I’m a huge fan of 4e in general and this is one of the greatest counter arguments to people saying “it wasn’t designed for role-play” Like, my guys, this *single book* has more content related to role-play than all of 5e combined
I found 4e mechanics heavy and complex but interesting. If you loved this book, you should try D&D 3.5 DM II Book. It has Saltmarsh instead of Sigil, many of the same tricks but its best part for me was how to create a city. I am not saying its best, Iam saying they both take a similar approach but compliment each other.
@@XimCines A lot of the D&D 3.5 DM 2 book was actually included in the D&D 4E DMG 1 book! Some of the same people worked on it, and they took content over (and improved on it), like the player types and other things.
@@tigriscallidus4477 yap a lot was included but many things worked differently and those differences were great enough for the public to avoid the system and embrace Pathfinder or stay in 3.5. Besides there were external influences that helped people make the choice easier.
This (and 4e DMG 1); combined with the DM advice from the free Dungeon World SRD about how to DM in a way to not prepare a plot but how to prepare for doing improv; and combined with the book Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master; form the trinity of great D&D-style DM advice books to me.
Preach it, brother! Whenever I see posts on Twitter or wherever, I ALWAYS point them toward the 4E DMG and DMG2. Infinitely superior to the poorly organized mess that is the 5E DMG.
s good but the Darksun Campaign Guide, IMO, was just next level and gets my vote for best book of 4E. In 3.5 I would give the award to Lords of Madness.
D&D Insider was great. The character builder, dragon and dungeon magazine subscriptions, monster builder, and database of every published power, class, feat, race and item was a steal for what they were asking. Even with the VTT being DOA, the subscription price was great for what you got and honestly could have replaced every book if you had the rules compendium and DMGs.
4E has hands down the best books, best monsters, best adventures and lots of great cliche campaign arc suggestion. The only issue was all the mathy systems doesnt fit a tabletop if it was digitized its great. I really miss the sentient artifact concordance systems as a DM. I can reveal monster information to players for tactical depth based on their skill checks history for factional armies, arcana for magical creatures, nature for natural animals or monsters. Makes every skill so relevant.
This is a great dive into this book. While I certainly didn't click with the 4e mechanics, I can see from your video why the books may still be valuable as resources or inspiration.
I'm not a huge 4e fan in application but it does make the DMs job exceptionally easy and I pull a lot from it. As far as rules go, most of 4e exists within 5e so conversion is very easy
As someone with a middling amount of 4e experience (we played it for 1 year). I really enjoyed the low level play, the system was solid, my only real gripe was way too many Hp/healing at higher levels (and not enough damage) aka combat went on and on. Which is essentially the same problem i have with 5e. In retrospect 4e was better, but 5e did bring some innovations i liked (such as bounded accuracy). my favourite version of DND which worked great were the various iterations of E6.
I played a lot of 4e before 5e came out and the shortened combat in 5e was definitely one of the first things I noticed when we first played it. That was kind of refreshing. Over time I do find myself wishing that some of the 4e combat rules carried over to 5e. I think there is probably some middle ground that gives the 5e combat more flavor with it drawing it out as much as what you got with 4e. Thank you for the feedback.
I read it last year (missed the book when it came out) and was impressed. It's one of the best DM guides ever published, regardless of edition or system. Strongly recommended for any DM to read it.
Wow! Was away from D&D thru the 4E era, so I missed out on this book, but love the micro-genre of auxiliary DM guides, like the AD&D Wilderness Survival Guide or the 2E World Builders Guide, so this is right up my alley and I will finish this video *after* I find and devour this book. Thanks!
I would generally agree. It was a pretty well thought out and useful book, but then so was 3.5e DMG II. However, there is just this one throwaway paragraph later in the DM toolbox section that really sticks in my gullet. How to play WITHOUT a DM. For all the flavor and RP elements listed in this DMG, That one paragraph kind of sums up the design intent of 4e for me.
If 4E had come out in place of 5E, it would have been an absolute smash hit. Nothing they did would have succeeded because it wasn't 3.5, that and they abandoned it after the issue with one of the senior devs being in a murder suicide case.
I left the game before 3e but I saw it coming- just made sense. I got back after 5e started and didn’t like the taste. Too soft, no crunch. Totally missed 4e. I’m gonna go look at this book.
I've heard quite controversial opinions on the 4e so far. The role-playing mechanics was different, but better than 3.5e and the licensing was just awful. The DM guide is really worth reading, thanks for the video!
I own 3 4e books. 2 of them are essential books and the third is this one. And I agree, this is one of the best, if not really the best DMG book. I think one of the main reasons is because this is one of the few modern DMGs that actually really go into teaching how to DM. Old School used to do that, but on 3e onward, they became more of a repository of optional rules, NPCs and Magical Items, with few guidelines. 5e's DMG gotta be one of the worst examples of this, most of the 2014 book was made of unfinished untested optional rules and some guidelines for homebrewing. Like, wtf, how this could help a new DM that just picked up the game?
2:38 That chapter deepens my sorrow that 4e got such a bad wrap in the D&D community. It took me a little over 5 years of DMing and building worlds to realize that cooperative world building could be a useful tool for DMs trying to flesh out a world, only to find out 4e suggested it over 10 years ago.
The art for 3 and 4e are so much better than 5e. I wish they had kept going with the art they were going with before and wonder how the art for 5e could have been approved.
I’m a huge fan of 4e in general and this is one of the greatest counter arguments to people saying “it wasn’t designed for role-play”
Like, my guys, this *single book* has more content related to role-play than all of 5e combined
4e did what so many people have wanted with 5e, which is to give robust mechanical rules for role-playing.
I found 4e mechanics heavy and complex but interesting.
If you loved this book, you should try D&D 3.5 DM II Book.
It has Saltmarsh instead of Sigil, many of the same tricks but its best part for me was how to create a city.
I am not saying its best, Iam saying they both take a similar approach but compliment each other.
@@XimCines A lot of the D&D 3.5 DM 2 book was actually included in the D&D 4E DMG 1 book! Some of the same people worked on it, and they took content over (and improved on it), like the player types and other things.
@@tigriscallidus4477 yap a lot was included but many things worked differently and those differences were great enough for the public to avoid the system and embrace Pathfinder or stay in 3.5.
Besides there were external influences that helped people make the choice easier.
There is so much great advice and material in 4e that people miss because they didn't give it a chance. We still play 4e and enjoy it thoroughly.
I agree. Sadly, everyone I used to play with dropped 4e as soon as 5e launched.
This (and 4e DMG 1); combined with the DM advice from the free Dungeon World SRD about how to DM in a way to not prepare a plot but how to prepare for doing improv; and combined with the book Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master; form the trinity of great D&D-style DM advice books to me.
THIIIIIIIIIS
So much roleplaying advice for an edition that everyone mistakenly thinks has purged roleplaying in favor of miniature war gaming.
I love this book!
Now they’re going back to it and realizing it was the players who dropped the role for rolling
My veteran players really enjoyed the battles with altered terrain most. It might confuse the green but it excites the rusted.
I thought I was the only one who liked 4th. Nice to see it getting some love.
I suggest to look also at "D&D 4e for Dummies", both the player and DM book, they are neat ;D
Preach it, brother! Whenever I see posts on Twitter or wherever, I ALWAYS point them toward the 4E DMG and DMG2. Infinitely superior to the poorly organized mess that is the 5E DMG.
Yup and the DMG1 was solid too...
Maybe the best book of the edition, and a good reminder to hold onto the best of the past (even 4e). Great video!
s good but the Darksun Campaign Guide, IMO, was just next level and gets my vote for best book of 4E. In 3.5 I would give the award to Lords of Madness.
D&D Insider was great. The character builder, dragon and dungeon magazine subscriptions, monster builder, and database of every published power, class, feat, race and item was a steal for what they were asking. Even with the VTT being DOA, the subscription price was great for what you got and honestly could have replaced every book if you had the rules compendium and DMGs.
4E has hands down the best books, best monsters, best adventures and lots of great cliche campaign arc suggestion. The only issue was all the mathy systems doesnt fit a tabletop if it was digitized its great. I really miss the sentient artifact concordance systems as a DM. I can reveal monster information to players for tactical depth based on their skill checks history for factional armies, arcana for magical creatures, nature for natural animals or monsters. Makes every skill so relevant.
This is awesome! I’ve always heard good things about the 4e dm guide- I’ll have to check it out myself. Thanks Olschool!
This is a great dive into this book. While I certainly didn't click with the 4e mechanics, I can see from your video why the books may still be valuable as resources or inspiration.
I'm not a huge 4e fan in application but it does make the DMs job exceptionally easy and I pull a lot from it. As far as rules go, most of 4e exists within 5e so conversion is very easy
As someone with a middling amount of 4e experience (we played it for 1 year). I really enjoyed the low level play, the system was solid, my only real gripe was way too many Hp/healing at higher levels (and not enough damage) aka combat went on and on. Which is essentially the same problem i have with 5e. In retrospect 4e was better, but 5e did bring some innovations i liked (such as bounded accuracy). my favourite version of DND which worked great were the various iterations of E6.
I played a lot of 4e before 5e came out and the shortened combat in 5e was definitely one of the first things I noticed when we first played it. That was kind of refreshing. Over time I do find myself wishing that some of the 4e combat rules carried over to 5e. I think there is probably some middle ground that gives the 5e combat more flavor with it drawing it out as much as what you got with 4e.
Thank you for the feedback.
I read it last year (missed the book when it came out) and was impressed. It's one of the best DM guides ever published, regardless of edition or system. Strongly recommended for any DM to read it.
Great video and I agree it really is great!
Wow! Was away from D&D thru the 4E era, so I missed out on this book, but love the micro-genre of auxiliary DM guides, like the AD&D Wilderness Survival Guide or the 2E World Builders Guide, so this is right up my alley and I will finish this video *after* I find and devour this book. Thanks!
I love the 4E content you've been pushing out. Not a lot of new 4E stuff these days, understandably.
I kind of wanted to get this DMs guide. Now it's definitely on the roster!
The PDF is on drivethru and it has even print on demand.
I would generally agree. It was a pretty well thought out and useful book, but then so was 3.5e DMG II. However, there is just this one throwaway paragraph later in the DM toolbox section that really sticks in my gullet. How to play WITHOUT a DM. For all the flavor and RP elements listed in this DMG, That one paragraph kind of sums up the design intent of 4e for me.
If 4E had come out in place of 5E, it would have been an absolute smash hit. Nothing they did would have succeeded because it wasn't 3.5, that and they abandoned it after the issue with one of the senior devs being in a murder suicide case.
Thanks for covering 4e. You're really hurting my wallet :) Would love to see similar flipthroughs of Player's Guide 2 & 3
I left the game before 3e but I saw it coming- just made sense. I got back after 5e started and didn’t like the taste. Too soft, no crunch.
Totally missed 4e. I’m gonna go look at this book.
It has great melee combatant too... not in anyway overshadowed by range.
I actually like the DMG II for 3.5
A lot of the material from there was put over into the DMG1 for 4E (same people worked on it).
I've heard quite controversial opinions on the 4e so far. The role-playing mechanics was different, but better than 3.5e and the licensing was just awful. The DM guide is really worth reading, thanks for the video!
I found it has many similarities with the D&D 3.5 DM II Book although not the same.
You can make a summary of it too.
I own 3 4e books. 2 of them are essential books and the third is this one. And I agree, this is one of the best, if not really the best DMG book. I think one of the main reasons is because this is one of the few modern DMGs that actually really go into teaching how to DM.
Old School used to do that, but on 3e onward, they became more of a repository of optional rules, NPCs and Magical Items, with few guidelines. 5e's DMG gotta be one of the worst examples of this, most of the 2014 book was made of unfinished untested optional rules and some guidelines for homebrewing. Like, wtf, how this could help a new DM that just picked up the game?
2:38 That chapter deepens my sorrow that 4e got such a bad wrap in the D&D community.
It took me a little over 5 years of DMing and building worlds to realize that cooperative world building could be a useful tool for DMs trying to flesh out a world, only to find out 4e suggested it over 10 years ago.
The art for 3 and 4e are so much better than 5e. I wish they had kept going with the art they were going with before and wonder how the art for 5e could have been approved.
if 4e came up these days I'm sure it wouldn't have recieved so much backlash
I love getting DMGs from all editions, but I have to say the 4th ed version is the worst D&D book I own. Nothing in it is worth using for me.