Overview: The second arms and equipment resource book, Adventurer’s Vault 2 is much like the first installment but this time presenting a myriad of items for (as the cover says) ALL character classes. This book begins to fill out some of the under represented classes such as the Swordmage and most of the PHB2 classes that missed out on the items in the first Player’s Handbook and Adventurer’s Vault. Many of the items introduce new mechanics, but perhaps most interesting in this book is the amount of fluff that has been poured into the sidebars about many of the items presented within. If you can’t get enough variety with your 4E magic items, or have really wanted some magical ammunition for those ever-so special occasions, or want to spice things up with sets of items that confer bonuses the more items you wear, then Adventurer’s Vault 2 is definitely a book you will want to pick up.
In-Depth: This book presents a slew of new weapons, armors, implements, accessories, consumables, and woundrous items for both players and DMs. It also re-introduces the concept of magical ammunition to 4th Edition, a decidedly classic move which confused me at first but upon reading I think adds something new and unique that players will enjoy. Also new in this book are Lair items which are stationary objects used to enhance specific locations, magical tattoos that can benefit an individual or multiple members of a party, and last but not least are item sets that bestow additional benefits depending upon the number of items from the set that are worn.
I’ll address the Item Sets first, as its possibly the most interesting part of the book. Right away this must stand out as the sweetest vindication for those that believe 4th Edition is just World of Warcraft, but the fact remains that it is a really interesting reward and customization mechanic that I can see being incredibly fun in a tabletop setting. AV2 presents more than ten item sets in the heroic and paragon tiers, and five epic tier sets, each which consists of between 4 and 6 individual items that make up the set. Each set is typically attuned to one or two specific classes and grant abilities that are extremely useful for those classes, such as the Blade Dancer’s Regalia that allows a fully outfitted Ranger to use Hunter’s Quarry as a free action. Every set has a unique theme that brings a lot of character defining potential to the table, that is of course assuming your character is in any way identified by what they are wearing!
Apart from the different tiers of item sets, there are also several Group Sets that grant bonuses based upon the number of party members that wield or wear a piece of the set. This idea bothered me at first, but then the thought of a party all weilding weapons from a specific set or each wearing a different magic ring that work together magically sounds pretty damn cool in the end. Besides, now you can finally put aside that Captain Planet RPG and just play D&D instead!
As mentioned in the overview, this book seems to be filling in some magic items for classes like the Swordmage with the aegis blade and the farbond spellblade and the Bard with some new songblades and songbows. There are also some new holy symbols that encourage multiclassing that can function as both a holy symbol and a totem or arcane implement. The magical ammunition adds another layer to magical ranged weapons with items like Dispelling bolt which ends magical effects on enemies and Phasing arrow which can pass through walls, none of them is as unbalanced as some ammunition was in earlier editions but they seem to create some nice variety that players will really enjoy.
Before reading this book I thought that there were too many items available for 4E, I had trouble finding what I was looking for and it usually became too much of a chore. What I discovered with this book is that is not the case, it’s simply that they have not been indexed correctly until now. In the back of Adventurer’s Vault 2 is an Appendix: Item Tables just like in the first one, but this time the items are presented by level and (thank god) split based upon type of item. So if you’re looking for level 10 armor, you go to the level 10 section and find a nice list of 7-8 armors that are available at that level. The only unfortunate part is that this index does not include items from previous books.
Now that they are properly indexed, we can more easily enjoy all of the additional treasures to obtain or hand out! The biggest and most noticeable change with AV2 is that just about one item from each page features its own sidebar that explains a rich and juicy history of that item, along with some specific quest or plot tie-ins that can be used to incorporate this item into your character or game. These descriptions are the little extra push that this book needs to go from a standard resource of numerous items to an interesting resource that can actually help you with an initial spark of inspiration.
Details: AV2 is 159 pages thick, almost all of which are full of new magic items. Its overall quality seems to be equal to or perhaps just a step above the first Adventurer’s Vault book, though it sacrifices a bit in the number of items the fluff that takes up that space makes the ones that are available a lot more interesting and provides many plot ideas to players and DMs alike. If you didn’t like the first Adventurer’s Vault, then this book is probably not one you’ll want to pick up, however the improved indexing greatly reduces the “too damn many items” feeling that I got from the first AV and all of the subsequent books that have introduced more magic items.
Just to note, as well, Item Sets were also in the 3.5e Magic Item Compendium, so if anyone wants to complain about them being WoW-y, I just want to ask why they didn’t complain in 3.5?
.-= Graham´s last blog ..Damn you, Dave! You and your… logic… =-.
I agree with you on that one Graham.
I have never been to interested in these books because I wasn’t the DM (and thus didn’t get to choose what items where found). However I did thumb through it once or twice and I agree it was confusing. Sounds like a step in the right direction, thanks for the details!
@Dice_Girl: That’s funny, because as a DM, I have no use for AV. I don’t get to use that stuff, so I don’t care about it. (My campaign doesn’t have too many highly intelligent enemies.) My players, on the other hand, love poring over it endlessly, picking out just the perfect combo of items for their character.
If you don’t mind, I’d like to hear about the promised Superior Implements.
According to a WotC designer over on EN World, superior implements were moved to the PHB3 due to space reasons.
.-= Tim´s last blog ..WoTC Editorial Calendar =-.
I’d still not seeing new artifacts. Artifacts are always my favorite items but they seem to get neglected in the latest editions. There are so few for each tier in 4e and almost all are evil.
.-= Nicholas´s last blog ..Nerd Watching: The Road to Gen Con =-.
@Graham: No shit? I actually had no idea, clearly, I’ll have to take a look at the 3.5 item sets and see how they stack up then, thanks!
Dice_Girl: The fluff in AV2 might make it worth buying for a player, but I think if your DM has a copy that should be good enough unless you’re really gung-ho about your items!
@JS Dougan & Tim: I didn’t see anything about superior implements, so I imagine you’re right that they were put off to PHB3, but I’ll double check just to be sure they’re not mentioned or anything!
@Nicholas: Seriously, I think the item sets go a long way towards relieving some of that disappointment but a book of new artifacts or at least containing several new ones would be quite nice. I imagine they are trying to keep artifacts in the realm of the DM so they probably felt best to keep them out of the AV books, possibly the DMG2 will have more?
Why has no one made the connection with 4e Sets & WoW Sets to the original Sets?
Hand and Eye of Vecna.
Rod of Seven Parts.
Really, there isn’t much that’s new. And that which is new, was borrowed from somewhere anyways.
Good review – I’ll be buying this one. I don’t really have the type of players that buy magic item books though – they rely on me to put cool stuff for them into my adventures.
There was a similar set of linked items in the Forgotten Realms:Ruins of Myth Drannor boxed set.
http://forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=893&whichpage=41
It was called the “Arm of Valor”…
I got tired of defending against the “4e is WoW” argument. I just run 2 4e games a week, and both have 6 players each, so I don’t worry anymore who does, and does not like it. My friends who don’t like it, or see it for the growing, dynamic edition which the designers keep feeding ideas into, can go play PF… my tables are full! 🙂
.-= GrecoG´s last blog ..Controversial Trek =-.
WoW? I’d say Diablo II. Both Blizzard products, but still…
Nice review. I was hesitant about picking this up. But with the new classes introduced in PHB2, I’ll likely end up purchasing this. I have to admit the group set items have got me thinking about some adventure ideas too.
.-= Geek Ken´s last blog ..Guidance for roleplaying lacking in the DM guide? =-.
What’s with comparing D&D to Diablo and WoW suddenly? Do you kids not know your gaming history?
1st was Chainmail in the 70’s (probably earlier, but I’m born in the 80’s so I don’t go back further :P) which was not unlike Warhammer. Gygax introduced the “D20” system of one character per player against smaller groups of enemies (rather than entire armies pitted against one another) and a different set of dice to play. Fast forward to the computer era and all your “rpg” games (WoW, Baldur’s Gate, Everquest, etc etc) are based on D20: you roll a die, add modifiers from stats, and get your result in combat and skills.
Infact, the reason I stopped playing WoW and got back into D&D once 4th came out was because it’s just more fun. My group is hilariously imaginative (first level, natural 20 on a bluff, they score a town based on the history of a pocket watch worth 30 gold from treasure in their first adventure. I didn’t have the heart to deny them). You just can’t do that shit on WoW.
So yeah, I’m sure there are nods to many RPG games in 4.0, but know your history: D&D came first.
Ryamos:
As far as I know, equipment “sets” were introduced by Blizzard in Diablo II, not WoW. That’s all I meant in my comment.
Obviously any and all video RPGs owe their existence to D&D. To the extent that 4e borrows concepts from CRPGs or MtG, I couldn’t care less so long as WotC sticks to borrowing the good parts that mesh well with tabletop play.
Most of the slams on 4e are just silly — I love it. The only bad part, IMO, is the burden of status tracking (marks, curses, quarries, stunned, weakened, immobilized, ongoing damage, zones, global warming, ozone depletion, tectonic shifts, etc.) If they can figure out how to streamline that bit, I’d have not complaints at all.
I was looking in the adventurer’s vault 2, and I think I found a really over-powered combination.
Avalanche Hammer + Badge of the Berserker
With the avalanche hammer you do 1 [W] extra damage when you charge, and with the badge of the berserker you don’t provoke oppertunity attacks while charging.
So you can just charge enemies every turn and do 2 [W] damage.
What do you think?