I've been trying to curb my own compulsive need to purchase things just because they exist and I recently turned my eye towards my D&D collection (particularly 4e) and sort of categorized things in terms of what I actually use regularly or just love to read, and what I don't and probably won't use very often if ever. I was curious if anyone else had buyer's remorse for any of their books and why?
I should point out that I'm not attempting to slam the quality of any of the books or put down anything that someone loves that may not be right for me personally. I'm also not trying to dissuade anyone from purchasing any of these materials that may be very useful to them.
The Plane Above or The Plane Below. If I could do it over again I would not have purchased these. I feel like I'm covered with Manual of the Planes for any extra-planar jaunts that my groups may take as they will probably be very rare and very brief. Cool fluff in these books though.
PHB3. I would not have bought this as it is just not my cup-o-tea as it were. I don't like most of the races and psionics aren't my bag baby. And since I have the CB I can already do Hybrids if I want.
All X Power Books. Yep you read correctly. As a primarily DM, I just never really look at these. I have the Character Builder and the Compendium if I need to look up powers. If I played more (ever) I might want one or two of these if I played a Wizard or perhaps a Cleric, but strangely I think I'm one of those people that really enjoys less options.
Eberron Player's Guide. Picked this up in trade for Mutants and Masterminds 2nd Edition when I purchased my Eberron Campaign Guide. I read it through, but I don't think I'd miss it if it were gone. I much prefer the way they handled Dark Sun with the Campaign book and the Creature Catalogue.
So what about you guys and girls? Any books that you would be willing to thin out from the collection?
I used it for all of one campaign that only stayed in the setting for about 2 months before hopping into a demiplane and never going back.
Everything else that I've bought I've gotten plenty of use out of, or fully intend to use in the near future... like Dark Sun... that's only got two campaigns in front of it before it starts getting used heavily.
I should mention though that, like Salla, I make sure to check the book out before actually buying it - either through a review, WotC preview materials, or flipping through it in the store (one of the great benefits of the new gaming store within walking distance of my hosue).
....And why the heck is this thread in Future Releases?
-=Edit: Nevermind answered while I was typing.=-
Rules Compendium. I just haven't found any instances where I thought to pull it out and I have no desire to read it straight through since I already know the system. Every other book I've read enough of(or am going to read enough of eventually) so that I don't regret buying it.
....And why the heck is this thread in Future Releases?
-=Edit: Nevermind answered while I was typing.=-
That's interesting because for me the Rules Compendium is one of my most satisfying purchases. I never really thought of it as a book to be "read". So I guess if you are able to memorize everything then that does make sense that you don't use it.
Rules Compendium. I just haven't found any instances where I thought to pull it out and I have no desire to read it straight through since I already know the system. Every other book I've read enough of(or am going to read enough of eventually) so that I don't regret buying it.
That's interesting because for me the Rules Compendium is one of my most satisfying purchases. I never really thought of it as a book to be "read". So I guess if you are able to memorize everything then that does make sense that you don't use it.
Same here. Rule compendium is one of the books i find most valuable. It pretty much the only physical book a actually bring to the table.
That's interesting because for me the Rules Compendium is one of my most satisfying purchases. I never really thought of it as a book to be "read". So I guess if you are able to memorize everything then that does make sense that you don't use it.
I don't have everythign memorized, but I do know where every rule is in the PHB roughly. I find the Rules Compendium less convenient to look through, and it is pretty infrequent that I need to look anything up anyways.
Compendium doesn't have the side-bars as in X Power books, so I appreciate those books for fluff. Besides, I like to flip to things sometimes.
I use the Rules Compendium more than anything right now. I used the Monster Vault the other day because it had the updated formats for certain monsters that I was using. I expect to use that book more often.
DM's Kit rulebook… I actually have been using as well lately. There are some things in it specific for DM's that aren't covered in the same way in the Compendium. The book is easier to carry than the two DM's Guides as well.
I somewhat regret buying Dungeon Delve and Dragon Magazine Annual. The updates are important in DMA, but I have the material, for the most part. I haven't used Dungeon Delve enough. I might use it more in the future. I never bought Dungeon Magazine Annual for this reason though: I have the adventures already.
BEST:
* Core three rulebooks -- Player's Handbook, DM Guide, Monster Manual
* Essentials -- Rules Compendium, Heroes of the Fallen Lands
* Power Cards -- Fighter, Thief, Cleric, Magic-user
If I had just stopped there, I would have most of what I want in a 4E game.
Many of my other 4E purchases were based on specific needs. For example, I bought one of the Forgotten Realms books just for the few pages on Drow characters. I bought the two Dark Sun books (plus the Psionics book) for the setting, but probably will never get to play it. I guess I regret that. I somewhat regret buying PH2, PH3, MM2, etc, because they have so many rules and I'm nowhere near ready to deal with them. Same with some of the extra Powers books. I have this shelf of 4E books that just are too detailed for my style.
I personally love the X power books, but I very rarely get to be a PC, and when I do I use the hell out of PHB2 and Primal Power. Though it is even rarer I play a divine class. So divine power works for selecting a couple of powers here and there for villians.
Setting wise books, I love DS and use it constantly, and while I own the Ebberon books I only use them for ideas and couple spot here and there (Not a fan of that setting, but some things in that setting work really well for my personal world.)
Im in the camp who doesnt buy unless one already knows what one is getting.
I only buy D&D books that are full of crunch. Even so, archetype books, like Manuals of the Planes, somehow count as crunch - being the structure for various settings.
I enjoy brief 'intro' flavor, like in a side bar, as long as the article is full of crunch.
Otherwise, I prefer to read the D&D novels for flavor.
It is extremely important for the flavor and the mechanics to work together coherently. It turns me off if the crunch and the fluff contradict each other. I never understood why some authors find it so difficult to visualize what the mechanics are actually doing, or why some developers find it so difficult to represent mechanically what the flavor describes. In a ..roleplaying..game.. fluff and crunch must cohere so the characters can do what the players want them to do. There can still be enough creative space for those who want to refluff the mechanics. It takes some thought, but the competent designers can do it. Fortunately, 4e is generally decent, and even improving.
I think Manual of the Planes is ok as is the more elaborate Planar focus books. Although Manual of the Planes ends up looking bland in comparison against the others.
I regret buying Martial Power 1, but fortunately I discovered the CB right about the same time and realized the Power books were not worth the effort. Anything a Power book can do, the CB can do better.
I think PB 2 and 3 became increasingly 'diluted' over all in worth, but I'm ok with them.
I am glad I looked at MM3 and DMG2 and Adventurers Vault 2 long and slow as pdfs first.
Because all three have so little value I didn't even want the pdfs either.
AV2 is likely the lamest of the lame as it truly is 'just more junk you never needed'.
I'm hoping my buying a set of adventure modules pans out over time. Got them for an 'at cost' price from the local hobby store to help her move the dead stock out the door. But it's looking like it will be a while before I game anyone past Paragon
I plan to play them eventually, just hope it's before 5th edition hehe.My DMG1 has use, but I seem to use it the least. It is in the end, just some charts I employ on rare moments. For 10 bucks more, I likely could have arrived at Players Handbook 1 and just SOME of the DMG1 inside the same book as a true core book.
Sort of like they THINK the Rules Compendium is, and sure as hell isn't.
Eberron Players Guide is a bit over blown for a few Player options, I'd have preferred it be in the Campaign book. Because the rest of the Players is just a rehash of the campaign book.
I think Manual of the Planes is ok as is the more elaborate Planar focus books. Although Manual of the Planes ends up looking bland in comparison against the others.
I regret buying Martial Power 1, but fortunately I discovered the CB right about the same time and realized the Power books were not worth the effort. Anything a Power book can do, the CB can do better.
I think PB 2 and 3 became increasingly 'diluted' over all in worth, but I'm ok with them.
I am glad I looked at MM3 and DMG2 and Adventurers Vault 2 long and slow as pdfs first.
Because all three have so little value I didn't even want the pdfs either.
AV2 is likely the lamest of the lame as it truly is 'just more junk you never needed'.
I'm hoping my buying a set of adventure modules pans out over time. Got them for an 'at cost' price from the local hobby store to help her move the dead stock out the door. But it's looking like it will be a while before I game anyone past Paragon
My DMG1 has use, but I seem to use it the least. It is in the end, just some charts I employ on rare moments. For 10 bucks more, I likely could have arrived at Players Handbook 1 and just SOME of the DMG1 inside the same book as a true core book.
Sort of like they THINK the Rules Compendium is, and sure as hell isn't.
I like the idea of Magic Ammunition and Magic Sets in AV2, I just wished they had been in the first. I don't really use this book either. I'm curious what the next treasure book will be like.
I like MM3, so that one has been worth it for me.
In regards to the DMG and PHB as one book I totally agree. Ironically just about everything they left out of the new Dungeon Master's Book (DM's toolbox) is the stuff I find to be "essential".
I like the idea of Magic Ammunition and Magic Sets in AV2, I just wished they had been in the first. I don't really use this book either. I'm curious what the next treasure book will be like.
Rares, rares, and more rares. All the items will contain deep and intellectually stimulating stories to go along with them. Like the haunted armor, it was such an amazing piece of craftsmanship that....something made a hole in it killing the person who was wearing it, and now it is magic because the person died in it. Oh and it still has the hole. Doesn't that just make you want to throw the amazing suit of armor on? :P
I like the idea of Magic Ammunition and Magic Sets in AV2, I just wished they had been in the first. I don't really use this book either. I'm curious what the next treasure book will be like.
Rares, rares, and more rares. All the items will contain deep and intellectually stimulating stories to go along with them. Like the haunted armor, it was such an amazing piece of craftsmanship that....something made a hole in it killing the person who was wearing it, and now it is magic because the person died in it. Oh and it still has the hole. Doesn't that just make you want to throw the amazing suit of armor on? :P
That was awesome!
That was awesome!
Fyi, as I'm not sure if this fact came accross in my post, I was being completely serious regarding the rares and the haunted armor part. Mordekein's(not even going to try and spell that right)....w/e which comes out early next year was confirmed to be an item book focusing on rares with Haunted Armor being an example of an item you'll find in it given at Gencon(or at least I think it was Gencon).
I should have got MM2 instead, when I had the chance, instead of DMG2. Ah well.
But I love the Planes series (Manual of, Plane Above, and Plane Below), as well as Demonomicon.
PHB 2, I like it really for the backgrounds inclusion. Sure the other races and classes are ok, but as DM, it was more about the new layer of design for PCs
PHB 3, it was mostly about the skill powers for me. Again, the rest was more a player thing. Makes sense though, they are players manuals.
The only way to really captivate me as DM, is to take all of the design evolution and give me THAT in a DMG.
I understand, not everyone has run games for decades like some of us.
The DMG Essentials book, might be aimed at newbie DMs, but, when are us expert DMs going to get some love
I'd like a book minus all the hand holding, including all the system mechanics and maybe some deluxe level DMing systems too eh. Maybe I WANT my NPCs for be %#@*&^ massively detailed.
Maybe I WANT elaborate systems to go into nauseating detail for governmental systems and religions.
I MISS the 1st Edition DMG with all those useful charts. It's been the only good DMG for the game since the game has been on sale. But the charts are all non relevant to the game mechanics of today. It's very hard converting the processes without a lot of Kentucky windage.
I regret DMG2. While I like the book and the contents, my games rarely leave the Heroic tier, so it is largely useless to me.
This is a long-standing occurance in my campaigns. One of my favorite 2E books was the "High Level Campaigns" book (I'm not sure of the exact title) but I never used it for anything but pleasure reading because I never advance characters to those high levels.
I almost would have liked the Player's Handbook more if it had included more classes and fewer levels.
In contrast with other commenters, I love my Rules Compendium, DMG2, and my Arcane Power (without it, I probably would have given up on my warlock by now.)
My only regret is the Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide. I (briefly) ran an FR campaign, and ended up referring to my 3e FRCS more often than the 4e one. The 4e just had so much _less_ of everything. Less history, less background, fewer adventure ideas... And despite all the hype, the Spellplauge and 100 year chronology jump didn't really change things all that much.
In contrast with other commenters, I love my Rules Compendium, DMG2, and my Arcane Power (without it, I probably would have given up on my warlock by now.)
I also use the 3e Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide.....(that reminds me of a new thread idea!)
As a collector I tend to buy almost everything but I still regret a few purchases:
The power books are pretty much useless since everything is in compendium and char builder. Same goes for the Adventurer's Vaults. Monster Manuals are also pretty bad purchases since monsters, too, can be found in compendium and I know the fluff of the monsters from my 3rd edition books. Draconomicons, Demonomicon and Open Grave go into this category too. The planar books contain mostly boring fluff so I regret buying them. The 3rd edition Great Wheel cosmology is more interesting. I wouldn't buy PHBs now since especially the first one has been errated to oblivion and most of the stuff is in compendium. DMGs contain mostly advice that is directed at new DMs so I don't really need them. I purchased all the adventures, but I am disappointed that they are just encounters after encounters. I also don't find much use for the campaign setting books since I like to DM in 3rd edition Forgotten Realms. Other than those, most of the books are ok (except Essentials which is a rip-off).
Wondering if this was humour actually considering the rest of the post hehe.
"Other than those, most of the books are ok (except Essentials which is a rip-off)."
Wondering if this was humour actually considering the rest of the post hehe.
Oh, I forgot to mention that the racial booklets were pretty "meh".
As a collector I tend to buy almost everything but I still regret a few purchases:
The power books are pretty much useless since everything is in compendium and char builder. Same goes for the Adventurer's Vaults. Monster Manuals are also pretty bad purchases since monsters, too, can be found in compendium and I know the fluff of the monsters from my 3rd edition books. Draconomicons, Demonomicon and Open Grave go into this category too. The planar books contain mostly boring fluff so I regret buying them. The 3rd edition Great Wheel cosmology is more interesting. I wouldn't buy PHBs now since especially the first one has been errated to oblivion and most of the stuff is in compendium. DMGs contain mostly advice that is directed at new DMs so I don't really need them. I purchased all the adventures, but I am disappointed that they are just encounters after encounters. I also don't find much use for the campaign setting books since I like to DM in 3rd edition Forgotten Realms. Other than those, most of the books are ok (except Essentials which is a rip-off).
I am trying to figure out which are the books that are ok to you...
As a collector I tend to buy almost everything but I still regret a few purchases:
The power books are pretty much useless since everything is in compendium and char builder. Same goes for the Adventurer's Vaults. Monster Manuals are also pretty bad purchases since monsters, too, can be found in compendium and I know the fluff of the monsters from my 3rd edition books. Draconomicons, Demonomicon and Open Grave go into this category too. The planar books contain mostly boring fluff so I regret buying them. The 3rd edition Great Wheel cosmology is more interesting. I wouldn't buy PHBs now since especially the first one has been errated to oblivion and most of the stuff is in compendium. DMGs contain mostly advice that is directed at new DMs so I don't really need them. I purchased all the adventures, but I am disappointed that they are just encounters after encounters. I also don't find much use for the campaign setting books since I like to DM in 3rd edition Forgotten Realms. Other than those, most of the books are ok (except Essentials which is a rip-off).
I am trying to figure out which are the books that are ok to you...
I'm guessing none of them.
I wanted the DMG 1 and 2 so that I could customize my campaigns the most. I wanted PHB 1, 2, 3 because of the races and additional spells/options.
I bought the powers books (arcane power, divine power, martial power) to prove to the people playing with me that you really could customize your characters and that there were many different paths to take.
I bought MM1, MM2 so that I had more options to make campaigns/quests different from each other.
If I could do it all over again, I'd buy Pathfinder, 3.5, or something else because I'm the only person I know that owns 4th edition books (other than the one person who bought the 3 PHB's because I bought them), whereas there's another group in my area that plays Pathfinder and quite a few people who are into 3.5.
I enjoy playing 4th edition, but I'm really sick of reading about the speculation about 4th edition possibly failing as well as all the complaints about the game mechanics (which includes errata because I'm not trying to REBUY 10-15 BOOKS! WTF IS THAT??). I'm also extremely sick of hearing about the lack of customization available, and about how WoTC tailored everything for everyone so there's no options available. It's called homebrew, it's how I run my campaigns. I would enjoy a more comprehensive section in the DMG 1 and 2, and the MM1, 2, 3 about Monster templates and customization, weapon/armor templates and customization, as well as more info in PHB1, 2, & 3 about creating unique characters outside of the given game mechanics. That would be GREAT!
Also, I'm always open to suggestions but so far everything I've personally tried to implement using House Rules to allow for greater character customization has made the play imbalanced and less fun.
Oh, I also forgot to mention that I bought both draconomicons to also have more options in my homebrew campaigns, and I was hoping for more PC customization with those... thpffft on that idea. What's up with all the Dragonborn type races? Dragonborn, Dragonspawn, Draconian, and all the other lizard variants are ridiculous.
Okay, so is that part of the errata then? Eliminate that entire sidebar from the book because it's a bunch of bullsh!t. I don't think that's good for marketing or for building loyalty in the fanbase. I like D&D but I'm seriously going to start exploring my other options. I don't think WoTC is developing this for the gameplay anymore, and there's more evidence of this with the release of the Essentials line. They can't decide if this is a tabletop RPG that can be played on a canvas with miniatures or an extremely complex boardgame with flat tokens.
Oh, I also forgot to mention that I bought both draconomicons to also have more options in my homebrew campaigns, and I was hoping for more PC customization with those... thpffft on that idea. What's up with all the Dragonborn type races? Dragonborn, Dragonspawn, Draconian, and all the other lizard variants are ridiculous.
It's only a sidebar. What they did made sense as far as Ki and Elemental. Heroes of Shadow is due out in Q1 2011.
In regards to essentials. It's an entry point for D&D. The tokens are actually quite well made. The game has relied on a battlemat and tokens/minis since D20 started. The way you play your game is up to you and your group.
Okay, so is that part of the errata then? Eliminate that entire sidebar from the book because it's a bunch of bullsh!t. I don't think that's good for marketing or for building loyalty in the fanbase. I like D&D but I'm seriously going to start exploring my other options. I don't think WoTC is developing this for the gameplay anymore, and there's more evidence of this with the release of the Essentials line. They can't decide if this is a tabletop RPG that can be played on a canvas with miniatures or an extremely complex boardgame with flat tokens.
Oh, I also forgot to mention that I bought both draconomicons to also have more options in my homebrew campaigns, and I was hoping for more PC customization with those... thpffft on that idea. What's up with all the Dragonborn type races? Dragonborn, Dragonspawn, Draconian, and all the other lizard variants are ridiculous.
It's only a sidebar. What they did made sense as far as Ki and Elemental. Heroes of Shadow is due out in Q1 2011.
In regards to essentials. It's an entry point for D&D. The tokens are actually quite well made. The game has relied on a battlemat and tokens/minis since D20 started. The way you play your game is up to you and your group.
I watched the video and I realize that the tokens are well made and the book even looks nice. What I don't get is why they come out with all the nice stuff after I've spent upwards of $300.00 on books. I could have used a rules compendium instead of 3 PHBs to begin with, and the DM Kit instead of two DMGs. It is frustrating to know that I bought stuff expecting this to be the game, and then they come out with something sleeker and more slimmed down after I've already spent so much money on their stuff, when I would rather have bought that instead. To me it just feels like they're "money grabbing" as most of the people I play with put it.
To top it off, I bought the books and played the game only to realize that there are typos in every book, recycled art from 3.5, and less customization than was available in 3.5. There may be more types of magic weapons and armor, but there's less customization. I'm dissappointed and feel that I've poorly invested my money in this game, when I should have done more research beforehand.
Okay, so is that part of the errata then? Eliminate that entire sidebar from the book because it's a bunch of bullsh!t. I don't think that's good for marketing or for building loyalty in the fanbase. I like D&D but I'm seriously going to start exploring my other options. I don't think WoTC is developing this for the gameplay anymore, and there's more evidence of this with the release of the Essentials line. They can't decide if this is a tabletop RPG that can be played on a canvas with miniatures or an extremely complex boardgame with flat tokens.
Oh, I also forgot to mention that I bought both draconomicons to also have more options in my homebrew campaigns, and I was hoping for more PC customization with those... thpffft on that idea. What's up with all the Dragonborn type races? Dragonborn, Dragonspawn, Draconian, and all the other lizard variants are ridiculous.
It's only a sidebar. What they did made sense as far as Ki and Elemental. Heroes of Shadow is due out in Q1 2011.
In regards to essentials. It's an entry point for D&D. The tokens are actually quite well made. The game has relied on a battlemat and tokens/minis since D20 started. The way you play your game is up to you and your group.
I watched the video and I realize that the tokens are well made and the book even looks nice. What I don't get is why they come out with all the nice stuff after I've spent upwards of $300.00 on books. I could have used a rules compendium instead of 3 PHBs to begin with, and the DM Kit instead of two DMGs. It is frustrating to know that I bought stuff expecting this to be the game, and then they come out with something sleeker and more slimmed down after I've already spent so much money on their stuff, when I would rather have bought that instead. To me it just feels like they're "money grabbing" as most of the people I play with put it.
To top it off, I bought the books and played the game only to realize that there are typos in every book, recycled art from 3.5, and less customization than was available in 3.5. There may be more types of magic weapons and armor, but there's less customization. I'm dissappointed and feel that I've poorly invested my money in this game, when I should have done more research beforehand.
There's just as much customization, if not more. It's just different. If you really want customization, though, class/level is not the way to go. Point buy systems allow for much greater flexibility. 3.5 tried to gain the flexibility of a point buy system within a class/level system, and it had huge balance problems as a result. The customization in 4e is mostly done within the class itself.
Elemental's been effectively eaten by Primal and Arcane, Shadow's getting expanded next quarter, and Ki was axed because putting ...BUT ASIAN! on the ends of things was silly.
I still have hope for the Elemental Power source, but it will be a good test for Shadow to see if the Heroes of Shadow actually has Shadow classes or just new builds for other classes with a splash of Shadow thrown in.
Elemental's been effectively eaten by Primal and Arcane, Shadow's getting expanded next quarter, and Ki was axed because putting ...BUT ASIAN! on the ends of things was silly.
I still have hope for the Elemental Power source, but it will be a good test for Shadow to see if the Heroes of Shadow actually has Shadow classes or just new builds for other classes with a splash of Shadow thrown in.
After seeing the Essassin, I'm leaning towards the latter. Which I'm fine with. Mixing power sources is kind of interesting.
After seeing the Essassin, I'm leaning towards the latter. Which I'm fine with. Mixing power sources is kind of interesting.
.....Unless it is done like the Hunter where it just has a second power source slapped on and doesn't really call upon the fluff of the seciond power source at all.
It just happens almost like a MC character. You start out as a tracker/huntsman/woodsman or some such thing, living off the land, and over time, you form a relationship more closely tied with the primal spirits of nature.
Your initial primal magic is much more like a Barbarian's rages: you embody stance forms that emulate various animals and let their lives and practices draw out that inner animal in you and give you ability to reshape your movements and actions. Later on, the Primal Spirits themselves start giving you power.
Rather than a top-down approach of "you were chosen by the spirits," or "you've always been spiritually aware," or "you're the guardian of an ancient grove, so it's natural that you'd have primal power," Hunters and Scouts come about primal magic in the way the first primal users might have, or at least the most common way a modern primal user might: by leaving their settlements and going out into the wild, and while there, learning and becoming more aware of the spirits that live in all things.
Ever seen Ferngully? How about Pocahontas? Still no? Okay, but you must have seen Avatar, right? I mean, everyone saw that one. Even though I missed it in theatres, even I saw it on DVD recently. I'll set aside debates of quality of those movies for now, but all three feature a (male) protagonist deeply tied to this concept.
Zak is a woodsman, a lumberjack who's always worked in the wilderness, and despite his use of machinery, can handle himself pretty well at surviving. But he's never noticed the gentle call of the spirits. Then one day, he's shrunk to the size of a fairy, and during his encounters in the fairy kingdom, he comes to learn of the spirits of nature, the very ones that he was killing by cutting down the rainforest. He resolves to use what he now knows, his new connection with the spirits, and his abilities as a human, when he returns to full size, to better the world and stop the destruction of the last rainforest.
John Smith is an English explorer and conquerer, sent to establish Jamestown, Virginia for King James of Great Britain. During his time in Virginia, he meets Pocahontas, the daughter of a native chieftain, who shows him the colours of the wind, the spirits of the water, the mountains, and the forest. He realises that the endless hate between the tribal folk and his colonists must stop, and their gold-digging destruction is only furthering the conflict. Unlike the implication, he does not wed Pocahontas, but goes on to further explorations, taking in context what he learned in this encounter.
Jake Sully is a former marine who is sent to the planet of Pandora in order to take part in the Avatar program, since his identical twin brother, a scientist and trained Avatar-user, had died. Jake is used by the military to spy on the Na'vi and figure out how to get them to reliquish their home, which sits on a bed of natural resources the humans want. However, during his encounters on Pandora, and his time with the Na'vi, he discovers the mystical wonders of the forest, and the beauty of their shamanistic practices. Supplementing this with his own military experience, he becomes an accomplished war leader for the Na'vi and drives out the human military.
Each of these three characters embody a very Ranger-like relationship with the primal spirits. Each of them had martial prowess before their encounter with the spirits, and incorporate the new primal magic with their martial exploits very naturally and fluidly over the course of their adventures.
Furthermore, the sort of "powers" they initially get tend to be like the Hunter and the Scouts' animal-based stances: they observe the way the animals act, treat the animal as a teacher, and are able to incorporate that into their combat style.
Elemental's been effectively eaten by Primal and Arcane, Shadow's getting expanded next quarter, and Ki was axed because putting ...BUT ASIAN! on the ends of things was silly.
Shrug. The problem I had when I started to think about it was, apart from the Monk [I don't use psionic classes other than the Monk], I couldn't think of a single other class that really fitted - or rather, I couldn't think of a single other class that wouldn't fit into another power source better. Ninjas seemed a better fit for shadow. I didn't want a samurai/musha class. [Now, if I ever do that SD Gundam Sengoku campaign, I will] And even if I did... I'd have it as a martial class. Spell casting classes (Onmyoji, possibly miko), I'd probably put in either elemental or primal... [Again, this is if I ever do that SD Gundam Sengoku campaign I've been planning]
Elemental's been effectively eaten by Primal and Arcane, Shadow's getting expanded next quarter, and Ki was axed because putting ...BUT ASIAN! on the ends of things was silly.
I still have hope for the Elemental Power source, but it will be a good test for Shadow to see if the Heroes of Shadow actually has Shadow classes or just new builds for other classes with a splash of Shadow thrown in.
Wow, you called that one right!
Ever seen Ferngully? How about Pocahontas? Still no? Okay, but you must have seen Avatar, right? I mean, everyone saw that one. Even though I missed it in theatres, even I saw it on DVD recently.
I saw the first two, own the first, refuse to see the last, and don't really see the first two male protagonists as rangers in any way. Zack is "bumbling fool A", and John Smith is what a fighter-type would be like if he could also wield ranged weaponry effectively without multiclassing (ugh, multiclassing).
Yes, I am generally against hybrid classes, multiclassing, and mixing of power sources. I'll explain if you really want to know, otherwise suffice it to say that I think we will have to agree to disagree on mixing of these concepts.
As far as books go, I read through each book before I buy. I do not own a single book that I do not like or would/will not use. Currently, I use the PHB 1, 2 and 3 (for most races and classes), the Forgotten Realms Players Guide (for the swordmage) both DMGs (for Kobold Hall and advice), Keep on the Shadowfell (the reissued pdf for the first adventure after Kobold Hall), Both Adventurer's Vaults (magic items are in a few shops in my world, and the players like the Kukri and Executioner's Axe), Open Grave (undead rock) and The Draconomicon: Chromatic Dragons (Dragons rock too) along with Monster Manuals 1-3 (need those monsters). Thunderspire will come in later (modified for higher than the intended level of players). I would love to have the Demonomicon (Demons rock too). If my copy of the CCB ever snuffs out I'll get the power books (options!), I want the Manual of the Planes, and I might eventually get the Plane Below, and Plane Above and Underdark (and probably any Shadowfell and Feywild and Far Realm books they may release). I wouldn't mind having the Ebberon Player's guide, and both Dark sun books, but since I only plan on using what I want from the offical campaign worlds I'd not ever consider the Ebberon or Forgotten Realms Campaign guides. And Essentials is right out.
So that's my take on all the books I can think of. Tell me if I missed any important ones.
Other then that though i buy primarily books that give me options or, as a dm, give me inspiration. Underdark gave me stats on Torog and Open Grave game my Kyuss, Vecna and Kas. what more do i need? more power books... if only they'd release more of them. haha.
So if anyone wants to buy cheap 4e books let me know ;)
I regret buying almost everything without good fluff ever since I figured out Essentials was really 4.5.
So if anyone wants to buy cheap 4e books let me know ;)
Be a real man and burn them, just like I did to everything 3.0 & 3.5 I owned.
I will keep my 4th ed stuff though thanks
I regret buying AV1. I don't like the importance of magic items in 4E, so I am completely rewriting the way magic items fit into the game - and this book won't be useful.
A litlle regret about the draconomicon - too many outdated datas. But all the "fluffy" parts are inspiring.
I have some regret about PHB3, mostly because of the way psionics failed to use a good idea (one power, different effects) in a good way. As it means I have to rework the classes to make them fit my tastes, I feel a litle cheated.
All other books are frequently used, even if only as sources of inspiration. I regret not buying Eberron books, but finances are too low.
I am mostly a DM, but, contrary to some other comments before, use a lot the "power sources books" - as inspiration, and for campaign planning, as my players often have to "find" the powers they want to learn.
My biggest regret is the loss of the other power sources. Shadow, Elemental and even Ki were very intuitive concepts for me - seems it is harder for other players/ game designers to "feel" the difference between sources. (Another regret would be the lack of work from WotC on everything not combat related for PCs and stories).
In fact, since this year, I have the same feeling with D&D that I have when TV serials I like are suddenly discontinued half season... the Firefly syndrom...
I wasn't really interested in buying The Plane Below, but I had to get my copy, because it was printed with the pages offset by about 6 degrees from square. It's amazing that it got through quality control, so maybe it will have some collector's item value, like double-died coinage.
That was true way back then... when quality control actually took place. I can't count on one hand the "special edition" books I got from 3rd edition and on. Not talking about bad glue or stuff like that but things like a black and white page in the middle of a book or a reversed upside-down chapter (you have to turn the book around to read).... But I like "em that way, fits the fantasy book style.
Open Grave doesn't see much use from me, but it was about to. I had a game almost 2 years ago in which the players were about to enter a city filled with undead, Orcus cults, and cults of my homebrew god of death. That's about when we all stopped having time to play, and then some of my players moved away (happens in a military community dontchya know). So it was ALMOST useful.
Haven't used Manual of the Planes or Plane Below yet, but then again, I haven't had a game run above heroic tier yet, either.
Really, though...I regret buying the Eberron Campaign Setting. (Sorry Salla).
I loved Eberron in 3.5. In fact the ONLY 3.5 Eberron book I do not own is City of Stormreach. I just think 4e lost something in the translation as far as Eberron is concerned. It's related, I think, to how I feel about wizards and the versatility of magic in 4e. Don't get me wrong, I love 4e, great game, fun to play. But wizards were my favorite class in 3e, and I would not wish to play one now, were I to play (I'd go barbarian, assassin, warlord or psion).
I love all the PHBs, and pretty much everything else (only books I'm missing are Plane Above, FRCS, and some of the Essentials stuff).
phb: obsolete with cb
phb 2: obsolete with cb
martial power: obsolete with cb
Monsterl manual: obsolete, proud user of ddi =D
Dungeon masters guide: i dont like this book.
keep of the shadowfell: came to the decision that i will never be a dm in this edition, thus no value
thunderspire labrynth: came to the decision that i will never be a dm in this edition, thus no value
pyramid of shadows: came to the decision that i will never be a dm in this edition, thus no value
books that do not use:
forgotten realms campaign setting: i do not agree with anything story related in this book, but its the realms.
forgotten realms players guide: i do not agree with anything story related with this book, but its the realms, and the paragon classes seem meh?
forgotten realms adventure: i do not agree with anything story related with this book, but... its the realms, and they have dark creepers =]
open grave: strahd von zarovich =D
manual of the planes: future ravenloft possibilities !
if anyone wants any of these books, pm me and we can talk/ trade. i'd rather they go to use, then to waste, barring the forgotten realms books and open grave... everything else is up for grabs.
im seriously considering gamma world though, seems very intresting, and cant wait for ravenloft in the near future especially as a stand alone game, cards or not.
I use the dmg and mm all the time
I regret no books because I am a collector, but the books I use rarely are the Dungeon Master's Guide/Kit.
I regret buying any of the 4th edition books. I own most of them them.
why did you keep buying them if you didn't like them?
Use as a Player: Rules Compendium, the old offline character builder
regret buying - Hard to say. Early monster books like MMI or Open Grave are lagely worthless to me at this point mechanically, due to the dramatic improvement in monster design over the course of 4e. That said, the MMI let me play the game, and I had some fun with it back in the day, and I still ocassionally read through Open Grave for fluff.
Biggest regrets were the Power books - I got arcane power, divine power, and martial power before I stopped buying them, as they had no fluff, and all their mechanics were in the subscription service I already payed for. If I hadn't been a subscriber I probably wouldn't regret the purchases so much.