Feb 2, 2009
Hands on with the Character Builder.
A video tour of the very helpful, very cool Character Builder from Wizards of the Coast.
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I am linking this review in the official WOtC forums.
http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=1144003
I am also sending it to the DDI Devs, and you might see it in an upcoming Digital Insider column.
Hi Marcel, thanks a lot! Hopefully people find it helpful.
Looks interesting. I have been hesitant to pay for an insider account since, well, none of the insider content were were promised had shown up yet. The insider “tools” are hardly worth paying for and barely even a convenience. This looks like a decent first step though.
I’m curious though, what makes you think you’re ‘getting what you pay for’ out of the account as a GM?
Here’s my short list:
–I’ve found the compendium extremely useful. If I need to pull up a monster super fast, I can grab it and (if needed) print it out much faster than I can look it up in the MM.
–Character Builder is very cool.
–I use quite a bit of the content of Dragon each month. I say each month I use at least a quarter of the content in some fashion. PC class/race info gets handed out to my players, who really like it. The fact that it gets put in the compendium for easy access is even better.
–I use less of the content from Dungeon, but I like having a lot of material available to scavenge for ideas in building my own adventures. I spend quite a bit of time each month going through Dungeon.
–I like getting the previews (I also like sharing them with readers!)
–As someone who gets a kick out of designing my own elements for the game, all of the above makes it easier for me to design and add elements that fit into the power curve of 4e overall. When I add in elements, I take great pleasure and pride from producing something that feels like it could have been designed by the publishers themselves. When I make powers or other features, I do a lot of research to make sure the powers actually fulfill a need without being under or over powered. Looking at all this stuff helps me out a lot.
That said, I don’t expect everyone to be convinced. DDI is not an automatic “hell yes!” purchase, especially not for players. As a GM though, I get a lot of “raw” material that I find invaluable. At 8 bucks a month, it’s cheaper than a video game and I feel I get more out of it. Again though, YMMV.