The first of three core rulebooks for the 4th Edition Dungeons & Dragons® Roleplaying Game. TheDungeons & Dragons Roleplaying Game has defined the medieval fantasy genre and the tabletop RPG industry for more than 30 years. In the D&D game, players create characters that band together to explore dungeons, slay monsters, and find treasure. The 4th Edition D&D rules offer the best possible play experience by presenting exciting character options, an elegant and robust rules system, and handy storytelling tools for the Dungeon Master. The Player's Handbook presents the official Dungeons & Dragons Roleplaying Game rules as well as everything a player needs to create D&D characters worthy of song and legend: new character races, base classes, paragon paths, epic destinies, powers, more magic items, weapons, armor, and much more.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 3.0 / 5.0
A terrible disappointment:
This is a huge step backwards from D&D 3.5. The classes all work the same way mechanically, giving the game a big homogenized feel. It's just too dumbed down. D&D evolved from tactical wargaming, and anything that doesn't reflect that background doesn't feel like D&D. Sure, combat can be quicker if you have a party that knows what they're doing, but that doesn't necessarily make the game better. It's just too geared towards powergaming, as opposed to roleplaying. A shame, since there's a lot of... more info
GOD I HOPE I CAN STILL RETURN THIS TO THE STORE!!!:
I don't have much to add to what everyone else has to say: I was weaned on second edition, recently made the switch to 3.5 after a college hiatus, then looked to fourth edition after listening to WOTC's incredibly misleading podcasts. They actually make you think that people are excited about this game - HA! - maybe if you didn't make it past elementary school or enjoy playing shallow, bland characters. This is corporate marketing at its worst (or finest)...the production quality is poor, the art is usually... more info
D&D 4.0 is fun:
As someone who was very skeptical about the 4th edition I can say confidently that it is better than 3.5 edition. It turns out, it is incredibly fun to play and the way everything functions is actually very fluid. For one, I can make a character in roughly 10 minutes(if I don't worry about creating a backstory). One thing that is the cause of this drastic reduction in time over the other systems is that they combined many different skills into a broader category. Also one huge bonus for me is that all of... more info
Truly a wonderful rendition of a classic game:
First off, I feel that I must make a disclaimer as to my RPG experience. I was born in 1984, so I really didn't have a chance to play the original D&D, but from the time I was about 10 years old to the time I wrote that review of the 4th edition PHB Dungeons and Dragons has been a huge part of my life. I have participated both as a player and a Dungeon Master under the 2, AD&D, 3, 3.5, and 4 rule sets. I tell you this so maybe it will seem that I know what I'm talking about.
The 4.0 rules are... more info
