All three 4th Edition core rulebooks in one handsome slipcase.
The Dungeons & Dragons Roleplaying Game has defined the medieval fantasy genre and the tabletop RPG industry for more than 30 years. In the D&D game, players create characters that band together to explore dungeons, slay monsters, and find treasure. The 4th Edition D&D rules offer the best possible play experience by presenting exciting character options, an elegant and robust rules system, and handy storytelling tools for the Dungeon Master.
This gift set provides all three 4th Edition Dungeons & Dragons core rulebooks (Player's Handbook, Dungeon Master's Guide, and Monster Manual) in a handsome slipcase that looks great on any bookshelf.
REVIEW
Squandered Potential When I first heard about 4th edition I was quite excited. I couldn't wait to get my hands on all the brand new shiny rules. I read all the updates about the new races and classes from Wizards of the Coast online, and I thought "hmmm a little bit strange that they seem to be making so many changes, but they still sound like great ideas". When the books finally came out, I bought my copies right away, and read through them. At first I was confused by the fact that the new game was COMPLETELY new. There was basically nothing left of the old editions in 4th edition. It was a totally new game. Strange, I thought, but I ignored that little voice telling me to be wary and went ahead and started up a game with some of my friends, all D&D 3.5 players who had also been waiting for the new edition to come out... all except for one friend who refused to play because he hated the new changes. I tried to explain that they weren't changes as much as it was a whole new game, but he said that was even worse. I ignored his opinions, but now in hindsight, he was absolutely correct.
As we played the game, at first we thought the game was a blast. It was fun having special "powers" as a fighter, and being able to use spells over and over again, but as the weeks progressed we started to notice some things as we reached higher levels (I think that 12th was the highest level anyone in our group reached). We weren't really enjoying the game like we did the first few times when it was still new, and 2 players started making excuses not to show up at the game, and 1 other player though he came to the game every time, constantly expressed an interest in going back to 3.5 or playing a totally different system. Essentially everyone was bored with 4th, and after having only played for about a month and a half. We'd had 3.0 and 3.5 games that had lasted years without players leaving or expressing boredom. No one was looking forward to the next game session and no one really cared about their characters. We played a few more times, but then agreed to quit and started a new 3.5 game, but we decided to use only the 3 core books of 3.5 (PHB, DMG, and MM) to see if we became as bored with it as quickly as we did with 4th. Needless to say, that game is still going (but we did allow one player to use a prestige class from complete mage).
Overall, while 4th edition seemedfun at first, we quickly realized that character building choices, such as feats and powers mattered very little in the long run. It was almost impossible to build an interesting and unique character. Even the classes bled together, despite having different powers. The only element of the characters that seemed unique was the race, but still every character of the same race seemed the same, and if "you didn't play enough different characters to know if they can be unique or not" is your counter argument, then you would be wrong as far as I'm concerned. We played 2 times a week for almost 2 months, and with 3 complete parties wiped out by assorted "balanced encounters" each of us played at least 4 characters.
Which brings me to another point that I haven't seen many people mention; the increasesd lethality of this edition. Our DM started with a module (keep of the shadowfall or something like that) and we were killed (one person escaped) by a group of kobolds. We chalked it up to inexperience with the new system, and tried to use better tactics next time. We made it through to the end of the module but were almost wiped again by the final encounter (2 people out of 5 died, but only 1 person was left actually conscious when the bad guy died). We figured that maybe the module was just designed to be a meat-grinder style adventure so the DM started planning his own game with encounters balanced according to the DMG. Two games later our party was wiped out completely (no one escaped) by an elite solo monster that was supposedly a balanced "boss" encounter for our party level. After this another player wanted to DM for a while, so we started new characters but at the same levels as our last characters. It went pretty good for a while, but then one player stopped showing up to games, for various reasons, and then some number of games after that (i think it was about 2 levels since we started over, I can't really remember) our party was TPKed again. In between the start over and the TPK 2 people had died in isolated situations but those seemed normal at the time. Even though we were TPKed the DM said that we'd "been captured" and we had to fight our way out of prison, which was kind of fun, but it felt fake and undeserved.
When 4th edition info first started to appear on the internet, there was talk of characters being "pumped up" with hit points and that this would increase early level survivability. It turns out the opposite is actually true. The characters have more HP but so do the monsters; unbelievable numbers of HP in some cases. Fights seem to drag on and on as the players swing and do minor amounts of damage to the creatures massive HP scores which are in every case but "minions" equal to or greater than the players HP scores. Minions on the other hand may seem like a good idea; monsters that can be used as a howling horde of weaklings, but die quickly. However, in practice they take the fun out of the battle. When you hit a minion it feels like a "gimme", like patting a little kid on the head and saying "good job! you hit the ball!" (straight to the firstbaseman). They all have one hit point and die from a single hit, but they feel very gratuitous, almost pointless. Not only are they simply an annoyance, but they deprive the player the fun and excitement of scoring a critical hit for maximum damage, or even of rolling for damage at all. Very disappointing.
I could go on detailing other oddities of play experience that our group encountered, but other reviews listed here have pointed them out over and over, and in greater detail than I really care to, mainly because I simply don't care anymore. 4th edition was an opportunity for WotC to fix and update the previous edition, but instead, judging by the final product, the only thing they truly ever intended to update was the company's stock price (Oooh, he made a joke about Wizards only being out to make a profit! Get him! Nerd Rage!). They created a detailed but boring board game, from which I am sure they will make quite a bit of money off of those fooled by the brand label still attachedto this unrecognizable edition. I plan to recoup some of what I gave to Wizards by selling my books back to the local game store, since in just a couple of months I've had my fill of 4th edition.
You are an Acolyte in the service of the Emperors' Inquisition. You stand in the front line of a great and secret war where your duty is to hunt out the foul stench of heresy, the vile alien, and the twisted influence of Chaos. You will tread where others fear, venturing to distant planets, ancient space hulks, and the unsavory depths of the under-hive. You will never know fame nor reward, yet if you stand resolute your deeds will be whispered to the God-Emperor of Mankind and your name will be revered for millennia! The Dark Heresy core rulebook contains everything you need to start your roleplaying adventure in the Warhammer 40,000 universe.
REVIEW
Made me believe Good RPG systems and settings are still possible It was so nice to see this game and setting come out finally. A great alternative to the overflooded D20 market and much better then 4E for D&D. The system is relatively smooth, familiar (if you ever played WHFRP) and easy to learn. Character generation is a bit choppy here and there and the career rank system is a bit annoying, but easily navigated around as long as you treat the career names and rank titles as examples and not set in stone rules.
The only flaw in the system/setting is it is a vast universe that exists in the 40K fluff and without a steady supply of new material the setting will most likely die out. But with 3 books and a GM screen already out, tons of fan material already available and two books on the horizon with more promised, Dark Heresy will be the Game of 2008. I rate it up there with Basic Role Playing and Mongoose Runequest for ease of play and readability and the setting already has hundreds of fluff novels and other game sources to steal from.
Translucent dice are in clear and bold colors, giving them a gemlike quality. They are an excellent addition to any dice collection. This set contains one d20, one d12, two d10 (00-90 and 0-9), one d8, one d6, and one d4.
Translucent dice are in clear and bold colors, giving them a gemlike quality. They are an excellent addition to any dice collection. This set contains one d20, one d12, two d10 (00-90 and 0-9), one d8, one d6, and one d4.
REVIEW
Fine dice These are good dice. They have are easier to read than they appear in the picture and do their job just fine.
Opaque dice are made of a particularly dense material for a better feel when rolling. This material also allows for flatter faces and sharper edges. The wide variety of colors is also very consistent so that an opaque Chessex die from years ago will match those available today. These dice are very economical, at a fraction of the cost of others. This set contains one d20, one d12, two d10 (00-90 and 0-9), one d8, one d6, and one d4.
Signature dice are a compilation of the best selling colors of new dice released in the past few years. It includes a wide variety of colors and materials, but each is a unique and interesting addition to any dice collection. This set contains one d20, one d12, two d10 (00-90 and 0-9), one d8, one d6, and one d4.
REVIEW
The photo doesn't do them justice I bought these dice to play an online, blog style, RPG game. I wanted a set I could carry in my work bag that wasn't as sentimental to me as my old set of jewel dice (a x-mas present 24 years ago). I was looking for a simple inexpensive set, but when I saw these scarab finished guys I decided to splurge a bit. The color is an iridescent mix of deep blue, black and purple, like the shell of some strange beetle, which makes them perfectly named. I really like them and I enjoy using them.
Create your very own monster with Monster Lab. The game is set in the eerie world of Uncanny Valley where the evil Baron Mharti rules with a cruel hand. Take on the role of an apprentice scientist who must perform a vast array of intricate experiments to create a monster from over 100 million possible monster part variations on offer. Taking control of your monster, you can then explore the land; searching for ingredients to make more monster parts, hunting out other monsters to defeat in combat, uncovering quests to embark upon or simply competing in the numerous mini-games available.
Multiplayer - Challenge and compete against your friends' monstrous creations
There are approximately 100 factory-second dice in this bag.(Number of dice will vary with the mix- four-siders are lighter than other shapes, for example.) These dice are mixed in a variety of styles & colors. Every bag does not necessarily have every style & color. Sizes may include 6, 8, 10, 12, 20 & 30-sided dice (and, possibly, other sizes) in colors that include (but are not limited to) speckled, marble, rainbow, opaque and translucent. This assortment features one complete 7-die polyhedral set of never-released speckled dice, available ONLY in the Pound O' Dice assortment.
REVIEW
Dice This product is well made and arrived in a timely manner. If i needed to buy again i would definitely use this seller.
Opaque dice are made of a particularly dense material for a better feel when rolling. This material also allows for flatter faces and sharper edges. The wide variety of colors is also very consistent so that an opaque Chessex die from years ago will match those available today. These dice are very economical, at a fraction of the cost of others. This set contains one d20, one d12, two d10 (00-90 and 0-9), one d8, one d6, and one d4.
