Rating: 
Summary: The Best of the Best!
Review: The new Manual of the Planes really kicks butt. With a enormous amount of cool stuff both new and old (updated for 3E), this is the best D&D book since the 3rd edition's arrival. First of all, WotC has not thrown the old cosmology in the trash bin. Quite the contrary, the updated core cosmology makes much more sense than the older versions, is crammed with nice new ideas, and is presented in such way that even Planescape old fans like me get a refreshing new look at the planes. Second, the planes now are manageable. Before this MotP incarnation, the magic rules were really impossible to use. Now the planes are defined in easy, rational terms, with physical, spacial and magical traits that quickly and efortlessly sum up the main characteristics of any given plane. You can better convey the otherworldly nature of the planes to your players, but with much less effort and less book-keeping. Better yet, the planar traits mechanics is intuitive, allowing you to wing it easily if needed, with little or no preparation time. The Prestige Classes and spells are good too, but I think the best touch of all are the tools for building new cosmologies. Total freedom at least, without throwing away the good old Great Wheel! A dream come true, really! Overall, I was absolutely impressed by the new Manual of the Planes. All DMs should purchase it, even those who do not use the planes, because the amount of goodness in this book can bring new blood to any campaign.
Rating:
Summary: The Best of the Best!
Review: The new Manual of the Planes really kicks butt. With a enormous amount of cool stuff both new and old (updated for 3E), this is the best D&D book since the 3rd edition's arrival. First of all, WotC has not thrown the old cosmology in the trash bin. Quite the contrary, the updated core cosmology makes much more sense than the older versions, is crammed with nice new ideas, and is presented in such way that even Planescape old fans like me get a refreshing new look at the planes. Second, the planes now are manageable. Before this MotP incarnation, the magic rules were really impossible to use. Now the planes are defined in easy, rational terms, with physical, spacial and magical traits that quickly and efortlessly sum up the main characteristics of any given plane. You can better convey the otherworldly nature of the planes to your players, but with much less effort and less book-keeping. Better yet, the planar traits mechanics is intuitive, allowing you to wing it easily if needed, with little or no preparation time. The Prestige Classes and spells are good too, but I think the best touch of all are the tools for building new cosmologies. Total freedom at least, without throwing away the good old Great Wheel! A dream come true, really! Overall, I was absolutely impressed by the new Manual of the Planes. All DMs should purchase it, even those who do not use the planes, because the amount of goodness in this book can bring new blood to any campaign.
Rating:
Summary: Painful but pleasing
Review: The Painful Side: AD&D's Planescape fans (mostly a diehard bunch it seems to me, being one of them) will be in for quite a shock over the amount of details that this book changes. While I had gripes about some of the terminology of the old system (infinite planes with definite borders and the way that planes tended to "take up all of existence" in such a way that you felt pressured NOT to make up new areas), I was deeply in love with it. It had the feel of something almost calculated to precision while at the same time as random as a real universe tends to be. A good number of these items are changed now. The level of detail is less. The "closure" (both good and lamentable) of the planes is somewhat gone, the classic set-up of Planescape just being one possible configuration. Some of the quirks that gave it flavor are out. Chances are, if there was some minor thing a Planescape fan was most attached too, he or she will be disappointed to find it gone or twisted into a new shape. The Pleasing Side: With that being said, this IS a worthy successor. The ideal is different. The mode of operations is different. The themes and the methods are different. But they are just about as fully fleshed as before. Quirks have often been traded for quirks, which gives it a new flavor; but not necessarily less of one (though I found it a tad less exciting than the old presentation). I think the most beloved aspect for it to me is the emphasis on freedom in the planes. Much like many lament the lack of exploration needed for our present Earth, the planes were reaching a point of being overexplored. Now, this is impossible. It is hard to explain, I suppose, but the INFINITE feels like it is back. It will take more work out of the GM (DM) perhaps, but I find it worth it. And, since these are just one configuration of planes...the old Planescape is still possible as field of play. To close, though, I would like to take a few moments to say a goodbye to the Modrons...though I know many complained....I will personally miss them.
Rating:
Summary: new monsters of the planes
Review: there are three very interesting monsters in this book they are called inevitables, they are mechanical beings from the plane mechanus. i thought hey these would make great character races.
so i built one that was a planar champion "1 of the prestige classes in the book" and it turned out great so i put him in one of my campaigns that was a cosmology that i created from the book
and it was so cool. i made it so that he helped them get to one of the planes in my cosmology (celestia) and took them to the second level of the mountain where the king of dragons lives (bahamut) a platinum dragon with tons of power that sent them all on a quest which led them into a slightly modified verrsion of speaker in dreams (an excelent adventure for 5th level characters. but any way this is the best non core book out there for your own devious universe creation i reccomend it to any dm that desires his own cosmology.
Rating: 
Summary: Here are the planes but where are the gods?
Review: There's plane after plane after plane. A couple of spells to get to some of them and one magical item. Prestige classes are lame and the pictures of them are cartoonish. Monsters are pretty dull. If I hadn't been facinated with the Githyanki and the Githzerai from the 1E Fiend Folio I wouldn't have given them a second thought from their inclusion in this book! Same with all the other new monsters. What's good? They include info about my favorite realm, that of Faerie. I've been trying to integrate Ars Magica into d20 D&D but with little success? Still it doesn't have AM "Faerie regio" exactly. Of course they daren't use real life mythologies to describe the planes. Using terms like Nirvana and heaven but changing them to Clockwork Nirvana Of Mechanus and Overheaven. Even Norse mythos has a couple of altered names from what I've heard. And of course no gods are mentioned so this book is only half of what you'd need for a meaningful cosmology. Until Deities & Demi-gods comes out we're assed out and if it's anything like the 2E version it's going to be lacking in mythological signifigance.
Rating:
Summary: More Excellent Source Material from WOTC
Review: This book covered everything I needed to know - from Inner Planes to Outer Planes, from the Ethereal to creature templates, the book is thorough and excellent. The only thing it lacked was statistics for Diety-level creatures, although I see that a book is scheduled to be released in April of 2002 called Dieties and Demigods! I highly recommend this book for DM's that like to add a new level of adventure to their campaigns. As an Dungeon Master of ten years, I found this book to warrant every one of it's five stars.
Rating:
Summary: Almost Perfect
Review: This book has it all: new creatures, new prestige classes, and a sane approach to planes and plane-building. For once the rules make sense and are clearly laid out and easy to understand. There is sufficient information for DM's to create campaigns in each of the planes without going overboard on detail. The price is reasonable for the quality of the book and it is a truly beautiful piece. There are a few issues I have with the book: 1) Organization is on the overall very decent, however, some things (like magic items) are spread chaotically when they come up. 2) A few of the concepts aren't as well explained as they could be. 3) Background information is relatively limited. These, however, are all relatively minor and don't keep me from giving it my highest recommendation.
Rating: 
Summary: Entertaining by itself.
Review: This book was fun just reading. There are so many different Outer Planes, I was surprised there wasn't one that was a giant retail outlet hawking Cyric skull T-shirts and Auril snow globes. The Inner and Transitive Planes actually sound like they'd be fun to visit - once you've taken the proper precautions to survive on them, that is. Each listing for each plane has a detailed colored map and a list of its specific effect(s) on magic, dominant element, gravitational pull, size, shape, purpose, alignment tendency, inhabitants (including the divine kind), and any dangers, plus more. I had no idea that there are basically seven different kinds of "hell": Acheron, the Nine Hells, Gehenna, Hades, Carceri, the Abyss (which is supposed to have at least 666 layers, but it's really infinite), and Pandemonium - and then there is Mechanus and Limbo, and Arcadia and Ysgard and everything in between. The book makes it a point to let you know (if you're a DM) that you can create your own planes - you're allowed to edit, remove, and add whatever you wish (as you should be). Whatever your tastes, there's bound to be an Outer Plane that'll suit them - and if not, you can create your own demi- or full-fledged plane. There are a few new planar prestige classes, spells, and some familiar planar creatures (like the elusive-until-now githyanki), but the main attraction is (obviously) the network of the Inner, Outer, and Transitive Planes. Another thing that really impressed me was the interior decorative art adorning the beautiful diagrams and maps...do you know what I'm refering to when I mention the industrial motif of "the Mechanists" in the PC game Thief II: The Metal Age? That's the only way I can describe it as being like - manufactured, unsettling, and tinkered - it's really bizarre. One thing I have to admit about most 3E D&D books is that the art in them is really incredible.
Rating:
Summary: Good to some bad to others
Review: THis is a great great book if you like/have alot of Planer travel in your champain. It does open pretty much everydoor to the multi-universe there is. Execlent descriptions of places we all know and love Nine Hells of Baator and ofcourse the Abyss. And it brings to light some rather unknown places like Limbo and Mechanus. It also brings out alot of new monsters and powerful enemies from all over the inner and out planes. This isnt really one of those have to books UNLESS you are going to do planer travel. Then I must say get this book its a great great thing
Rating:
Summary: The other worlds open before your eyes.
Review: This is an amazing book. No more stumbling around with guesing which planes have what attributes. The manuel of the planes give detailed descriptions of the outer and inner planes and the deitys and demons that live there. This is the book for any plane walking adventurer.
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