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Player's Handbook: Advanced Dungeons and Dragons, Second Edition

Player's Handbook: Advanced Dungeons and Dragons, Second Edition

List Price: $29.95
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Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Decent book..
Review: Okay, this book seems okay. The rules are well detailed and interesting to read.. but the art! Some of it is horrible and some of it is decent. From what i can make of it, two artists did the paintings and drawings. The one who liked water colors was not very good.. All of his drawing's hands seem to be badly out of proportion and just.. messed up. Such as on page 31, the Half Elf's hands are grossly drawn. As is the proportions of his arms. The hobbit's hands in that same picture are behind his body, as if he is 'hiding' his hands so that the artist does not have to draw them. The human on that page lukes like a deformed Captain Kirk, his hands are also aweful. It seems that whoever drew those drew them once and didn't bother to take another look at it. Thoug the artist that used Acrylic, or oil, i can't tell wich, his name is Ken Frank, i just noticed his name written under the table on page 67. His hands are rather well done compared to the other one's. Take a look at the orc to the left with his hands covering half of his face. I think that is rather well done. Also the hands on the Magi casting that electronic wall on page 104. That is also rather well done. the Drapery is interesting, though his left leg seems a bit odd. The same Orc-like monstors are in this picture, perhaps that picture of the Hobbit was in the same campaign as this wizard? I can only spot one flaw in the cover art. The Warrior's left arm. Try it.. Unless he has had some bones removed or surgically altered that pose is impossible to hold.

-just my 2 copper peices, Boot Disk.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: These books are just a helping hand.
Review: The players guide and the dungeon masters were only desined to be a helping hand to those who wanted to delve into a world of role playing, and fantasy. They set down the basic rules and pretty much said "use your imaginations and have a wonderfull time" . The rules are not set in stone. Any one who wishes to play or be a DM may bend the rules to however thier campaine? ( i cant spell) is set up. And of course the books aren't going to tell you what kind of missions to create. TSR has absolutely no idea as to what your specific interests' are. Or you friends. And if you have no imagination TSR created many pre made campaines which i find very enjoyable. But that doesnt stop me from comming up with my own ideas. These books were awsome. David "Zeb" Cook did a wonderfull job and i praise him for making me expand my mind a bit.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Complete waste...
Review: If your old AD&D 2nd edition PHB has fallen apart by now (as many of my gaming buddies' have), this might be a descent replacement, although I would suggest trying to find a copy of the original at a used books store. Other than that, this book is totally WORTHLESS.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: VERY GOOD
Review: I really liked this book...although the old version had some useful stuff in it that the new one doesn't, I think the pictures are better, and this one also has some new stuff in it. I reccomend this book very highly for the hardcore AD&D player.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: A sad, broken classic...
Review: We may have all started gaming with Ad&D, but the game has failed to change with the times. Its rules tend to straitjacket players into certain types of behavior or choices (classes and alignment) rather than encouraging variation. Just one choice (class) determines almost 90% of your powers, abilities, strengths, and weaknesses! And the focus of the game is still on the dungeon-crawl monster-whackfest that might have been satisfying when I was in my teens, but leaves me cold now that I'm a bit older and demand more complexity from my storylines. There's precious little in either book about techniques for telling stories, world-building, characterization, etc.

And the book itself...yuk! The artwork is HORRIBLE! The previous edition was really pretty.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: The defective grandpa of all RPGs.
Review: AD&D is the first and greatest of all RPGs, in the image of which thousands of others have been created. TSR, however, still has a ways to go before this is worth five stars.

The art is a major point; as of now it sucks, and some pictures by decent artists would be greatly beneficial to the Player's Handbook. My other kvetch is the rules; a standardization of it (high dice rolls can be good or bad, and knowing when it's what ranges from frustrating to annoying) is badly in order. My last gripe, and my biggest, is about the way PC creation is set up. Rolling up characters normally is grossly unbalanced, and emphasizes combat abilities over social ability, thinking skills, background, moral choices beyond choosing your alignment, or depth of character - in defiance of what RPGs really are meant to be. The way you create your alter ego (unless you do the sane thing and break from the rules) is centered almost entirely towards dungeoneering at the cost of a conducive plotline, and it takes a formidable amount of energy on everyone's part to correct this.

Everyone has a kvetch or 1d20 about AD&D. If you read it, you probably will too. But, if you want to call yourself a gamer, READ THIS. You'll be glad you did.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: A masterfully butchered piece of TSR's work.
Review: The DMG may be crucial to playing AD&D, but cruciality DOES NOT OVERRIDE QUALITY! Therein lies the DMG's problems.

First of all, huge amounts of it are redundant with the PHB. If what was new in the DMG were cut out and placed in a new book, the new book would have about 65 pages. And the new stuff isn't all that user-friendly either; a lot of stuff seems to be scattered haphazardly.

Second off, there's one question that the Dungeon Master's Guide doesn't answer: "what IS a dungeon?" Dungeoneering requires hugely ridiculous leaps of logic, and there's nothing to explain what dungeons are or why the reader necessarily is a Master of one.

And, as if the first two kvetches weren't enough, there's no advice on actually creating a story. There's plenty of details on the massacring of orcs and non-anthropomorphic life(an act of "Good"?), but NOTHING on plotting a non-dungeon adventure, NOTHING on weaving a tale of social intrigue, NOTHING on creating a saga of anything but beating the crap out of non-humanoid creatures who usually've never interfered with the lives of the PCs at all. There are the Planes and all related suburbs, there are the magic items... but all ultimately falls down to dungeon-crawling. Details on any other type of roleplaying? Nothing, nada, zip! Is this what roleplaying is meant to be? Let's pray to God not.

If you're DMing a campaign, get the Dungeon Master's Guide; you have to read it. Just remember, however, that you don't have to (in fact, don't) agree with, follow at all, or like what's written in it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Excellent to the point of ubiquity! A must for AD&D players!
Review: The book is such a vast improvement, you can actually have fun learning the rules. The text is simple, but not to the point of stupidity, and all rules are supported by examples, many demonstated using sample game situations, drawings, or photos. Besides the basic rules, a great amount of optional rules for added realism/complexity were added. The original rules are clarified in many places, expanded in others. The book is an incredible asset for any player, and I completely recommend it.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Must-buy for any beginning AD&D player!
Review: The player's guide is the ultimate source of information on how to play the best pen-&-paper RP{G in the world, Advanced Dungeons and Dragons (AD&D for short). You can create characters from one of 4 different classes, and 8 different races. Equip yourself with the gear needed, master the spells if your're a wizard, and steal things, if you are so lucky, as a thief or rogue. In short, if you're thinking about playing, or know someone who is, buy the guide, and dive into the adventure of a lifetime!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great book! Complete, concise, and to the point.
Review: This book has everything for everyone wanting info about the AD&D game. The rules are clear cut, and easy to understand.


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