Dungeon Master's Guide: Core Rulebook II (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.0 Fantasy Roleplaying) (Hardcover)

Veteran gamers will no doubt scoff at the advice the DMG offers new DMs and skip to the section on Magic Items. They shouldn't. The guidance for DMs that this book offers is (for a change) worth reading. Little things that a DM picks up over time like: "Agree on your house rules before you start playing" or "Keep a list of 20 or so unassigned names handy in case your players ask a passer-by for their name." Sure, a veteran DM knows to do that, but do I wish I'd read that when I bought my first DMG? Absolutely. This book is a guidebook for Dungeon Masters, and it sensibly devotes a sizeable portion of itself on telling new DMs the tricks of the trade. (Old timers will recognize the example of play section from the original '79 DMG has been used again, although they will note that originally the cleric said "I squash the nasty thing with my mace!" *grin*)

Building blocks: As any serious DM will tell you, a campaign is made up of lots of little details, usually assembled on the fly. Any charts, prefab'ed items or other labor saving devices are a godsend. This book devotes pages to structural properties of objects, animals and traps typically found in a dungeon. It also offers useful information on prefabricating towns and eleven pages of tables to generate Non-Player Characters.

My award for the biggest "It's about time award" goes to the new rules on the creation of magic items. After two sets of rules have told us that the creation of magic items was expensive, arduous and required rare ingredients, (oh and a constitution point if you wanted the item to last), WoTC has now given us a cohesive set of rules in a core rulebook (imagine!) that shows us how it can be done. Players now can, and undoubtedly will, create their own magic items within the game which (in my opinion) can only add to the gaming experience. One of my players' favorite jokes is making fun of the poor old wizard from AD&D who gave up all his constitution points making a dozen +1 arrows, (under the old rules, it wasn't clear why minor magic items existed at all, they simply cost too much to make). Now there is a framework for creating magic items, and with a little DM guidance, we can turn our player's limitless ingenuity in a whole new direction. Plus the existence of a sling bullet +1 won't seem so stupid now...

Options...Any player who read the Player's Handbook and complained that a particular option or characteristic had been written out of D&D raise your hand. Now use it to smack yourself in the head, because between the DMG's new "variant" rules, alternate character races, prestige classes, and campaign world options there is simply nothing you can't do. There are stats in this book from everything from a katana (d10, exotic- yummy!) to laser guns. (no, I'm not kidding. Purists who go pale at that fact should remember that since it's an option, you don't have to use ray guns if you don't want to). DMs are given a framework for creating (among other things) Troll player characters, and guidelines for creating ability modifications for customized sub-races. Anyone out there have a player who's been whining about the demise of the Assassin class? Show that player the prestige class section and watch them start to smile... show them that Blackguard characters who are ex-paladins get bonus abilities for being so nasty-and watch that player reach for some dice.

Prestige classes: Wow. Prestige classes like the assassin and blackguard are absolutely fantastic additions. Essentially, a prestige class is open only to mid-level characters who qualify (there might be skill level requirements, attack bonus minimums, etc.) and is taken as a second character class. Now when players run into an assassin, they know that at the very least that he's no pushover. These new classes offer DMs limitless possibilities. I've never met a DM who didn't have a special secret organization or knightly brotherhood in their campaign... now you can make those organizations a prestige class and give them entry requirements and special abilities. This kind of seamless additional class is a direct product of the flexibility of the new Character level/Class level system, and it positively shines.

My only complaints with this edition are small are directed more at the format of the publication. First off, whoever decided that putting a pullout page of coupons in the back of the DMG was a good idea should be given their walking papers right now. Most gamers I know don't buy a rulebook so they can gingerly tear a page out of it as soon as they buy it. Second, the inclusion of a glossary in the Players Handbook (a runner-up in the "it's about time" category) was inexplicably absent in the DMG. Aren't there a host of new terms in the DMG that are worth defining?

On substance, though it's a winner. It will give you a jumping-off point for your ideas and the framework to turn them into a campaign. Nice job, guys... Now hurry up and make me a Monster Manual.

The 2nd Edition of AD&D was all about diversity - new nations, new cultures, new horizons, new everything, in a bewildering array, from Dark Sun to Ravenloft. 3rd Edition, in contrast, retains a firm focus on the World of Greyhawk, a land with a much more thematically "pure" medieval setting. So if you loved 2nd Edition for its variety, you may find yourself looking through this book and wondering, "Where's my beloved sprawl of options?"

The answer is beyond the scope of this book - all of the options you could ever want are indeed here, as far as game mechanics are concerned; but if you were hoping for extensive details on cultures, ultra-customized PCs, and the mysteries of Oerth, you'll have to wait for future releases (and they are coming, believe me ;).

So now that we know that the book focuses strictly on rules, advice, and play guidance, we can judge it on its intended merits!

First of all, the play advice and rules on how to create adventures, campaigns, and worlds may seem trite to veteran DMs, in a very "been there, done that" déjà vu sort of way; but I strongly recommend reading these chapters carefully! There's so many pieces of good advice and clever time-savers here that even those who have played for decades (like me) can learn something of lasting value with just a single reading. Now that's quality game design! (As an aside, I thoroughly enjoyed the fact that the "example of play" is straight out of Gygax's original inspired 1979 piece in the 1st DMG - woe to all amateur players who fall into the clutches of such a sinister DM!)

But it's not all just for the DM - players are given even more options here as well! Why, you ask, was this information not included in the Player's Handbook? Well, all of these choices are powerful enough that they've been placed here for the approval (or disapproval) of each individual DM. It's a commendable design choice. Now, we have Prestige Classes: Stellar optional classes such as the Assassin (back at last!), the Witch (an eternal favorite, since the early days of The Dragon) and the Blackguard (a paladin fallen from grace, which may remind you of the Anti-Paladin of old); if they prove too powerful, the DM can always modify or prohibit them. If you (like me) are interested in creating truly customized character classes, you'll have to wait for the Hero Builder's Guide; but, there are rules for alternate races here that will keep you busy! (I've lately been re-integrating Half-Ogres, and thinking about how to balance the Drow. Time for old faves!)

But that's not all. The variety isn't just for PCs! The NPC generation system proves invaluable - now, you can whip up a hundred different, engaging, dramatic, and unique individuals in a single night, and have fun doing so. With this excellent guidework, it's actually a meditative pleasure to sit and contrive interesting people for your players to interact with in some later game session. That's a definite plus.

As far as player experience goes, however, some people will hate the open-ended nature of Challenge Ratings; personally, I love them. They're very easy to use; you can even include fair rewards for solving puzzles, role-playing, fulfilling quests, and evading traps and ambushes. If you prefer "The Old Way" of just rewarding hack-n-slash, more power to you; but for those of us who want to see more role-playing and player cleverness, these rules are wondrous. The one thing I'm worried about is excessive rewards leading to player boredom; personally, I'm strongly considering cutting all PC XP awards by 50%, all the time.

Another age-old problem, however, has finally been solved. One of the drastic omissions in the AD&D system of days gone by (Magister notwithstanding) has finally and decisively been integrated into the DMG - there are detailed rules on the creation of magic items! And they make sense! I was astounded, and immeasurably pleased. Rest assured, your players will enthusiastically find ways to twist these rules for their own amusement, but with this work in hand, you'll always be one step ahead of them. This section alone adds a huge amount of play value. (There's also a fully classified organization of *existing* magic items, which will save you a lot of hair-tearing in the middle of a game.)

Speaking of drastic omissions, there are no rules here dealing with bravery, morale, monster retreats, moments of truth, and other such points of valor; if you're used to rolling dice to decide the fate of monsters and NPCs while the blades and spells flash... you're out of luck. Granted, you can come up with a role-playing solution to this conundrum every time, but "old school" DMs will no doubt be rather angered by this.

And my favorite part of the book? Well, besides the artwork (I love the new style), there's an invaluable section on monster abilities, unified and categorized. This makes the running of monster encounters so much easier that I can't imagine how I survived without it.

So... (sorry for the long read!) My final verdict? A masterpiece? Actually, yes. But not to everyone's taste. If you're a new player, you'll love it; if you're a veteran, you'll find yourself disagreeing with many of the design choices, because it's not "1st Edition" or "2nd Edition" or anything in between. For me, though, that's the beauty of it... this book is so cleanly designed that if you feel something's been left out that you simply can't live without, you can convert the old rules to synth perfectly into the new, and then you'll have the best of both worlds. Viva le difference! It's a new age, a new world... and this is your guide. Enjoy it.

I suspect this review will be of more use to veteran types than novice types, as the latter have no comparison, but here goes:

THINGS I LIKE ABOUT THE 3E DMG

(1) WORLD BUILDING: the 2E DMG didn't have this aspect in it. You had to get one of the supplementary sources to figure out all the things that are now in 3E. Good step.

Howeer, let me point out that 1E had the best context and advice for building a world. I would say that if you want advanced techniques for world building to seek out that DMG as well as the 2E CAMPAIGN SOURCEBOOK.

(2) NPC CLASSES: it was always a hassle trying to make the queen tough enough to not be killed by one sword blow. To do that, you had to make her into a class and most of the classes didn't make much sense for someone who never got out and was in court.

Now, there are artisan classes, like a 20th lvl blacksmith, and the aristocrat. It includes usual skills and such as well as the die to use.

Great idea. Now, I don't have to make the court queen a 15th lvl thief to keep her alive.

(3) PRESTIGE CLASSES: a cool idea. These are organizations of very tough or unique people who have special powers.

BTW, for you 1E players, the assassin is now a prestige class. Glad they brought it back.

(4) RUNNING THE GAME: again, this wasn't in the 2E DMG; it was in the sources mentioned above but overall, this is great for new DMs. The book helps you describe events like one of story rather than just numbers.

(5) ENERGY DRAINS: PCs now get saves against undead hits. That was always a bummer to PCs in previous editions.

(6) COOLER PICTURES

(7) NEW MAGIC ITEMS: not seen in the usual 2E books;

(8) WAYS TO TONE DOWN DEMIHUMANS FROM BEING ANY CLASS: if you're a 1E and 2E purist like me.

(9) DC EXAMPLES: very helpful if you need a quick number for skill check.

(10) RESULTS OF HAZARDS: better details than in 2E; had to get this from supplements or make it up.

WHAT I DO NOT LIKE ABOUT THE 3E DMG

(1) MAGIC ITEM PROTECTION CROSSOVER: in the 1E and 2E rules, you couldn't combine magical armor and magical rings. No longer true. Now, you can wear both which can upset game balance potentially. Still exploring this issue.

(2) XP FOR MONSTERS: you can go up a level for every 2 sessions if you kill enough things. To those who want to give out xp for RPGing and other matters, I suggest you use the optional rule that tones down all monster xp by half.

(3) PRESTIGE CLASSES: it should be a lot harder to get into these since they're so powerful. Otherwise, wouldn't everyone do it?

(4) TRAINING FOR XP: I know this isn't popular with some people but I find it hard to believe you shoot up a level just b/c you got 100 xp for killing that creature.

If I want to teach myself tennis, it's true that I can do it to some extent by watching others and emulating them. But, at the same time, there are certain bad habits I pick up that will have to be unlearned and spotted by a good instructor. I know lots of people who play tennis with weak backhands and try to play around it. Works well with other people who have such weaknesses but you get killed against other players who slam the ball down to your backhand all the time.

(5) CRITICALS: in the old rules, only the die was doubled or tripled and then the bonuses were added. Now, you total all the bonuses and double or triple it. Personally, I think that has the potential to kill a lot of PCs but my players want to play with it so they'll regret it soon enough. :)

(6) OVERLAND TRAVEL: this isn't listed as it was in the 2E DMG. From it, you could figure out how long it took to get to certain places. Important during downtime especially when PCS are going all over the place.

(7) SPELL COSTS: 2E listed some popular spell prices; not in 3E; bit of a turn off.

(8) LESS INFO ON HIRELING COSTS AND SUCH: more details in 2E if you wanted to hire people for your castle or get soldiers;

(9) NO TERRAIN COMBAT DETAILS: the 2E has more info on underwater and aerial adventures if that floats your boat.

(10) EQUIPMENT LIMITATIONS BY MEDIEVAL DATE PERIOD: in 2E, certain things didn't exist if you based it on Historical models. This was for a good reason. For instance, plate armor probably wouldn't be around if you wanted to run a dark ages campaign and, if it was, then you would have some really powerful people around who would be harder to hit.

(11) SOME MAGIC ITEMS MISSING: in 2E, there were a lot more. Not in 3E but maybe the missing ones will come out in a supplement.

(12) LACKING IN NEGOTIATION AND ROLEPLAYING: this really isn't a problem with 3E but D&D overall. When I was younger, hack and slash was the way to go with a few puzzles and tricks. But, that got old and broke up our group for a while. When we came back, I kept those elements but factored in more of a mulitilayered plot story with context, History and more roleplaying.

(13) SOME GREAT MATERIAL LOST: RAVENLOFT belongs to WHITE WOLF now; couldn't handle the extra work or cutting back? Also, unknown of PLANESCAPE and several other realms that may no longer be used in 3E. Big bummer as many of them were good. I especially liked PLANESCAPE even though my campaign wasn't in PLANESCAPE.

Anyway, my advice to old and new RPGers is to consider some points I rised. It's a lot easier to change things now then later when players are used to certain rules. Whatever the case, some things are good and some are not in my opinion.

To the more seasoned people, hope this helped some. :)