D&D 2014 Player's Handbook (Dungeons & Dragons Core Rulebook)

tl;dr: This is a great new edition, and I recommend it to almost anyone. I've spent at least some time with every edition of D&D since 1e and Red Box Basic, which I played as a kid. I missed most of the 2e era and I left 4e relatively early in its cycle, but I spent a ton of time playing 1e and 3e. I also have a little bit of exposure to old school revival (OSR) rules that harken back to earlier Original D&D rules. 5e captures a lot of what I like about all of the above. 5e continues the trend dating back to 2e (with THACO) of simplifying the math underlying the game. Almost everything in the game is an ability check -- pick the relevant ability score, add the bonus from that score to the result of a d20, and try to beat some number that represents the difficulty of the check. Proficiencies provide bonuses, having the advantage or disadvantage in a situation changes the odds, there's a few stray bonuses here and there, and that's pretty much it. The whole core of the game works on that mechanic -- attacks, saving throws, attempting to perform actions (with or without a relevant skill), pretty much everything. It's fantastic. 4e marked a major philosophical change to make D&D more like a *game*, as traditionally understood. Balance in gameplay became one of the most important aspects, there was a relentless focus on combat tactics, character capabilities became systematized into (mostly combat) "powers", many rules revolved heavily around "squares" and board position, and aspects that undermined that kind of gameplay were intentionally weakened -- e.g. magic items, the ability to fly, completely open-ended spells, etc. It was as easy to role play the game as ever, but things like the Encounters series of play sessions in gaming shops and the reuse of the rules in the D&D board games like Castle Ravenloft made it clear that role playing wasn't as integral to the rules, and the portion of the rules devoted to campaign play outside of specific encounters was scant at best. People who loved the tactical aspect of the game generally love 4e. For those people, 5e is going to be a step back, at least for now. The open-ended aspects of the game get a ton of love and none of the minis/squares/board position-based tactics make it into the PHB. If that's your thing, you won't like 5e at this point. My guess is that there will be further books that add back the same tactical depth, so you may yet end up really liking 5e, but for now, there's not that much for you here. Instead we get a return to "theater of the mind" (TOTM) gaming as the default assumption, where you imagine what's going on where your characters are and probably have a small map of the layout, but you don't move little minis around on a board or dungeon tiles or whatever. You could still play that way if you like it, but the game doesn't give you special rule support the way it did in 4e. Instead, the focus of the game rules is shifted to starting with players trying whatever actions they feel like (which need not be specific things the game designers have thought of in advance), and using the ability check mechanic to resolve it. Specific types of actions you may get you better bonuses because you're using a weapon you're good with or you have a relevant skill that means you're trained in that kind of action, but if what you want to do is swing a monkey by his tail and throw him into the mouth of the angry dragon, all the DM has to do is establish a difficulty and have you roll a (Dexterity, presumably) check to try it -- no power cards required. As far as I'm concerned, this is a huge win for imagination, and the fact that the game really tries to lay out that you can do whatever you can think of is fantastic, and shows they've learned key lessons from the OSR movement. We also get a return of focus to the campaign as a whole, as we see from the wonderful chapter on equipment. There's plenty of typical dungeon equipment and some obvious extras like artisan's tools for various trades, but it continues by telling you how much it costs to live in town (depending on the style in which you live, with details on what the different kinds mean), the price of various vehicles and riding and draft animals, the going rates for various trade goods, the cost of hiring different kinds of servants, and more. There have certainly been game supplements that have gone into even more detail in the past, but to put this much detail into the PHB itself really emphasizes how much focus there is on making the game world feel like a real place that your character is a part of -- this is by far the best this has ever been handled in a core rulebook in any edition. The other really fanstastic thing is the focus on making your character more that just a set of stats. There's a whole chapter on personality and character background that's a quantum leap over anything they've done in a PHB in the past. There are a variety of different kinds of background -- some examples are noble, soldier, guild artisan, hermit, criminal, sailor, folk hero, outlander. There's also variations on many of them (e.g. guild merchant for guild artisan), and specific encouragement to work with the DM on a custom background if you have a different idea. Every background gets two skills, one or more tool proficiency, and a special feature, such as guild membership or the ability for sailors to secure free working passage on a ship. The traditional pre-4e alignment wheel is back, but every character also gets two personality traits, a goal, a bond that ties them to something in the world (their clan, an enemy, etc.), and a weakness. There are tables for all of those things tied to each background that you can select or roll from, but there's plenty of latitude to come up with your own. Good role players already did a lot of work like this on their characters before any rules showed up in the rulebook like this, but this is a fantastic tool for new players, less character-focused players, or anyone trying to think of ideas for their latest character. The rules section of the book also does a good job building rules for social encounters and for general exploration of dungeons and the world at large, without resorting to gimmicks like 4e's skill challenges, which meant well, but turned something open-ended into something a little too mechanical. Combat will always be an important part of the rule system, but in 5e, it's just a part of a larger whole. Lest you think this is completely anti-4e, one strong thing 5e preserves is having different character tracks within each class, a real innovation over 3e. In 3e, you could build a really nice custom character, but you had to do it with complicated multiclassing approaches, careful study of skill levels and feat trees, etc. A lot of people like that kind of work, but it was *definitely* work. 4e had different class builds, paragon paths, and power selection such that you could make a character your own by making simpler decisions that didn't require a ton of upfront planning to nab the right prerequisites or take things in the order you wanted. 5e retains this. Different wizard schools and cleric domains are folded in as paths within the class that give you interestingly different gameplay, e.g. depending on whether you want to play a cleric that attacks mainly with spells or with weapons. There's a simple build of fighter designed for "I hit it with my sword" beginner players, but also a build that offers a choice of various combat maneuvers, and an Eldritch Kinght that can cast spells. Rogue comes with paths for standard thief, assassin, and arcane trickster -- no prestige class required. Wizards also get a simpler version of Vancian magic, and high-level wizards lose the unbalanced ability to lob 20 devastating area of effect spells in a row at their enemies (sorry, Wizard enthusiasts). There's a stealth path for monks for players who want to build ninjas. Interestingly, feats are an optional rule, and even if you play with them you don't have to select them. At various times depending on class, your character can add two points to ability scores (to a max of 20 on any given score). If you prefer, you can take a feat instead. You can do this once, or do it every time. This not only makes for an interesting tradeoff, it means feats can be incredibly powerful. You can learn to cast ritual magic like a member of a different class as a feat. You can pick up two of the fighter maneuvers for a non-fighter character with a feat. You can use a single feat to pick up 2 cantrips, 3 skills, or 3 languages plus cyphering. You can really customize the feel of your character by spending a single feat, but beginners don't have to worry about them, and nobody has to worry about keeping track of complicated feat trees and prerequisites. Multiclassing is an optional rule, and it's more flexible that the original (fake) multiclassing options in 4e but not as crazy as it was in 3e, because there are rules on what you get if you just dip into a second class for a level or two. I'm sure there are specific character concepts people will want to make with multiclassing, but overall, it feels a lot less necessary than it did in 3e, and a lot less unbalancing. There's definitely a focus on the core 4 races and core 4 classes, but other races from Gnome to Tiefling to Dragonborn (who are listed as not existing in every game world) are represented, and classes from Barbarian to Paladin to Warlock are here as well. I think they've captured the essence of each of these races and classes well, and this feels like a really polished product that people who like virtually any edition can come to and find a way to capture what they liked about the characters and gameplay of that edition (again, tactical 4e players notwithstanding, for now). There's a great ability to adapt this from pretty simple, streamlined games to much more in-depth ones. If you prefer using the general action-resolution system over keeping track of a ton of character abilities, you could download the free version of the rules and maybe buy a monster manual and play a streamlined, OSR-influenced game happily for years. If you like lots of options for building out your character, there's a ton here for you, and I'm sure there will be plenty more to come in forthcoming splat books. Houserule different healing rules and such (options the forthcoming DMG is likely to lay out for you), and you could play anything from a gritty, inches-from-death style game remininscent of OD&D or 1e to a game that makes you feel invincible as long as you play intelligently like 4e can. When you consider all the ways the rules have improved, 5e could easily fulfill WotC's hopes and become a lingua franca for D&D fans of all the various editions to migrate to and find common ground. Considering the quality of the materials they're releasing, I hope they succeed.

I am going to try to not duplicate the information provided in most of the other 5 star reviews because I agree with the vast majority of them. I am an oldster, have played every edition of D&D there has been, most of them being released when I was of legal drinking age, and IMO this is the best edition ever. I have not been this excited about a version of D&D since 2nd edition was released. It appears to me to have taken all the best, from a game design point of view, and most popular aspects of earlier editions and put them in one book. Another way to think of it is that this edition is the most true to the game principles set forth in the earlier editions, especially AD&D 1st and 2nd editions, while at the same time carrying the more modern and popular principles from 3.5 and even the much maligned 4.0. I have to admit that I completely steered clear of the earlier play test versions, and was more than a little skeptical of the approach taken in getting feedback from so many play testers. I was worried that we would end up with a "too many cooks spoil the stew" situation; a game that was a convoluted mish-mash of everyone's "favorite rules" creating an incoherent and largely unplayable mess. I am pleasantly surprised to say that I was 100% wrong about the effectiveness of the play test process and the finished product. Contrary to the opinions in some of the lower star reviews, what I am holding in my hands and have read cover to cover is a very "tight," comprehensive, elegant, and fun set of rules. Who is likely to like these rules? I think both the veteran player who cut his or her teeth on any version before 3.0, and a brand new player will like them. The mechanics most definitely have a "return to the basics that made the game great in the 70's and 80's" feel, while at the same time keeping a more elegant version of the more modern mechanics, like feats, attacks of opportunity, etc., that people generally love from 3.0 and later editions. For the most part, all of these things have been streamlined and made more elegant in application, but they are there. I will end with my favorite thing about this book. A little background first to provide some context for my opinion. And let me say that this is just my opinion and some will disagree with me. For me, D&D started to trend downward in my enjoyment of the game at 2nd edition, and then it really did so at 3.0 and 3.5. For me, although I did not have the strong dislike for 4.0 that many people did, it just was not D&D to me anymore, I think primary because I had cut my teeth so much on 1st edition and the Basic and Expert sets in particular. D&D 5th edition has produced a steep positive trend for me for I think one general reason. When playing even 2nd edition, but very much so for 3.0, 3.5, and even 4.0, I found myself interacting with my character in the game more as a playing piece than a character in a story. Concerns about where to put skill points, and if a particular collection and order of choice for Feats began to dominate my thoughts and game choices. It was almost as if my character, and my decisions about playing the character, began to be dominated more by my interface with the rules in the book, rather than with my ideas about my character and my interaction with the game world. As my character advanced in level, I found that my focus on the book and what was written therein became more pronounced, not less as it did with earlier editions. As I reflected while playing these later editions, I found that I was not really playing a character, but instead was playing a set of rules. So far, the gift that 5th edition has given to me is a change in focus. My character has again become a protagonist in an adventure story, rather than a playing piece. I worry now more about the choices and decisions I make while interacting with the game world, and those choices making the character fun to play, rather than fretting over whether or not I have chosen the right Feats or if my modifier for a particular skill is as high as I want it to be. The way that races, and even classes, are discussed, the used of a character's background and the ideals, personality characteristics, etc. that are randomly determined from the background choice, and the lack of mathematical modifiers except for the familiar ability modifier, and the soon to be ubiquitous global proficiency modifier, instead using the elegant advantage/disadvantage mechanic all have worked to focus my attention back on my character as protagonist. For that I want to thank the play testers and writers of 5th edition. For me this has been the most nostalgic aspect of the rules, not so much the mechanics per se. Do I like all of the rules? Absolutely not. Frankly, I think that is impossible to attain and do not expect that from any set of rpg rules. To me that's not fair to expect that of the writers. And frankly, I am not even looking for that in a set of rules anymore. As I start down the path of the twilight of my gaming career given my age, I want a set of rules that provides enough structure that a DM can make consistent rulings on the fly that fit in with the general mechanics used in the game, and that foster my appreciation as a player of the development of my character in a game world where playing the game is smooth and produces memories of an interesting character who is the protagonist in an interesting story line. Most importantly, I want a set of rules that stays out of the way of that process, and helps me to focus on the game aspects that will produce those kinds of memories. For me, D&D 5th edition, although not perfect, will accomplish this just fine.

I play 3.5 and love/hate it. Mostly I love it but sometimes the rules get me frustrated when all I want to do is role-play and I need like 3 skills, a feat, and I have to make like 3 checks just to jump over a table (before anybody posts, this is an exaggeration - but my DM would force me to make at least a jump and balance check). BUT, all the rules, and books, and home-brew stuff (and pathfinder) are also great. There is a rule for everything, even some that make no sense, but hey, there's a rule for that. And yet 3.5 remains incredibly flexible, and breakable, but then the DM rolls out broken monsters and its great. Never really played 2nd or 1st edition but some people really like em'. 3.5 didn't replace them and 5th edition didn't replace 3.5. 3.5 is still out there and will continue to be played and remains a very easy system to adapt and modify. But 3.5 isn't always easy system to play, and 5th is. And that's a good thing. Because 5th edition DOES replace 4th IMHO. If you are going to make the game easier to play, don't focus on combat, which 4th edition did. But 5th edition focuses on role-play, the whole point of DND for me personally. Role-play and play freedom, let me explain. 5th edition IS streamlined (major overhaul, skills pretty much gone - A/C is super simple - no more 5 foot steps, modifiers are much reduced) and it has game mechanics that promote role-play and even tables for rolling traits, bonds, and even flaws (personality, not physical) such as, "if there is a plan you forget or ignore it." Do you have to follow this? No, but if you do you gain inspiration points that give you advantage on a roll. Basically you get to roll 2 dice. The math on rolling two dice is a lot simpler than, mod here, ranks this, plus misc. mod this equals... Now it boils down to, 2 is better than one. All of this serves to make the game a lot more approachable to new players, but not by trying to sell them on combat (like 4e did) which will never work because none of us play the game for combat (or at least no one I know). If you want streamlined combat well... video games are making millions (maybe billions?) of dollars a year for a reason. But why does tabletop gaming have it all over video games though? Freedom to do ANYTHING. 3.5 gave us one kind of freedom (I can't speak of 2nd edition or anything earlier) by giving us a huge amount of rules and options to draw from that if you were willing to commit yourself to learning, provided literally limitless options. COmbat was fun in this context because you came up with some bizare cross-class with certain feats and items that allowed you to do something unique and interesting and power (sometimes totally broken). 5th edition gives us a different kind of freedom with much simplified rules that are more intuitive. All checks match to an ability (even saves) proficiency makes it much more intuitive for the lay person too. You want to jump over that table? Roll 1d20, plus dex modifier (obviously). Are you proficient, add 2, done. One roll, make it? Cool. It's also easier on the DM. I would feel comfortable DMing 5th edition and I am trying to talk my friends into trying it out with me because I think they could handle the system and would enjoy knowing what the hell they were doing. I have been selling my friends on table-top rpgs for years on the basis that "you can do literally anything" but I have done a lot of the math for them. Now I think they could handle their own characters stats. Also,I think the role-play rules will be great for my friends who are reluctant to come out of their shells right away. It's not always about breaking the game, and WOTC has clearly tried to unbreakable a lot of things and put rational floors and ceilings (and reduce min-maxing). Yes, it feels more limited in this fashion, but it sucks in 3.5 when one player has an A/C of 31 and everyone else in the party has an A/C around 20. 5th edition reduces this possibility by reducing possibilities, but that opens up the world to your imagination over thinking only in terms of game mechanics. This is good for people who don't want to spend hours thinking about character creation and just want to play and not be told, sorry, you can't climb that because you don't have ranks in climb. I know that pathfinder addressed some of these issues but that is still more "hardcore" that 5th edition IMHO. And that's a good thing! If you don't have friends that you would like to game with who aren't into all the rules or are intimidated by RPGs, or you have never thought to yourself, man I just want to jump in and play instead of looking-up specifics half the time, then ignore this reivew (and this edition). If you are perfectly happy with 3.5 and/or pathfinder, awesome. It's not going anywhere. I know I will keep playing both. But 5th edition is a happy addition to my shelf (where 4th was not) because it offers a different way to play the game, and a system that is very good in my opinion; the care, and play-testing really shows! Are there problems? Yes, the dragon-born draconic bloodline sorcerer thing is weird... Also dragonborn seem a little broken to me compared to other races, although all the races have received some love. I really enjoy the specifics of forest versus rock gnomes, hill dwarves versus mountain dwarves, and the flavor text is great! Do I need the book to give me little blurbs on dwarf racial characteristics, what they are like, how they treat other races? No. But it's fun, and immersive. Do I need the book to give me sub-race characteristics? No, I could (or the DM could) do that on my/her own right. Could I streamline 3.5 rules? Yes, but I would probably spend a lot of time getting the kinks out. I've tried actually. But hey, do I eve need any book at all? I could just make up all the rules! I could completely invent my own game! And I bet it wouldn't be half as good as this one. And in terms of what you pay for, it's great to get a flavor text, and a pretty complete system (I could DM a game right out of the PHB, there are even monsters in the back!) and the art! The art is truly the best I have seen! I love to flip through the older books for the art, I am dorky like that. And 3.5 has some good art, and some is, OK. Pathfidner had a great art style IMHO. But the art in this edition raises the bar! and it is well integrated onto each highly readable page. I would like to note that I appreciate the lack of chain-mail bikinis. Once again, I am trying to get MORE of my friends to play, not fewer. The art would attract many and offend few. Which is a good thing. So, in terms of what you pay for, good system, good layout, immersive flavor text and play ideas, and amazing art across every page. And it's complete enough you could DM right out of the PHB. At 50 bucks it's a good deal, at 30 its a steal! But best of all, 3.5 still exists! But this edition makes the tabletop gaming library more versatile and appealing. IF you think that's a good thing, and want to try a new take on a great game, I highly recommend this edition (for what it is - which isn't 3.75). If your happy with what your playing. Then happy gaming!

I started playing D&D 28 yrs ago as a player in 1st ed. I then went on to run several long campaigns in 2nd ed, including through the "Players Options" period towards the end. I pretty much ignored 3.0, and took some time off. 3.5 got me fired up and I ran 2 more long campaigns with those rules, one of which I continue to run currently. Never touched 4th. I've been ignoring 5th, and Pathfinder for that matter, because I'm so heavily invested in my current campaign and I don't just drop things and start over because "newer, cooler" stuff comes out. 3.5 really began bothering me once my group hit 9th level or so. I still considered myself new to it, I had never played high levels in it, and I held out with 2nd ed. for so long I totally missed 3.0, and frankly, by the time I started playing 3.5 it was very old. So I really didn't know what to expect from 3.5 and it takes me a couple years to really grasp all the pros and cons of a system, and also to understand the way it's rules subtly effect the way people play, and the actual flavor of the game. Going into it, I was excited about 3.5. They appeared to both streamline and unify things with the d20 core mechanic. I liked what they did with the classes. I likes the artwork, and I thought the indepth skill system and the idea behind feats were both really cool..in theory... In play, as both player and DM there was this feeling of being held back, and it was hard to pin down, and it just got worse the longer I played. 3.5 was difficult to run if you honor the rules and like to do things legit like I do. Don't get me wrong, winging it is a time honered tradition and an artform I love, but I also enjoy keeping to the rules in a way that feels both realistic and fun for everyone. I believe the very rules of the game themselves can be a inspiration for stories, themes, and ideas, for both players and dms. Anyways, I'll stop now because this is not supposed to be a review of 3.5. Got the 5th ed PHB. I was blown away. This reminded me of something that had almost died, a deep desire to imagine and play, it reminded me why I love this game so much, and it really brought me back to the kind of game I want to be playing. Here are the highlights 5th ed has added or changed: -First, I applaud the writers. 3.5 edition books were tedious to read. The rules read like text from a technical manual. The fluff was either cliche, or trying so hard to be different that it came across again as, cliche. This entire book is just interesting and inspiring to read. I literally get adventure ideas from every other paragraph, it's just easy enough that you could hand it to your little brother and he could struggle through it, yet rich enough, deep enough, intelligent enough that you don't feel lame reading it as an adult. -The have made your character's background actually important. For instance, if you're fighter was a criminal, he might be really good a sneaking around in addition to beating people up, but it he grew up in a temple, he might be versed on religious studies, as so fourth. Each character picks a background which gives them a few skills and a lot of flavor. There's more to it, but it's nice this game has finally brought character background into the mix in a formal way, instead of being just this thing you "should come up with", that a lot of people ignore, or gloss over. Where you came from now effects your character, and at the same time gives you another layer of customization without complicating things too much. -Combat is less herky-jerky. They've somehow simplified things without taking away variety. In fact, in a couple sessions I played, it just felt like you could get more done with your round. They've also added in reactions, so different classes have the opportunity to interrupt the flow of the round and sneak something in that can change the battle or save the day. People have a lot more reason to pay attention when it's not their turn, because they may have a chance to act. -They changed the way spells work in a way that nearly brought tears to my eyes...so much simpler, much more flexible, and still all the variety there was before in spells. All in all I can't put this book down and can't wait to start a new group. 5th edition appears to really empower the DM, without taking away options from the players. I don't know if this makes sense to anyone, but the direction 5th is taking feels more like a fantasy game, and less like a superhero game. It feels a bit like 2nd edition, but still keeps the d20 core mechanic, and makes tangible, rather brilliant improvements on many areas of the game. I have to applaud WOtC, for doing this right beyond what I thought was possible. I didn't know if the spirit of the game could be recaptured after 3.5 and from what I've heard, 4th ed, turned it into an escalating numbers game that felt like WOW on paper. The rules add to the story now, instead of burdening it. The rules make combat exciting now instead of slowing it down. Magic feels magical again instead of being a handful of dice doing fire damage. D&D is back, it had regained its soul. If you've been out of the game for years because it just stopped feeling right to you, if you miss the game, if you're playing Pathfinder/3.5 but you're tired of the cold war/numbers escalations between you and your DM, and especially if you're tired of battles taking 3+hours, and being mentally exhausted because of the constant need to track so many numbers, if you're a gamer and you're curious about the godfather of all games, you should really check this out. There is so much content and flavor in this book. I paid $30 for it but would have been just as excited to pay more for it...it's just the best thing I've seen in some time.

As a brand new D&D player, this book was amazing! A friend finally, after YEARS, pestered me into joining her in entering this world of D&D, and after the first two meetings I had with her I HAD to buy this book. Even before making it to an actual game session, I had so much fun reading through all the different classes and characters, and had an absolute blast making my own. I ended up making... twelve(?) characters, just for fun. The rules and descriptions are written out pretty well, and I've never had any problems reading it. However, my friend's relatives, who played in 2 and 3e, hate it, because "its so different" and are having issues adjusting to new rules. Rules that I have read and seem very concise to me make no sense to them, so be warned about switching to 5e if you're a vet player. Now while I LOVE this book and this game, I'm going to talk about its flaws more than anything else, just to give warning to issues I faced, since there isn't much more I can say on the positive side. It was great... now what? My main issue is that there is a lot of... fluff for lack of a better word. Its not that the book is drawn out, but throughout the first several chapters they start explaining certain things (like dice checks, equipment, magic) but then the book just tells you ABOUT the thing and not the rules, how it applies, when to use it, ect, and instead directs you to another chapter in the book that doesn't actually explain that extensively. I'm still having a very hard time understanding saving throws and the difference between a saving through and a dice check, which isn't helped by the relatives telling me things from old versions that isn't ANYWHERE in the book. Conversely, it spends a lot of time explaining what the character is doing, rather than how to do it over the course of the rolls. When explaining ability checks, for example, it goes over EVERY SINGLE ability check in the terms of what the character is doing, rather then telling me what to roll, what modifiers to add, and what I am rolling against. Obviously a charisma check is for talking to people and strength is for physical endeavors. How about telling me how these apply to my actual rolls rather than telling me what my character is doing? Also, all the spells are collected in one giant mess in the BACK of the book. Chapter 10 is all the rules of magic (which falls prey to the same issue I had above), but chapter 11 is nothing but a LONG list of spells. The first several pages of this chapter break down into a list the names of the spells that each class can get and what the levels of the spells are. Then it goes into a very detailed list talking about each individual spell in alphabetical order, regardless of class functions as many of the spells overlap. While not the end of the world, flipping back and forth from the class description and abilities to the class spell list to the actual spell is a bit frustrating. Keep that in mind, when gaining new spells, there are THREE locations you need to keep on tab. I suggest buying a pack of index cards and writing down the entire spell details on one for when you are actually playing. Having to try and find the spell you're looking for while fighting SUCKS. All that aside, I strongly recommend grabbing this book, for new players and old! If you're going to be playing with a group, go ahead and snatch up your own copy. We tried to manage a five player and one DM group on one handbook... that was a massive mistake. We now have three and I still dread leveling up or starting new campaigns because it takes FOREVER to go through and update/make characters when sharing books. The book is honestly fun to read, even without the premise of actually playing. Come, join us in the world of D&D!

I am going to divide this review into two sections. The first section will be about the content/rules/mechanics of the new 5th Edition Player's Handbook and how they play out. The second section will be about the physical book itself (construction, art, layout, etc). If you are new to pen and paper role-playing games, I would say that hands down this is the edition of Dungeons & Dragons you will want to pick up. To give a little background I have been playing pen & paper RPGs off-and-on since I was a teenager, which is now a solid 15 years or so. I started with an old D6 Star Wars RPG system, migrated to D&D 3.0/3.5 and until recently have been playing Pathfinder. I skipped D&D 4th edition. That gives some background, so now on to the review! Rules & Mechanics (5/5) In my opinion, Wizards did a fantastic job of "trimming the fat" from the previous editions and bringing back the "three pillars of adventure" into the game. You can see a majority of these changes via the free Basic Rules that Wizards provides on their website. There are quite a few changes, so I will do my best to sum up the major ones I have seen thus far: * Advantage/Disadvantage: Roll twice, take the higher/lower result. It is simple and doesn't require multitudes of +/- modifier bloat. This is something I hated about 3rd edition because it turned combat specifically into a elementary math exam. "Oh I forgot that I got the +2 from the Bardic inspiration, so does that mean I hit? I rolled 10...+2+1+3+1+4...so...21?" Some people like this, because it numerically showed that their characters were growing stronger and that each person/item provided a measurable contribution to the growth. For players, that may be fine, but for DMs this tends to slow things down. Now there is a mechanic that can be utilized on a wider variety of skills/abilities/attacks/conditions, or even used impromptu by the DM when applicable. It isn't perfect, but it is elegant and simple and makes most things "make sense" and move along. * Individual Saves for Attributes This just makes sense. No more Reflex/Will/Fort, instead each attribute is important and carries its own save. This opens up new possibilities for DMs, while makes it easier for players since there is no arbitrary saves per class system. * Spell casters and primary ability score attacks improved. There are now useful cantrips (level 0 spells), including at least one combat cantrip per spell casting class. This means that casters are still dangerous even after having exhausted higher level spells. It gives options, something that made combat excruciatingly boring for casters after their spells per day were exhausted. The other issue is that caster's magical attacks still usually leveraged Strength and Dexterity-based stats. This has been changed. Now for most spells, the primary casting attribute is added instead. The finesse feat has been included with some weapons, meaning weapons like rapiers, daggers and darts can use the Dexterity ability score modifier instead of Strength. Ranged attacks such as bows also add their Dexterity to damage instead of Strength as well, something that may be a bit controversial, but I feel is an improvement. * "Bounded accuracy", Skills, Feats and Proficiency I hated in 3rd edition/Pathfinder that at achieving a level, you "suddenly" could pick up skills that a character had little to no experience in previously, and then suddenly be astonishing at. There is no longer the "+21 to Diplomacy" skill bonuses. The emphasis on skills and feats has been "nerfed to the ground" with many skills and feats removed. In fact, feats are completely optional and up to DM discretion. Instead the focus is on "Backgrounds" and "Proficiency" instead. Essentially, what used to be a "Base Attack Bonus" is now called "Proficiency" and is applied to anything that you are "Proficient" at. This can be skills, saves and attacks. Minimum is +2, Maximum is +6. This means that the difference between between a 1st level hero and a 20th level hero is a measly +4 (in terms of raw proficiency). This does mean that a bit of "high fantasy" is removed, but it also removes the arbitrary Difficulty Check (DC) increase as well. Because, let's face it, the DM is rarely going to let players run roughshod over any and every situation. I.e. the PC that can Bluff past Deities because they are a one-trick pony with an insane Bluff score. Furthermore, how many DMs ran a party of high level characters through a dungeon filled with low level creatures and traps? I personally never did, because a trivial adventure is a boring one. In 3rd edition/Pathfinder, at higher levels it becomes necessary to increase the DC to continually challenge the party. I.e. Picking a lock that used to be a DC 20 at 5th level now is a DC of 30 at 10th. So why artificially raise the difficulty? Bounded accuracy understands and fixes that problem and keeps an army of orcs potentially dangerous, even at higher levels. * Inspiration: DM discretion awards. Does someone take a rather unconventional path to find a solution to a problem? You can award an Inspiration point - basically a free "you gain advantage" card to use at a critical moment in time. Similar bonuses have been house-ruled before by DMs, but I am glad they have actually put it in the rules. Book Content (4/5) This edition puts more emphasis on the DM and less on the "rules lawyers" or "Rules As Written" (RAW) addicts. It would appear that the goal of 5th edition is "less is more" when it comes to a majority of things. In many ways, this is a good thing. However, there are some aspects that I appreciated the clearly defined rules of 3rd edition. For example, manacles are an item that can bind hands and feet. There is a description about them and how to escape them, but it does not state what the impact applying them has. For example, does an attack against a manacled creature/person grant Advantage? Is a status condition imposed, such as immobilized? Update: The Player's Handbook lists 'Restrained' as a condition and does grant advantage against it, which I would assume would apply - but again, they should state that applying manacles applies this condition, if indeed that is the case. While I appreciate the removal of the Combat Maneuver system and streamlining of spells, I do miss some of the myriad of equipment and armors, and the artwork that 3rd edition provided each item. Book Construction, Layout & Artwork (4/5) The binding of the book is good, but not great. As others have mentioned, some of the pages in certain locations look suspect. While I haven't lost any yet, I can tell that there are some weak spots where the glue was not securing the pages as well. Since there hasn't been any damage yet, I won't harp on it too much at this time. The layout is good, but not great as well. The information and character creation is a bit out of order, in my opinion. There was some back-and-forth hunting on sub-races and other elements during character creation, such as backgrounds and starting gear. It is laid out well enough for it to be figured out, but it may be a bit out of order for newer players. Veterans I am sure will shrug and move on. The artwork in this book, as many others have mentioned, has been my personal favorite. Not too serious, not too cartoon-like. It is what I picture when I think of adventure. The pictures showing the spells are among my favorites as it shows some previously plain spells ("I cast...Magic Missile at the darkness!") in a fantastic new light. Summary No system is going to be perfect, but I can see this edition going for a while - assuming that Wizards doesn't try to over-complicate it and sticks with the concepts of storytelling over power-gaming. If you enjoy your current RPG system, by all means stick with it. However, if you are looking for what I consider a "Six Sigma" version of D&D, this is it. It is classic D&D with flexible mechanics, smooth combat and is very intuitive for the most part.

So, I have been unable to find any useful reviews of the new edition of D&D. I just wanted to know what this edition was like. How was it different from 3.5? How was it different from 4th? I searched for reviews on Google, but was unable to find anything other than "sneak peak" articles that were months old or incredibly generic reviews. So, now that I have begun to read my own 5th edition Player's Handbook, I can fill others in on what they want to know. First off, 5th edition is basically 3.5 with some ideas from 4th and a smattering of new stuff. The Ability Scores are the same as they have always been, excepting that they cap out at 20 for mere mortals, and characters no longer get bonus spell slots for high stats. The standard races are all present (humans, dwarves, elves, half-elves, gnomes, halflings, and half-orcs) plus the two "new" standard races from 4th edition, tieflings and dragonborn. Most of the expected abilities for the races are still there, though there are no longer Ability Score penalties (though there are still bonuses). Darkvision and low-light vision have been merged into a single ability. It's now the ability to see in dim illumination as if it were bright and in darkness as if it were dim illumination. Pretty much everyone in the D&D universe besides humans and halflings has it. All of the standard character classes of 3.5 are present with the addition of the warlock. There are no attack bonuses or saving throw bonuses gained directly through level advancement. Instead, the class grants proficiency in armor, weapons, saving throws, skills, and tools. The proficiency bonus starts at +2 and eventually gets up to +6 at level 17. So, a 17th level fighter has a grand total attack bonus from his level of +6. This is part of the 5th edition concept of "bounded accuracy." Characters get better as they get higher in level, but not nearly as fast as they used to. One presumes that this will be balanced by monsters not getting quite as tough at higher levels as they used to, but the Monster Manual doesn't come out for another month, so we will have to wait to see. But, the idea is that D&D characters in former editions became so powerful at higher levels that there was no question about whether they would succeed at their attack rolls or saving throws or skill checks. To keep a little more uncertainty in the game, the designers of 5th edition did not want them to get that good. I haven't decided yet whether I like this or not. I'll have to see it in action. I have already thought about what I would do if I don't like it (if I feel that it limits the characters too severely), and the fix I would try first would be the 4th edition approach of adding a bonus equal to half the character's level to all attacks, saves, and skill checks. But, I will give bounded accuracy a shot before I decide to "fix" it. Saving throws changed a little. Instead of three types (Reflex, Fortitude, and Will) saving throws are now tied directly to an Ability Score, so there are six different types. I'm not sure what kinds of things a Strength saving throw would be protecting you from (or Intelligence or Charisma, for that matter), but presumably there is a use for it. Some of the classes get a class ability at every level, while some only have them for about 12 of the 20 levels, and others fall in between those extremes. Overall, though, it looks like the game designers tried to give more class abilities as characters go up in level so that characters have something to reach for within their primary class. Characters can multi-class in 5th edition much as they could in 3.5, but the system looks like it tries to encourage remaining in a single class. Rather than skill points and skill ranks (from 3.5), 5th edition simply has skills your character is proficient at and skills he is not (like 4th edition's "trained" and "untrained" designations). Some of these skills are determined by class, while some are determined by background (which everyone now has to actually pick). The skills are few in number and broad in scope (like 4th edition). Feats are no longer an automatic part of the game, but must be paid for (if the DM allows them--but what DM wouldn't?). They are slightly more powerful than 3.5 feats (and far more powerful than the anemic 4th edition feats). So, how do you pay for feats, you ask? At class levels 4, 8, 12, 16, and 19 your character's class ability is an increase in ability scores. Either +2 to a single Ability Score of the player's choice, or +1 to two different Ability Scores of the player's choice. If the alternate feat system is used, the player can give up the extra Ability Score points for a feat. Humans start off with a +1 to each of their Ability Score points as their sole racial ability. However, if the feat system is used, there is an option for humans to start with +1 to three Ability Scores of the player's choice, one extra skill proficiency of the player's choice, and a feat. I'd go with that in a heartbeat. Just saying. Anyway, back to character classes. Each character class also has several class abilities that are determined by a particular path that the character must choose (reminiscent of 4th edition's paragon paths). Most of the character classes have only two or three paths to choose from. Barbarians, for example, can take the Path of the Berserker or the Path of the Totem Warrior. Bards can belong to the College of Lore or the College of Valor. Paladins can take an Oath of Devotion, an Oath of the Ancients, or an Oath of Vengeance. Fighters choose from the martial archetypes of Champion, Battle Master, or Eldritch Knight. Two classes have many more options. Clerics choose their path by choosing their domain. There are seven domains defined in the PH: Knowledge, Life, Light, Nature, Tempest, Trickery, and War. Wizards must select one of the eight schools of magic. There are no longer generalist wizards. All wizards must now be "specialists" (who are neither cut off from any schools of magic, nor gain extra spells from their chosen school, but who get other bonuses associated with the school in question). One presumes that the major feature of the first Player's Handbook supplement will be to greatly expand upon the path options within these character classes, as most of them are fairly limited at present. Also, I would expect the backgrounds to expand significantly. Currently, there are only 13. When one considers all of the varied places in a fantasy universe his or her character could be from, only 13 possibilities seems remarkably limited. In addition to their earlier stated function of providing additional skill proficiencies for your character, backgrounds can provide languages and tool proficiencies. They can also provide "inspiration," a new 5th edition game concept. Because backgrounds provide you with some personality traits for your character, DM's can now reward you for inspired role-playing by rewarding the character with inspiration. You may then spend the inspiration to gain "advantage," another 5th edition concept. When a character has advantage on any particular die roll (essentially, any d20 roll) the player rolls two dice and takes the better result. When a character is suffering from disadvantage on a particular die roll, the player rolls two dice and takes the worse result. Advantage and disadvantage do not stack. That is, if you have advantage from multiple sources, you do not roll three or four or five dice--just the two. However, they do cancel. If you have both advantage and disadvantage, you simply roll one d20. Equipment can be purchased for the character in one of two ways: you can either roll for gold and buy your equipment ala carte, or you can simply take the equipment granted by your class and background (each contributes part of your equipment total). Armor didn't change much, other than it has become somewhat simplified. Light armor has no maximum Dex bonus. All medium armor has a +2 maximum Dex bonus. All heavy armor does not allow a Dex bonus (and most has a minimum Str requirement). Also, most armor inflicts disadvantage on Stealth checks. I didn't notice any significant changes on weapons and tools, but then, I haven't looked at them too closely yet. Likewise, I've only scanned the chapter on combat, but nothing was jumping out at me as being a radical departure from 3.5 rules. It looks like the concept of being flat-footed is completely gone. Damage resistance and vulnerability changed. Instead of hard numbers, they simply halve or double the damage from the given source. The 4th edition concept of short and long rests has been added. Characters can roll a number of dice up to their total hit dice to spontaneously heal on a short rest, but do not get any of this dice pool refreshed until they complete a long rest (at which point, they automatically heal all damage anyway). Spell casting changed a little. All spell casters are now, essentially, spontaneous spell casters. Those casters who were spontaneous casters in 3.5 have really limited spell selection for their known spells. Sorcerers, for example, start off with only two known 1st level spells. They gain one known spell per level (usually--sometimes they skip a level), and they can add any spell up to the maximum level that they are currently able to cast. At 17th level, sorcerers only have 15 total spells known (their maximum) for all 9 levels they can cast. Those spell casters who had to memorize spells in 3.5, now select a number of spells equal to their class level plus their main stat bonus from their spell lists (for divine casters) or their spell book (for wizards). They can then cast these spells as many times per day as they have spell slots for just as spontaneous casters in 3.5 could. They also have the advantage of being able to change this list of prepared spells every time they take a long rest. Spell casting also adds the concept of "rituals" from 4th edition. Certain spells may be cast normally as spells or may be cast in a longer form as rituals (water breathing, for example). The spell must be prepared already by the ritual caster (or must be in his spell book for a wizard), but does not count against the caster's daily limit of spell slots when it is cast in long form as a ritual. And, there are many fewer spells in this PH than one might have expected. That is probably something else that will change with the first release of a PH supplement. The cosmology of the D&D universe returned to the Great Wheel model of editions 1-3 with the addition of the Feywild, the Shadowfell, and the Elemental Chaos (which now houses the individual elemental planes) from 4th edition. Gods of from the pantheons of Forgotten Realms, Greyhawk, Dragonlance, and Eberron (and the standard non-human deities) were listed, in addition to deities from the earthbound pantheons of Celtic, Greek, Egyptian, and Norse origins. No full blown descriptions, mind you, just a single line entry in a list for each deity. Well, there you have it. That is what 5th edition looks like. If you loved 3.5, but hated 4th edition, it's probably worth looking at. If you loved 4th edition and thought it was a major improvement on 3rd, you are going to be really, really disappointed.

Background for this review - I have been playing RPGs since I was 12 (so 25 years) and started with the 1983 Red Box. I have played every edition of D&D since, including the OGL offshoot Pathfinder. I was also one of the people that liked both 4th Edition and Pathfinder for different reasons. Pathfinder was more gritty realistic fantasy (the 40K of d20 games really) while 4th edition was the high action fantasy game (the Exalted of d20, really). That said, I think this may be my favorite version of D&D to date. There is a lot of reasons for that. Let me sum up some highlights then go into details. First 5 minute impression on 5th Ed D&D - OMFGAMAZEBALLS they fixed barbarian rage so that you don't have to recalculate half your sheet! Bard and Druid are nice and playable. Ranger has options other than two weapon fighting that are viable. Warlock is good but not stupid powerful. Chaos sorcerer still needs a full page chart though... ehhh. I don't have to play it. More reading... *ZOOM!* What's this? Listing all the major D&D setting pantheons in the back of the book, and including real world mythical ones for historical or homebrew settings? Actually listing the most common critters you can summon or turn into in the PHB rather than forcing a player to buy the MM? Madness! The equipment list that doesn't force you into certain weapons just because they are clearly better, so you can have the ones you want to IMAGINE using! Craziness! Backgrounds giving you part of your starting skills... "Prestige" or "paragon" classes being part of the core classes that you select at level 3... Paladins having an Oath rather than just having to be Lawful Good... Feats are optional and not required... you give up an attribute boost to take a feat, and there are only about 30, that take the entire 'chains' of feats from v3.5/4e and bundle them into one feat... so even on games with them if you don't want them you don't have to take them and lose nothing in the balance. Multiclassing requires attribute minimums, and you don't get all the toys of the new class (which actually makes taking the same class from 1 to 20 worth it as you'll have marginally more raw power than someone that split focus). Now, specifics. BOOK LAYOUT -- It's well organized, attractive, and has a good index. The art is gorgeous, more epic looking than the video game look of 4e. The book is in 3 clear sections, Character Creation - Rules - Spells and easy to read. My only beef with layouts is that I would have included a line in each spell as to what classes can get it at what levels, and in the mian lists I would have tagged the ritual spells with (R). Still, that's minor and fans are already working on free lists like this. CONTENT -- As mentioned above, the rules are clean, and character creation is much quicker than before. I have made 1st level characters after reading the book once in 15 minutes, and a test 17th level in 40 minutes. So, yeah, this is the start of a great edition.

Ce beau livre Donjons et dragons, je l'ai acheté pour ma fille adulte. Il est solide, bien fait avec une couverture rigide et les illustrations sont superbes. Ce livre est en anglais, parfait pour ma fille. Elle a choisi celui-là car il est pour les débutants et elle le connaissait déjà. Pour la qualité-prix nous lui donnons 5 étoiles !

As pictured, great quality product, writing is superb

Price and deliverance

Aunque es cierto que se puede jugar D&D completamente a gratis con las reglas básicas y de DM que están en línea, sin duda este manual es el paso siguiente para los jugadores que quieren experimentar con todas las clases, razas y hechizos disponibles en el universo de D&D. El manual es de excelente calidad y soy de la firme opinión de que nada se compara con tener una copia física a tener una versión electrónica como ahora es disponible en algunos sitios como dndbeyond.com y roll20.net. VENTAJAS: - Si sólo te interesa ser jugador, no necesitas nada más que este producto para tener la experiencia completa de D&D. - Es una referencia muy completa y comprensiva: bien estructurada, con lógica y un excelente índice. - El arte y las ilustraciones son de una calidad excelente. DESVENTAJAS: - Si quieres ser DM necesitas los otros dos libros, ya que en éste sólo viene el equipamiento básico y nada de información de monstruos. Las reglas básicas de DM en internet contienen una buena cantidad de monstruos (sin ilustraciones) pero nada de información de equipamiento mágico/especial.

Se la Dungeon Master’s Guide è la bussola per creare mondi, il Player’s Handbook (PHB) di Dungeons & Dragons 5ª Edizione (2014) è il cuore pulsante del gioco, il libro che trasforma un lettore in un eroe. È il manuale fondamentale, quello che ogni giocatore – dal novizio al veterano – deve avere sotto mano. La versione del 2014 ha segnato l'inizio di un'epoca d'oro per il gioco di ruolo, grazie a un design che privilegia la narrazione senza sacrificare la profondità. Ecco perché rimane un capolavoro del genere: 1. Creazione del Personaggio: Un Viaggio nell'Identità Il PHB ti offre tutti gli strumenti per dare vita al tuo alter ego fantastico. Le Classi Iconiche: Dalle furie del Barbaro ai complessi incantesimi del Mago, le 12 classi base sono bilanciate e ricche di personalità. Ogni classe offre sottoclassi (Archetipi) che permettono di personalizzare il proprio stile di gioco in modo unico. Razze e Background: Il sistema dei Background è una delle intuizioni migliori di questa edizione: non solo definisce cosa sa fare il tuo personaggio, ma chi era prima di diventare un avventuriero, offrendo agganci narrativi immediati per il DM. 2. Regolamento Fluido: Il Sistema del Vantaggio Il manuale introduce (o perfeziona) la meccanica del Vantaggio/Svantaggio, che ha rivoluzionato il gioco: Semplicità ed Eleganza: Invece di sommare decine di piccoli modificatori numerici, basta lanciare due dadi da 20 e prendere il migliore (o il peggiore). Questo rende il combattimento veloce, intuitivo e incredibilmente dinamico. Focus sulla Narrazione: Le regole sono scritte per essere al servizio della storia, permettendo ai giocatori di descrivere azioni eroiche senza essere frenati da burocrazie eccessive. 3. La Magia a Portata di Mano Quasi metà del libro è dedicata agli incantesimi, ed è una sezione meravigliosa: Catalogo Completo: Centinaia di incantesimi descritti con chiarezza, dai semplici trucchetti (Cantrips) che puoi lanciare all'infinito, fino ai desideri che possono riscrivere la realtà. Organizzazione: Le liste divise per classe e i capitoli sulle regole della magia rendono la gestione dei lanciatori di incantesimi fluida anche per chi è alle prime armi. 4. Un'Opera d'Arte da Sfogliare Non si può parlare del PHB 2014 senza menzionare l'estetica: Illustrazioni Immersive: Ogni pagina è arricchita da disegni che catturano l'essenza delle razze, delle armature e dei mostri, trasportandoti immediatamente in un mondo di alta fantasia. Layout Intuitivo: Le tabelle di progressione dei livelli, le liste dell'equipaggiamento e le appendici sugli stati (come "Ammaliato" o "Trattenuto") sono facili da consultare anche nel calore della battaglia.