Rating: 
Summary: Excellent Update to the AD&D System
Review: It is about time that TSR updated the AD&D system. Luckily they listened to player comments and throughily playtested their new system. The only gripes I have are very minor, and they can be easily corrected with house rules.Great work, ladies and gentlemen!
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Summary: Sit right back and you'll hear a tale...
Review: Back in the middle 70's we found these three little white books... Melee, Blackmoor and Chainmail... who knew it would get so big?!?! The latest installment of Dungeons and Dragons... wow... I had no idea. I frankly (as an old fogey and grumpy-old-codger©) I had no intention to give my money to the people that brought the world Magic: The Addiction... Boy was I wrong. The 3rd edition rules keep all of the traditions and conventions of the original system and streamline them into an amazing and completely playable game. The graphics are exciting and gorgeous to look at and the prose is... not too bad really. If you WERE a fan... become one again... if you are a gamer that has never experienced the Grandfather of gaming... have a look, cause th old man has been working out.
Rating: 
Summary: . . .New Management. . .
Review: I've been role-playing since I was only 11 years old. I've been playing D&D ever since I was 13 (I started with Rifts), and D&D is my favorite game by far. The reason why? Beacuse D&D's rules under the 2nd Edition not only made perfect sense, but they allowed the player's to truly create their own unique world and character's. I never minded that I couldn't make a Dwarven Paladin because when you take a look at the races it didn't make sense for there to be a Dwarven Paladin, because of how their culture worked and their mindset and philosphy on life. But of course, what people NEVER realize is that the one Golden Rule of role-playing, there are no rules, applies ESPESCIALLY to D&D. If you really wanted to make a stupid Dwarven Paladin, you could so far as the DM allowed it in his game. So you see, this new edition is little more than a way for Wizards of the Coast to flaunt their acquisition of TSR, now they have a table-top role-playing game, the first table-top role-playing game, and they can say it's all thiers now. And if they had only changed a few rules, like White-Wolf tends to do when they release a new edition, I woulnd't have minded, I would have welcomed it as a matter of fact. But instead they decided to take everything in it erase it all, and essetially write a new game. Now I read the new book and none of the rules make any sense anymore, they don't flow like the old D&D rules did. But the main reason I'm so upset is, I won't be able to buy anymore 2nd Edition books, I already missed Dragonlance when they replaced it with that God awful SAGA rules system. A sad day indeed. A friend of mine, who hated D&D once told me that "D&D will never evolve past a simple board game." Well now, it will never be past being another Wizards of the Coast card game. (Refering to the SAGA rules of course.) ~Richard
Rating:
Summary: D&D in a new light
Review: I have been playing D&D since the late 80s back when there was the basic and expert booked sets. I started DMing a few years after 2nd edition first came out and that is when I finally found out how many flaws the system really had. But D&D is adaptable and home rules were always implemented to fix problems in game play. This 3rd edition of D&D attempts to fix a lot of those problems. However, with everything there are good parts and bad. What do I like best about the new system? Well the biggest improvement came in the simplification of combat. The quicker 6 sec rounds make more sense, movement during combat finally really works with addition of attacks of opportunity, creatures with reach like dragons or giants can attack you before you can get to them, two weapon wielding characters actually suffer real penalties, multiple attacks limit movement and also have penalties, movement being slowed in heavy armor is now taken into account (i.e. max dex bonuses), and so many others. However, don't expect your combat rounds to get too much faster because all of the feats and other changes to the game have made just an infinite amount of opportunities to make combat long but a lot more interesting. The skills are done well and act like non-weapon proficiencies and some are untrained so any character can use them, but some characters our better at skills than others (cross class skills). My only problem with the skill system is that the skills listed were very incomplete; however, I am sure that later supplements will have more (they make all their money on the supplements). Lots of new things have been added or brought back like the half-orc, barbarian, monk and the new sorcerer class (really cool especially for monsters). Now clerics can convert their regular spells to healing spells (no more complaining about DM not giving enough healing spells). Cantrips are added in for all types of spell casters, but this time it's done effectively. I though the feats unbalanced the game at first making the characters too powerful, but monsters can have them too and game play can be balanced. My only real gripe with 3rd edition is the loss of all of the kits and specialty priests. Kits are what kept 2nd edition exciting. Neither my friends nor I would have kept playing without the kits created in the complete handbook series. As a matter of fact it's quite rare for more than one of us to be playing a standard character from the players handbook in any party. I know I could probably redesign all the kits to work in 3rd edition, but that is a big hassle. I know that a lot of new supplements are coming out for different classes and I hope this will be addressed; however, new supplements means spending a lot of money especially when the supplements conveniently cost as much as the core handbooks themselves. All I can say is if WotC is going to abuse the players with these prices of the supplements, the books better be excellent.
Rating: 
Summary: Good_Try!! But.......
Review: I am a player for 19 years. I have seen some of the first edition books and i must admit that the new edition rocks!!! The rules about skills and feats are perfect and i liked also the rules about attacks of oportunity and base attack bonus. However the book is awfully written. The order in which the rules are written is very bad. I did understand the rules but a beginner (a person who starts playing D&D now) will find it very hard to understand some basic things.
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Summary: A little disapointed after waiting
Review: I just bought this book from Amazon. The book was released last fall, so I waited until spring to make sure they find the errors and correct them. I waited te be sure to obtain the second reprint of the book with the version 1.2 of the CD-ROM. And guess what ??? Amazon sent me the first release of the book with version 1.0 of the cd. So be smarter than me and go find the second release at your book store, not from Amazon.
Rating: 
Summary: I like some things and I don't like some others
Review: For new players this might seem like the best thing ever. I have to admit I had some reservations about going from 2E to 3E with my players but they were all dying for it so away we go! I suspect this review will be of more use to veteran types than novice types, as the latter have no comparison, but here goes: THINGS I LIKE ABOUT 3E (1) SKILLS: I love that it is no longer based on your ability score. Really lame that someone could have a high score, just starting out and be better than any old timer who had a lower score. Now, your ability score is only a small part of your overall ranking. Really great idea. (2) SKILL ATTEMPTS: the DC rankings, which were borrowed from other games, is a really good idea now. I used to give my PCs half and quarter rolls to make up for the falw in the old 2E nonweapon prof. but it never worked terribly well as there wasn't much of a difference between a quarter roll of a 16 (4) and a 20 (5). (3) SPELLS: there were several ambiguous details int he 2E spells and all the supplements sometimes confused things. We worked it out on our own but it's nice to see they've figured things out more. (4) COMBAT: the combat is more fluid and they cover lots of actions that come up during a fight. Never really done as extensively in 2E or 1E. (5) FEATS: a cool idea although I make my players train to get it rather than just get it in a video game. (6) BRINGING BACK SOME OF THE EXOTIC CLASSES: some classes, in order to bring back game balance after the unbalanced UNEARTHED ARCANA, were taken out. It's good to see the barbarian and monk and half orc back even though they don't fit too well into my current campaign and will be rare. (7) PARTIAL ACTIONS: 2E COMBATS AND TACTICS set up all these actions but sometimes they would break up to partial actions which couldn't be applied. 3E took care of this problem. (8) CONCENTRATION: great idea since 2E always said you lost a spell even if you got bumped and took one point. (9) ROGUE: they used to suck at higher levels b/c their abilities were surpassed by high level wizard spells. No longer in 3E, rogues have their own special abilities with sneak attacks. (10) SKILLS: allowing some as being untrainable and others as crossing over which makes sense. (11) WEAPONS: in 2E, the best overall one handed weapon was a long sword b/c it was versatile. No weapon really beat it on regular and large weapon damage. Now, a lot of the weapons are comparable so people can have some variety and not give up dealing out less damage to be unique. (12) ARMOR PENALTIES: you now get penalties for wearing armor and applying skill checks, as well as losing dex modifiers. (13) AMBIDEXTERITY: you now can't get total benefits for being two fisted as before. It's a lot harder. (14) MULTIPLE ATTACKS: you now get penalties to hit for multiple attacks compared to your first. A good idea and good for game balance. (15) ABILITIES: more bonus for having a 12 or better rather than having to have a 15 or better. THINGS I DO NOT LIKE AND CHANGED (1) POWER GAMING POTENTIAL: if you aren't careful, it could happen.; (2) HIGHER LEVEL SPELLS: some spells, like restoration and ressurrection, don't have the penalties anymore as they did in 2E. I always like this b/c PCs couldn't just pay for anything and it made me wonder why people didn't use the spells on everyone. I kept the disadvantages of those 2E spells b/c I like the idea that magic has a price. (3) LEFT OUT SOME GREAT SKILLS: I spent a lot of time adding about 30 to 40 skills and giving them DCs. I had to add those which took about 60 pages (4) READING/WRITING: this is a minor quibble but if you want a medieval time setting, something like 95% or more couldn't read or write. Yet, in the game, everyone gets it. (5) WEAPON PHASES: In C&T they broke combat which in to weapon phases. Also, smaller weapons went faster than bigger weapons. No longer the case; a two handed sword can go much faster than a dagger. (6) MULTIPLE ATTACKS: Another in C&T, your multiple attacks were spread out so they weren't delivered all at once. No longer the case, they're all delivered out all at once. Quite deadly. (7) CRITICALS: in the old rules, only the die was doubled or tripled and then the bonuses were added. Now, you total all the bonuses and double or triple it. Personally, I think that has the potential to kill a lot of PCs but my players want to play with it so they'll regret it soon enough. :) (8) PRIESTS: I never liked the idea that priests were all one block lot. 2E priests handbook had a great idea in breaking things up by spheres and granting special powers based on the personality of the deity. After all, would Aphrodite's priests really care to turn undead? They should have powers related to love and beauty or speech. (9) LACKING IN NEGOTIATION AND ROLEPLAYING: this really isn't a problem with 3E but D&D overall. When I was younger, hack and slash was the way to go with a few puzzles and tricks. But, that got old and broke up our group for a while. When we came back, I kept those elements but factored in more of a mulitilayered plot story with context, History and more roleplaying. (10) SOME GREAT MATERIAL LOST: RAVENLOFT belongs to WHITE WOLF now; couldn't handle the extra work or cutting back? Also, unknown of PLANESCAPE and several other realms that may no longer be used in 3E. Big bummer as many of them were good. I especially liked PLANESCAPE even though my campaign wasn't in PLANESCAPE. Anyway, my advice to old and new RPGers is to consider some points I rised. It's a lot easier to change things now then later when players are used to certain rules. Whatever the case, some things are good and some are not in my opinion. I'm sure myopic fans will ding me with a THIS DID NOT HELP but hey, if that floats your boat, go for it. To the more seasoned people, hope this helped some. :)
Rating:
Summary: 3rd Edition brought me back to D&D!
Review: I was skeptical like many others about the new rules and the new edition; I heard for a long while that a new edition was in the works. Already heavily invested in 2nd Edition I was not happy. My local hobby store had a worker that explained some of the changes to me and gave me a copy of the Conversion Manual. He said that reading it would change my mind. He was sure right! Reading the article in Dragon Magazine explaining the work and playtesting and further outlining of the new rules drew me in further. Buying the Player's Handbook has cemented me into 3rd Edition. the 3E Player's Handbook was the first of its kind I've ever read from cover to cover. No more THAC0 (Finally!) Rules to cover nearly any situation - no more having to make up something! Return of the Monk and Barbarian, and a new character the Sorcerer, a welcome addition, and interesting description of its different approach to spellcasting. Want a half-orc Paladin or Wizard? You can have one. Need a Wizard with more weapons to choose from? Give him or her proficency with the weapon of your choice. More freedom of choice for characters is the ticket and having character reps from each class is a nice touch (kind of a reminder of the LJN Advanced D&D figures to me, remember Ringlerun, Elkhorn, Peralay and Strongheart?) New rules are a bit of a challenge, but are wonderfully intriguing and worth the time poring over them, especially the new multiclassing rules and provoking attacks of opportunity. Give the new rules a chance and take your time reading this book. It is worth it!
Rating:
Summary: The More Things Change
Review: As an older role-player, I find that I have a lot of experience with games that the newer generation of gamers don't even remember; games like Chainmail and the original Dungeons and Dragons. Many gamers view this book, along with it's counterparts the DMG and Mounstrous Manual, as a step forward. I view it as a step backward. It changed too much too quickly. I've heard younger gamers say that the system has been "stream-lined for new players", but I find that it's dull, less complicated and shooting for a lower target group. Perhaps I'm just getting older and am opposed to change, but I wasn't that happy with the 3rd edition rules. Give me the 2nd edition any day.
Rating: 
Summary: Come on!
Review: All I have too say is D&D has always been about imagination. How many of us have bent the rules to fit our gamimg world needs? I look at this book and I take the good to make gaming esier and clear. I take the bad and re-tool it to fit our gaming world as we see fit. This book is full of new ideas that we have all probably thougt of before why don't they do it this way or why can't I have an Elven Palidan he just as religeous as your Palidan. Overall I give it a 4 star rating because nothing is perfect. Don't forget to use your imagination and these 3rd Edition gaming rules can be just as fun. For you die hard fans give it a try before you knock it. Chris
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