A New DM's Buyers Guide to D&D 4th Edition
by Mike Shea on 31 January 2011
Three years ago, it was a struggle to get all the components required to run a great D&D game. For a game based on tactical grid-based battles, getting the right miniatures meant either spending a mint on cases of random figures or buying them one-by-one on the secondary market. Dungeon tiles didn't fit the maps found in adventures like Keep on the Shadowfell or Thunderspire Labyrinth. We were stuck going back to the wet-erase mats we've been using for years. Good enough for a long-time hobbiest, I suppose, but a lousy way to get new players into the game.
The products today are different. With the purchase of just a few products you will get all the material you need to run a great D&D game. Here's a list of the products in the order in which you should purchase them.
Your first two D&D books: The DM Kit and the Heroes of the Fallen Lands
Starting fresh, the first two D&D books you should pick up are the Heroes of the Fallen Lands and the Dungeon Master's Kit.
The Dungeon Master's Kit includes everything you need to run a game including two adventures, a pile of PC and monster tokens, and the maps you need to run quite a few games. The book in the DM Kit includes the rules and the information to run a great game. The maps and minis included in the box fit perfectly with the two included adventures except for a about three rooms which is easily replaced by one of the rooms in the map. Who can say how they managed to drop the ball on this, but its a small issue.
You'll also want to run a few encounters beforehand to get your group to level 2. You can use the adventure in the Red Box (more on why this isn't on the mandatory list later) or you can pick something up from DDI or just make up your own to get there.
Heroes of the Fallen Lands is the equivalent of the old-school OD&D players book. It includes five races and five classes, enough to fill out a group with knights, slayers, thieves, clerics, and mages. The classes are built for simplicity but run the full range of levels 1 to 30. Players who liked the wider variety of choices in the original Player's Handbooks might find these classes a bit simple, but it's a great way to start out.
Your next three products: Monster Vault, Dungeon Tile Master Set, Heroes of the Forgotten Kingdoms
Once you've gotten through the two adventures in the DM Kit and you're ready for more, it's time to pick up the Monster Vault. The Monster Vault gives you all the monsters you need to run up to about level 21 or so. It's a bit thin in level 21 to 30 material but we'll get to that later. It includes an adventure that takes you to level 5 or so.
Unlike the DM Kit, the adventure in the Monster Vault calls for tiles from the Dungeon Tile Master Set so that should be your next purchase. It has enough tiles to help you build hundreds of different rooms including all of the dungeon rooms within the Monster Vault adventure. For a more in-depth review, check out my Dungeon Tile Master Set review on Youtube.
If your players are a bit bored of the basic classes in the Fallen Lands book, the Heroes of the Forgotten Kingdoms book fills out the list of classes with some more flavorful options such as the Sentinel and the Hexblade.
At this point you have enough material to run games for a good couple of years. There are few stories you can't tell and adventures you can't share with this material alone.
Your portal to the epic tier: Monster Manual 3 and the Dark Sun Creature Catalog
Once you've hit level 21, it's time to build a better arsenal of monsters. Monsters published in books before the Monster Manual 3 are of limited use in the epic-tier. Overall they inflict far less damage than they should. Two books, however, give you a great deal of epic-tier monsters to challenge your group: The Monster Manual 3 and the Dark Sun Creature Catalog. Even if these books don't contain the exact monsters you want, the epic-tier monsters they DO have are easily reskinned into just about any high level threat you can imagine.
No Red Box?
You probably noticed that the D&D Starter Set isn't on my must-buy list. While the Starter Set has a lot of good material in it, including maps, tokens, and a decent adventure, it's missing a vital character creation component other than a choose-your-own-adventure character creation adventure. If you want another map to use and a published adventure to get your characters from level 1 to 2, it can't hurt. It's not a bad set but it isn't vital to run a great game. The products above will be well-used throughout your entire campaign. They hold their value much better than the Starter Set alone.
A great time for a new beginning
It's a great time to get started in D&D. The rules are well refined. The materials are well integrated. The price isn't too bad. If ever there was a time to dig into 4e, now is that time.
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