|
I think it's worth it. I find it's one of the better books WOTC has put out in the last year. It's not heavy on the usual book mechanics like prestige classes, spells, or feats, but it has some very good advice for DM's of all skill levels, and some great resources for your campaign.
I'd highly recommend it.
|
Bella Sara Charter Superscriber
|
The DMG II is probably the best WotC book I purchased last year. It's a utility kit with a large amount of cool ideas and ready made mechanics. I figure on average, I use 10-15% of the mechanical content of a given WotC book (if that). I anticipate using 50-75% of the mechanics in the DMG II. On top of that, it has a suprising amount of fluff that can be mined from the description of Saltmarsh.
For me, the mechanics in DMG II aren't the reasons I keep coming back to it: it's because it presents some really good GM advice that no matter your experience, there's something useful in there. There's a section that discusses player types and I found myself categorizing my players and creating adventures that played to their skills. Saltmarsh has been incredibly well-detailed and written up, with a pleasant nod to the old module in which it featured. It's no metropolis, but it gives you a great example of how much depth a mid-sized city can have. Also explains the new stat block format - very useful!
It was well worth the money to me.
Yes. Heroes of Horror offers up a bunch of stuff for a horror type setting. There's rules on Taint (including inflicting your players with it), classes and prestige classes based on taint and fear, advice for running a suspense riddled fear fest style campaign, and a bit about running adventures in the dreamlands.
So, I'd say if you're running an evil/dark campaign, Heroes of Horror is definitely a good buy.
|
Bella Sara Charter Superscriber
|
For me, the mechanics in DMG II aren't the reasons I keep coming back to it: it's because it presents some really good GM advice that no matter your experience, there's something useful in there. There's a section that discusses player types and I found myself categorizing my players and creating adventures that played to their skills. Saltmarsh has been incredibly well-detailed and written up, with a pleasant nod to the old module in which it featured. It's no metropolis, but it gives you a great example of how much depth a mid-sized city can have. Also explains the new stat block format - very useful!
The advise is definitely good, but it's the sort of thing I read once and don't reference again. The mechanics on the other hand, I have gone to in one form or another in preparation for every game since I purchased it.
Saltmarsh is excellent. It's a good source of adventure hooks and ideas even if you're not going to set a game in the city.
Actually, you were the reason I started this post in the first place. Based on the above recommendations, I'm going to have to buy it now. Thanks a lot.
Dank yew!
The advise is definitely good, but it's the sort of thing I read once and don't reference again. The mechanics on the other hand, I have gone to in one form or another in preparation for every game since I purchased it.
Saltmarsh is excellent. It's a good source of adventure hooks and ideas even if you're not going to set a game in the city.
I don't reread it constantly, but I do reread it when I get stuck in a rut for an adventure idea. The "places" section was very intriguing - I'm sure something stuck with me there and is showing up in my current story arc.
I looooove what they did with Saltmarsh, though. Awesomeness abounds in that section, especially about the haunted house...
I've seen Heroes of Horror recommended on these very boards. From what I'm told, it's far better than the Book of Vile Darkness because it's less about gross-out tactics and more about giving your game a certain mood, using mechanics that can fit any alignment. And from the number of Dungeon adventures in the last year or so that have used themes from Lovecraft, you would have a ready supply of adventures to use. Richard Pett's excellent Styes would be a perfect fit with Heroes of Horror, as well as "And Madness Followed" by Matthew Hope from the most recent Dungeon. Those two alone make me antsy to play a cool horror campaign, and there's a ton of other good ones out there that I can't remember off the top of my head.
I'd agree with above posters on all points regarding Heroes of Horror. I have but a few books outside the core three, and Heroes of Horror is one of these.
My style of DMing is slanted toward this style setting and taint (the mechanics aren't perfect, but its a good starting point) is right up my alley. That said, I haven't referenced it very much - but thats probably attributed to me running a straight game (Age of Worms).
For me, the mechanics in DMG II aren't the reasons I keep coming back to it: it's because it presents some really good GM advice that no matter your experience, there's something useful in there. There's a section that discusses player types and I found myself categorizing my players and creating adventures that played to their skills. Saltmarsh has been incredibly well-detailed and written up, with a pleasant nod to the old module in which it featured. It's no metropolis, but it gives you a great example of how much depth a mid-sized city can have. Also explains the new stat block format - very useful!
It was well worth the money to me.
I very much agree with Lilith in this. Personally I can't say I was a huge fan of a lot of the mechanics in the book. I have little real desire to run a fantasy business (I'm already a small bookstore owner and half my players are more or less in the same boat - we play to escape not deal with our real life issues). I'm not much of a fan of the group style feats. That said I felt the general advice was very strong and worth referencing every so often. I loved Saltmarsh and I felt that the material on guilds, NPCs, Cities and fantastic locations was suitably inspiring.
I remember being fairly unimpressed with the DMGII. The DM advice was nice, and pretty solid, but it wasn't anything new (to me). That said, I've been doing this a long time; the less experience a DM has, the more useful that advice would be.
The mechanical aspects of the book struck me as being nice to have, but not outstanding. I might well use them at some point, but I might well not. The only thing I was particularly impressed with was the magic items chapter of the book.
I don't own "Heroes of Horror", so can't comment.
I picked up Heroes of Horror hoping it would inspire me to inject a bit of something different into my Eberron game - to make it even more distinct from the Realms game I also run. Initially I was singing the book's praises, but on closer inspection it didn't work for me. The DM advice was sound but nothing really new. The mechanics (Taint etc) were far too unsubtle to work for my group. So - not one I would recomend.
Tome of Magic on teh other hand does deliver. It presents 3 incredibly detailed new magical systems, all of which are oozing with potential for using straight from the book or with a few mods. And all 3 could easily make excellent additions to an evil game.
Take a good long look at them both before you buy. But for my money ToM has potential, HoH is basically padding.
|
Bella Sara Charter Superscriber
|
I very much agree with Lilith in this. Personally I can't say I was a huge fan of a lot of the mechanics in the book. I have little real desire to run a fantasy business (I'm already a small bookstore owner and half my players are more or less in the same boat - we play to escape not deal with our real life issues). I'm not much of a fan of the group style feats. That said I felt the general advice was very strong and worth referencing every so often. I loved Saltmarsh and I felt that the material on guilds, NPCs, Cities and fantastic locations was suitably inspiring.
Well maybe this proves the point that it has something for everyone. I dug the fantasy business thing because I ran a thieves guild campaign and a large part of the action centered around running various illegal businesses and exploiting various legal businesses. The group style feats and the group spirits were more polished versions of mechanics I had already implemented to reward group coherency. I also like the section on creating traps out of materials at hand and the ready made rules for various fantastic locations.
As always, no matter what supplement you buy, Your Mileage May Vary. :-D
I remember being fairly unimpressed with the DMGII. The DM advice was nice, and pretty solid, but it wasn't anything new (to me). That said, I've been doing this a long time; the less experience a DM has, the more useful that advice would be.
This is probably something to do with DM interests. I'd not say that the material was particularly new to me either. In fact in many ways its pretty much a rehash (and not neccisarly a better rehash either) of the material presented in 2nd editions Catacombs book. That said its the kind of thing I really like refreshing myself on every so often. I guess I just like DM tips type articles a lot and read them with relish whenever I come across them even if I've already seen the material before at some point in my DMing career.
Not wanting to hijack this thread, but I felt compeled to say that the Binder and the Warlock are only two v.3.x 20-level classes (so far) that I would consider taking all 20 levels in. That's how good I think these two classes are.
|
What can you guys tell me about "Lords of Madness"? I have almost bought this book a number of times, but something always stops me. After reading "The King in Yellow" in Dungeon 134, I'm intrigued again.
Is it worth it?
The primary focus of Lords of Madness was aberrant races, 6 of them to be exact: Aboleth, Beholders, Illithid, Grell, Neogi, and a new race that I can't quite remember (Tsoclairs or something). It gives some really good information on each race, including biology, magic, society, religion, and even some different types. The only things I didn't like were the origin story for the Mindflayers (that they came from the future) and that they didn't give a lot of info on the Spelljamming aspects of these races (despite having a mini adventure with a crashed Neogi Mindspider).
The book also gave a section on deities, including some from the Far Realm, aberrant feats and prestige classes, and some new monsters and templates.
All in all, I liked it.
Also, consider that if you want more info on the Far Realm they had an issue of Dragon (sorry don't remember the number)not too long ago that focused on the Far Realm.
What can you guys tell me about "Lords of Madness"? I have almost bought this book a number of times, but something always stops me. After reading "The King in Yellow" in Dungeon 134, I'm intrigued again.
Is it worth it?
Aberzombie has already summarised the contents, so I won't add to that.
In my opinion, Lords of Madness is one of the best books I have bought in several years. If it wasn't for the Spell Compendium (which is just unbeatably useful) it would easily be the best book I got last year.
|
|
Lords of Madness does reprint flavour text from at least 2 second edition sourcebooks (I, Tyrant and The Illithiad), but even though I owned them (I bought the beholder book just before LOM was announced!), I was still happy that someone had gone to the trouble of converting the sub-races/spells/feats etc, thus saving me the bother.
DMG2 does include lots of tips on running a session or campaign, which, quite frankly, I believe could easily have been included in the original DMG. How useful this is depends on whether this is new to you. I've been playing since 1980, so much of this I found myself nodding along to, with a feeling of deja vu, reminded of an article, letter or debate in Dragon, or, since I'm a Brit, Imagine...anyone else remember Stirge Corner? No? I'll just go get my pipe and slippers....
That said, I don't begrudge this info being there; it bears repeating for the new gamers out there. I am a player as well as DM, and if I cosy up to the table with a DM half my age, it helps if his head is already half-way to where I'm coming from.
What can you guys tell me about "Lords of Madness"?
i really enjoyed this one. the Tsochari (correct spelling) are a nightmare i've had made real. hyper-yuck! however, the amount of material it gives for abberations is quite useful.
i've run a series of adventures for my groups wherein an Illithid Hive is working on infiltrating another dimension (alternate Prime). for those adventures, this book was invaluable. i, too, owned the Illithiad from the 90's. however, WotC's new take on the origin of the mind flayers helped me flesh out the origin i'm taking in my own universe...
if you count the number of abberations presented in the 3.5 d20 Monster Manual, you'll begin to understand just how common a creature type they really are. Lords of Madness gave me plenty of useful info on how to further mutate other abberants, too.
overall, i'd rate it a 9 of 10.
as a note; it seems that the people taking the time to post to this thread are people who enjoy the supplements you're asking about. you might wish to keep this in mind when reading recommendations!
- here's to your first Tsochari infestation! -
Aye, the Spell Compendium is an excellent value. I'm impressed with the diversity and quality of the spells.
I like Lords of Madness but I wouldn't have purchased it (it was given as a birthday present).
I'm not a big fan of supplemental books and unless I can get them cheap (usually from Amazon, Ebay, or the local used book store). I don't shop for them.
For a supplement to of real value to me it has to do one of the following:
1) Save me work or time or both (Map Folio's; Dungeon Mag!)
2) Be a useful reference (MMI, MMII, Spell Compendium)
3) Or cover something in a setting I have a strong interest in (Dragonlance being a strong one)
Aberzombie has already summarised the contents, so I won't add to that.
In my opinion, Lords of Madness is one of the best books I have bought in several years. If it wasn't for the Spell Compendium (which is just unbeatably useful) it would easily be the best book I got last year.
Speaking of the Spell Compendium, what did you all think of it? I'm tempted to buy it, but I'm afraid it will be a waste of money as all the spells can be found in the various books and magazines.
Speaking of the Spell Compendium, what did you all think of it? I'm tempted to buy it, but I'm afraid it will be a waste of money as all the spells can be found in the various books and magazines.
I also have almost all the original sources, so there's nothing new in it, really. However, it is extremely handy having all that material together in one place, and since I don't host the game, my back thanks me a great deal for buying it!
I also have almost all the original sources, so there's nothing new in it, really. However, it is extremely handy having all that material together in one place, and since I don't host the game, my back thanks me a great deal for buying it!
I'll second that. The spell compendium sees a lot of use around my gaming table. I own about half of the source material and most of those new spells never got used, since it was annoying to pull out this book or that issue of Dragon to find them. The new spell format (seperating the flavor text from the purely mechanical information) was also great since a lot of arguments ensued from spell (mis)interpretation (one of my players refuses to read all of a spell - he'll read the first few sentences and then just assume that it can do whatever he wants it to).
|
|
Is Complete Psionic any good?
I have been looking forward to getting an expansion to the psionics rules for some time. Here are my initial thoughts (I haven't had that much time to dig in it that much).
Like the spell compendium, this includes any powers that were listed in other books (aside from the Expanded Psionics Handbook) so this way, you only need to look through 2 books for your spells (in addition to new spells).
It has some nice racial feats for some of the races listed in the Expanded Psionics.
I like the new classes -- there are a couple of religious psionic type classes. They basically have access to the psionic equivalent of domains.
It also has some new rules and options for astral constructs.
It also has the standard additional prestige classes, creatures and some other information.
Basically, if you use psionics (or plan to) a fair amount, I feel that it is a good buy.
Basically, if you use psionics (or plan to) a fair amount, I feel that it is a good buy.
I would echo that. In fact, I would go so far as to say that if you use Psionics in your campaign alongside 'regular' magic, and you allow expansions to the other spell lists (such as from Spell Compendium, Complete Book of Eldritch Might, or whatever), Complete Psionic is a must-have. Simply because there is a shortage of supplemental material.
I haven't read the whole book yet. I'm not fond of the omissions in the new stat block (notably the lack of Advancement sections), or that they used the new Prestige Class format (sacrificing a breadth of PrCs for a few really detailed ones). But the new powers seem pretty good, I like the new base classes, and I like pretty much everything in Chapter 6 (essentially, a miscellany).
But, while it's good (and fits well with the other Complete books), there's nothing in it that makes me go "Wow!". Which has been missing from every RPG book I've read this year.
Right, what would I like to know about...
Is "Races of the Dragon" any good? Specifically, is it good if I'm going to use it as a DM-only resource, and not allow the races as PC options? And are there any books that have been released this year that do have the "Wow!" factor?
|
|
Is "Races of the Dragon" any good? Specifically, is it good if I'm going to use it as a DM-only resource, and not allow the races as PC options? And are there any books that have been released this year that do have the "Wow!" factor?
On this one, I would have to say "no". I took a fairly good look at it and I felt that the best thing about it was the new spells that it gave. The racial dragon options were not that impressive to me. The feats were fairly dragon specific as were the prestige classes, and other things. I was much more impressed with the Draconomicon as a DM-only resource.
My opinion only (for whatever that is worth).
And no, I haven't seen anything with the "wow" factor this year either.
|
|
Aberzombie has already summarised the contents, so I won't add to that.
In my opinion, Lords of Madness is one of the best books I have bought in several years. If it wasn't for the Spell Compendium (which is just unbeatably useful) it would easily be the best book I got last year.
I'd certainly agree with your thoughts here, Delericho, and I'd add Libris Mortis to the list; both of these two (Libris and Lords of Madness) are ones that I find myself turning to again and again, both as a player and a DM. Great feats, spells (especially Whispercast and Permeable Form, both on page 129 of Lords of Madness), and prestige classes in each book, and for the DMs out there, detailed and in-depth ideas for numerous and truly iconic selections of each creaure type. I feel that these two books are truly worth their weight in gold; regardless of your place in the campaign or your playing style, you're almost certainly going to find something of interest in both books.
|
Is "Races of the Dragon" any good? Specifically, is it good if I'm going to use it as a DM-only resource, and not allow the races as PC options? And are there any books that have been released this year that do have the "Wow!" factor?On this one, I would have to say "no". I took a fairly good look at it and I felt that the best thing about it was the new spells that it gave. The racial dragon options were not that impressive to me. The feats were fairly dragon specific as were the prestige classes, and other things. I was much more impressed with the Draconomicon as a DM-only resource.
My opinion only (for whatever that is worth).
And no, I haven't seen anything with the "wow" factor this year either.
I would say the best thing about Races of the Dragon is the section on kobolds. But I have a bit of a kobold fetish, so it be just me. It is certainly not core: the new PC races are pretty lame, and while other sections of the book are OK there is nothing that screams "Must Have".
I'd certainly agree with your thoughts here, Delericho, and I'd add Libris Mortis to the list;
Ah, yes, Libris Mortis. Prior to getting that book, I had heard one or two negative things about it. But it does, indeed, rock. (2004 was a good year - Libris Mortis, Frostburn and the Expanded Psionics Handbook are all on my shelf of books I kept out of storage.)