Rating: 
Summary: Well Done !
Review: I thoroughly enjoy a good change. Change IS good. At least with regards to this revision of the 2nd Edition Dungeon Master Guide. If you are an old pro, this book will expand on the information contained in previous versions, clarify some of the old rules, provide a correction or two, and occasionally make a rule modification (which it will clearly point out!). For the beginner, or any AD&D player new to DMing, this book is full of information and advice, and is required material for any AD&D (Advanced Dungeons & Dragons) DM (Dungeon Master/Game Master). This DM Guide gives you all the rules, as well as some helpful hints, you will need to begin running an AD&D adventure for group of players. It is not a 'How To' book. It is only a Guide, and a very good one at that. This book provides the necessary framework from which you can build endless AD&D adventures. It does not teach you 'how to' write adventures, it does not teach you 'how to' role-play. Though it will provide some advice in these areas, as any good guide should. (Remember, the AD&D game is a product of the mind, not books. Adventures begin and end in the imagination. Guide books only lend some structure through rules and suggestions.) To sum up the good points, this DM Guide provides all you need to begin and govern an AD&D game. The bad points are minimal. First, too much of the art work is amateur. Some of it is very good, but there are enough sad looking drawings to make you wonder why they were included. Second, old pros will notice that the prices for magic items have been omitted (with an explanation). If you want or need a price list you'll have to find an old version of the book, or try the WOTC.com or TSR.com web site, they have a list available. Those are the only two reasons this book gets a 4 star rating, instead of a five. Other reviews will mention that a DM will also require a 'Monstrous Manual' and an 'AD&D Player Handbook'. That's true, but I strongly suggest another supplement, the Dungeon Master Screen/Index. And the Player Handbook isn't needed for the DM if any other player has it. And one final comment, if you need more 'how to' advice for role-playing or writing adventures, which rightfully is not in this book, that information is available on-line for free. Try searching at about.com AD&D is the greatest game ever created! Get this book and Enjoy the Game for many years!
Rating:
Summary: The start for any aspiring Dungeon Master
Review: This book is the newest edition of the Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Dungeon Master's Guide. As it is one of the three "core books", i.e. ones that contain the general rules, it is required reading for the DM. This release has its faults and its good sides. Like all three core books ( Player's Handbook, Dungeon Master's Guide, and the Monstrous Manual) that were reprinted in 1995, this volume is expanded from the previous editions. It has many more pages that before, many with color illustrations. The font is larger and easier to read. As a manual for creating realism in the adventures you create, the Guide does succeed, although not everywhere. Nearly every rule is followed by good sketches, tables, and graphs for easy reference. New situations are detailed, and there is a generous sprinkling of optional rules for enhanced realism. Despite this, some of the shady areas have been left only partially explained ( large-scale travel, for example). The book is written with good-natured humor, and is by itself fine reading. Also, I would like to commend on the lists of magical and arcane items. The book is the required start for any DM, and it reamins the necessary component of any game session. Buy it, but never show it to your players.
Rating: 
Summary: 2nd edition will reign for all time
Review: I recommend 2nd ed. over third for various reasons, most important being the emphasis on roleplaying over strict rules...3rd ed. seems to encourage players to see it as a video game, making the *best* characters, and hacking away at baddies...I however, have always seen character development and backstories more important, and that is why I, as a DM and a player, prefer 2nd ed. Pick up the books while you still can.
Rating:
Summary: WELL DONE !
Review: I thoroughly enjoy a good change. Change IS good. At least with regards to this revision of the 2nd Edition Player Handbook. If you are an old pro, this book will expand on the information contained in previous versions, clarify some of the old rules, provide a correction or two, and occasionally make a rule modification (which it will clearly point out!). For the beginner, this book is full of information and advice, and is required material for any AD&D (Advanced Dungeons & Dragons) player and/or DM (Dungeon Master/Game Master). This Players Handbook gives you all the rules, as well as some helpful hints, you will need to begin a life time of AD&D adventure with a group of players. It is not a 'How To' book. It is only a Guide, and a very good one at that. This book provides the necessary framework from which you can play endless AD&D adventures. It does not teach you 'how to' role-play, though it will provide some advice in this area, as any good guide should. (Remember, the AD&D game is a product of the mind, not books. Adventures begin and end in the imagination. Guide books only lend some structure through rules and suggestions.) To sum up the good points, this Player Handbook provides all you need as a player in the AD&D game. There's only one bad point. Too much of the art work is amateur. Some of it is very good, but there are enough sad looking drawings to make you wonder why they were included. That is the only reason this book gets a 4 star rating, instead of a five. As other reviews have mentioned, a DM will also require a 'Monstrous Manual' and an 'AD&D Dungeon Master Guide'. I also strongly suggest another supplement, the Dungeon Master Screen/Index. And the Player Handbook isn't needed for the DM if any other player has it. And one final comment, if you need more 'how to' advice for role-playing or writing adventures, which rightfully is not in this book, that information is available on-line for free. Try searching at about.com AD&D is the greatest game ever created! Get this book and Enjoy the Game for many years!
Rating:
Summary: If you play 2E you need this
Review: This isn't just an opinion, this is fact. If you play or planned to play 2nd Edition AD&D you must have this book. The Player's Handbook is a required book for every player, this book, as well as the DM's Guide contain all of the core rules to play D&D.
Rating:
Summary: A must have
Review: This book is essential for and AD&D game, without this you have no rules. 2nd Edition D&D cleared up many problems of the original, while still keeping the game in the realm of fun. Unlike 3rd Edition, which is just hack and slash and a mockery(kind of like the movie) of the original. 2nd Edition challenges you to think and actually get into your characters.
Rating:
Summary: Second Edition AD&D
Review: Although the third edition books produced by TSR have pretty much replaced second edition on many book shelves, a few of us still prefer the game as it was. Having been a DM for a little over 18 years, I still find myself picking up my second edition players handbook, dungeon masters guide, and monster manuals (along with a littany of other second edition books) and wondering why it was ever changed.
A must to have if you are a second edition fan is the players handbook. Simply stated, you cannot play the game without it. Although some of the artwork is lacking and (my biggest gripe) they do not put the spell level on every page of the spell directory, over all it is a very well put together book which I would be proud to recommend it to anyone who is wanting to play AD&D.
Rating: 
Summary: this game is horrible for gamemasters
Review: Its all fine to give players every option ever thought of to create characters but it makes no sense in not balancing the game for playability when it comes to being a gamemaster. Like a good producer/director/screenwrite all n one, the gamemaster must create a world , an adventure, all the villains, npcs and monsters and make the game fun for the players. In order to do that the GM must know all the rules and be up on ever character type put in front of him. that's not to say it is impossible just very tedious for the gamemaster who must make the game enjoyable for ALL the players. There are many more problems, Bad presentation...the background noise and artwork are not that good on the eyes so those of us that have to get out magnifying glasses to try and read the gm guide an player's handbook will have a harder time of it. IN any event, I think it is poorer quality than ALL the previous versions of the game. I have gm'd for 17 years and I am truly disappointed.
Rating: 
Summary: I dunno
Review: This thing was cool for a while. Now that 3rd edition is out, you shouldn't really bother.
Rating:
Summary: A good starting point for AD and D
Review: This hardcover manual covers pretty much everything the player needs...note that I said player. To create adventures (which is required) you'll probably need the DM's Manual as well. This book features a decent spell section, both for priests and wizards, and explains all the rules, however the artwork is TERRIBLE! In summary, a good introduction to AD and D - as long as you are not going to be a DM. If you are starting up a gaming group with some friends, this book will not contain everything you need.
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