The new forums will be named Coin Return (based on the most recent vote)! You can check on the status and timeline of the transition to the new forums here.
The Guiding Principles and New Rules document is now in effect.
[DnD 4E Discussion] Adventurers Vault 2 this month professor!
Aegeri
Tiny wee bacteriumsPlateau of LengRegistered User regular
Tiny wee bacteriumsPlateau of LengRegistered User regular
ITT people try to tell you the way you like to pretend playing as a fantasy elf or dwarf is wrong.
Here is a Dungeon:
Here is a Dragon:
Hence the name. Also, as a bonus picture here is Bane.
He's so dreamy
And no, he's not going anywhere from the OP. He wants you to love his manly pectoral muscles, his huge thigh muscles and bulging tip of the long hard shaft of his spear. Wizards even has a wallpaper of him, clearly showing they do seem to understand the joke at work here.
Speaking of before we go any further here, want to get the perfect way of starting 4E? Don't know where to go though? Try Wizards generously offering both a revised and improved version of Keep on the Shadowfell and the Quickstart rules? What will this cost you?
Absolutely nothing as it's completely free. Download them here.
Dungeons and Dragons is a pretty old game, originally being created by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson in 1974, both of whom have passed way now. Since then it's had various iterations and editions, with the latest edition being 4th edition, published by Wizards of the Coast. The basic rules consist of three books:
As the name suggests, this is for players and also details the games core rules like combat.
This book details the various monsters and other things that populate the worlds of most DnD worlds.
This is for the DM and contains useful things like how much experience you have to make an encounter, treasure tables and rules for creating your own monsters.
If you want to play DnD, you usually only need the players hand book. Running a game requires those base three books.
Some stuff shamelessly stolen from the original post about the races and classes you can play as in the Players Hand Book, with some additions about the PHB2 races and classes by Terrendos.
Thanks Goose!
A lot of stuff has been released currently as well and I have most of it, so I'll give some minor thoughts on each and update as stuff comes out:
Campaign Settings
Forgotten Realms
Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide
Forgotten Realms Players Guide
Scepter Tower of Spellgard
This was the first of the campaign settings released for 4E Dungeons and Dragons about a yearish or so ago. It marks a significant departure from the previous editions versions of the Forgotten Realms, which is either something people hate a lot, are indifferent to or quite like. It has enough detail that any new DM will find it a useful resource for making a campaign and providing an overall world to set that campaign in. It does not have the depth of lore or similar that previous editions have had, which is what leads to a lot of the negativity surrounding the setting. The players guide IMO is a useful resource even if you don't actually like the realms as a setting. Although a fair chunk of the book is dedicated to the FR, the Swordmage, races (Drow and Genasi) and feats make it a worthwhile purchase for anyone.
The adventure is decent quality, but requires a lot of work compared to the 'core' adventure series to get fully implemented into a campaign. It also starts at level 2, which is a real pain for DMs wanting to just jump right into a 4E campaign with the adventure and some fresh level 1 PCs. We have a thread for FR as well here.
Eberron
Eberron Campaign Guide
Eberron Players Guide
Seekers of the Ashen Crown
We have a thread for Eberron related things here.
Eberron is the second setting released and it's pretty good IMO (maybe I am biased though if you read my campaign threads on this forum). It has a lot of solid themes to the game, as it's based heavily on a kind of pulp action + noir feel that really does work. The books are absolutely gorgeous and especially the main campaign guide is worth mentioning, because the cartography of the map of the world is truly great and its packed full of great ideas and detail about Eberron. It is definitely around the top books released for 4E so far IMO. Like with FR, I feel the EPG is really worth buying as well just for the extra feats and mechanics (dragonmark feats are easily applied to other settings with little mechanical fiddling). I will say though some DMs may not like the more "magitech" feel to the Eberron specific Warforged race and Artificer class, so make sure you check with your DM before buying this for your FR or whatever setting game.
Once again though I must complain that the adventure starts at level 2. Why on earth do they do that?
Released books
Adventurers Vault
This is an excellent book for anyone, with a huge swathe of new awesome magical items and other things to bling your characters out with (or so you don't find yourself handing out bags of holding every single game as a DM because you can't think of anything else). This is a fantastic book.
Draconomicon
This is an excellent DM resource or just for anyone who loves dragons as well (It has some great artwork in it IMO). A nice smattering of new monsters, especially in the heroic tier as well as new options, new chromatic dragons and ideas for running encounters with Dragons. I highly recommend this book for any DM, but it doesn't have much utility for players.
Manual of the Planes
Good resource for DMs and a useful introduction to the planes. There is a new "race", Bladeling in the book and some Paragon Paths, but I wouldn't buy this if you're a player primarily. The book makes a lot of assumptions about the cosmology that may conflict with the Forgotten Realms and Eberron as well, which can make life something confusing if you're using those settings. Despite this, it's still useful and will provide plenty of ideas for running planar campaigns.
Martial Power
This is the best supplement for players released since 4E came out. Has a lot of new, interesting and fun options for martial characters, namely Fighters, Rangers, Rogues and Warlords. Good balance as well and has lots of great new paragon paths and more. I can recommend this book to absolutely anyone.
Open Grave
IMO, hands down the best supplement for DMs released thus far if you want your campaigns to have anything at all to do with the undead. Good adventure hooks, a wide array of excellent new monsters from filling out low level undead to providing even more high level undead monstrosities, this is an absolutely terrific book. Of course, if you don't like the undead much you won't find anything of interest in here and in a similar manner to the Draconomicon, there is nothing here for people playing in games to really make much use out of.
Dungeon Delve
Delayed somewhat and contains a large bunch of adventures of various levels and such. Is actually fairly interesting and really handy if you need an adventure now to put into your game in rapid time. I recommend this actually, especially if you have a collection of Dungeon Tiles.
Players Hand Book II
I think this was a big moment for 4E in many ways, a really good balanced and thought out book would vindicate many of the decisions in 4E as well as really add some more depth and variation. A bad book however would probably really derail the success 4E has enjoyed thus far and the general verdict is it's an excellent book. It's well balanced with the first book, a couple of feats and epic destinies aside but everything in general is really well thought out: most especially the new classes are great and so are the new races. It's really added a lot to the game and IMO is one of the best supplements (and most important) supplements in 4E. I would almost say if you're a player this book is as much a must have as the original.
http://www.amazon.com/Arcane-Power-4th-D-Supplement/dp/0786949570/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1241241964&sr=8-1]Arcane Power
This is an excellent book if you like the pew pew style of classes. The summoning wizard is a great option and the new wizard at-wills are amazingly good. Tomes are a terrific new addition to implements and every arcane class got some more new and awesome feats, powers and paragon paths. I highly recommend this book, but be aware that like Martial Power there are some things in here just a bit out of whack power wise. Nothing game breaking though, but certainly more powerful than core book options.
Monster Manual 2
Overall this is a very solid book and seems to have taken some new directions with regards to solos and minions. Solos have less HP and defenses, but do more damage and seem to have more actions per round. Minions have been given control functions or do plain annoying things on death (like immobolise whoever killed them). Has a bit of a sense of humor as well compared with other supplements (Bullywug and such are notable for being a bit out there).
Divine Power
This has given a really substantial power increase to divine classes (for example Clerics now clearly rule the roost in terms of healing potential), Strength paladins now don't suck as much and it again provides lots of new options. It does feel a little on the power creep side in some ways though.
Released Adventures
This is a series of dungeon crawl like adventures, that get really good towards the end.
H1: Keep on the Shadowfell
H2: Thunderspire Labyrinth
H3: Pyramid of Shadows
P1: King of the Trollhaunt Warrens
P2: The Demon Queen's Enclave
P3: Assault on Nightwyrm Fortress.
E1: Deaths Reach.
E2: Kingdom of the Ghouls.
Upcoming Stuff
Adventurers Vault 2
Dungeon Masters Guide 2
Revenge of the Giants
Primal Power
Draconomicon 2
Future Release Speculation and Rumours
Big thing is what campaign setting for 2010 is going to be announced at gencon this year? Is it going to be Darksun as some speculate? Or is it going to be Dragonlance? We should know this weekend. Personally I'm hoping for Dark Sun.
DMG2 is coming out later this year and has some more stuff for DMs everywhere:
More information on DMG2 from one of the podcasts: Expands on advice
New mechanics and options for monsters, as they have changed
New traps and of course rules for making traps in the book.
Attempt to offer new ideas and similar.
May have a similar design to the first book.
Sigil is detailed in full in the book; which sounds pretty awesome.
Useful Stuff Provided By Wizards and other people
To go with some of the links provided from the previous threads, Wizards have an Art and Map Gallery here. This is free and provides a lot of useful maps and art for use in your games to pillage at will. The OP dungeon is shamelessly stolen from there
Additionally I recommend this site, which has a wide collection of fantasy art and such forth. Some of it is distinctly NSFW however, so consider yourself warned. They love naked women.
Another useful site is the Cartographers Guild forums. Many talented map artists at this site who make a range of maps, both large scale continental maps, town maps and dungeon maps. Some of the maps here IMO are a bit too fancy, with excessive mapsizes for use with maptools but there are some real gems on here as well. Incidentally, the guy who did the cartography for the Cormyr article in Dragon Magazine posts here as well. Here's an example.
Infidel has provided us with a handy 4E stat calculator. Especially useful if you don't have the character builder to do it for you. The most common problem I find with 4E games is people messing up their initial point buy by a couple of points. Unusually, this is because some people tend to give themselves less points overall.
There is a general campaign design and advice thread that I have been writing for a while over here. If you're a new DM this might be worth checking out.
Also, as a reminder, don't discuss pirating books in this thread. It's not going to get you anything except some infractions and probably a ban. So just don't. Not to mention Chris Perkins is totally going to come around to your house and ruin your shit.
We have a general CF IRC channel too if you're that way inclined. You'll need some chat client to use it, or something.
irc.slashnet.org
#criticalfailure
Apparently this was SUPERSAGAs idea.
Here is a Dungeon:
Here is a Dragon:
Hence the name. Also, as a bonus picture here is Bane.
He's so dreamy
And no, he's not going anywhere from the OP. He wants you to love his manly pectoral muscles, his huge thigh muscles and bulging tip of the long hard shaft of his spear. Wizards even has a wallpaper of him, clearly showing they do seem to understand the joke at work here.
Speaking of before we go any further here, want to get the perfect way of starting 4E? Don't know where to go though? Try Wizards generously offering both a revised and improved version of Keep on the Shadowfell and the Quickstart rules? What will this cost you?
Absolutely nothing as it's completely free. Download them here.
Dungeons and Dragons is a pretty old game, originally being created by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson in 1974, both of whom have passed way now. Since then it's had various iterations and editions, with the latest edition being 4th edition, published by Wizards of the Coast. The basic rules consist of three books:
As the name suggests, this is for players and also details the games core rules like combat.
This book details the various monsters and other things that populate the worlds of most DnD worlds.
This is for the DM and contains useful things like how much experience you have to make an encounter, treasure tables and rules for creating your own monsters.
If you want to play DnD, you usually only need the players hand book. Running a game requires those base three books.
Some stuff shamelessly stolen from the original post about the races and classes you can play as in the Players Hand Book, with some additions about the PHB2 races and classes by Terrendos.
First off, races now provide only benefits and no negatives.
Here are the PHB I races:The Dragonborn:Not those pussies from 3E's draconomicon, these guys are badasses with a racial breath weapon. They make excellent Warlords, Paladins, and Fighters.
The Dwarves:They're wise and tough as nails, pretty much the best categorization of the tough dwarf I've seen in tabletop roleplaying games. They make great Paladins, Clerics, and Fighters.
The Eladrin:The "Elves" of last edition were split into two different races this time. The eladrin live in ridiculously magical feywild cities and make good wizards, warlords, and rangers. They can also teleport as a racial ability. Sweet sorcery, bro.
also Elves Elves lol.
The Elves:The other half of the elves from last time, they're forest living guys who are really accurate. They make good rangers, rogues, and clerics. See what I mean by Elves lol?
The Half-Elves:Proof that humans will screw anything. They're pretty tough and personable, and make excellent multiclassers. They make good warlords, paladins, and warlocks.
The Halflings:Short, fat... actually no, these are about as far from tolkien's halflings as a fat american on his couch eating potato chips is from a bush tribesman in africa. Except they both speak english. Halflings continue their tradition of being really lucky and quick, as well as make excellent rogues, rangers, and warlocks.
The Humans:Look in the Mirror. They're good at everything again and are the most adaptable, again. They make good anythings.
The Tieflings:Their ancestors made pacts with devils and we're not half-breeds anymore, also we fought a war against Dragons. We get angry really well as a racial ability. We're also merciless, etc. We make good Warlocks, Warlords, or Rogues.
Also they really AREN'T the same tieflings we've had for 20 years.
We also have a bunch of new races now since PHB II came outDeva: Former spirits under the service of good gods fighting an unending war against darkness. Must remain tirelessly good lest they be reborn into Rakshasa. Good avengers, clerics, invokers, and wizards.
Gnome: Small Feywild natives who learned trickery during slavery to fomorians. Curious, stealthy, and small, these short Elflike creatures make excellent bards, sorcerers, warlocks, and wizards.
Goliath: Mountain-dwelling nomads, covered in pebble-like bone growths that make them extra tough. Tall, massive, and strong, goliaths revere primal spirits and make excellent barbarians, fighters, and wardens.
Half-Orc: Channelling the strength of orcblood and the decisive, resourceful nature of humans, some say these warriors were hand-made by Kord himself. Others consider them an abomination. They don't much care, so long as they've got food and battle. Half-Orcs are excellent barbarians, rangers, and rogues.
Shifters: Descended from lycanthrope ancestors, these animal-like men see nearly everything in terms of hunter and prey. Able to draw on their ancestor's instincts, they are excellent druids, fighters, rangers, wardens, and surprisingly good clerics.
And now DDI is adding a few more to the game as well.Revenant: These guys have come back from the dead or were prevented from dying by some other force (the Raven queen in the default cosmology). They're unique because they actually have the undead subtype and can take feats that make them fully undead. Fun with a cleric in the party that's for certain! They make for decent assassins (another new class coming out in DDI), rogues and warlock.
And if that wasn't exciting enough, we have PHB 3 races on top of that! We're just getting absolutely spoiled now:Githzerai: They are a planar race formerly enslaved by the Illithids whom have curbed their more war like tendencies. They spend their time stabilizing parts of the elemental chaos through the sheer force of their will and practicing being awesome monks. Apparently they make great "seekers" as well as monks, the seeker being a new PHB III class. It's also NOT a psionic class.
Minotaur: The horrible monster of labyrinths and killing people is now... a playable race. Possibly because the 2010 campaign setting could very well by Dragonlance, which has more sociable minotaurs than other settings. Minotaurs presumably will be strength/con; making great Fighters and Barbarians in particular.
Wilden: A new race with all kinds of potential in the world. They were born to fight intrusion by monsters from the Far Plane and are basically plant people.
Then there are the races from the campaign setting books. First Forgotten Realms:Drow: Classic villains turned into PC races by the popularity of Drizzt, essentially another kind of elf with some different powers. I will say they make amazing rogues because of their darkfire and cloud of darkness racial powers.
Genasi: Half-elemental planars who join the ranks of the Deva and Tiefling as being plane touched PC races. They make good wizards and depending on your elemental type they can suit a wide range of classes. They also make good swordmages.
And the Eberron players guide added a bunch of them as well.Changelings: These guys, when you want to be derogative that is are classically known as "Dopplegangers" but most people to be polite call them Changelings. Like the name suggests, they can change how they appear and they make terrific rogues or wizards (they get a choice of stat boost!).
Kalashtar: These are a humanoid race who have bound themselves to dream spirits called Quori. They have some racial psionic talent (communication by telepathy for example) and should obviously fit in well with the Psion and other psionic classes.
Warforged: People usually refer to them as robots but these guys are more of a metal and plant "cyborg" than a robot. They have pretty strong racial abilities and make fantastic fighters and especially barbarians.
Introducing the Classes:
Every class now has a "Role" within the party, and a party is recommended to have every role represented to succeed, though it need not have to. It is considered "pro" to have proper party balance.The Cleric:Is classified as a Leader.The Fighter:
He's the priest of a god with some pretty wicked spells to heal his allies and disable his enemies. Usually at the same time. Rarely will the cleric spend entire turns casting Cure Light Wounds.Is classified as a Defender.The Paladin:
He's a badass with a sword and board or a Two handed weapon, his job on the battlefield is to keep the enemies from stomping his friends, and he can do so with a variety of weapons, which all behave differently depending on how you choose your powers.Is classified as a Defender.The Ranger:
This guy is the champion of a deity, who uses some pretty powerful melee spells to lay waste to the enemy. He does alot of glowing holy magical energy damage, too. He also uses either a sword and shield or two handed weapon. His crappy spellcasting from previous editions has been replaced by a whole host of wicked awesome prayers that can heal his allies and smite his enemies.Is classified as a Striker.The Rogue:
This guy can use either a bow or two one handed weapons to mercilessly mutilate his enemies. He can also designate specific enemies as his quarry, this includes a giant glowing red arrow above their head.
Because this game is now WoW.Is classified as a Striker.The Warlock:
Is only good for picking locks and disarming traps, not really though. Sneak attack has been toned down a bit, but the rogue's huge damage boost makes up for it, because he really tears shit up with some pretty awesome powers.Is classified as a Striker.The Warlord:
Makes soul selling pacts with either Fey, Demons, or Cthulhu. Fires blasts of eldritch energy and murders people. Also, curses people so that he deals even more damage.
Strikers are nuts.Is classified as a Leader.The Wizard:
This is the new class focused on tactics and inspiring your fellows. He's pretty cool and can actually replace a cleric in your party very effectively, and he brings a different playstyle to the table too. Cleric Inc. hates him for breaking its monopoly on this role.Is the only Controller.The Swordmage:
The wizard is good at killing lots of enemies, very fast. He's not as amazingly and unstoppably powerful as he used to be, but still is pretty cool.Is classified as a Defender.
The Swordmage was released in the Forgotten Realms Player's Guide. He combines arcana and swords to make wonderful stabby magic. But probably not swordchucks.
We also have some new PHB II classes just to add to the excitement and the EPG has the artificer!Class: Avenger
Classification: Striker
Power Source: Divine
Primary Abilities: Wisdom, Intelligence, Dexterity
"My god has words for you. This blade will show you to him."
Avengers are excellent at isolating and eliminating single targets. Other followers do what should be done. You do what must be done. Pro: roll two attacks under certain circumstances. Con: Reliant on enemies for static damage boosts.Class: Barbarian
Classification: Striker
Power Source: Primal
Primary Abilities: Strength, Constitution, Charisma
"My strength lies in the fury of the wild."
Barbarians are savage warriors, channeling primal energy through themselves and their massive weapons. Darting back and forth across the battle, your fierce shouts make the enemy quake in fear. Pro: Big damage dice, lots of damage potential. Can fly into mighty rages. Con: Rages are daily powers, so don't expect to use them a lot. Also low defenses that get lowered during certain attacks.Class: Bard
Classification: Leader
Power Source: Arcane
Primary Abilities: Charisma, Intelligence, Constitution
"I play the song of my ally's victory over your corpse."
Bards are artists, channeling magic through unbelievable skill with music, drama, or poetry. Your skill with blade, book, and hymn are the stuff of fables. Pro: lots of fancy rituals to help in conversation. Can take as many multiclass feats as she wants. Con: Comparatively less healing than clerics, and less effective hazing abilities.Class: Druid
Classification: Controller
Power Source: Primal
Primary Abilities: Wisdom, Constitution, Dexterity
"I am the seeker. I am the stalker. I am the storm."
Druids are the most effective and purist channelers of primal fury and embody all aspects of nature, from the calm of the still leaf to the fury of the thunderbolt. Pro: Alternates between caster form and wild shape for effectiveness in every situation. Con: Too many At-Will choices, fewer burst options than Wizard/Invoker.Class: Invoker
Classification: Controller
Power Source: Divine
Primary Abilities: Wisdom, Constitution, Intelligence
"Mighty Pelor! I beseech ye! Smite these wicked foes with your unending light!"
Invokers are invested with a pure spark of their chosen god, rather than being merely ordained by corrupt priests and weak rituals. They are the purest of their god's mortal agents. Pro: Arguably a better controller than Wizard, plus gains access to the sweet Channel Divinity stuff. Con: Less overall damage potential, less powerful rituals, and lacking the utility spells that make wizards such good generalists. Also I'm not that fond of the PP choices.Class: Shaman
Classification: Leader
Power Source: Primal
Primary Abilities: Wisdom, Constitution, Intelligence
"The spirits surround me, guiding my movements and obeying my commands."
Blessed with a mighty spirit companion that aids his allies, the Shaman is a primal, spiritual force. His mighty companion serves as both a focus for his attacks and as a shield to protect both him and his allies. Pro: Protector spirit makes an excellent backup Defender or Striker. Con: You have to give up your actions to command it.Class: Sorcerer
Classification: Striker
Power Source: Arcane
Primary Abilities: Charisma, Dexterity, Strength
"The difference between you and me? You wield magic. Magic wields me."
Sorcerers are natural founts of arcane power, resulting from either a history of dragon's blood or a product of mysterious, chaotic forces. Either way, you practically bristle with barely-contained magic, parcelling it out as needed in battle. Pro: Potential for very high damage and lots of cool effects. Con: Those effects are typically random, some of which can hit your allies.Class: Warden
Classification: Defender
Power Source: Primal
Primary Abilities: Strength, Wisdom, Constitution
"Get past me? You might as well try to push the mountain aside."
Wardens are protectors of the earth, drawing on primal spirits to protect their allies from harm, and the natural world from the encroachment of those who would corrupt it. Pro: You are a brick wall, but harder to hit and probably more resilient. Con: You're not supposed to wear heavy armor, and marking all adjacent enemies means you're going to need all that toughness.
and the EPG ArtificerClass: Artificer
Classification: Leader
Power Source: Arcane
Primary Abilities: Intelligence, Constitution and Wisdom
"Let me just help you with your wounds in a minute, right after I finish making this...."
The Artificer is a really solid leader, capable of taking other characters healing surges and making his healing powers out of them. This helps to spread around the parties healing surges so everyone can keep fighting longer. They can use a variety of weapons and fighting styles (ranged, melee and binding constructs like a summoner wizard), making them pretty flexible in general.
DM/Player Tools and Helpful Links
- A spreadsheet with all the magic items from the PHB, organized by Item Level and Body Slot (and subtype, in the case of Weapons, Armor and Implements) (Credit DVG)
- RPTools: Pretty useful for playing D&D over the internet. Get Maptool HERE
- Ability Generator from WotC
- Wizards' main site for D&D
- Enworld resource site for tabletop games
- Myth-Weavers Forum's character sheet tool. Has sheets for many games, including 4e
- H1 Keep on the Shadowfell for maptools
- Rescue at Rivenroar
- Asmor.com's Monster Maker makes a cool looking statblock, similar to the MM ones (thanks, Hexmage)
D&D Insider Subscriptions
D&D Insider has gone into subscription beta mode. What that means is, for three preset payment structures, you can access all of the online content Wizards is producing exclusively for Insider members without restriction. There are currently demos available for all the previously released content, listed below:
- D&D Compendium from WotC
- Dragon and Dungen magazines also from WotC
- Encounter Tool from WotC
More and more exclusive content will be added each month. Also, Insider subscribers will be included along with those who signed up at D&D Convention events in the closed beta testing for the new Character Builder application, the next tool on the slate to be released for the Insider. So, what are the prices, you ask?
- $71.40 for 12 months - $5.95 per month
- $23.85 for 3 months - $7.95 per month
- $9.95 for month
To subscribe to the D&D Insider service, click here. Prices went up in July, seems about a dollar an issue for a 12 month subscription.
You can find screenshots of the Character builder here.
Thanks Goose!
A lot of stuff has been released currently as well and I have most of it, so I'll give some minor thoughts on each and update as stuff comes out:
Campaign Settings
Forgotten Realms
Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide
Forgotten Realms Players Guide
Scepter Tower of Spellgard
This was the first of the campaign settings released for 4E Dungeons and Dragons about a yearish or so ago. It marks a significant departure from the previous editions versions of the Forgotten Realms, which is either something people hate a lot, are indifferent to or quite like. It has enough detail that any new DM will find it a useful resource for making a campaign and providing an overall world to set that campaign in. It does not have the depth of lore or similar that previous editions have had, which is what leads to a lot of the negativity surrounding the setting. The players guide IMO is a useful resource even if you don't actually like the realms as a setting. Although a fair chunk of the book is dedicated to the FR, the Swordmage, races (Drow and Genasi) and feats make it a worthwhile purchase for anyone.
The adventure is decent quality, but requires a lot of work compared to the 'core' adventure series to get fully implemented into a campaign. It also starts at level 2, which is a real pain for DMs wanting to just jump right into a 4E campaign with the adventure and some fresh level 1 PCs. We have a thread for FR as well here.
Eberron
Eberron Campaign Guide
Eberron Players Guide
Seekers of the Ashen Crown
We have a thread for Eberron related things here.
Eberron is the second setting released and it's pretty good IMO (maybe I am biased though if you read my campaign threads on this forum). It has a lot of solid themes to the game, as it's based heavily on a kind of pulp action + noir feel that really does work. The books are absolutely gorgeous and especially the main campaign guide is worth mentioning, because the cartography of the map of the world is truly great and its packed full of great ideas and detail about Eberron. It is definitely around the top books released for 4E so far IMO. Like with FR, I feel the EPG is really worth buying as well just for the extra feats and mechanics (dragonmark feats are easily applied to other settings with little mechanical fiddling). I will say though some DMs may not like the more "magitech" feel to the Eberron specific Warforged race and Artificer class, so make sure you check with your DM before buying this for your FR or whatever setting game.
Once again though I must complain that the adventure starts at level 2. Why on earth do they do that?
Released books
Adventurers Vault
This is an excellent book for anyone, with a huge swathe of new awesome magical items and other things to bling your characters out with (or so you don't find yourself handing out bags of holding every single game as a DM because you can't think of anything else). This is a fantastic book.
Draconomicon
This is an excellent DM resource or just for anyone who loves dragons as well (It has some great artwork in it IMO). A nice smattering of new monsters, especially in the heroic tier as well as new options, new chromatic dragons and ideas for running encounters with Dragons. I highly recommend this book for any DM, but it doesn't have much utility for players.
Manual of the Planes
Good resource for DMs and a useful introduction to the planes. There is a new "race", Bladeling in the book and some Paragon Paths, but I wouldn't buy this if you're a player primarily. The book makes a lot of assumptions about the cosmology that may conflict with the Forgotten Realms and Eberron as well, which can make life something confusing if you're using those settings. Despite this, it's still useful and will provide plenty of ideas for running planar campaigns.
Martial Power
This is the best supplement for players released since 4E came out. Has a lot of new, interesting and fun options for martial characters, namely Fighters, Rangers, Rogues and Warlords. Good balance as well and has lots of great new paragon paths and more. I can recommend this book to absolutely anyone.
Open Grave
IMO, hands down the best supplement for DMs released thus far if you want your campaigns to have anything at all to do with the undead. Good adventure hooks, a wide array of excellent new monsters from filling out low level undead to providing even more high level undead monstrosities, this is an absolutely terrific book. Of course, if you don't like the undead much you won't find anything of interest in here and in a similar manner to the Draconomicon, there is nothing here for people playing in games to really make much use out of.
Dungeon Delve
Delayed somewhat and contains a large bunch of adventures of various levels and such. Is actually fairly interesting and really handy if you need an adventure now to put into your game in rapid time. I recommend this actually, especially if you have a collection of Dungeon Tiles.
Players Hand Book II
I think this was a big moment for 4E in many ways, a really good balanced and thought out book would vindicate many of the decisions in 4E as well as really add some more depth and variation. A bad book however would probably really derail the success 4E has enjoyed thus far and the general verdict is it's an excellent book. It's well balanced with the first book, a couple of feats and epic destinies aside but everything in general is really well thought out: most especially the new classes are great and so are the new races. It's really added a lot to the game and IMO is one of the best supplements (and most important) supplements in 4E. I would almost say if you're a player this book is as much a must have as the original.
http://www.amazon.com/Arcane-Power-4th-D-Supplement/dp/0786949570/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1241241964&sr=8-1]Arcane Power
This is an excellent book if you like the pew pew style of classes. The summoning wizard is a great option and the new wizard at-wills are amazingly good. Tomes are a terrific new addition to implements and every arcane class got some more new and awesome feats, powers and paragon paths. I highly recommend this book, but be aware that like Martial Power there are some things in here just a bit out of whack power wise. Nothing game breaking though, but certainly more powerful than core book options.
Monster Manual 2
Overall this is a very solid book and seems to have taken some new directions with regards to solos and minions. Solos have less HP and defenses, but do more damage and seem to have more actions per round. Minions have been given control functions or do plain annoying things on death (like immobolise whoever killed them). Has a bit of a sense of humor as well compared with other supplements (Bullywug and such are notable for being a bit out there).
Divine Power
This has given a really substantial power increase to divine classes (for example Clerics now clearly rule the roost in terms of healing potential), Strength paladins now don't suck as much and it again provides lots of new options. It does feel a little on the power creep side in some ways though.
Released Adventures
This is a series of dungeon crawl like adventures, that get really good towards the end.
H1: Keep on the Shadowfell
H2: Thunderspire Labyrinth
H3: Pyramid of Shadows
P1: King of the Trollhaunt Warrens
P2: The Demon Queen's Enclave
P3: Assault on Nightwyrm Fortress.
E1: Deaths Reach.
E2: Kingdom of the Ghouls.
Upcoming Stuff
Adventurers Vault 2
Dungeon Masters Guide 2
Revenge of the Giants
Primal Power
Draconomicon 2
Future Release Speculation and Rumours
Big thing is what campaign setting for 2010 is going to be announced at gencon this year? Is it going to be Darksun as some speculate? Or is it going to be Dragonlance? We should know this weekend. Personally I'm hoping for Dark Sun.
DMG2 is coming out later this year and has some more stuff for DMs everywhere:
More information on DMG2 from one of the podcasts: Expands on advice
New mechanics and options for monsters, as they have changed
New traps and of course rules for making traps in the book.
Attempt to offer new ideas and similar.
May have a similar design to the first book.
Sigil is detailed in full in the book; which sounds pretty awesome.
Useful Stuff Provided By Wizards and other people
To go with some of the links provided from the previous threads, Wizards have an Art and Map Gallery here. This is free and provides a lot of useful maps and art for use in your games to pillage at will. The OP dungeon is shamelessly stolen from there
Additionally I recommend this site, which has a wide collection of fantasy art and such forth. Some of it is distinctly NSFW however, so consider yourself warned. They love naked women.
Another useful site is the Cartographers Guild forums. Many talented map artists at this site who make a range of maps, both large scale continental maps, town maps and dungeon maps. Some of the maps here IMO are a bit too fancy, with excessive mapsizes for use with maptools but there are some real gems on here as well. Incidentally, the guy who did the cartography for the Cormyr article in Dragon Magazine posts here as well. Here's an example.
Infidel has provided us with a handy 4E stat calculator. Especially useful if you don't have the character builder to do it for you. The most common problem I find with 4E games is people messing up their initial point buy by a couple of points. Unusually, this is because some people tend to give themselves less points overall.
There is a general campaign design and advice thread that I have been writing for a while over here. If you're a new DM this might be worth checking out.
Also, as a reminder, don't discuss pirating books in this thread. It's not going to get you anything except some infractions and probably a ban. So just don't. Not to mention Chris Perkins is totally going to come around to your house and ruin your shit.
We have a general CF IRC channel too if you're that way inclined. You'll need some chat client to use it, or something.
irc.slashnet.org
#criticalfailure
Apparently this was SUPERSAGAs idea.
Aegeri on
0
This discussion has been closed.
Posts
I think part of it, Powerpuppies, is that I've been seeing those kinds of arguments from both sides for 10 years now. There's a point where you just throw your hands up, ask if it's really going to make the game more fun in any way, and just shove it to the side when it isn't. Conversely, if it's not making the game fun, you do need to address it.
Additionally, where is that picture of Bane from? I want a poster.
Honey, if I did that to all the stuff in the 4e Forgotten Realms, you'd've received a 100 page house rule document. It happens, you'll live, etc etc.
Still haven't all of the FRPG. :oops:
How much and what sort of crunch have you developed as a DM?
Have you ever designed crunch in hopes of publishing?
here, ill start.
i think.... uh... stuff... is dumb...
That's fine, but I'm just pointing out that this stuff is more common than you might think it is.
So uhh.... here's to Divine Power? When do we get the Assassin class again?
Aaaagh.
Too much rules.
Hey yo.
Rust monsters are in.
Tough. I'll have to see if a guaranteed crit after a "wasted" standard action is better than a 4W for me, then I can eliminate DO or ZA. But that flight...mmm.
you know 4e needs partial actions, come on...
@Rend: Right, sorry, I meant disenchanters. Perfect additions to treasure packages, right next to lock lurkers.
Is the power we've been arguing about Betrayal?
Actually, no, Powerpuppies just started up a game of Rules Nerdery Scheherazade.
Disenchanters are in too! They're called "Dwoemer Eaters." I think that's the first time I've heard the word "Dwoemer" outside of a Drizzt novel or 2nd edition D&D in a long while.
:^: yessssss
I would have gotten extremely rude had it been Betrayal considering the flavor text.
Identification in 2e: identify, then analyze dweomer then legend lore
Identification in 3e: identify
Identification in 4e: short rest
Finally finding the on button for your flaming sword: priceless
There are some things gold can't buy. For everything else, there's edition upgrades.
The power in question, Sudden Control, is almost as bad.
The flavor text of both is that the target attacks its allies.
Do you know what would happen if you used it on one of your allies? They would logically have to attack a party member.
So this whole argument has been stupid.
Ironically, the power text lets you make the target attack any creature. Which is great if you want to make it trigger an ally's interrupt of doom.
first off, having a rules argument in the first place is kinda iffy
but secondly, having a rules argument predicated on the part of the game that makes magical fire come out of your fingers (instead of your toes) is even worse.
Because the arguments have all been "From a roleplaying perspective."
click
I'd say to close the thread, but we just did.
Your link has inferior stats.
Frost Click+6
Emperor Penguins cannot wear Bane's Codpiece. 8-)
Anyways, Psion is definately interesting, and makes me comfortable about pursing my idea of having encounter or daily powers which are augmented by at-wills.
EDIT: Also, Aegeri it's going to drive me crazy if I don't speak up now. The thread title needs an apostrophe. It should be "Bane's."
I will note that my original version of that line over IM was grammatically correct.
Don't be like this, Aegeri. Don't be a bad grammar-person. You can be a good grammar-person! Then you can be like me!
Don't you want to be like me, Aegeri?
This is a man who said goodbye to me with an animated waving fox thing. I am guessing "no."