Rating: 
Summary: Not what you may think
Review: If you're like me, the first thought you have when you see this book is "It's for munchins" - y'know, those folks who pack twenty or so +6 vorpal swords, cast wish by the truckload and slay the Tarrasque by breathing heavily on it.
Well, that's not what the Epic Handbook is about. It's amazing well-balanced and presents information and tools for characters who are the stuff of legends - Hercules, Achilles, Cu Cuchulain, Arthur Pendragon and the like. Not only are there tools to grant PC's some mighty impressive abilities, but there arelong spreads on info about foes to face such legendary heroes and a good section on how to keep it all in perspective and keep the level of power from getting out of hand.
The book certainly isn't for everyone. Characters who attain the levels in this book are mighty powerful compared to what most player's and DM's are used to in a normal campaign. D&D has never attempted to handle such legendary abilities, and it takes a special mindset to accomodate such play. Slapdash use of the rules can quickly bury a campaign, and in truth, most groups burn out before Epic levels are reached.
Still, it can be fun to strap on the Aegis of Athena, take up Excaliber, travel to the City on the Edge of the Abyss and go smite a demilich - if you think you're fool-hardy enough to try...
Rating:
Summary: Not what you may think
Review: If you're like me, the first thought you have when you see this book is "It's for munchins" - y'know, those folks who pack twenty or so +6 vorpal swords, cast wish by the truckload and slay the Tarrasque by breathing heavily on it.
Well, that's not what the Epic Handbook is about. It's amazing well-balanced and presents information and tools for characters who are the stuff of legends - Hercules, Achilles, Cu Cuchulain, Arthur Pendragon and the like. Not only are there tools to grant PC's some mighty impressive abilities, but there arelong spreads on info about foes to face such legendary heroes and a good section on how to keep it all in perspective and keep the level of power from getting out of hand.
The book certainly isn't for everyone. Characters who attain the levels in this book are mighty powerful compared to what most player's and DM's are used to in a normal campaign. D&D has never attempted to handle such legendary abilities, and it takes a special mindset to accomodate such play. Slapdash use of the rules can quickly bury a campaign, and in truth, most groups burn out before Epic levels are reached.
Still, it can be fun to strap on the Aegis of Athena, take up Excaliber, travel to the City on the Edge of the Abyss and go smite a demilich - if you think you're fool-hardy enough to try...
Rating:
Summary: Epic Level Handbook
Review: It is a very nice and useful book. Nice pictures and cover. Gives a good feeling only to open it.
But let's see the how good it is: If your players are getting close to the level 20 you should buy this book immediately! It has many useful rules, feats, prestige classes, monsters, epic adventure ideas and places. Since the Core Books only cover the first 20 levels this book is necessary after that. BUT! With the thousands of informations and rules one important aspect of the role-plaing is being damaged: it looses from its feeling. It is very sad since in any role-playing game the feeling is one of the most important thing. This is why I gave only 4 to this book. It should have much more colorful descriptions. But to use only as a rulebook it's great!
Rating:
Summary: Many useful things, with some fluff.
Review: Let's just say that it's welcome to have balanced high-level play. For years I struggled with a high-level 2nd edition game, using the High-Level Handbook of that edition and loads of other outdated material. The new handbook makes it a lot easier to run this kind of game. It provides excellent abilities for PCs and NPCs, and some wonderful monsters, all in the context of an Xth-level system.
Unfortunately there are things in the book that just don't make much sense. Some of the feats are ridiculous. Why someone would want to earn an insane amount of experience points only to waste their epic feat on "Master Staff" (I'll use a charge from my staff for a low DC and damage instead of casting extended time stops) is beyond me. Still, the worthwhile feats that are offered make up for it. The "Epic Spellcasting" chapter is great, but when crafting your own epic spells you'll often be required to go out on your own as the rules presented don't cover many situations. (Such as a spell to make someone younger.)
Finally, the "random epic plot" generator has got to be the worst DND idea ever. I guess they've got to sell the book to children (or something). If you aren't in charge of your plots you shouldn't be getting involved with this level of play at all. Some of the ideas aren't all that bad, but others are just big monsters jumping out from somewhere. Pure mindless hacking that should be reserved for low-class online play.
However, shining through all the fluff of this book is an exceptionally well-wrought system of rules that really does deliver very balanced results all through the power spectrum.
Rating: 
Summary: much needed resource
Review: my campaign is finally reaching the point where this is going to be needed, Good timing Wizards :)
Rating:
Summary: Very informative
Review: None of my PCs have reached epic levels yet, but this handbook will be a real help to me when they do. It gives a lot of information and new monsters that are useful in running an epic level game and building an epic level character. If you're not the type to want to continue a game past 20th level, then obviously this book isn't for you, but I definitely recommend it over extrapolating the information in the player's handbook.
Rating:
Summary: Breaching the 20 barrier
Review: Now we finally know what's on the other side of the 20th-level wall. This sourcebook, a mammoth tome if there ever was one, is all about D&D characters after 20th level. It includes character information, new magic, new items, advice on running epic-level games, new monsters, and a new campaign setting designed for epic-level play. The heart of the book is the character section, detailing all sorts of options for people to try after 20th level. They've looked at classes, core *and* prestige (from DMG), and tried to find patterns to extrapolate from. Those that don't have easily extrapolable abilities get more feats than those that do. It does seem that they try to ignore some things...rogues, for example, get no more special abilities, though that's clearly a pattern starting at 10th level. They also include suggestions on how to advance other prestige classes not in the DMG. Next, we have epic skills and feats. Well, the epic skill section is a list of new possible checks to make, such as the Balance DC-120 check to walk on a cloud. The epic feats are a mixed bag; some are really cool, others aren't. They do tend to assume that people play in a certain pattern...for example, druids are assumed to focus on shapeshifting, and clerics to focus on positive/negative energy channeling. It's written conservatively, with suggestions that if you want to change something, do so. Next, we have epic spells and magic items. Epic spells require research and experience to create, and a Spellcraft roll to cast, but are often worth it...like Nailed to the Sky, which puts the target in orbit, or Contingent Resurrection, which resurrects the target if s/he dies. Epic magic items are also interesting; most of the wondrous items and weapons are extrapolations from previous items (i.e. gloves of +12 Str), but the rods and staves are very creative. There are also a few new artifacts, most of which are actually reprints. Interestingly, arcane casters can make items more easily than divine, which may or may not be intended. Now, the most fun part of the book...monsters! After all, your epic-level character needs something to fight that isn't another character, right? So, now we have official 3e stats for things like the Demilich, the Winter Wight, and the Blackball (aka a high-speed, homing, teleporting sphere of annihilation). There are new monsters, like the colossus (really, really BIG golems), and a variant pseudonatural template (which jacks the CR of a creature up by 10-15 points!). A new type of monster is the abomination, which is the disfigured offspring of a deity and...something else, like the infernal, born from a deific/infernal or abyssal union, or the anaxim, a twisted mechanical creation. These tend to be mean. Advice for running epic-level games is given, including official sanction of making the PCs pay for overly creative abuse of the Wish spell, but in general encouraging fun. The new setting is an interplanar city, called Union, full of portals and potential adventure. I think they might've gotten better results with Sigil (from Planescape), but Union works too. An introductory adventure is included, and ELH stats for high-level Forgotten Realms and Greyhawk characters are included. All in all, this is a very good book. You'll need it sometime. However, be aware it tends to be kind of conservative, and that you may wish to jack the power up even more.
Rating:
Summary: Breaching the 20 barrier
Review: Now we finally know what's on the other side of the 20th-level wall. This sourcebook, a mammoth tome if there ever was one, is all about D&D characters after 20th level. It includes character information, new magic, new items, advice on running epic-level games, new monsters, and a new campaign setting designed for epic-level play. The heart of the book is the character section, detailing all sorts of options for people to try after 20th level. They've looked at classes, core *and* prestige (from DMG), and tried to find patterns to extrapolate from. Those that don't have easily extrapolable abilities get more feats than those that do. It does seem that they try to ignore some things...rogues, for example, get no more special abilities, though that's clearly a pattern starting at 10th level. They also include suggestions on how to advance other prestige classes not in the DMG. Next, we have epic skills and feats. Well, the epic skill section is a list of new possible checks to make, such as the Balance DC-120 check to walk on a cloud. The epic feats are a mixed bag; some are really cool, others aren't. They do tend to assume that people play in a certain pattern...for example, druids are assumed to focus on shapeshifting, and clerics to focus on positive/negative energy channeling. It's written conservatively, with suggestions that if you want to change something, do so. Next, we have epic spells and magic items. Epic spells require research and experience to create, and a Spellcraft roll to cast, but are often worth it...like Nailed to the Sky, which puts the target in orbit, or Contingent Resurrection, which resurrects the target if s/he dies. Epic magic items are also interesting; most of the wondrous items and weapons are extrapolations from previous items (i.e. gloves of +12 Str), but the rods and staves are very creative. There are also a few new artifacts, most of which are actually reprints. Interestingly, arcane casters can make items more easily than divine, which may or may not be intended. Now, the most fun part of the book...monsters! After all, your epic-level character needs something to fight that isn't another character, right? So, now we have official 3e stats for things like the Demilich, the Winter Wight, and the Blackball (aka a high-speed, homing, teleporting sphere of annihilation). There are new monsters, like the colossus (really, really BIG golems), and a variant pseudonatural template (which jacks the CR of a creature up by 10-15 points!). A new type of monster is the abomination, which is the disfigured offspring of a deity and...something else, like the infernal, born from a deific/infernal or abyssal union, or the anaxim, a twisted mechanical creation. These tend to be mean. Advice for running epic-level games is given, including official sanction of making the PCs pay for overly creative abuse of the Wish spell, but in general encouraging fun. The new setting is an interplanar city, called Union, full of portals and potential adventure. I think they might've gotten better results with Sigil (from Planescape), but Union works too. An introductory adventure is included, and ELH stats for high-level Forgotten Realms and Greyhawk characters are included. All in all, this is a very good book. You'll need it sometime. However, be aware it tends to be kind of conservative, and that you may wish to jack the power up even more.
Rating: 
Summary: Is there REALLY a need for this book?
Review: Okay, to be honest, I haven't purchased this book and so this is a completely different way of looking at things (hence the three rating). Anyone who's taken basic math in grade school can see that it's fairly simple to figure out how many XP's are required to get to level 21 (or higher) and the basic rules in the PHB are fixed so that every 3 levels you get a new feat and every 4 levels you get a new attribute point to spend.
Honestly, if I was a 20th level Wizard, there'd be little point in continuing on that path, try learning something new! Maybe another path of magic (bardic, clerical, sorcery, whatever) or learn to pick up that sword and use it. The rules in the PHB are already set, provided you ignore the (IMO foolish) multiclass advancement rules that penalize you if you gain too many levels in a single class.
That's just my opinion, though. What do I know?
Rating:
Summary: A definite buy.
Review: People criticize this book for offering too much power to PC's. Guess what? They're absolutely right in all respects except one.
No power is too much power. If you're a DM and you can't seem to challenge your PC's enough, the book has ideas and scenarios for epic campaigns. The feats spells and regular magic items are all very good, but only a few of the artifacts are worthwhile to find. The skill uses are a little strange, but you're dealing with characters of godlike power, so that's to be expected. The monsters are incredible, especially the abominations (in particular the Phane) and the colossi. If your looking to double how interesting your campaign is, buy this book.
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