Rating: 
Summary: Lackluster and disappointing
Review: First off, this book is pretty. It's got that going for it.
However, if you own any of the other WOTC books, such as the Epic Level Handbook and the Manual of the Planes, then buying this book will leave you with an unhealthy sense of deja vu. Not much has changed for 3.5, and what has changed has gotten less powerful and more expensive. Save your money if you already own the 3.0 version of this book. If you don't, and you need a DMG, this one will work.
Rating:
Summary: If you're new to DMing you'll want this book
Review: First things first: I don't think Wizard is releasing this because they are money grubbers. But I *do* think this book says something about their poor quality control & editing processes. This half-edition should never have been necessary. This is the book that SHOULD have been version 3. That said, if you want to become a good D&D DM but don't know how, you need this version 3.5 book.
The 3.0 book is useless to new DMs. It is a mish-mashed regurgitation of 2nd edition structure and 3rd edition rules with a useless glossary and index page. The 3.0 DMs guide was a horror that may have permanently scared off anyone who was thinking about DMing. If you bought version 3 wanting to see what DMing would be like, then sell it or use it to prop up a short table leg.
This 3.5 version is an excellent book. Things are properly organized, clarified, tabled and exampled. The book is presented in almost a chronological order and makes for decent recreational & sequential reading. Don't give up on learning to be a DM. Instead, buy the 3.5 version and dig in! This version is worth the money, especially if you are brand new to being a game master.
Rating:
Summary: If you're new to DMing you'll want this book
Review: First things first: I don't think Wizard is releasing this because they are money grubbers. But I *do* think this book says something about their poor quality control & editing processes. This half-edition should never have been necessary. This is the book that SHOULD have been version 3. That said, if you want to become a good D&D DM but don't know how, you need this version 3.5 book.
The 3.0 book is useless to new DMs. It is a mish-mashed regurgitation of 2nd edition structure and 3rd edition rules with a useless glossary and index page. The 3.0 DMs guide was a horror that may have permanently scared off anyone who was thinking about DMing. If you bought version 3 wanting to see what DMing would be like, then sell it or use it to prop up a short table leg.
This 3.5 version is an excellent book. Things are properly organized, clarified, tabled and exampled. The book is presented in almost a chronological order and makes for decent recreational & sequential reading. Don't give up on learning to be a DM. Instead, buy the 3.5 version and dig in! This version is worth the money, especially if you are brand new to being a game master.
Rating: 
Summary: Big slap in the face to D&D gamers everywhere
Review: Hmmm, well, well, Wizards of the Cash seems to think that D&D players around the world are inept fools. We all know what this 3.5 revision is all about. It's about WotC making more money. They don't care about us or our RPG game, they just want our money. Seems like WotC is bent on renaming D&D to "Dollars and Drains", and they are trying to turn our beloved game into some kind of Magic the Gathering revenue generating expansion pack. Even before 3.0 went to the printer, the "business" team overseeing D&D was laughing about the extra sales they were going to generate from 3.5. This revision, according to the original design team, wasn't supposed to happen until 2005. Most of the original design team for 3.0 has since been let go. Hmmm, I wonder why? They could have easily posted a lot of these changes as errata or put all of the changes into a small optional rules supplement, but they didn't. The amount of changes in the 3.5 books was artificially increased beyond what was needed to force everyone to buy all new books and to ensure a good stream of revenue generation.
There are just enough changes that a player has to question and re-read everything. Now, in your game sessions, you will have to look everything up again. And hurry up an learn these rules before the 4.0 revision comes! It's true that some of the changes were really needed, but they had to put in a few rules that needed changing to have something to hide behind and try to make it look like this revision was really needed. You see even in this 3.5 Edition, WotC "still" left out rules that needed changing on purpose, because they are already planning to rip us again on a 4.0 Edition. Sounds like they are taking lessons from Bill Gates himself. I wonder if Wizards of the Cash has finacing plans so we can pay monthly installments as they keep churing out new rule book sets for us to buy...? It's sad, I've been a heavy RPG gamer for the last 22 years, and throughout that period I have helped introduce and evangelize D&D. But now, I'm stopping at 3.0 and just using a few selected rules from 3.5 as house rules. WotC's revenue plan for our game is really wrong, and 3.5 is just a big slap in the face to D&D gamers everywhere.
Rating: 
Summary: Change isn't always better
Review: I do enjoy the 3e system of D&D. I even am a little partial to the new PHB. But this book isn't good. The layout has been changed from it's old format. It used to run you through how to build a adventure step by step, with characters first, and then progressing into adventure, location, and then world building. Then it carried all the rewards and goodies in the back. Now they've got the XP charts up front, the treasure tables in the next chapter, then adventure and location building. After that, they do characters. Less room is given for the normal NPCs, and a number of Prestige Kits already in additional source books are included. A couple are new, but quasi lame. Except one.... it's designed for a Munchkin. Oh, and they give a minor run of epic level stuff. Then they get into the actual magical items. And some new things are nice, but others just change things radically. Some armour add ons cost only money, no plus rating. Feats can be easily made into wands. Some nice things are the color changes every other line. Makes it easier to find stuff on the tables you want, but with the tables in no particular order, finding that info is a pain. At least the quick info tables and the index got a lot better attention. Overall, I didn't think it was worth it, but since my old DMG burst at the seams, I didn't get much choice with 3e yanked.
Rating: 
Summary: Where Once I Was Blind, Now I Can See
Review: I was among the most vehemently obstinate when it came time to make the decision to convert to the 3rd Edition Dungeons and Dragons. I've been playing using the first and second edition rules sets for nearly 15 years, and my first read-through of the 3e core rules made me think about only one thing - Magic: The Gathering. However, my group and I have recently seen the light and moved into the realm of Third Edition, and I will admit that I was very wrong to cast it aside so quickly. Streamlined rules, simplified spell descriptions, combat rounds that don't seem to stand still - I could go on an on. But this review is about the Dungeon Master's Guide, and I have but one word - OUTSTANDING. One of the fatal flaws of the second edition DMG was its apparently convenient "parallel organization" - that is, the chapters were organized in the same order in both books to make reference easier. However, the 3e DMG has done away with this, and for good reason - most of the information in the PLayer's Handbook doesn't need to be repeated in the DMG. The new DMG is chock-full of Dungeon Master stuff. Combat? See the PHB. Character class or race? See the PHB. Encumbrance, alignment, magic? See the PHB. The DMG boasts such goodies as presitge classes, a modularized magic item system, a complete (finally) description of every extraordinary and supernatural ability in the game, prestige classes, the fundamentals for Epic Characters, and on and on. Bravo, Wizards. Bravo.
Rating: 
Summary: Great update, but it needs more
Review: I've been waiting for these updates to come out for awhile now. When i finally got them, this book was the first one I started reading.
First off, let me say that it is better organized and certain rules are clarified (Which was the whole point of getting this version).
But it lacks certain items, and it gives something that is not really needed.
It lacks newer artwork (a minus, but not a big one). I think it should have a more organized chapter on world-building for your own campaigns. Some newer DM's could get confused with the instructions/suggestions in this version.
It should have done away with that dungeon map and put in something different. Most of us have already got that map from the DnD adventure set that came out when the player's handbook 3.0 came out. Something like a world map with only terrain features on it. That would let the new DM Place his own cities, names, roads, etc. A great way to introduce a budding DM to world-building.
I do recommend this book, even if you have the 3.0 version. The rules clarification and organization of material are worth it.
Rating:
Summary: Great for the unitiated, but disappointing for veterans
Review: I've played D&D since the early 1980s when I was introduced to Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. Dungeons & Dragons has gone through many evolutionary changes to reach its current 3rd Edition state - many of which I do not favor. I must agree with a previous reviewer in saying that this is not the D&D I remember playing; rather, it is an overcomplicated game meant to satisfy a generation of computer and console gamers by emphasizing combat development of super-heroic player characters over social roleplaying. While it is nice to see Advanced Dungeons & Dragons become simply, Dungeons & Dragons, again; the trendy Digital Age version nomenclature of 3.5 is rather sad. Criticisms of 3rd Edition aside, this tome is vital for gaming in the 3rd Edition world. It resolves issues presented in the previous 3.0 release. If you own the original 3rd Edition DMG, you might be better off looking for the errata elsewhere. This DMG, along with other 3rd Edition books, has very high production value (which adds to the cost). The pages are full color and glossy. We old timers had grainy paper and black & white artwork until 2nd Edition when pages had more color. I was disappointed to find that the groundbreaking artwork found throughout the 2nd Edition pantheon of books has been replaced with distorted, almost comic book-like works, that just do not do D&D justice. The DMG by its very nature is like a college textbook full of tables and charts. The book isn't supposed to be entertaining reading, unlike the many other books in the D&D pantheon. Therefore, the decision to use extensive color and graphics in this book is more for consistency than function. Overall, while the book is very attractive, I found the graphics and typography to be a major distraction that would slow me down if I needed to shoot through the book to find an important chart. I preferred the more mundane appearance of the 2nd Edition books. Since the advent of 3rd Edition D&D, there is a new "Behind the Curtain" feature that gives reader some insight into why a particular rule change was made. I like this, and I hope to see it more extensively used. Unfortunately, these footnotes run sparse in the DMG. Of all the D&D books, the DMG should have used this feature the most. I did enjoy the introductory chapter that explains to aspiring DMs their role in the game, and I thought that the Chapter 5 section on Campaigns does a good job of outlining some of the more noticeable details of a game setting. As with all previous D&D editions, you will need more than this one book in order to run a game. If you just want to play D&D, get the Player's Handbook. If you are like me and continue to run Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st or 2nd Edition games, then you will not get much from 3rd Edition. You'll already have your own house rules, and you'll probably agree with me in saying that 2nd Edition offered more supplements to evolve your character. If you are new to Dungeons & Dragons, don't be alarmed. For the unitiated, D&D 3rd Edition is a solid game based on time-tested mechanics. You won't have any biases or expectations to satisfy. Realizing that the 3rd Edition will lay serious damage to your wallet, you might consider collecting the 2nd Edition books, which though out of print, will provide you with limitless options for gaming at a much lower cost and give you a faithful introduction to now famous settings as the Forgotten Realms, Greyhawk, and Dark Sun.
Rating:
Summary: Great for the unitiated, but disappointing for veterans
Review: I've played D&D since the early 1980s when I was introduced to Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. Dungeons & Dragons has gone through many evolutionary changes to reach its current 3rd Edition state - many of which I do not favor. I must agree with a previous reviewer in saying that this is not the D&D I remember playing; rather, it is an overcomplicated game meant to satisfy a generation of computer and console gamers by emphasizing combat development of super-heroic player characters over social roleplaying. While it is nice to see Advanced Dungeons & Dragons become simply, Dungeons & Dragons, again; the trendy Digital Age version nomenclature of 3.5 is rather sad. Criticisms of 3rd Edition aside, this tome is vital for gaming in the 3rd Edition world. It resolves issues presented in the previous 3.0 release. If you own the original 3rd Edition DMG, you might be better off looking for the errata elsewhere. This DMG, along with other 3rd Edition books, has very high production value (which adds to the cost). The pages are full color and glossy. We old timers had grainy paper and black & white artwork until 2nd Edition when pages had more color. I was disappointed to find that the groundbreaking artwork found throughout the 2nd Edition pantheon of books has been replaced with distorted, almost comic book-like works, that just do not do D&D justice. The DMG by its very nature is like a college textbook full of tables and charts. The book isn't supposed to be entertaining reading, unlike the many other books in the D&D pantheon. Therefore, the decision to use extensive color and graphics in this book is more for consistency than function. Overall, while the book is very attractive, I found the graphics and typography to be a major distraction that would slow me down if I needed to shoot through the book to find an important chart. I preferred the more mundane appearance of the 2nd Edition books. Since the advent of 3rd Edition D&D, there is a new "Behind the Curtain" feature that gives reader some insight into why a particular rule change was made. I like this, and I hope to see it more extensively used. Unfortunately, these footnotes run sparse in the DMG. Of all the D&D books, the DMG should have used this feature the most. I did enjoy the introductory chapter that explains to aspiring DMs their role in the game, and I thought that the Chapter 5 section on Campaigns does a good job of outlining some of the more noticeable details of a game setting. As with all previous D&D editions, you will need more than this one book in order to run a game. If you just want to play D&D, get the Player's Handbook. If you are like me and continue to run Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st or 2nd Edition games, then you will not get much from 3rd Edition. You'll already have your own house rules, and you'll probably agree with me in saying that 2nd Edition offered more supplements to evolve your character. If you are new to Dungeons & Dragons, don't be alarmed. For the unitiated, D&D 3rd Edition is a solid game based on time-tested mechanics. You won't have any biases or expectations to satisfy. Realizing that the 3rd Edition will lay serious damage to your wallet, you might consider collecting the 2nd Edition books, which though out of print, will provide you with limitless options for gaming at a much lower cost and give you a faithful introduction to now famous settings as the Forgotten Realms, Greyhawk, and Dark Sun.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book, BUT NOT FOR PLAYER CHARACTERS, only for DMs
Review: If your a Player-Character, and are reading this review, then SHAME ON YOU! As it -clearly- states at the begining of the Dungeon Master's Guide, Player-Characters HAVE NO BUISINESS READING THE DUNGEON MASTER'S GUIDE. It is for DUNGEON MASTERS
-ONLY!!-
Shame shame shame You only have the right to read the Player's Handbook.... You should be ashamed of yourselves.
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