME.

In this light, I'd advise to get AV 1.

And if your players ever start to play barbarians (PH 2) or sentinel druids (HotFK) then I'd recommend AV 2 and MME respectively. But until then, your money is better spent elsewhere. May I actually recommend getting PH 2 regardless? I always think of 4th edition as a complete game only with the PH 1 + PH 2 combo, and PH 2 is in any case one of the absolute high points of the edition. Mearls called it his finest.