Dungeons & Dragons Dungeon Master's Guide: Roleplaying Game Core Rules, 4th Edition

As a person who started playing D&D with the pink Basic Box and then worked my way up to Expert, AD&D and finally 2nd edition AD&D (that is about 30 years of rpging) I feel that I can put my simply opinion into the ether.

Many folks have complained that the Core Rules have lost much of the D&D flavor. I disagree. It seems to me that the Core Rules should be rules, and fairly generic, so that they can be applied to any setting. I all to clearly remember Basic through 1st edition AD&D not containing much in the way of flavor either. Instead the DM and players had to work together to create the world.

How is 4th any different. I can take these rules and apply them to Greyhawk, Forgotten Realms (ick), Ravenloft, etc. with little difficulty. I would think that any half-decent DM/player could do the same thing. Too many folks are worried that they won't be able to Monty Hall their characters as easily as in 3rd edition.

Get over it and enjoy the game.

Worst D&D version ever. It is but a shell of what D&D once was and is now the shattered remnants of something that was grand. Rest in peace D&D. Quite possibly the worst rpg I have ever played.

Ok,I am not surprized many people are underating the 4th edition, it was the same with 3th edition.

It have changed alot...but in my point of view it is for better.
No more complicated multi face rolls (like Grappling for example), no more hundreds of skills, the new classes and races are cool, I like the power system, etc...
I understand what people mean about online computer games, I play Wow and it is obvious the power system and the rules in general have something about online games....but check this....everything changes, D&D is changing bc it must change to survive! Why should a boy spend hours creating content for D&D if he can login and play Wow in seconds?...RPGs are changing and will change even more in the years ahead...if they wanna survive.
I played AD&D since first edition and maybe I am one of those few who can say "I played and loved all editions".
This one im lovin already, straight foward rules, dynamic and fast paced...full of intersting ideas (D&D Insider is something lots of people will use from times to times now a days)

If u love D&D and want it to survive the next decade you should support the changes in 4th edition or we will all end playing WoW on our computer desks, we will have no more social games anymore, no more game tables with friends at home, there will be no more use for our imagination and creativity....no more Dungeons & Dragons. Never forget rules are just rules...RPGs are much more than rules..the rules are the medium to make the game work, we (the players) make the RPG happen...I am sure the 4th edition can give people an amazing experience if in the right hands.

One last word..
If u dont like the 4th edition why complaining? Continue playing 1st, 2nd or the 3th edition! There are tons of material from the past editions to play for a hundred years. Have fun and let the new generations have fun whith the 4th edition.

and sorry about my english, it is not my native language.

Despite the large amounts of whining you might hear about 4th edition, I believe all the changes are for the better. At least, for the better up from 3rd/3.5, which were terrible rules-wise. The production quality of the book is high and the content well-written.

This book is (perhaps counter-intuitively) very light on rules and very heavy on guidelines, but even experienced DMs will learn a lot from it. You can never get too much advice on how to be a good DM.

There is a section in this book on how to play D&D without a Dungeon Master. If i wanted to play this type of engine i would buy an under-funded MMO.

:(