The second year of 4th edition Dungeons & Dragons continues with yet another sequel, this time to arguably one of the best volumes in the 4th edition library, the Dungeon Master’s Guide. The first Dungeon Master’s Guide (DMG1 and DMG2 from here out!) provided a rich collection of advice, not to mention a few necessary mechanics for running the game. The second volume is written again by James Wyatt, plus Bill Slavicsek and Robin D. Laws. Does the DMG2 provide anything worthwhile to the existing game? Keep reading to find out!
One thing I have to mention before I get into content is the awesome artwork in this book. More so than usual, I had an incredibly hard time deciding which images to NOT use. The cover is beautiful, as well. I wish every RPG supplement looked this good! All the images found in this article, plus many more, can be found on the official D&D website.
Chapter 1 : Group Storytelling
Although D&D, and RPGs in general, are often called group storytelling activities, very often it can be very one-sided. The DM is usually the guy who runs the entire show, and the players are there for the ride. This chapter includes guidelines and advice for stepping back your involvement as a DM and letting the players give creative input. This philosophy can be applied to many different areas of the DMing, from world building to narration. Of course, throughout it all, the DM is still meant to be the guy running the game…these are just tips to spice up a game by easing up on the reins. This all sounds like solid advice, and I personally have tried some of these ideas in my games. It also helps to explain the strangely contravercial “Always say ‘Yes.’” philosophy presented in the DMG1. I very much appreciated the large number of sidebars with examples throughout this chapter!
A staunch warrior of Bahamut, utilizing an artifact battle standard.
Also in chapter 1 are guidelines for creating “companion creatures.” These are DM-created cohorts that PCs may adventure with. The author is quick to explain that only combatant companion creatures need stats, and even then they do not receive a full statistic treatment. It is also clear that these are statistics for an ally, unlike the NPC stats generated using the rules in the DMG1. All things you might expect are covered here, like how do these companion creatures affect XP acquisition, what level should they start at, etc. Companion creatures are also recommended for small groups, if ever the idea of one or more players will be playing multiple characters.
Finally, there’s also quick rules for scaling character(s) up or down in level, which mimic how some MMOs (like City of Heroes) will let you scale your hero back so you can do lower-level missions. I don’t think I’ve seen anything quite like this in Dungeons & Dragons, but it seems like such an obvious idea! This is obviously not meant for very serious campaigns, but for one-shots or for “special guest” appearances from past players.
Chapter 2: Advanced Encounters
Basic encounter rules were found in the DMG1. If you’ve played much of the game, however, there will be situations that seem to call for more intricate or non-standard encounters. The end goal for most combat encounters are pretty obvious; placing additional goals within that encounter can make all the difference! You’ll also find tips about building encounters for non-standard sized groups (less or more than 5), how to handle the usage of character resources and keep them adventuring (rather than camping), and motivating movement during an encounter (rather than turtling).
A warrior granted a divine boon from Moradin.
One interesting section in this chapter involves working with the different motivations of the players with encounters, as based on the categories introduced in the DMG1. Going a bit further it gives examples of how a DM might use these techniques to engage each type of player while running the introductory adventure found in the back of the DMG1. It’s stuff like this that really brings out how much thought was put into these sections. This isn’t just some throw-away suggestions inserted to fill page space.
New mechanics in this chapter include 22 new terrain types and 12 new traps. One interesting new mechanic introduced here are terrain powers; if you have access to these, you don’t have to look to page 42 of the DMG1 to roughly determine the effects of a falling chandelier or a swaying rope bridge. Rules for creating your own traps are included here (standard, elite, and solo!), plus some guidelines for appropriate trap placement. I just can’t wait to use some of the new terrain types…
Chapter 3: Skill Challenges
One of the least understood aspects of 4th edition are the standardized rules for non-combat encounters, also known as skill challenges. This may be due in part to the massive revision skill challenges received within months of the original Dungeon Master’s Guide publication; I feel lack of page space devoted to them may have hindered the idea as well. In this chapter, skill challenges may get a second lease on life, with all the updated rules, more examples, and generally more spelled out. If you’ve had any questions about skill challenges before, how they were intended to work, and what sort of things can be used to represent, this chapter should prove to be an excellent resource, though probably not the final word on the subject.
Chapter 4: Customizing Monsters
As you might expect in this chapter, there are more monster templates (including templates for most of the new classes, sans Artificer) as well as updated rules for creating minions, elites, and solos (since these ideas were further refined with the Monster Manual 2). What you won’t expect are ‘monster themes.’ Basically, if you’re running a delve that is heavily focused on goblins, you might want to include some non-goblin monsters. By giving them some powers from the ‘Goblin Allies’ section, they better synergize with the tactics and abilities of goblins, making for more interesting encounters. This slightly increases the power of monsters, with no drawback…I wonder how players will react to this sort of ‘amping up’ of monsters.
As if you thought trolls weren't bad enough...
Tiefling blasting an orc in style.
Chapter 5: Adventures
Nothing is quite as divisive in the D&D community as what sort of rewards players should expect. Some DMs would prefer to vary the type of treasure they hand out, reduce the treasure radically, or completely eliminate magic items. Although it’s easier to do such things with 4th edition D&D than any previous one, proper guidelines for accomplishing such a goal is given here. Three new types of rewards are presented: Divine Boons, god-granted bonuses to the PCs; Legendary Boons, bonuses derived from performing some sort of task; and Grandmaster Training, special techniques from a true master of a fighting style. There’s also “item components,” for DMs who would rather have the PCs piece items together rather than just pick them up. I could easily see a campaign using some or all of these reward types.
New artifacts in this chapter include the “Rod of Seven Parts,” the “Cup and Talisman of Al’Akbar,” and the “Adamantine Horse of Xarn.” The “Rod of Seven Parts” is one of my favorite artifacts in D&D, since you can use to augment an existing campaign or build an entire campaign around it.
Finally, a section on organizations and examples of basic campaign design. For you 3e vets, you may have developed a slight twitch whenever the concept of organizations are brought up in D&D books – I know I have. Don’t worry, they’re entirely fluff this time around (as they should be!) and don’t eat up a very large stretch of the book. The campaign design section is neat, with plenty of examples. It reinforces the idea that a campaign has humble beginnings, heroic mid-section, and a superheroic ending.
Chapter 6: Paragon Campaigns
The DMG1 had lots of good advice for heroic tier adventures (Levels 1-10), so it’s only logical that the DMG2 will talk more about paragon tier adventures (Levels 11-20). I think most DMs “get” the idea of heroic tier and epic tier (Robin-level and Batman-level heroes, respectively). But paragon (Nightwing-level heroes) are a little harder to quantify, as they aren’t an extreme. I think this will definitely help some DMs design adventures with an appropriate feel for these characters on the cusp of true power.
An eladrin climbing out of a portal in Sigil.
DMG1 included the sleepy town of Fallcrest as an ideal home base for heroic tier adventurers, so DMG2 features a bustling city appropriate for paragon heroes…Sigil. This seems a little out of place, considering the existance of the Manual of the Planes…but I digress. What’s given here is excellent, with new creatures, example encounters within the city, and an introductory adventure for paragon characters. I was kind of hoping for stats for the Lady of Pain, so characters could maybe take her out in the epic tier, but…I guess the fanboys might’ve screeched something fierce if that happened.
Final thoughts – the DMG2 is obviously far from necessary. This should be immediately apparent to anyone who’s been running the game since last year; if a supplement is considered *necessary* to play a game, the game is obviously broken. On the other hand, if I had the choice between running a game of 4th edition D&D with or without this book, I could tell you without hesitation which I’d choose. Much like all the primary supplements so far in the 4th edition line, the Dungeon Master’s Guide 2 brings too many good things to the game to ignore.
