Adventurer's Vault: A 4th Edition D&D Supplement

When I first saw the selection of items in the PHB I was appauled at the lack of options for the players, I got the adventurers vault to be able to add more variety and choice to the equipment available in the game. For this purpose, the Adventurer's Vault is perfect. There are hundreds of new items contained within the pages, and as such, it adds to the choices availble for players and GM alike.

That said, there are a lot of strange design decisions that my group cannot figure out why they were made. Some items are virtually unstoppable, while others (with the same cost rating) are difficult to imagine a reason to use. Once again, Wizards places a lot of emphasis on specific story element scenarios (like water breathing, lizard killing, etc.) which brings to mind the years of "I found another useless item!" issue. Sure players can sell items they find, but any more, when I look at the way 4th edition is balanced, I can't say that they support the idea of selling and buying whatever items you want. The balance is geared toward a specific number of USEFUL items for each character per level (or each group per level), making some of the choices in this book very puzzling. Could I, as a DM, really equate the same balance of power to allowing a player to breath underwater, as allowing that same player to deal an extra 10 damage per round? These issues are still not addressed, and now that everything is so carefully mathematical, it makes using a lot of this book difficult.

In the end, if you are looking for more choices, you should get the book. If you are looking for GOOD choices, it's really a toss-up (though it does save the time and effort of custom items).

Think Arms & Equipment Guide melded with the Magic Item Compendium. Light on art, but thick on volume. Tons of great new items, both great useful weapons and alchemical stuff that you can buy right from first level, and a huge amount of magical stuff that feels awesome and looks sweet (honestly, it feels like forever since I've really wanted a magic item just from how cool the art looks!).

It's hard to wrap my head around how much stuff is in the book. Usually there's a whole wasted chapter at least of stuff I don't care about or some longwinded official game mechanics I don't need. None of that here. The amount of stuff you get is staggering. It's everything I'd want from a book like this, and none of the stuff I don't. It's like they read my mind.

very good source book for items and equipment for your D&D 4.0 campaigns. can be used for rewards as well as upgraded equipment. recommended for those looking for the not so mundane arms and equipment.

This is a great way to introduce new items to your players. I like a lot of the variations of all types of magic items in the book. Don't have much more to say about it, because my DM has had it for the past 2 weeks.

Basically its a giant list of magic items and what they do. Very helpful for running a campaign, but there is little else of merit in the book.