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August 4, 2009

Burning Question - What Do You Look Forward to the Most in a New 4E Supplment?

Although splatbooks and supplements are not necessary to run a game but they have been one of the mainstay in the D&D product line, often expanding the horizon of players and DMs to further improve their game. Since the launch of 4E, these are the supplements that have released for DMs and players alike

Players
  • Martial Power
  • Arcane Power
  • Divine Power
  • Adventurer's Vault
  • Forgotten Realms Player's Guide
  • Eberron Player's Guide
DMs
  • Draconomicon: Chromatic Dragons
  • Open Grave
  • Manual of the Planes
  • Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide
  • Eberron Campaign Guide

Each of the player supplements have offered new builds, powers, paragon paths, feats, equipments and the occasional new rules which is mainly mechanics and crunch.

On the other hand, DM supplements are usually packed with useful information that is mostly comprised of fluff, new monsters, ideas and advises for encounters, plot hooks and one or two new features with rules to be implemented into their game.

So this week's Burning Question is;

What Do You Look Forward to the Most in a New 4E Supplement?

Do you prefer new feats over powers? New builds over paragon paths? Or always watch out for any new rules options as a player first?

Similarly, if you are buying a DM supplement what are looking forward first? New fluff about the setting (even those for the generic setting) or new crunchy monsters? Advice and ideas over plot hooks? Or you rather like seeing new rules that you can use or bend to suit your game?

Personally, I prefer DM supplements than player supplements because I'm a fluff addict. I love to read more about my favorite settings and try to devise plot hooks out of them. While I don't mind the occasional advice and ideas, the thing that I look at last are the monsters and new rules.

As a player, the first thing that I'll probably want more is new builds. New rules would probably come second before powers and feats.

Share your comments whether as a player, a DM or both! What do you think makes or breaks the new supplement for you?

3 comments:

Dennis N. Santana said...

I hate D&D fluff with the burning passion of a thousand suns which within them have many smaller suns, each of which is inhabited by fire-tolerant little beings called Grumps which also hate fluff.

I look for player options like feats and powers, which I tend to mimic via homebrew monster abilities for a bit of fun. I haven't bought a DM book yet except for the DMG, because I know it'll have stuff that I don't care about.

theoutsyder83 said...

In much the same way that I used to look for prestige classes, I look for new paragon paths epic destinies.

New feats and powers are great too. New builds... meh. I never really stick to the builds anyway.

greywulf said...

When it comes to 4e D&D, I look for the Feats first and foremost. They benefit the widest range of characters, whereas the additional builds, new classes and Powers will only benefit those who choose to take that route.

Also, I look out for stuff that's out of the ordinary - new equipment, unusual magic items around which an adventure can be build, and GM-friendly maps of lairs, etc.

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