Dungeons & Dragons Player's Handbook by Andy Collins, James Wyatt (2008, Hardcover)

I love fourth edition, it took out the majority of the bad things from 3rd edition. Sure, losing some of the optimization sucks, but dear god. It's stupid spending hours on working on NPCs when you get above lvl 14, only for them to die just as quick as any other monster.

3rd edition was overly-bloated with rules, worthless abilities, worthless classes, and furthermore awful combat for any martial class while the magic users were laughably overpowered to absurdity as the meek martial classes trudged around to make sure the casters survived the painful lvl 1-2 stages.

I will not miss lvl 20 combat with it's 6 attacks in a row, that after which the first 2 attacks none of the other 4 will hit, and over-the-top druid/cleric/wizard.

Combat is simple, intuitive, and fun. Very fun, I also like the healing surges immensely as the cleric is no longer necessary as so many pointed out, and it gives a limited amount of independence.

Although it is a shame they cut down on spells, there was rarely a need for the enormous amount they had as each spell added yet another chance of broken gameplay (2d4 Dex reduction? Bye bye dragons!). Martial classes actually have variety and choice, they can also play the game too and affect combat drastically while not having to solely relate to a 2 handed "I use power attack" monotone.

Health is also much better along with the bloodied value, as well as the fact many powers scale along with weapon damage, as well as the fact shield users are not nearly as gimped now.

The monster manual's lack of fluff is kind of disappointing, but it's presented well. HD being dumped was awesome, that was painfully tedious compared to the new template and simple +1 rule.

Oh, and races that are viable? Half-Elves being useful? Awesome.

I do not like that much of the detail and ability to create a character from any race has been removed in addition to eliminating multiple character classes. I understand wanting to simplify or shorten the book is desireable but the individuals that are purchasing the books know that an amount of reading is required. This product seems more like it has cut corners. I am not sure if this was done on purpose in order to drive up interest in follow on books but I would hope not especially with the cost of the books continually going up. Versions 3.0 and 3.5 are significantly better. I was hoping that 4 would be an extension of these and that the new books would pull in the additional classes and races. I am very disappointed.

I have played D&D for years, and I have to admit, I was nervous when I first looked at the new players handbook. The new core races were over the top, and all the classes seemed as complicated as the wizard.

After reading through it and playing a game, however, I have enjoyed this edition more than any previous version of the game. If you are looking for an update of Dungeons and Dragons, this isn't it. Instead, this game was totally redesigned from the ground up. It takes several of the things I loved about D&D and streamlines them. Wizards are no longer firecrackers, and clerics are no longer walking bandaid boxes. A party of adventurers can now last more than two encounters without having to rest for the night.

New simpler rules, and more abilities without daily limits let the game go on.

Everything was good, the book was in the condition it was supposed to be and the shipping didn't take too long.

Was going to buy book for my daughter, they sent me a email saying the didnt have the book First you dont sell something if its not in your possesion. They did send back my payement though

Is your thief always getting caught? Is your swordsman(woman) always at the wrong end of the sword? Is your archer always looking like a pin cushion? Is your knight being turned into a knight in a can, always in need of can opener? Does every spell your wizard uses turns him into a pile of goop or a toeasted marshmellow? Are you just new to the game and can't tell a wizard from a jester? Well, help is here at last not only will you be able to tell the difference between a wizard and a jester. Your wizard will be able to rule the magic world. Your swordsman(woman) will will always come out on top. Your knight will always walk away from the battle victorious and claim all the fair maidens that he wants. Your archer's arrows will fly straight. Your thief will be rich beyond your wildest dreams. So be ready to kick tail and have a great time doing it.

I havent played D7D in 10 years or more and thought it would be hard to get back into it. I was not after I read the PHB, the layout is great and finding topics are easy. A++

Throw all preconceptions out the window. 4e is nothing like the D&D that came before. This game is dumbed down and hogged tied by rules. Light is perfect light or perfect darkness. There are no shadows. Magic Missiles do not automatically hit. Goblins have more hit points than 4th level Heroes. Wizards no longer have a wide variety of spells to choose from but instead have a short list of about 4 per level, most of them are combat only, yet a single wizard spell barely harms a common small monster. Is nothing sacred? Apparently not. If you intend to play this version, toss out all that you know and love from previous versions as the game no longer plays the same way nor does it have the same feel. Old school gamers will wonder what happened. New players may love the simplicity. I'm old school and I call this a dud.