Rating: 
Summary: Good Work!
Review: I have to agree w/ most of the positive reviews already written above. (& as an old-school 1st ed. player, that wasn't easy at 1st!)I have admit, I love the flexible customizing nature of the characters & the combat system is finally streamlined cohesively. It's well worth the money. HOWEVER,I should warn you to wait on buying it, as WOTC are about to put out a revised 2nd printing of both the PHB & DMG. Apparently, there're many errors in rules, typos, omissions, etc that they've recitfied. (They're all downloadable on WOTC's site) I feel like an idiot cause I picked up both books earlier this year & only just found out recently. Also, I'm not too crazy about the departure from the old "medieval" look of the art. The sample characters all look like either Backstreet Boys in motorcycle outfits (see pg 94) or "S&M circa Renaissance".(see sorcerer) Spiked hair in 1100? I think not. Anyway, give it a whirl!
Rating: 
Summary: Love the new rules, hate the layout
Review: Having been playing since the 70s using mostly 1st edition rules with a few 2nd ed. enhancements thrown in over time (proficiencies, for example), I was reluctant to switch over to the 3rd edition rules.I was in for a very pleasant surprise. The 3rd edition, while retaining the feel of the game, managed to fix certain oddities that had been in the game. The math is more straightforward; now when you get a bonus, you add to your roll or score, and when you get a penalty, you subtract from it. (for those who are unaware, in 1st & 2nd ed., an Armor Class bonus was the number you subtracted from your Armor class). There was, however some unpleasantness. The layout of this book is horrible. There is no section that deliniates character creation step-by-step. Creating a character with this book requires seemingly endless page turning. Also missing is the collection of tables at the end of the book. In order to reference a table, you have to flip to it in the book (once you figure out what section its in). Overall, I recommend this book and the third edition rules highly. If you're a seasoned roleplayer, you'll be able to get past the bad layout quickly enough. If you're a newcomer, either spend some extra time on the book or get a seasoned roleplayer to help you through it.
Rating: 
Summary: D&D Players should have this DEFINATLY
Review: Okay, you have all the basic rules, character generator that takes a lot of time off your character generating (well duh) and over 140 pages of information. Sure you can wing it with your friends and borrow their books. Sure you can get along with out a Dungeon Masters guide and a monsters manual. But all D&D players should have this book. It is well worth the money if you are a seroius D&D player.
Rating:
Summary: D&D3e Money Well Spent
Review: I love the new Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition rules, it is money well spent! Before proceeding further, I am a real stickler when it comes to giving a 5 star rating, so with that said I am giving this book a 4 star rating. My Review: I played RPGs back when I was a kid in High School, I fondly remember a lot of great times with my buddies playing AD&D1e. However as I grew older my interest in RPGs waned. I got distracted by other gaming systems, particularily computer games, and none of the RPG products produced by TSR after AD&D1e really piqued my interest. However the recent release of Wizards Of The Coast's D&D3e rules got me nostalgic for that sitting around the kitchen table with my "geeky" friends, eating pizza, rolling dice, joking, while saving the world, and getting the treasure feeling again. After so many computer games, I yearn for the real human interaction provided by pen and paper role-playing. D&D3e has all of the classic things I loved about AD&D1e but with many terrific and much needed system improvements. Also despite criticism from some quarters, WOTC's d20 initiative is a great idea and has really revived a flagging industry. D20 has created a real market for tons of gaming support and add on material. Thank goodness someone managed to reign in the legal department at WOTC! The new D&D3e rules are easy to learn with clear, consistent, and flexible conventions. Purists of one sort or another can argue about the limitations of class based RPG conventions and the like, but it is hard to deny that WOTC has created a real winner with D&D3e. The actual product itself is well constructed of quality materials, with good art, layout, and editing. While a little dense for anyone new to the RPG hobby, I strongly recommend this book to those already familiar with the Dungeons & Dragons or RPGing in general. D&D3e is a winner!
Rating:
Summary: BUY THIS BOOK TODAY
Review: It's not dumbed down, it's not overpriced, it's not "dead" Richard Roper (of Siskel & Ebert). D&D will live forever and this is BOOK #1. Buy it today and play with your friends, children, and stangers on the internet!
Rating:
Summary: New players, old players... come on down!
Review: Four years ago, my avid D&D friends invited me over to game with them. Trying to comprehend the baffling, and often conflicting, rules of 2E was so irritating, that after three sessions, I gave up and kept questioning how the heck this game ever became popular. Fast forward to September 2000, and a new gaming group, using the 3E Player's Handbook. D&D took on a whole new meaning, and I actually can enjoy it. The 3E PH was the first gaming book that I purchased for my own use. Before then, I'd simply asked friends if I could browse their books for reference during our various campaigns in different systems. I have to admit that I was more than a little hesitant to buy a book for myself, since most gaming books to me have read like computer tech manuals. But I was wonderfully surprised-- the book made sense. I could understand the rules and guidelines without asking many questions of experienced gamers. The d20 rules of 3rd Edition also make sense, and the beauty of it is that many gaming systems are adopting this same system. Once you learn one gaming system, you'll have the foundation to adapt to others with ease. So for those who are intrigued by the wonderful world of gaming, and would like to start out in a system with wizards and fighters, I strongly recommend picking up a copy. Learning to game has never been easier.
Rating:
Summary: Interested in jumping into gaming? Get this!
Review: Although I'd done some gaming in previously created systems, and had tried AD&D with 2E rules, I never could get into it. Too many rules, too difficult to comprehend as a new player, and nothing made sense. With this book, things became extremely easy to understand, and within two sessions, I felt confident about what I was doing with my character. If you have any interest in playing any sort of high-fantasy style gaming, GET THIS. If nothing else, it's a fantastic primer to get you started with characters. And hopefully, you'll find it even more helpful than that.
Rating: 
Summary: Dumbed down D&D
Review: The 3rd edition Player's Handbook lays out rules that make more sense than those of the first edition. Yet there was some sort of transformative charm of the old, arcane rules. There really is no need for rules as extensive as exist for the game, but for some reason that is part of the appeal. So were the amateurish pictures to illustrate the old Player's Handbook and especially the old Monster Manual. The current edition is more stylized and somehow less fun. Reading it is more like reading any other handbook or manual and less like figuring out a puzzle. Tellingly, the book is littered with references to creations of Gary Gyjax, but the creator of the game's name appears nowhere. The game remains fun, but this is the dumbed-down version.
Rating:
Summary: Great fun!
Review: I was first introduced to Dungeons and Dragons with the smash-hit CRPG Baldur's Gate, which was really something spectacular. After playing that, and Icewind Dale, and the sequel (all expansions inclusive), I decided that maybe the pen and paper game it's based on would be worth looking into. It is! For anyone who hasn't checked this out yet, you really should. Unless you don't have friends or don't have an imagination, you'll probably be hooked. Even if you aren't a big fan of any pen and paper games, but are interested in how the rules behind the computerized versions work (don't buy Pool of Radiance: ROMD, by the way) these books are very nicely done. It actually makes good reading, and you might be surprised how fun it is just to create characters and an adventure. One word of warning. Before you start any of this, make sure you have plenty of free time. You're going to need it.
Rating:
Summary: Must have
Review: A must have if you are going to play D&D.
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