So this will be my second to last D&D post for a while. I have one more I want to do tomorrow and cover the Player Hand Book. I don’t plan on covering ever single page, just some of the highlights that I enjoy, or dislike about this book.

I’m just going to cut to the jump, so click below to read the rest.

One of the first things you’re going to notice after you break this bad boy open, is the rich and detail artwork found all throughout the book. Every chapter has a nice page and a quarter image with a side column detailing what you will find in the chapter.

If you played any previous versions of Dungeons and Dragon, then the first 3 Chapters should just be a nice little review for you. Covering How To Be A DM, Running The Game, and Combat Encounters. Chapter 4 will be partially review, partially new stuff for you, as it talks about Building Encounters.

I spent some time with Chapter 5, NonCombat Encounters. The big reason, skill challenges. This here is a new, interesting, and (for me at least) intimidating new feature brought forth in 4.0. So you know in D&D you have skills, and you know you have skill checks. Well a skill challenge is like skill challenges on crack like a combat, but without the hacking and slashing. A brief example from the DM book:

Do I like the skill challenge? Yes. Am I confused with exactly how to introduce it and use it? Oh yeah. My only option you ask? Setup one, toss it at my players and let trial and error run its course.

Chapter 6 covers Adventures, such as using a publish adventure, fleshing your own, and the setting. 7 is all about Rewards, which I covered in a previous post. I’m still rolling the whole, parcel reward system around and trying to figure out if I like it.

So according to this, as the party goes from level 1 and progresses on to level 2, they should acquire the above gear through their encounters. One idea is to forgo giving reward for a weaker encounter, and in another, put in two parcels. Such as a magical item and some coins. Maybe give one big fight or a Major Quest reward something such as three parcels.

Chapter 8 and 9, again, if you are familiar with the rules and content found inside a DM book, are just a review. Campaigns, The World. Chapter 10 probably has to be one of my favorite chapters in the book. It helps show how to customize monsters, adding equipment to them and some of the new templates. One of the funnest things (even if I don’t think I’ll ever use it) has to be the Random Dungeons. So you roll a d20, and look to see what the result is, and add that to your dungeon. Example, roll a… *rolls d20* 8. Go straight 4 squares, side passage on right.

And there you have it, I guess I broke it down more then I originally planned, but that’s just how it goes. What can I say, I’m a super cool person nerd that loves his D&D. The last chapter in the book covers Fallcrest. Which is an example of a good size town called Fallcrest.