What 4E books should I get for a new campaign?

[Jack99]

As others have said.

PHB2 is a solid choice, especially if you like the classes therein. MM2 is a must have, if you do not have the DDI. AV1 is a far better investment than the AV2.

Since you do not want the power books, that leaves the DM books and the setting books. None are something you need to have, but several of the best written 4e books are amongst those. Open Grave and Eberron Campaign Guide really stand out.

As for the DMG2, I can't recommend it enough. It's just choke full of great advice for being a DM and making better campaigns, no matter the system you play. There is also a lot of examples that exemplifies how you can structure things in 4e. I would probably buy it before the MM2 and AV1, simply because monsters and items are so easy to make in 4e.

YMMV of course.

 

[Invisible Stalker]

I can't speak for the DDI.

I'd get the PHBII first for the extra classes and races that are at least as good as volume 1.

Then MMII, which can really help on the variety of your heroic tier encounters.

For a DM the Adventurer's Vault is probably the next stop. For the players it would be the power guide for their character.

 

[Skywalker]

Just to reiterate what is said here - the Core Set 2 + AV1 are the best purchases after the Core Set 1.

Shame about DDI.

 

[thecasualoblivion]

There are windows emulators for Macs if you want to go that far. People do use Character Builder on Macs through said emulators.

 

[gribble]

As for the DMG2, I can't recommend it enough.

I'd echo this. Even as an experienced DM, I think you'd get a lot out of it in terms of how 4e is supposed to be run. The Skill Challenges chapter - which you specifically asked about - is very good, especially the example skill challenges given (it's like a "best of" from WotC adventures and Dungeon/Dragon, with a couple of new ones thrown in to show other ways to use them).

Both Eberron books are excellent (if you're thinking about running an Eberron game, or even just a game that incorporates Eberron elements, I'd rate them right after DMG2).

If you're not getting DDI, then MM2 and AV1 would be next on my list (if you are, I'd skip both as neither has anything you can't get from DDI).

PHB2 I'd leave for interested players to pick up, as you are for the X Power books. It doesn't offer a lot to a DM and if a player wants to play a race/class from that book, then they can buy it.

None of the more fluffy books have interested me that much (I'm not a huge fan of the 4e world/cosmology), but I've heard good things about Open Grave and Dragonomicon 1.

 

[fba827]

i'd say phb2, mm2, and AV1... probably in that order or else swap phb2 and mm2 in terms of order depending on which you want more (though phb2 does have some good rules clarifications/additions/updates such as stealth updates and addition of summoning).

between av1 and av2, i'd say av1 (more crunch content per page)

 

[Echohawk]

Are the CB and MB worth the price of a copy of Windows? is a much harder question. I am not a Mac user but they will save a lot of time and hassle.

They were for me. I bought a copy of VMware Fusion and Windows XP specifically to be able to use the DDI tools. (Though I've subsequently found Windows useful for a few other applications.) I realise that's a fairly expensive way of using the tools, but it works just fine.

While I'd love to have a Mac version of the DDI tools, I must confess that I'd much rather Wizards invested their efforts into improving the Windows version. I'm eager to see what's planned for the other four Adventure Tools.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

I think the Core Rulebooks I and II are a good investment.
If you need a setting, the Eberron Books are a good idea, too. The Campaign Guide is aimed for the DM, the Player Guide is more important for the players. You might need only one copy overall.

Beyond that, think about what your campaign might be about, and decide whether you want to invest in the Dracomonicon, Manual of the Planes or Open Grave.

If you don't want to create your own adventures or just want more material to plunder, the WotC adventures might be useful, too. But beware, they might be solid, but they are not spectacular.

The power books are irrelevant to the DM, I would say. That's definitely player material and if they want it, they can invest in that.

Regarding DDI - you could consider investing as a group. The players can sure benefit from the character builder (while it is irrelevant to the DM), and if I am not mistaken, the rules for the builder definitely allow you to download it 5 times each month and install it on different machines. Whether you go even further and do like Echohawk did... Well, if you do, look out for special offers of Windows now that Windows 7 is around (But verify it still works with whatever Virtualization software you plan to use.). I seem to remember a headline about a cheap student version, and there might be other things along those lines.

 

[Glyfair]

Malraux is right. Your money is best spent on a DDI subscription. Most of what you'll need is available there.

I agree. Even with a Mac, you still have the compendium. That gives you all the monster statblocks (including those that appear only in RPGA adventures).

Add to that all the character creation crunchy bits (feats, classes, races, powers) and magic items then you have cut down the amount you need to spend on WotC products.

All the monsters in the MM2 are in the DDI Compendium, and the Compendium handles the errata automatically. The book has a little more fluff and some pictures. So if that's important to you, the hard copy is worth while.

If you get DDi, I'd recommend looking at 3rd party monster books. Both the Creature Collection & Blackdirge's Dungeon Denizens have a good variety of monsters to surprise your players who are possibly used to WotC ones. Goodman also has a good series that focuses on a certain type of monsters. It has Animals, Fey, Dinosaurs, Demons so far (and at least one I am forgetting). I have found all the books to be reasonably solid from a rules standpoint (with a few oddities, as always).

 

[Cerebral Paladin]

Thanks for the advice everyone! I'm going to get the PHBII, MMII, and AV. DMG II will stay on my list of things to get when I have some free cash, or if I find it on sale, or at some random point if the campaign goes well when I feel like getting something.

I'm going to seriously think about getting a DDI subscription. If I used a PC, it would be a no brainer, but setting up a virtualization option just for DDI seems a bit much. I might get it anyway for the Compendium, but I'll have to think about it.

Thanks again for the advice.