DMG II review: Rules for things we houseruled(quite well usu

[User3]

Ok, so I got to look over the DMG II. Mostly is a collection of rules for things we have either houseruled, handwaved, or just didn't care enough about to even make rules for...

Some examples:

---Mentor bonuses: a +2 to some skill you don't use much. What fun.
---Rules for running a business. Dungeons and Barkeeps!
---Templates for magic items: just like magic items, but with odd little +1s to annoy everyone with. Though I'm a homophobe to say this, I think they have fey armor for those characters who just didn't think that being a Bard made them homosexual enough (and fey weapons are just smaller than a normal guy's weapons. No, really.).
---Rules for companion spirits for a group of PCs just like the totem rules from Werewolf.
---Magic items in the "now it has a backstory and decent text explaining its effect" format, as per every other decent D20 publisher.
---100 pages about dealing with jerk players.
---Some traps, but no rules about why traps are so much more powerful than magic items.
---Magic ritual events, as per the "I'll blot out the sun" schtick of every major villain ever. Has rules for making Sauron's flaming eye thing that he keeps over Mount Doom (no bullshit).
---Places with some power, as per the (Planar) Touchstone rules.
---Rules for being a guildmaster; you get to trade out your cohort like hubcaps and you have to work your adventures around the fact that you do "paperwork adventures" every week where your character has to do paperwork and gets no XP or treasure or a story.
---Rules for liking your magic sword so much that no one else gets to use it (only one feat!). Take another feat and tiny crap bonuses you get become bigger tiny crap bonuses!
---Some magic items, so that actual players of DnD have something to read that won't bore them to death in its abstract theory-ness..


Overall, its just like Unearthed Arcana in that it has assloads of rules we won't read and won't care about, but this time its Core baby!!!.

Two fvcking thumbs down. This makes baby Jesus cry.

[RandomCasualty]

1118479990[/unixtime]]
---Rules for being a guildmaster; you get to trade out your cohort like hubcaps and you have to work your adventures around the fact that you do "paperwork adventures" every week where your character has to do paperwork and gets no XP or treasure or a story.

Mechanics that call for PCs to miss adventures.

Wow, are you shitting me? This is possibly the worst mechanic ever. Worse than demihuman level caps or even polymorph...

[Wrenfield]

Regarding "crunch" ... are there new PrC's (like the DMG I's Loremaster, Assassin, etc.)?

---Rules for companion spirits for a group of PCs just like the totem rules from Werewolf.

This sounds interesting. Although I'm not getting a bead on what that means exactly. I'll have to run down to the FLGS tomorrow to check it out.

---Some traps, but no rules about why traps are so much more powerful than magic items.

Damn. I was really hoping for rules that allow the PC's to actually *make* traps within a reasonable period of time (for tactical use) and for a reasonable cost. As it stands, Craft: Trapmaking sounds like an awesome skill in 3.5. But by the RAW, it's one of the worst skills in the game due to the cumbersome nature of quick-devising in-game traps. Phooeey.

[Josh_Kablack]

---100 pages about dealing with jerk players.

How does that take more than 2 pages? What the fuck? Were they just cribbing off the "What's A DM to Whine About" board?

Really, all it comes down to is:
Can you find a new, better player? Y/N? If so kick the jerk out, if not, suck it up.

[User3]

Wow, that's depressing.

What I had really hoped to see in the book were rules for creating and dealing with permanent magical structures, which honestly would have aided my DMing greatly. Ah well.

[Neeek]

1118479990[/unixtime]]Ok, so I got to look over the DMG II. Mostly is a collection of rules for things we have either houseruled, handwaved, or just didn't care enough about to even make rules for...

I have to ask. About what percentage of their new rules are as good as the worst house rules we've discussed here?

[MrWaeseL]

This book is actually quite nice if you disregard all the stupid crunch (you can now have two cohorts! yay! ) . I've only read the first chapter, but that's all about running the game, recognizing which players want what and catering to that. I would recommend this to any starting DM.