Rating: 
Summary: Excellent! Great resource for NeverWinter Nights as well!
Review: I bought this book simply as a reference, not to start a game. To tell you the truth, I am only interested in the Forgotten Realms PC games anyway.(Planescape being unplayable on XP) It is nice to know where you are in the Universe(oh, sorry all you obsessive D&D freaks, I meant the multi-verse <rolls eyes>. No it is not about Sigil and the Doors it is about that and everything else that makes up everything. Aber-Toril ("Aberation of reality" for people who are just playing for fun and have something of a life, "Cradle of Life" for DM freaks) is a planet that sits in the Natural Planes(where most dungeons are) Sigil is the Center of the Universe(oh sorry MULTI-verse)-starting to get annoyed-; Demi's and Gods live on the outer planes and so do a lot of deamons(not demons). Anyway(not anyways) you can get a lot out of this just by reading some of it and get a sense of reference of where your character(s) actually is.(much like Earth being in the western edge of the Milky Way and all that).
Rating:
Summary: you don't have to be a dungeon master to enjoy it
Review: I bought this book simply as a reference, not to start a game. To tell you the truth, I am only interested in the Forgotten Realms PC games anyway.(Planescape being unplayable on XP) It is nice to know where you are in the Universe(oh, sorry all you obsessive D&D freaks, I meant the multi-verse <rolls eyes>. No it is not about Sigil and the Doors it is about that and everything else that makes up everything. Aber-Toril ("Aberation of reality" for people who are just playing for fun and have something of a life, "Cradle of Life" for DM freaks) is a planet that sits in the Natural Planes(where most dungeons are) Sigil is the Center of the Universe(oh sorry MULTI-verse)-starting to get annoyed-; Demi's and Gods live on the outer planes and so do a lot of deamons(not demons). Anyway(not anyways) you can get a lot out of this just by reading some of it and get a sense of reference of where your character(s) actually is.(much like Earth being in the western edge of the Milky Way and all that).
Rating:
Summary: Pay attention much?
Review: I like this book, in terms of quality and artwork I'd place it right after the three core rulebooks. It's not essential for your game but it's definitely nice to have since it explains a lot of what happens in the backgroud of a game. The D&D cosmos is totally different than our "real" one... lots of other dimensions, places where reality is totally different, places you want your character to go... or at least understand. This book is especially useful for higher level characters who want to travel the planes but as I mentioned earlier, it's just as useful if you want to read it for informational purposes only, it's a good read. The artwork is good too, I highly recommend it (especially for people who don't own a lot of Planescape stuff) A definite winner, you won't be disappointed.
Rating: 
Summary: One of the better 3rd edition hardovers
Review: I like this book, in terms of quality and artwork I'd place it right after the three core rulebooks. It's not essential for your game but it's definitely nice to have since it explains a lot of what happens in the backgroud of a game. The D&D cosmos is totally different than our "real" one... lots of other dimensions, places where reality is totally different, places you want your character to go... or at least understand. This book is especially useful for higher level characters who want to travel the planes but as I mentioned earlier, it's just as useful if you want to read it for informational purposes only, it's a good read. The artwork is good too, I highly recommend it (especially for people who don't own a lot of Planescape stuff) A definite winner, you won't be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: Probably the Supreme WotC Release
Review: I must admit that it was with profound disappointment and nostalgia for 2E's Planescape setting that I finished reading this text. That said, I can now (with the benefit of distanced reflection) recommend this text as the single best offering of the general D&D supplements. Sure, it sacrifices the cool lexicon of Planescape and pays scant attention to the personalities, factions, and locales of Sigil--but, as numerous folk have mentioned already, this is quite simply not Planescape 3E (one must go to planewalker.com for that). Until WotC gets its act together enough to produce a new Planescape, this will have to suffice. And, boy, does it ever suffice. One might complain that it is a bit thin on specific data regarding each individual plane (though favorites such as the Abyss and the Hells receive a decent amount of coverage), it delivers where it says it will. 1) it presents a standard cosmology that is consistent with other rulebooks (such as *Deities and Demigods*, the *Book of Vile Darkness*, and the monster tomes). This cosmology has the virtue of being familiar to anyone who liked Planescape. 2) it introduces a cosmology generation system, complete with notes on how each potential plane might look in terms of elements, energy, gravity, magic, alignment, and so on. 3) it offers cosmological variant ideas, such as planes devoted to mirrors and wood, say, and alternate organization systems (as opposed to the beloved Great Ring). 4) it packs in a number of favorite monsters (the "goristro"--yes! "astral dreadnaught"--yes! the "yugoloths"--yes! and many others). 5) some useful prestige classes and cool spells. 6) and of course the aforementioned descriptions of the basic planes of the Great Wheel. Overall, the art is great and the editing is fair. Games that have any sophistication and nuance at all will eventually come to rely on some kind of planewalking and/or Blood War narrative--and this is the basic tool with which to accomplish such things.
Rating:
Summary: Needed to spice life up!
Review: I picked up this book from Amazon some time ago and find that it is vital to my nwn module creation. Since acquiring this book, I have added into the module the plane of celesta, the plane of hades, the shadow plane and the planes of fire and air. My players LOVE the new areas. They let you use and create new cool critters to throw at them and expand your imagination! It has been SO fun creating these planes because you can use your create a custom area using only your imagination! Spice up your higher lvl chars lives, throw them in the shadow plane, but you will need this book to make sure you get it all right.
Rating:
Summary: Everything you've ever wanted to know about the planes!
Review: I was looking for some new CDs at the store today when I stumbled across the DnD "Manual of the Planes." Curiosity got the best of me and I skimmed through it. Needless to say, I liked what I saw and bought the manual.
It was worth it. This manual is jammed packed with all sorts of info of ALL the planes! How much you ask? Well, take the Nine Hells for example. Not only is there a detailed diagram of Baator on page 120, but the book also does an excellent job of describing what each level is like and who rules over it. And that's just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. The book also gives you interesting, yet useful information such as a plane's geometry, morphic traits, etc... Basically everything you need to make your very own plane!
And did I also mention that it gives the stats of some really nasty monsters such as the Astral Dreadnought?
And the new prestige classes are pretty cool as well. How does Divine Agent and Planar Champion sound? I thought as much.
You don't need me to tell you that this manual is for DMs who wish to make their campaigns more interesting, or for people who wish to broaden their knowledge of the planes. When I was playing Planescape: Torment, I became confused when someone explained the nature of the planes to me. This manual certainly cleared things up.
Buy it. Trust me, you won't regret it.
Rating: 
Summary: "It isn't Planescape" - what gave it away, the title?
Review: I've heard numerous people complain that this book doesn't spend enough time talking about Sigil, the Lady of Pain, the factions and the other details of the old Planescape setting, and that this book likes the dialect and art of the old Planescape series. Well, that's probably because this isn't a Planescape product. This isn't the third edition version of a second edition idea, this is what it claims to be, a manual of the planes. In that, it succeeds, giving you an idea of the ecology of the various planes, including flora and fauna, a few NPC descriptions. Many of the details of individual areas in the planes, including Sigil, can be left to other sourcebooks. This provides a nice overview. That being said, while the ideas and intentions were good, I seriously think WotC needs to hire a new editing staff. There were dozens of misspellings, grammar errors, references to non-existent charts, poorly worded sentences and generally writing mistakes throughout the book that interrupted the flow and, in a few cases, prevented me from understanding what the author was trying to say. Just one more draft, and this book could have been a good one. Also, while appreciate the monumental task before the authors, some planes received so little attention that they should either have been excluded entirely to provide room for other, more popular planes, or had their descriptions increased to give greater depth. C'mon, I'm shelling out some fairly serious cash for this book, add in a few pages and make it worth my while. Nice monsters, too.
Rating:
Summary: Perfect companion to Epic Level Handbook
Review: If you're just starting a campaign, you won't need this book, but if you're starting to get up there in levels, it will really come in handy in providing PCs with new environments and difficult challenges.
Rating:
Summary: Old but good!
Review: If your in to the 2nd edition Planescape setting but don't want to abandon some of the 1st edition rules (or want a differant approach to some of them) then this is a must have. It has lot's of good information not present in the 2nd edition material. Also if your in to the Outer Planes setting in AD&D I would also recomend the 1st edition Fiend Folio and Fiend Folio 2 for some original AD&D monsters and demons.
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