[RPG]: Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition Dungeon Master's Guide, reviewed by James Gillen (4/4)

[RPGnet Reviews]

http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/14/14050.phtml

James Gillen's Summary:

How to be a DM. In case you didn't know.

Go to the full review for more information.

[Phineas_Rage]

This is a rather conclusive synopsis of the DMG, but it doesn't feel like a review. Perchance you could throw some more opinion into it, or are you saving that for the end?

[Aeonite]

Adventures teaches how to run adventures, on the premise that an adventure "is just a series of encounters."

If there is a single inherent flaw with D&D 4th Edition, this is it. This is a flawed premise. A role-playing game session lasting several hours should not be designed around a series of one-hour-long perfectly balanced encounters. Applying mechanical balance to the overall experience has an innate chilling effect on the normal flow of story and passively encourages a DM to turn every situation into either a combat encounter or a skill check. Role-played scenarios, by this definition of adventure, are extraneous. They are not encounters because they are not perfectly balanced collections of numbers and therefore they are not really part of the adventure.

An adventure is more than a series of encounters. If it were nothing more than that, The Lord of the Rings would be 16 pages long. There is much more to role-playing than killing things, and while any group can work around this, the core 4th Edition rules are not designed to aid them in that. You can role-play in World of Warcraft too, but people look at you silly when you do. Because it's Not Meant For That.

Neither is this.

[James Gillen]

Originally Posted by Phineas_Rage

This is a rather conclusive synopsis of the DMG, but it doesn't feel like a review. Perchance you could throw some more opinion into it, or are you saving that for the end?

I'm saving it for the end, but I actually agree with Aeonite's point there.

JG

[Yo! Master]

Originally Posted by Aeonite

Adventures teaches how to run adventures, on the premise that an adventure "is just a series of encounters."

If there is a single inherent flaw with D&D 4th Edition, this is it. This is a flawed premise. A role-playing game session lasting several hours should not be designed around a series of one-hour-long perfectly balanced encounters. Applying mechanical balance to the overall experience has an innate chilling effect on the normal flow of story and passively encourages a DM to turn every situation into either a combat encounter or a skill check. Role-played scenarios, by this definition of adventure, are extraneous. They are not encounters because they are not perfectly balanced collections of numbers and therefore they are not really part of the adventure.

An adventure is more than a series of encounters. If it were nothing more than that, The Lord of the Rings would be 16 pages long. There is much more to role-playing than killing things, and while any group can work around this, the core 4th Edition rules are not designed to aid them in that. You can role-play in World of Warcraft too, but people look at you silly when you do. Because it's Not Meant For That.

Neither is this.

All the roleplaying we've actually done in 4e while accommodating all the rules in the game, the design principles its' built with & the aims it has, & all the stuff the DMG tells, politely disagree with you.

[Aeonite]

Originally Posted by Yo! Master

All the roleplaying we've actually done in 4e while accommodating all the rules in the game, the design principles its' built with & the aims it has, & all the stuff the DMG tells, politely disagree with you.

I can fry eggs with my toaster if I try, and if I'm clever, and if I know what I'm doing.

That doesn't mean the toaster is designed to fry eggs.

[Yo! Master]

Originally Posted by Aeonite

I can fry eggs with my toaster if I try, and if I'm clever, and if I know what I'm doing.

That doesn't mean the toaster is designed to fry eggs.

It seems our views are orthogonal then, as what you consider a 'toaster' clearly is a true pan for frying eggs to me. Or something; as i'm lost with all the similes.

[Gilbetron]

Originally Posted by Aeonite

I can fry eggs with my toaster if I try, and if I'm clever, and if I know what I'm doing.

That doesn't mean the toaster is designed to fry eggs.

4E is a kitchen, and that description of adventures is a recipe. Roleplaying is what happens at the dinner party that eats the food created, and 4E doesn't provide recipes for those

[Aeonite]

Originally Posted by Gilbetron

4E is a kitchen

The grill can be used at will but the oven can only be used once per day, and the deep fryer can be used once per meal. When you use the deep fryer it gives you a bonus for 1 minute to your cooking roll but it doesn't stack with the bonus given by the oven. The kitchen is balanced for exactly four cooks and if you don't have a manager (head cook), a fry cook, a grill cook and a baker then the meal will be a disaster. Each of the four cooks has a specific menu with ingredients that must be added to their recipes in a very specific order; deviating from this specific order will probably result in the meal taking twice as long to prepare, or something going wrong. While there are opportunities for individual expression (a little extra ketchup here, a little less mustard there) the four cooks are strongly encouraged to follow the recipes exactly because after all those cards are right in front of them with very specific instructions on them and it's what the customer ordered. This kitchen does not run on creativity and expression - it runs according to specific recipes and rules that get repeated over and over. While every single customer order is slightly different, the four cooks know their roles very well, and they each scramble to fill those roles as needed to churn out the order each time. Give me two number 2's and one number 1. Next time it's three number 2's and a number 3. Then maybe it's a number 3 and a jumbo size number 4. Oops, our fry cook is a little tired. Maybe he needs to take a 5 minute break. But here comes the manager to berate him for slacking - and he gets a mysterious sudden surge of energy! Back to work it is. Three or four meals served and it's time for a well-deserved 10 minute break. Then it's back for more. Cook and serve, collect paycheck, turn around and cook and serve again.

Yes, I agree, 4E is a kitchen.

At McDonald's.

[hong]

In MY day, generic food metaphors used peanut butter and chocolate, and we LIKED it.