Dungeons & Dragons Dungeon Master's Guide: Roleplaying Game Core Rules, 4th Edition
by Wizards RPG Team
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Book Summary Information
Author: Wizards RPG TeamBrand: Wizards of the Coast
Edition: Hardcover
Published: 2008-06-06
ISBN: 0786948809
Number of pages: 224
Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
Book Reviews of Dungeons & Dragons Dungeon Master's Guide: Roleplaying Game Core Rules, 4th Edition
Book Review: Best DMG yet...even if you hate 4th edition
Summary: 5 Stars
Even if you aren't sold on 4th edition D&D yet, this book is worth considering--it's actually the best DMG ever published.
I know that's a big claim--and nothing will ever match the joy of reading the 1st edition DMG, learning about surprise rounds, experience points, campaign building and the myriad magical items available to me (including intelligent swords and the Hand of Vecna.)
But gaming has evolved over the years, and companies have learned that the core rules should be in a player's guide, and that only the behind-the-scenes tools for running a game should be in the gamemaster's guide.
This means that the DMG exists to:
- Teach new gamers how to run a game
- Provide insights for using the game system to tell stories
- Provide the "inside information" into the game.
The risk of this, of course, is that gamemaster's guides can be (and often are) dry and/or useless. The 4th edition DMG, however, handles all these elements extremely well, and is fun to read.
The rest of this review addresses how the 4th edition DMG handles these points, in detail:
*** Teach new gamers how to run the game:
The new DMG is obviously written to show MMORPG players how to run a pen-and-paper game. At times, this becomes a bit much, such as the "tip" that index cards should be given out that help players keep track of their list of quests. (But to their credit, they didn't suggest that ?'s and !'s over the heads of NPC's be used to show players who to talk to.)
But that obvious issue aside, the book provides solid insights. There is a section on different player archetypes, how they tend to interact with (and get enjoyment from) the game, and how you can set things up to engage them. There are comments on what makes good adventures, and how to build them from the blocks provided by 4th edition. There are sections that deal with GM fairness, problems that arise, and how best to solve them. These are all invaluable to a new GM, and frankly, a worthy read to veterans.
*** Provide Insights for using the game sytem:
This is where this book absolutely shines, and why any GM (4th edition or not) should buy and read the book.
There are chapters on creating campaigns, explaining the different ways you can create long or short stories that bring a sense of accomplishment to the table. They explain pros and cons of the multi-year monstrosity, and the short single-purpose campaign, and several other types. They show how campaigns can be lengthened, or shortened by XP mods, with some guides on how long a campaign will take. (They specifically show how to get campaigns to fit in a school year, which was a good touch.)
There is a section on creating adventures: in dungeons, in cities, in the wilderness--and they provide insights in how to make each work, and how to walk the line between keeping the game moving and giving the players free choice.
There are numerous ways it covers the creation of encounters, which were my favorite part of the book. Non combat encounters, building up fair encounters, the use of monster roles, space and terrain, creating new monster types and modifying existing monsters to up/down scale them. These were all exceptionally well done, and have frankly modified my 3rd edition GM style.
*** Provide the "inside information" into the game:
This is a fun, though light, piece of this book. Artifacts and relics are covered, of course--though more as how they operate in 4th edition, rather than long lists of them. There is also coverage of poisons and diseases--which are more interesting than in any previous edition. And there are sections on the economy of D&D, which is more specific that I'd like, but does allow game economies scale from 1st through 30th level without bogging down the players. And of course, there is solid coverage of the planes, including what they represent as game elements, and who they are appropriate for.
Of course, there is the "fluff"...the stuff publishers put into GM guides to fill them out. In this case, even the fluff is well done. The dungeon at the end of the book was clearly fluff, and I almost skipped over it. But then I went back and read it...figuring that at the very least, I couldn't comment on it in my review if I hadn't read it. As it turns out, it really isn't fluff, so much as a recap--pulling everything the book has tried to show you into a 4-encounter case study.
In summary...I repeat: Best DMG ever published, and well worth consideration even if you don't play (or can't stand) 4th edition D&D.
Summary of Dungeons & Dragons Dungeon Master's Guide: Roleplaying Game Core Rules, 4th Edition
The second of three core rulebooks for the 4th Edition Dungeons & Dragons Roleplaying Game. The Dungeons & Dragons Roleplaying Game has defined the medieval fantasy genre and the tabletop RPG industry for more than 30 years. In the D&D game, players create characters that band together to explore dungeons, slay monsters, and find treasure. The 4th Edition D&D rules offer the best possible play experience by presenting exciting character options, an elegant and robust rules system, and handy storytelling tools for the Dungeon Master. The Dungeon Masters Guide gives the Dungeon Master helpful tools to build exciting encounters, adventures, and campaigns for the 4th Edition Dungeons & Dragons Roleplaying Game, as well as advice for running great game sessions, ready-to-use traps and non-player characters, and more. In addition, it presents a fully detailed town that can serve as a starting point for any D&D game.General Books
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