D&D 4th Edition has been a subject of hot debate since it was first announced and continues to be so to this day. Strip away all of the fan-boy prattle and nerd rage nonsense from the edition wars and believe it or not, regardless of the motivation for making a new edition of D&D (be it a money making scheme by an evil corporation or a true attempt at a fun an balanced system), a game does exist under there. But is it any good? Reviews have been very mixed, but here is my take.

I first played 4th Edition shortly after its release and found it shockingly different. Not bad, persay, but very different from what I was used to after so much time spent with 3.X, and I will readily admit that I did not warm to all of the new ideas right away. Much of this has to do with the DM that I played under, but those anecdotes are tales for another time. There were many merits that I found within the system even at that time, however;

-The classes seemed well balanced between one another with a wide array of interesting abilities. Including powers usable at-will, so even magical classes continued to feel magical once their allotment was mostly expended for the day.
-The skill system was streamlined into a trained or untrained system.
-Magical equipment was found within the pages of the Player’s Handbook as opposed to the Dungeon Master’s Guide, so the information on a PC’s gear was always at their fingertips.
-Status anomalies were condensed and simplified for quick reference, often using the “combat advantage” system to strong effect.
-Battles contained more enemies on average than older editions often would allow and were not only more dynamic, but longer lasting as well, as combat seemed less swingy and rarely hinged on a single roll.
-Not everything in the game world follows the same rules as the PCs. The lack of emphasis on rules for what is happening off screen allow for the shared telling of a more exciting and cinematic story. This is not a boon for everyone however, as some prefer hard and fast rules for minor details that I personally find only ads bloat to the rulebooks.
-The alignment system has been altered. Where as it once was a grid it is now more akin to a line with 5 possible alignments. While I would have preferred the end of an alignment system entirely, this was a good start.

There were some downsides as well, though many are a matter of personal preference;

-The system itself strongly supports high fantasy, and in that doesn’t lend itself well to grittier, low fantasy.
-The races chosen to be in the Player’s Handbook, while decent and varied, feel a bit out of line with the traditional options offered by the various D&D incarnations. The lose of gnomes as a staple PC race hurt since they have always been a personal favorite.
-Skill challenges can be a double edged sword. They are a natural evolution of 3.5 Unearthed Arcana’s complex skill challenges. When used appropriately they can be a tool to greatly enhance a game session, however when used incorrectly or when poorly built, can bring the fun at a table to a crashing halt.
-The errata is ever increasing and takes some time and effort to keep up with.
-Sometimes mechanics like “marking” can be difficult to explain away in game terms.

The strongest point I found with the system is its ease of use. It is quick and easy to learn or teach and ases the burden of DMing, often cutting the time needed to prepare villain statistic blocks by a good margin. The Dungeon Master’s Guide has a strong chapter on appropriate encounter design which is great for new DMs and old alike. The most fun I’ve had running games were running 4th Edition.

The weakest point overall would have to be the games reliance on a grid. I don’t always use maps, and while I often prefer them to help speed up and accurately represent combat, I don’t like needing to have one. And when I do use maps, I prefer hexes over squares, and there is too much that would need to be changed to facilitate that for 4th Edition.

I’ve heard complaints of the physical quality of the books printed for D&D. My bindings and cover feel to be sturdy and long lasting. I’ve no problems with them since they were purchased at the start of the 4th Edition era. The artwork is simply gorgeous as well. The only minor issue that I’ve had is that the ink tends to smudge a bit as I wrap my fingers around the header of the book while reading and walking, but this isn’t anything any worse than what I experienced with any older editions.

Overall, this is the best incarnations of D&D since 2E AD&D. I strongly suggest not buying into all of the negativity and giving it a try for a while for yourself before you make any final decisions. After a few initial bumps, it quickly grew on me and it may for you as well. There is a wide library of supplements for just about any interests and good online support, even if WotC doesn’t bother with PDFs. The core rules are completely worth purchasing, even if there is always room from improvement.. Four stars for 4th Edition indeed.

This DMG is a complete waste of time. The advice is partisan, so focused on a single, biased definition of what "Fun" (tm) is and is not, that the whole thing ends up being more about building walls, not bridges, for DMs to overcome in order to get what they really want out of this game.

When they do, there is still the second surprise: the fact that 4e mechanics cater in fact to this single type of "Fun" (tm), a very narrow, gamist definition of what D&D is and isn't that is sure to disappoint the passionate hobbyist who loves the tradition of the game sooner rather than later.

A piece of crap that is not even worth selling on eBay. The authors should be ashamed.

I know they say the younger generation has become dumbed down zombies...... but hey come on.... adults might still want to play D&D.

All this edition needed to be a complete farce would be collectable power-ups and a gizmo for making whacky noises as you use your super powers on each other.........Zap, Ker-pow and whub-whub-whub.

This is not an RPG by a long way....... sad....

I currently have no intention of buying the rest of the 4th Edition books, or playing in a 4th Edition campaign. But there's a lot of experience behind the DMing advice in this book. (For example, Bruce Cordell gives advice on pg 32 about when it's useful to bend some rules when demonstrating or teaching the game.)

Nic Logue strongly recommended this book, and his judgement was spot-on. Reading through this book has made me a better 3.5 Dungeon Master.

Really great DMing and encounter building advice. Actually focused on running a good game. The main problems? Half-finished skill challenge rules and lackluster physical quality. Still, probably my favorite DMG so far. (****-)

As far as 4e core products go this book is the best which still isn't saying much to be honest. It is decently laid out and illustrated. Has some useful information in it in a fairly clear and concise manner.. It would earn another star from me if it wasn't a fourth edition product.

The 4th Edition Dungeon Master's Guide provides countless pages of advice for DMs both new and old. The game really is evolving, and the 4th edition DMG is quite an engaging read, even if you aren't playing Dungeons and Dragons 4th edition.

Thank you Wizards! I tip my hat to you and your spectacular new edition of the world's greatest roleplaying game.

Overall, the Dungeon Master's Guide presents some good advice for running the game, both mechanistically and even from the role-playing point of view despite the evident obsession with the mechanical encounter rules and no advice on running a more free-format game true to the intent, rather than the letter, of the game mechanics. I also miss the more analytical approach to rules design in previous versions. But it's a sound basis on which to build your own DMing style and methods, a coherent ruleset with good balance.

Probably worth 3.5 stars rather than 4, it so easily could have been completely fantastic with a different underlying philosophy: roleplay rather than mechanical. Think I'll stick to Pathfinder...

Read the full review at http://www.rpg-resource.org.uk/index.php?article=3504&visual=4

OK....... I really REALLY REALLY wanted to love this game. To be honest I've been a sucker for every incarnation of DnD that's come out. I liked all of em in their own way. I prebought this one and every 'pre-book' they've put out... We were all so eager for this new incarnation. It read so well. I can't believe this, but this game has actually managed to depress me!! I HAVE played it. Just spent three hours playing, in fact.

When we finished the party reported that they had the distinct feeling that we had just played a board game version of WOW. Now we all LOVE WOW in our gaming group.. but that's NOT what we sat down to play around a table. We saw nothing 'quick' or 'streamlined' about the gaming experience. We moved pieces around a board adhereing to movement rules and 'squares' for this and that in a fashion that reminded me way too much of the old 'Heroes Quest', albeit a complicated version! Were the game mechanics good? Yes. Why did I give it a 'one star'? Because whilst the game is a good miniature warfare game it seemed to rob the flavor of DnD. The character creation was extrememly confined and the selections were limited. Gone was the ability to customize your character to the point that you actually felt like you had something unique. You will feel as if WOC is controlling the direction your character takes. The game DEMANDED a board and game pieces.. I've always felt that DnD's flavor relied on the 'minds eye', which is so much more colorful in my head than staring at plastic pieces on a piece of cardboard. I do realize that the 'original' DnD was just that, a wargame with a fantasy element. But I feel it evolved into so much more... I guess we've 'returned to our roots'... so why do I feel like we climbed back into the primordial ooze?!

The DMG once again proves to be one of the most informative products for DMs. Light on rules, it's full of good advice to help DMs make their worlds a more interesting place to play in.

It really needs better rules for skill challenges, and there's no advice at all on how to handle the final quest for 30th level characters.