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Then the backlash came in. Monte Cook wrote on his site that 3.5 was concocted by marketing to raise slumping sales. The designers were basically told to write a revision, rather than the typical approach of designers proposing and the company deciding whether to accept. I'm not opposed to anyone trying to make money, but I'm suspicious when that's the sole motivation of the company. I have this picture in my head of KODT's Gary Jackson telling his crew to write a new version of Hackmaster to get the company out the red.
So feeling pretty conflicted, I picked up the Player's Handbook to use as a measuring stick for whether I should buy the other 3.5 books. Also, since I'm usually playing and not DMing, I figured I could get by with just that in my group's 3.5 game. So how is the book?
First, let's talk about the art and layout. Roughly 80% of the art is the same as that of 3.0. While there is new art and it's up to the standard of the existing stuff, I paid thirty bucks for an entirely new book and got recycled art. To be fair, the layout is a little clearer, and they have alternating bars of color in the charts which makes them much easier. On the other hand, they still have those distracting brown lines all over the place in the text. Wasn't there enough complaint about that for the last three years?
On to the actual content. They give a little more introduction to the mechanics and nature of the game than 3.0 did, which is a good thing, but not really valuable to me or most of you who are already pretty familiar with it. They still don't really have a formal "what is roleplaying" section like so many other rpgs. The ability score chapter is virtually unaltered.
Chapter 2: Races is the first part where we see real change. Humans, elves, half-rcs and halflings are the same races as in 3.0. Half-elves receive +2 bonuses to Diplomacy and Gather Information now, which is a little odd as they are described as outsiders. I realize half-elves needed something to make them stand out, and now they have an edge for social characters.
Dwarves keep everything they had before, get to keep their 20 ft movement rate in heavy armor, and get to treat the dwarven waraxe and dwarven urgrosh as martial weapons rather than exotic. This pretty much makes them the ultimate as tank fighters, which I suppose is good since they were overshadowed a little by half-orcs before. Finally, gnomes get to treat gnomish hook hammers as martial hammers (which should be appreciated by both gnome fighters out there) and get their favored class changed to bard. Some people on message boards were sort of upset about this, but as I've never played at a table with a gnome or a bard it really makes little difference to me. Overall, nothing major changed in the race department.
Chapter 3: Classes is where the biggest changes lie. Barbarians are beefed up a bit, gaining greater rage and damage reduction earlier, but pretty much look the same. Bards go up to six skill points a level, can cast in light armor without penalty, and are generally better, but still don't really make me want to play the class. Clerics are pretty much the same, since they were already pretty powerful. Druids get a boost in class abilities, including good fort saves, the ability to wield weapons outside of their class list without penalty, an animal companion that improves with your level, and the ability to swap prepared spells for summoning spells of the same level.
Fighters are pretty much the same, with intimidate added as a class skill, and a couple of the new feats added to their list of bonus feats. Monks are a bit different; their unarmed attack bonuses have been merged with flurry of blows, and the specific feats they used to get now have two feats as options at each of those levels. Ki strike kicks in earlier, gaining the 'lawful' tag at tenth level and 'adamantine' at sixteenth. Paladins are pretty close, but get to smite evil more times a day as they advance, and can summon their mounts. Curiously, they listed don't list better mounts that work on a curve as they did with druids' companions. Considering the variety of paladins' mounts I've seen played, a core rule for them would have been nice.
Rangers are the most changed, dropping a hit die to a d8, but gaining six skill points a level and a lot of other nice abilities. Favored enemy's bonus has been doubled, and when you advance you no longer get stuck with the first one you picked as the best one. You can also choose to gain archery feats instead of two weapon ones. Overall, the class is more a woodsman and less a weak fighter, and is much more playable. Rogues remain pretty much the same except that they gain bonuses against traps earlier on. Sorcerors have improved in that they can switch their old spells known for new ones as they rise in level. Wizards are the same, but now specialists all have to drop any two schools, except diviners who need only drop one. Divination isn't one you can drop, either; they all but admit what a weak school it is. Overall I'd say the classes were well done, with fewer abilities you can get from one level of a class, and less getting stuck with choices you made ten levels ago.
Skills still work the same, but some have been eliminated and folded into existing ones, giving you more for your skill points. They clarify what can be done and at what DC a little better, and some work differently. Jump is no longer a mess, swim just takes double your armor check and doesn't force you to count every pound of equipment, and they spell out what knowledge skills exist (I hope I don't see made up ones, like knowledge: giantlore or anything, in more supplements after this.) Nothing major here.
Feats are also pretty much the same as before. There are some feats added, most from supplements, and many of which are supplement filler that give +2 to two different skills. This is pretty weak; you may as well pick two skills you want raised, use an adjective, and ask your DM if you can use it as a feat. It's like, "I want a bonus to bluff and intimidate, so I'll create a feat called testicular fortitude that gives it to me." Greater weapon focus and greater weapons specialization and in, but basically just double the bonus you already had. Some feats work differently; improved critical no longer stacks with keen weapons, making it impossible to get those 11-20 crit ranges we used to have. The best change is that two weapon fighting merged with ambidexterity, and that they added "two weapon defense" which increases your AC by one when you use two weapons. It was such a weak style before, so it's a relief that you can finally wield a pair of swords effectively.
Chapter 6: Description, is the same, so we'll skip to Chapter 7: Equipment. The only real change here is the weapon size categories, which are a bit confusing. They have every weapon listed in small and medium versions, with the small version doing the next die size lower in damage. If you use a weapon not sized for you, you get a penalty. On the one hand, I can see where the small races had a tough time before because they had less weapon selection, and it makes sense that gnomes and halflings would have their own staffs, javelins, spiked chains, and so on. On the other hand, I don't see why a halfling can't use a human short sword as his longsword, as in the Lord of the Rings.
Chapter 8: Combat is written much better than 3.0's version was, as that confused a lot of people. I know a lot of people were concerned about the need for miniatures, but other than suggesting them and using them in illustrations, they don't seem any more necessary than in 3.0. Actions have been reduced to free, move, standard, and full round, which clears up a lot of problems. There is now a chart that lists the actions, what type they are, and whether they draw an Attack of Opportunity. All the stuff you can do in combat is included. For example; in 3.0 you could bluff someone as a standard action and get a sneak attack on your next shot, but it was only listed under bluff. Now it's listed as a feint under combat actions, and it taken into account a little better.
Chapter 9: Adventuring, is pretty much the same, but gives a standard rule for the division of treasure in a party. Magic items are valued or sold at half their cost, which is a nice way to settle some arguments. Chapter 10: Magic doesn't contain much in the way of change either, but seems clarified since 3.0.
Chapter 11: Spells has a few changes in spell lists for classes like Bards and Rangers, focusing them a bit better, but the major caster lists are about the same. Some spells have been rewritten, taking out the most broken ones like haste and making them manageable. Spells that were instant kills before now do flat amounts of damage instead, and some spells that enhanced a character for hours now last for much shorter periods of time. The problem is that they blanket this thinking; having +4 Str for Bull's strength isn't a bad deal for one fight, but +4 Con from Bear's Endurance for a minute doesn't seem worth preparing the spell. My favorite new spells are the mass versions of Cure and Inflict wounds, which make divine casters better at high levels.
So is the book worth it? On the one hand, I like most of the changes and the book fixes some problems I had before. On the other hand, I feel like I already bought this book three years ago, (especially when I look at the art) only for $20 and with a free character generator program. I'd say the book is worth it due to a combination of new rules and the better organization, but at thirty bucks plus tax it's not really a bargain or anything. I'm also worried that this will start a trend of "3.5" versions of books I already laid down money for, starting with the Psionics Handbook next April. I'd say that D&D fans will want this book, but shouldn't rush the stores for it or anything.
