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 | Dungeons and Dragons Core Rulebook Gift Set, 4th Edition
Author: Wizards RPG Team
Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
Binding: Hardcover
Released: 2008-06-06
Sales Rank: 112
ISBN: 0786950633
Edition: 4th
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 2008-07-22 - Terrible - Unless You Don't Like D&D
This is not D&D. It's a new game, not a particularly good one, with the D&D "logo" slapped on the front. Third Edition tinkered a little bit with the iconic elements of D&D, but could still be seen as an upgrade. For fourth edition however, all prior editions might as well have never existed. It is obvious that the publisher's driving motivation was to trade on the D&D label, while making absolutely certain that no prior edition products would be in any way useful for this game. Great way to alienate your entire market Hasbro. Thanks.
2008-07-21 - Wait for the PC version
First off, yes I have played using the 4E rules, not once, but twice and never again.
Secondly, before I get accused of being some old-school, hard-core grognard (despite my 20+ years of D&D campaigning) I should say that I play World of Warcraft (WoW) regularly, even more than I play D&D. I like WoW for what it is , and like D&D even more so for what WoW is not. WoW and it's ilk are not role playing games in the sense that there is no character development. Yes there is statistical development, but not character; personality, traits, habits and so forth. And therein lies my chief complaint about 4E.
While many reviewers have said that 4E is an attempt at making a tabletop game out of a MMORPG, I think it is just the opposite. I beleive WOTC/Hasbro had every intention from the start of design to take D&D into the MMORPG world. Just look at the rules, it reads like a video game manual already.
Gone are all of the background information and flavor text, replaced by statistics and mechanical rules which easily translate into hot keys for the computer or console controller. No thinking or problem solving required here, you just keeep hitting the hot key until the monster drops.
The most glaring proof that the designers have given up on role playing and are eyeing taking D&D to an electronic format is the almost linear character developement, which forces players into preset roles. Tanks, Crowd Controllers, yaddy yadda, yadda, again its like reading a WoW manual. These limiting factors are clearly present to set parameters that are easily written in code by some programmer.
It is also evident that the designers have gone after the younger "Instant-Gratification" generation by handing out gonzo powers from the moment your character sheet is filled out. 1st level characters need not fear death no matter the odds unless they run into a streak of bad die rolls (and even then maybe not).
The designers in their efforts to build a game that is cross-platform capable forgot that at its heart D&D is not a game about gaining powers and increasing your character's ability scores. It is about developing your character and the interactions with your fellow adventurers.
4E's focus is clearly not in this vein and any role playing that may occur while using this version of the game is probably a bug that they will fix in patch 4.1.000123133.
 2008-07-21 - Great!!
This is a great product for anyone who is going to be DMing. While everything you really need to play as a player is in the PHB, the Monster Manual and the DMG will be indispensable to any DM. The slipcase is made of a great cardboard that is about as thick as the covers of the books. I actually dropped mine when I got it and the case took all the shock and kept the books in perfect condition. I highly recommend this product for its price, looks, and quality.
2008-07-19 - You Freakin Nerds
Love the newest edition of D&D. So far its been a blast to play, and i can't wait for more books to come out. I highly recommend to anyone that likes D&D, RPGs and even for fans of MMO RPGs. I find it easier to learn than 3rd edition.
 2008-07-17 - Interesting concept have yet to play
I have been looking over the 4th edition have a lot of complementary things to say about it. One is it reminds me of first edition. It is simple to play and get started. Characters are created quickly and all of a role in the game.
Here are the positives:
All players are useful during combat. No longer is your mage the weakest member of the party at low level. The at will powers for each member allows them to contribute to combat through out combat. Encounter powers allow players to unleash a big spell for each fight. Daily powers are their signature powers, but are limited.
Character creation is fast. You can roll or you can use a point buy system. If you use the point buy system you don't feel vastly inferior to other characters. The game now gives players 3 stats to focus on for their powers.
Feats are similar to the 3.5. If you pick correct feats you can sort of multiclass or make your character more unique. Wizards can begin to train up to plate armor or use a sword. You can get some abilities of other classes, but it is not a true multiclass, but rather a mixture of abilities. You generally won't get fireball casting fighters, but it only takes 2 skills (as feats) to get a fighter who can cast utility spells called rituals.
Combat favors levels. Some can argue against that, but it is nice that your 30th level fighter is not screwed if he doesn't have armor. Players heal quickly so this helps speed the game to more heroic combats.
They cut down on skills and languages. They also made it so each player has some training in basic skills. Training represents a bigger advantage (+5). Also weapon skills make more sense so a wizard can use a crossbow because it is simple rather than arbitrarily limit them. No longer does it make you have to focus on a few core skills just to keep pace with a skill requirements. Also makes character creation much faster.
Rituals are cool as they allow players to cast utility spells outside of combat and aren't wasting spell slots. If you need comprehend languages you don't stop for the day and relearn a spell for comprehend languages. It was one thing when there were multiple players who were wizards, but basic party of 4 or 5 usually meant you were either prepared for combat or for utility and if you picked wrong you were screwed or slowed the game down.
1st level characters are decent and meaningful. No longer are the first 2 levels sneeze and die levels. You can be heroic from the start.
The dungeon master's guide is improved. It has advice for new DMs, but the ability to modify the monsters for -+3 levels it works well. Some people complain about the monsters not being like they remember there are rules to help fix that in the DMs guide. I think this is a big improvement where you know what happens. Traps are good as well and XP is better explained.
For the monster manual the mnsters are given clear xp and you have minions (basically fodder) and other monsters in different roles. At the end are helpful hints if you want to make them PCs.
Now for the negatives of the system.
Only a few classes. Everyone has particular classes they favor and many have been omitted. There is PHB2 coming out next year and truthfully I think that is ok. It is a problem is you only have a few players (2-3) who can't fill all roles.
Combat runs on miniature expectations. I like miniatures myself, but I would be happy without having to have tiles and miniatures to run combat. At least it is not WYSIWYG.
Players lack powers outside of combat. Almost all of the powers involve combat. Almost every power does damage and they are intended for a violent confrontation. Rituals help offset that for spellcasters. Still the games seems to focus more on combat and less about influence, charms, etc. The xp system says to overcome a monster/trap gives xp as long as the threat of failure has some consequence. There do not seem to be bonuses for talking or overcoming through non violent means others than the bluff skill.
The DMs guide for experienced DMs has maybe 40 pages worth reading. The rest is fluff, advice or examples.
The monster manual lacks fluff. It does not seem like much, but there is very little as far as history, social organization or anything that gives flavor to monsters. It is hard to get excited. Fine for experienced DMs, but not so good for those who want a 3 dimensional world ready for them.
Overall it is a good system. Level based class systems aren't my favorite, but players who play have a distinct role. The DM will worry less about rule lawyers and he can focus on making a believable world. If you want to play a quick pickup game you can do that. No player will be sitting around because he can't hit a monster because he ran out of spells. The point of roleplaying is to spend time with friends and have a good social activity and this fosters that kind of activity.
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