The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Got my new PHB yesterday (8/8). Wasn´t the release really 10th or 11th or something? (and I live in northern Sweden!) But hell, why complain?

Had a quick look through it. Visually a masterpiece - the art is just great! No, its not great - its FANTASTIC!! The covers is a graphical masterpiece by old MTG-artist Henry G. Higgenbotham.

Then we get to the actual intents. Remember how games always start with "What is a role-playing game?" and so on? No such bullshit here. This is the first words in the new PHB: "Character Creation Basics. Follow these steps to create a beginning, 1-st level character."

The first part of the character creation-chapter seems very promising for the rest of the new game, but I´m sad to say it´s kind of an illusion (although no Phantasmal Killer by any means) After reading the good ability and race-sections you stumbles into the classes. And this I think is the main weakness with 3E. OK, the barbarian is kind of fun (although a little broken), but I don´t like the monk and the sorcerer.

The Monk: Compare with the real world: Ever heard of a monk that´s not the follower of a god (as the 3E one mainly is supposed not to be)? I don´t think I have. I don´t think the monk fit into the default fantasy setting which Wizards introduces here. Do you?

The Sorcerer: How does this guy make magic out of his Charisma? Sure, page 9 defines the trait as "actual personal strenght, not merely how one is percieved by others in a social setting", but it still seems a little far-fetched, if you know what I mean. Otherwise I guess he´s alright. My question to you is: Would the Sorcerer be too powerful if he at lvl 10 had 26 spell-lvls to cast each day instead of 6/6/6/5/3? Post replies.

The "spell memorization" for clerics is a little weird nowadays. I had to read it several times to get it. But then again, I´m no genius. It could have been made easier.

Also, there is some old rules left that is not that easy to motivate. Example: Why does the Ranger special access to the "Improved Two-Weapon Fighting"-feat? Is it just out of pure tradition or? (They do have changed a lot of other things you know)

Overall, I´m a little disappointed in the new rules for character creation (espec. as its coming from Johnathan Tweet). The word was that its was going to be heavily based on feats (kind of like Ars Magica or GURPS) with great freedom for customization. But what do I see? Its kind of the same. Only a tiny text on page 94 handles the customization-bit. (With the excellent example that a dwarf that hasn´t grown up in a mining community doesn´t need to possess the "Stonecunning"-ability) They could have made the system more general than this.

I don´t really know about including the Greyhawk dieties as default in the PHB. On one hand its not fair to the other settings and kind of annoying, but on the other hand its really easy to convert. Maybe it was smart as it gives a little more feeling to read "Pelor, God of the Sun" than to read "insert the name of the sun-diety in your campaign world here", or what do you think. Hot tip: Tell your players that Pelor is only another name for "insert the name of the sun-diety in your campaign world here."

I don´t like the new cha. sheet. Although pedagogic, its barely readable and full of shit. Shape up guys!

One really smart thing is the "2000 Survival Kit" as appendix. This is parts from the DMG and MM you need to run a basic game, like simplified XP-rules, some magical items and some monster-stats. Great thinking guys!

Also, NOTE: Page 286!! Some kind of world record...

In conclussion: As we all know, D&D is a great game that we all love to death, and I´ve only mentioned the stuff that came to mind right now. Sorry if it was stuff I didn´t like. The book is really great and the game will become much easier and smoother to play with 3E.

Please feel free to reply. I´ll return with some sayings on Combat and Magic later. See you. Out.

Style: 5 (Excellent!)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Dungeons & Dragons Player's Handbook, 3rd Edition
Author: Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook and Skkp Williams Category: game Company/Publisher: Wizards of the Coast Line: D&D Cost: $20.00 Page count: 285 ISBN: 0-7869-1550-1 SKU: TSR11550 Capsule Review by Ashur on 08/09/00. Genre tags: Fantasy	Got my new PHB yesterday (8/8). Wasn´t the release really 10th or 11th or something? (and I live in northern Sweden!) But hell, why complain? Had a quick look through it. Visually a masterpiece - the art is just great! No, its not great - its FANTASTIC!! The covers is a graphical masterpiece by old MTG-artist Henry G. Higgenbotham. Then we get to the actual intents. Remember how games always start with "What is a role-playing game?" and so on? No such bullshit here. This is the first words in the new PHB: "Character Creation Basics. Follow these steps to create a beginning, 1-st level character." The first part of the character creation-chapter seems very promising for the rest of the new game, but I´m sad to say it´s kind of an illusion (although no Phantasmal Killer by any means) After reading the good ability and race-sections you stumbles into the classes. And this I think is the main weakness with 3E. OK, the barbarian is kind of fun (although a little broken), but I don´t like the monk and the sorcerer. The Monk: Compare with the real world: Ever heard of a monk that´s not the follower of a god (as the 3E one mainly is supposed not to be)? I don´t think I have. I don´t think the monk fit into the default fantasy setting which Wizards introduces here. Do you? The Sorcerer: How does this guy make magic out of his Charisma? Sure, page 9 defines the trait as "actual personal strenght, not merely how one is percieved by others in a social setting", but it still seems a little far-fetched, if you know what I mean. Otherwise I guess he´s alright. My question to you is: Would the Sorcerer be too powerful if he at lvl 10 had 26 spell-lvls to cast each day instead of 6/6/6/5/3? Post replies. The "spell memorization" for clerics is a little weird nowadays. I had to read it several times to get it. But then again, I´m no genius. It could have been made easier. Also, there is some old rules left that is not that easy to motivate. Example: Why does the Ranger special access to the "Improved Two-Weapon Fighting"-feat? Is it just out of pure tradition or? (They do have changed a lot of other things you know) Overall, I´m a little disappointed in the new rules for character creation (espec. as its coming from Johnathan Tweet). The word was that its was going to be heavily based on feats (kind of like Ars Magica or GURPS) with great freedom for customization. But what do I see? Its kind of the same. Only a tiny text on page 94 handles the customization-bit. (With the excellent example that a dwarf that hasn´t grown up in a mining community doesn´t need to possess the "Stonecunning"-ability) They could have made the system more general than this. I don´t really know about including the Greyhawk dieties as default in the PHB. On one hand its not fair to the other settings and kind of annoying, but on the other hand its really easy to convert. Maybe it was smart as it gives a little more feeling to read "Pelor, God of the Sun" than to read "insert the name of the sun-diety in your campaign world here", or what do you think. Hot tip: Tell your players that Pelor is only another name for "insert the name of the sun-diety in your campaign world here." I don´t like the new cha. sheet. Although pedagogic, its barely readable and full of shit. Shape up guys! One really smart thing is the "2000 Survival Kit" as appendix. This is parts from the DMG and MM you need to run a basic game, like simplified XP-rules, some magical items and some monster-stats. Great thinking guys! Also, NOTE: Page 286!! Some kind of world record... In conclussion: As we all know, D&D is a great game that we all love to death, and I´ve only mentioned the stuff that came to mind right now. Sorry if it was stuff I didn´t like. The book is really great and the game will become much easier and smoother to play with 3E. Please feel free to reply. I´ll return with some sayings on Combat and Magic later. See you. Out. Style: 5 (Excellent!) Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Dungeons & Dragons Player's Handbook, 3rd Edition