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The book is presented in a highly professional manner with high production values. The book is hardcover with artwork and layout identical to that found in the current 3.0/3.5 D&D rulebooks. Sections are laid out in a logical order and there are a number of diagrams (to help explain rules, special situations, etc.).
The book is very nicely illustrated and pictures of WOTC's current line of plastic collectible minis are inserted with their character entries and concept art. It's worth noting that the sculpts that have been produced for the accompanying mini line are very true to the original drawings.
Chapter 1 covers new character class offerings and new prestige classes. I am admittedly not familiar with d20 but summarize the new classes as: Favored Soul: "a divine caster with innate casting ability"; Healer: spellcaster specializing in healing; Marshal: military leader/general of armies type; Warmage: battle-oriented spellcaster. The Feats and Prestige classes are similarly combat-oriented and include improving soldier skills and general battlefield performance.
Chapter 2 summarizes magic for battlefield conditions. New spells are classed as swift-action (last only one round) and legion spells (which aid friendlies or hinder enemies). New magical items are included here as well and, as with the rest of the book, their bent is toward combat rather than towards scholarly improvement.
Chapter 3 provides a whole list of monsters. Each monster's description is plainly set out and accompanied by very attractive artwork. Chapter 4 discusses stat cards, the cards provided in the collectible minis tie-in to the rulebook. As players of that game are already aware, the cards provide dual stats for minis: one side contains RPG info/the other side contains info for using the minis in a skirmish battle with much less focus on roleplaying.
Chapter 5 is the meat and potatoes of the book. It is largely a re-presentation of the information included in the entry pack for the minis game. The chapter explains how to build a warband and the functions of command (creatures who have commanders who can help direct their action generally perform better than those acting on their own initiative). This section also explains how turns are broken down, what line of sight is and the effects of morale. Again, nicely presented but not a whole lot new for those who have the D&D Minis Entry Pack.
Chapter 6 is WOTC's attempt at running mass battles with their minis. I really like what this section is trying to do and I think incorporating certain RPG elements into mass combat would be a great idea. Commanders have a wealth of options to help their units fight better (aiding via spells, leadership and other ways).
One of the neat ideas, in my opinion, is a commander can lead either from the front of a unit or its rear. Rear-located leadership allows protection for the leader and aids his ability to command close by units but is less effective in inspiring the unit to which he is attached (Hey! Why is the Lieutenant telling us to be so brave when he's standing so far back there?). There are a lot of possibilities with these mass battle rules, especially for those folks who like to develop house rules.
The real problem I see with this set up is trying to field mass units with the D&D minis tie-in. A unit consists of a minimum of 5 of the same type mini, which means you have to either buy 5 boosters or entry packs hoping to get 5 of the same guy/monster OR you buy them from the secondary market. Sure, you can use other minis OR maybe you're willing to go to great lengths to get those 20 orcs. I find it kind of disheartening---but that's another product, isn't it?
The final section, Chapter 7, is the random dungeon chapter. This chapter focuses on taking a party of adventurers into the old school dungeon and hacking up some monsters for fun and for profit. Dungeon crawls can be played as one-off, just for the heck of it games or they can be integrated into campaign play. I think this section ties in very well with the minis product and could make for a nice change of pace if you're RPGing is getting too stuffy---maybe the group just needs to roll up a one-time adventuring party and go a hunting.
The remainder of the book is dedicated to templates useful to playing various sections. There are dungeon tiles, terrain tiles and movement trays (the latter for use with the mass combat rules). Again, artwork here is top notch with heavy re-presentation of materials found in the Minis Entry pack.
Issues I have with this product arise primarily out of the separate but tied-in D&D Minis game. Much of this book is a rehash of info and materials from the minis game. While the information is organized in one central tome and could replace the somewhat flimsier booklet from the Minis Entry Pack, I wonder if a smaller less expensive product, focusing on random dungeon, mass combat and the new classes and feats wouldn't have served everyone better.
If you are a serious junky for the new minis game and are willing to go to the lengths necessary to build up armies for a huge battle, then you might get your money's worth. Similarly, if you just have to have some new classes, magic items and other battlefield-related D&D material to add to your campaign, this might be for you. Otherwise, my gut feeling is that the $30 price tag is a bit much for the content.
