First thoughts: DMG 4e

My first thoughts:

WotC should have packaged the DMG with the PHB.  It would have saved the PHB.

James Wyatt wrote the DMG, and it looks like he is the sole author.  He joins the ranks of John Curtis III, Gary Gygax, Robin Laws, and other luminaries that wrote on this craft.  I really think he deserves his place.

I still like skill challenges. More on this later.

Minions are a great add to the game (they are discussed in the MM, to be sure).  Pretty much something that was added by Robin in 3rd Edition with his Burning Shaolin adventure.  

It's been told to me that the DMG had all the roleplaying, if that is so, then Wizards really should have combined them together.  A lot of people are paying $60 for the Pathfinder RPG, I bet a lot of people would have paid $60 for a Dungeons and Dragons RPG.  Although you still get that annoying *you must use miniatures* rule.  you can throw that out, but you throw out all the other rules that depend on it.

I really think that the DMG is the best book out of the three.  It's written well and concise.  Although I won't get a chance to run the adventure in the back of the DMG.  I really don't want to break up my group over something like 4th edition.  Still, I wonder if I can still play a military wizard. . .

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Note, this is just my first impression of the DMG.  So, it's stream of consciousness on what went through my mind when I read it.  My PHB review may have been a good example of how *not* to write a review, but then the PHB is organized badly, and there is just too much in the PHB to take in.  The PHB was written wrongly, that is all there is to it.  The DMG rounds it out, and the DMG should have been packaged with the PHB.  It would have made the PHB seem a lot more complete.