Customer Reviews:
A good book for any class........2007-07-07
If it where just a collection of magic items, then this book would still probably be worth it, but it also introduces several new concepts in magic items that can allow DMs and players new avenues to explore.
The first is a new concept of charges-per-day. Magic items with charges, like wands, and use-per-day items, like virtually everything else, have existed since the beginning of DnD. Charges-per-day is an item that gets a specific number of charges per day for use with a special power. What makes it different is that spending more charges simultaneously increases the effect. This is great for little effects you wanted more than once a day, but sometimes wish where a little bit stronger.
Next up is the runestaff. The runestaff is a new must-have for any spell caster with a static spell list, such as sorcerers, warmages and divine souls. They allow these magic users to sacrifice their own spell slots to cast the spells imbedded in the staff, essentially expanding their spell list, almost exactly like a cleric spontaneously casting cure spells. Each spell can only be cast this way a limited number of times per day, but it allows a magic user to increase their flexibility in varying situations.
Augment crystals are next. The easiest way to think of augment crystals are like slotable equipment in video games like Diablo. These relatively cheap crystals give minor bonuses to your weapon or armor and are swappable, allowing you to change them when the situation does. Unfortunately, the requirements for the highest-level crystal are a little over the top, making them for more expensive than their little price tag indicates.
Finally introduced are item sets. If you have ever played World of Warcraft or Diablo, you know what an items set is. Each component of an item set is its own magic item, but if you own more than one piece of the system, you start acquiring extra bonuses as the items resonate with each other. Some of these bonuses are very powerful and useful, some not so much, but it is a nice option for DMs who give their player planned out loot.
Being a compendium, several items in it came form other sources, such as Eberron or Faruen. Many of these items where changed in the transition. Some of the items become more powerful, others cheaper. This makes some items that where nice concepts, but priced out of the range of players that could use them, possible. Monks and spell casters should check out the re-priced DR shirts!
Also included in the book are new options for stat booster placement, item synergies, good art, and a wonderful chart for all magic items from the compendium, and the DMG!
ONE OF THE BEST WIZARDS SUPPLEMENTS IN A LONG TIME!.......2007-07-06
Dunegons & Dragons players today just don't know how good they have it. Back in the ancient days of the late 70's and early 80's, we AD&D players had the DM's guide and that was about it. Sure, the Dragon Magazine always had new magic items or you could create your own but those were not "official". Today, however, Wizards of the Coast is putting out a veritable dragon's horde of new supplements regularly and among the best of the recent releases is The Magic Item Compendium. Over 100, magic items are packed into this gorgeous 286 page, hardcover tome. Everything from minor magical trinkets to artifacts and relics are included in a well organized, and wonderfully written book that is a must have for players and DM's alike.
The book is organized into six chapters on Armor, weapons, clothing, tools, magic item sets, and using magic items and is bolstered by two comprehensive appendices listing magic items by price and random treasure. One of the things that I really like about the new magic item system is the infusing of normal armor, shields, swords, with magical properties that don't necessarily make them unique, one-of-a-kind items.
For example, in the Armor/shield category, there are over sixty different magical properties that can be added to the item (as long as it is already at least a +1 item or better) to enhance its qualities. One such property is Healing. This property will heal 2d8+5 points of damage automatically when the wearer is brought down to -1 to -9 hit points...i.e., rescue from death! The Speed property allows the user to produce the effects of a haste spell 3 times per day. All of these properties can be added to armor or shields. Next, there are over 25 unique armors and shields.
The Weapons chapter is similar to armor in that it first lists all of the different properties that can be added to a +1 or better weapon, as well as the price, caster level, aura, and activation required. Again, there are dozens of different properties listed with their full effects leaving it to the DM to decide what they want to create. There are some great unique items in weapons as well. These all include full descriptions of the appearance and powers, and most of them have a drawing that accompanies the weapon as well.
The items in clothing are all unique items and run the gamut of everything from amulets and boots to gloves and rings and everything in between. Chapter four is really a hodgepodge of everything else not included in the first three chapters. Here you'll find items such as bags, orbs, musical instruments, rods, runestaffs, tomes, and more.
Chapter five's subject is magical item sets. These are groups of three to six unique magic items that provide extra bonuses and abilities when worn together. What I love about these is that they will make great items to set about on separate quests to find and locate. And it had better be pretty hard to do so because they will make for some pretty powerful characters should all the items be found.
Finally, chapter six covers the usage of magic items...where to buy them, how to craft them, where to place them in a dungeon, etc...
It felt like the good, old days again just browsing through page after page of this treasure trove. The art is fantastic as usual. One of the best Supplements to come out in a long time.
Reviewed by Tim Janson
A DM's Crowd-Pleaser........2007-07-06
I've been a DM in one capacity or another for 27 years. This product got me excited again to run a game. The pictures are outstanding and plentiful. The people at Wizards of the Coast should be proud of this one. It is obvious from page one that a true gamer oversaw ever aspect of the product. This book, along with the Spell Compendium are like a one-two punch for the same, boring, treasure trove. A few new spells on scrolls, a new item here and there with never before seen effects and the players catch the excitement as well. The only issue I had against was that the beautiful drawing of the item in question was rarely on the same page as the description, but in a way, it added to the experience of flipping through the book to get ideas. Highly recommended!
Great Book.......2007-06-30
As a long time DM I find the quick and dirty method of item levels to be a very nice tool. Plus the full reference to all the items towards the rear of the book is great for quick look ups. All and all a great book for a DM and a pretty decent book for players. The new skills that you can apply to weapons was a nice addition.
I'm a sucker for options..........2007-06-28
This book has more weapon and armor enchantments than you'll ever use! On top of that, they added relics, artifacts and armor sets. All of which are very useful. They have things for all levels of all power levels.
This is a very useful book, because it adds to every aspect of the magical or legendary equipment. If you game has a lot of magic items or even just one or two items, this book will help you expand that.
The only downside is that your next game will have way to many magic items!
Book Description
Version 3.5 editions of the Player's Handbook, Monster Manual, and
Dungeon Master's Guide are now offered in one slip-covered gift set.
In the 30-year history of the
Dungeons & Dragons game, this type of boxed set has never been available -- until now. Enjoy the foundation of the
Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game in one product that is a great gift for someone you want to introduce to the hobby or as a gift to yourself.
With these three books in one case, the entire world of
Dungeons & Dragons is yours to explore and share with others.
Customer Reviews:
Unbelievable deal!.......2007-10-08
I have been looking for a deal on these three core rule books for a while. I didn't feel like paying full price for the books since D&D 4.0 is coming next summer. I had just about decided that I would have to get used copies when I happened upon the Borders website. I had no idea that Borders and Amazon worked together. All three books come in a single boxed set and together the cost is less than 2/3 what buying them seperately would be. in fact, it's less than buying the three used separately. The box is nice and sturdy and features some cool artwork. If you are just starting out with the 3.5 ruleset, I don't think you can find a better price.
Good Stuff.......2007-09-29
The core rule book set is a nice addition for any D&D gamer. They are nice books and the box holder is a nice addition. It keeps the books together so you can grab them quickly. I would suggest this pack for those of you who want to start gaming or need new books. The price was reasonable and we would recommend them to others happily.
The books are colorful and the paper highquality. These books last through years and years of reference and play. They are must have for all gamers.
Dungeons & Dragons.......2007-09-28
The book came on time and in good condidtion.
My son was thrilled with the books and could not wait for them to come. The minute they showed up he disappeared into his room and didn't come out for hours.
Fantastic game for a fantastic price.......2007-08-24
D&D is a fantastic game, and for this price, it would have been a sin to miss. This three book was design to be definitely enough if you do not want to be invest more into the game -- magnificent tips to the dungeon masters to desing your own monsters, magic items, adventures and worlds, tons of spells, weapons and everything you can imagine. I can hardly put them aside.
D&D Core Rulebook Review.......2007-08-24
These books were purchased for my son who is 17 and just got into D&D. He actually asked for only the first book. When realizing there were other core books and the great price on the 3 book set, I had to get it for him. He was thrilled receiving extra books and had indicated that this is a great started set for persons new to D&D as well as experienced players.
Product Description
An illustrated deck of 64 creative thinking strategies that will whack you out of habitual thought patterns and enable you to look at your life and actions in a fresh way. Use the cards alone or with others to seek innovative solutions to issues. Created by best-selling author von Oech, the cards have been used by many organizations, including NASA, in strategy development and problem solving. Complete with detailed instructions.
Customer Reviews:
Cute but useful book!.......2007-10-08
This book comes with poker-like cards to remind you think different all the time. You will find that it is the small book that you will reread again and again! To me, it is just like a tool. Every one should read to break the ordinary thoughts.
Whack-tastic.......2007-09-27
When you're stuck, this helps get you unstuck. The cards force you to change your train of thought - helpful for when you can't seem to think of anything new. I write a lot of press releases on somewhat mundane and repetitive topics, and the whack pack has inspired some new ideas and made the task less tedious.
Yes, great pack!.......2007-04-12
It's amazing that this product gets five straight stars from all the reviewers. Nothing is worth a perfect score like that, but this product does. This is truly an amazing product. I used these cards all the time (well, maybe not all the time, but when I need a little boost of creativity, these cards really help.) I've had these cards in my arsenal for over ten years. I have not lost a card yet.
The author asks you to challenge the rules and ask questions. As President and Creative Director of a highly creative web design company called AUDIN Web Design, these cards resonate deeply in my creativity. These cards are rule breakers.
The author challenges you to:
"Think like a kid"
"Change its name"
"Look somewhere else"
"Listen to you dreams"
"Check you timing"
"Exaggerate"
And finally:
"Be whacky"
Bottom Line: If you don't like to read (a book) and you want to stimulate your mind, get these cards. They will totally change the way you think about creative (and maybe not so creative) problems.
Truly Useful .......2006-12-03
I think everyone should have a pack of this cards because everyone sometimes feels stuck with a problem to the point that he is unaware of other possible solutions. The ideas in this pack help to look at the perplexing issue from many different perspectives. Sooner or later one may see the light, an open door, most likely many, many doors leading to numerous possible solutions. These cards are a valuable tool for brainstorming ideas, prompting the person to think of ideas that might have never crossed his mind otherwise. The wonderful think about coming out with creative ideas is that you also have lots of laughs while you're doing it because you begin to think of wild, whacky and outrageously fun things.
Lots of great ideas!.......2006-10-31
I've never seen so many great ideas, and tools to break-through creative thinking!
Amazon.com
This Revised Edition (also called 3.5) of one-third of the Dungeons & Dragons trinity of core rulebooks (the other two being The Dungeon Master's Guide and The Monster Manual) contains errata, rules updates, and outright changes to the already-published Third Edition rules. The majority of changes are made in a quest for the holy grail of game rules: balance. To prevent boredom and enable creative choices, no single ability, spell, character class, or weapon should have an overwhelming advantage over another. So what has changed?
- The spells Harm, Heal, and Haste have been toned down. Other spells have been adjusted or renamed.
- Weapons are classified by the Size of the intended wielder, not the size of the individual weapons. A noteworthy effect of this new weapon size system is that Small characters can wield small-size greatswords, longswords, longspears (with reach), and other two-handed weapons.
- Classes have been tweaked. Bards and rangers received the most changes.
- New feats have been added (some original, some from the builder books), and some feats have been altered (a Power Attack now gives double benefit for two-handed weapons).
- Redundant skills have been rolled into one (such as sense motive and read lips) while others have been renamed (such as "wilderness lore" becoming "survival"). Skill synergies have been expanded and knowledge skills now include appropriate monster lore.
In addition to outright rules changes and tweaks, much of the core rule content has been clarified and updated with 3E errata. The combat section, in particular, is organized much better. Even the dreaded grapple rules are now relatively clear. A much-appreciated import from the D&D Miniatures game are new and simple rules for cover and line of sight, as well as clear photographic illustrations of the concepts of facing, attacks of opportunity, and reach.
All in all, 3.5 is a welcome update. The typographical errors are forgivable, given the extent of the update. The new options available to players (in the form of new class features and feats) make the play experience more fun. Veterans will enjoy re-learning the game they love and exploring all the new character possibilities. Perhaps more importantly, they'll find that introducing new gamers to the admittedly formidable D&D ruleset is easier with 3.5 than it was with 3E--call it a +2 circumstance bonus. --Mike Fehlauer
Book Description
Endless adventure and untold excitement await! Prepare to venture forth with your bold compaions into a world of heroic fantasy. Within these pages, you'll discover all the tools and options you need to create characters worthy of song and legend for the
Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game.
The revised Player's Handbook is the definitive rulebook for the
Dungeons & Dragons game. It contains complete rules for the newest edition and is an essential purchase for anyone who wants to play the game.
The revised Player's Handbook received revisions to character classes to make them more balanced, including updates to the bard, druid, monk, paladin, and ranger. Spell lists for characters have been revised and some spell levels adjusted. Skills have been consolidated somewhat and clarified. A larger number of feats have been added to give even more options for character customization in this area. In addition, the new and revised content instructs players on how to take full advantage of the tie-in
D&D miniatures line planned to release in the fall of 2003 from Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
Customer Reviews:
Great Updated Game.......2007-08-07
Having played Dungeons & Dragons in all its incarnations back to Advanced D&D, I must say this is the best so far. I love all the updates.
Anyone who played AD&D for any length of time can tell you the biggest problem of the game was the SLOW level advancement. the group I'm in played the same characters for almost 9 years and struggled to get to 14th level. And the monsters were not hard enough once you got high level. But this issue has been addressed and solved in D&D 3.5.
Another pesky issue was that of Armor Class. I hated THACO, and the 1st ed. AD&D system was very limited plus you needed all those charts. In 3.5 there is no limit in sight. And it's easy as pie to deal with during combat. Just roll the dice and go.
My only drawback is that for a DM, it is harder to create complete NPC's, since character creation is so involved. But on the Player's side, I love that character creation is so involved. It helps me get a good feel of who my character is before we even play. Great to create role-playing opportunities.
All in all this is a really fun game that has been inproved in a wonderful way.
Player's Handbook.......2007-05-10
The structure and overall content more or less remained the same. This is still the main book necessary for making characters and running a game. The changes were, on the whole, in the details.
Pros
* They made some good tweaks on the barbarian, making him more playable. For instance, they now have a trap sense ability and the ability to go into an advanced form of rage at 20th level.
* They played with the bard, somewhat, too. Among other things, they now have more skill points, to give them a broader use in the game.
* The druid now has the ability to convert a spell slot to a summoning spell, much like the cleric's ability to convert a spell slot to a healing spell.
* The monk has a few minor tweaks as well, notably in the attacks per round department.
* The paladin now has their powers spread out a bit, to discourage multiclassing into paladin for one level, solely for the saving throw bonuses.
* The ranger has considerably more versatility. They almost made the ranger playable, but messed it up in the end.
* There are minor tweaks in the skill section. They cut the innuendo and scry skills for instance. No one used them anyway.
* Many feats were brought to the Player's Handbook from other books. This opens them up into open game content for the d20 companies out there.
* Weapons are now based on the character's size. For instance, a longsword comes in the medium variety, the small variety and the large variety. While a halfling's longsword may seem like a short sword to a human, the hilt is the wrong size for a human to wield properly.
* There are many tweaks to individual spells that for the most part, don't detract, and usually enhance things quite a bit. Some spells were too powerful in 3.0, some not powerful enough. You can tell that a lot of thought went into adjusting game balance in this section.
Cons
* The paladin is no more playable than the 3.0 version. The fighter is still much more powerful. WotC seems to be of the opinion that because the paladin gets played a lot, it isn't broken. They don't seem to realize that people would still play paladins if they had fur and barked like dogs. The paladin is too well ingrained in the D&D psyche for people to ignore it just because the class is broken.
* The ranger almost made it. On my first read, I thought the ranger was fixed, but then I saw that they shorted the ranger in the hit dice department, so the ranger is only a bit less broken than in 3.0.
* While I liked, overall, the combat section, I was annoyed that they didn't fix a few problems I had. For instance, I think mages should get a penalty for casting a spell in the same round that they are hit with a full attack (it seems surprising that a mage can get hit five times in six seconds and still cast a spell without anything more than the casting defensively penalty). They also didn't change the one rule in D&D which annoys me the most, the fact that attacking a collar on someone's neck or a pouch on their side provokes an attack or opportunity. I'll just never get that attacking any object on another person's person (I like the sound of that sentence), makes them so confident of their safety they get a free attack on you.
If you play D&D, you need this book........2007-05-08
Simple as that, if you play Dungeons and Dragons v3.5, you physically need this book. Doesn't matter if you're a PC or a DM, BUY IT.
Great revision.......2007-04-22
Any review of this book is, by necessity, a review of the 3rd edition book it replaces. Regular gamers had some common complaints about the way 3rd edition came out, and this revision addresses some of them. Before I get into the details, I'd like to make a general observation for any first time gamers. D&D is THE role playing game right now. If you're looking to get into an RPG, D&D is your best choice. The D20 engine (game mechanic) is intuitive, and with an experienced DM, any group of four or five friends can be up and running in no time. Now, on to the crunchy stuff (If you're a novice, you might want to stop reading now):
1. Ranger class revision. The ranger class was often maligned as either underpowered or only worthwhile for one level. The new ranger class isn't as front loaded, and turns the ranger from a poorly armored guy with two knives and a dog to the agile wilderness warrior I envisioned. I wish they had found a way to keep the d10 hit die, but I guess it was necessary to drop the ranger to a d8 to give the extra abilities (Evasion, woodland stride, etc). I'd hesitate to say that this is worth the price of admission, but as revisions go, it's heavy-handed enough that I'd consider it a new class.
2. Nerfed magic. There were certain spells or combinations of spells that could prove overpowered in battle. Haste was the most frequent offender, and now loses its effect if the target casts a spell. I don't play casters often, so others can speak to this better than I can, but wizards and sorcerers are brought slightly more in line with other classes in 3.5. That said, at higher levels, there's still far more sorcery than sword in this sword and sorcery game.
3. Fighter improvement. OK, there isn't much to speak of. I think a couple of new fighter feats from supplements were added to the core, but those who thought the fighter was underpowered before will likely still think so now. This shortcoming is probably enough reason on its own to keep this from being a 5 star rating. The new fighter feats are largely just another logical step from their prerequisites (greater weapon specialization, greater weapon focus, a few newer forms of toughness that grant more hp, etc). There's nothing in there that wouldn't immediately be house ruled in by any DM approached with the idea by a player playing a fighter. More importantly, anyone playing a fighter would likely already have thought of these. I'll move on now, but suffice it to say that this is the major shortcoming of this book. However, I still think fighters are great first characters, and yes, I still play them even though I've been playing since college.
4. Improved skill lists. I like adding Intimidate as a barbarian class skill, giving the bard and ranger six skill points/level, etc. Basicallly, the game has been made a little more skill-friendly for folks who don't play rogues. If the lack of creative upgrades for the fighter constitute the obvious shortcoming of the revision, then this is the total opposite, a much-needed revision that is subtle, but helps game play a lot in my opinion.
4. Altered races. Dwarves get a few upgrades to make them even more fighter-friendly. I like this, and feel it adds even greater flavor to the dwarves. I just wish that something would be done with/for half elves.
Final Verdict:
I consider 3.5 a step up from 3.0. I like it, and prefer playing 3.5 if given the option. Most people stepped up pretty much immediately, though, so I'm not sure that option really exists. If you want to play a role playing game, chances are you basically have to buy/borrow this book from someone because D&D is the universal RPG. It could be better, but I'd say this is an excellent system, and an excellent use of that system to create a set of classes/races that really gel.
The nuts and bolts for the nutz.......2007-01-16
anyone one of my friends and colleagues who ask me how to play DnD this is the first thing i hand them. i have a loaner copy that is in my house no more then 1 day out of the month. in short this is the best place to start.
Customer Reviews:
great buy.......2007-08-14
This book is pretty good. It is unreasonable to expect that every person is going to use every bit of this book. No one has that much time, or that many characters. Unless of course your characters are suicidal and you roll up a new one every session. To me, if you can pick up a supplement book, pluck out a few classes, feats, and some other good information out of it, chances are its a good buy. Especially considering you can bring that to your gaming group and someone else there might like something that you didn't have a use for. The prestige classes are pretty interesting in terms of class abilities, but I wasn't crazy about them. The enrichment material at the front of the book is excellent though, just like the stuff in PHB2. Solid gold for helping you role-play or just concept a character. The feats and skill tricks presented in this book are also good. In my current campaign I play a Scout (from Complete Adventurer) and I like the character a lot. The problem was, I wasn't getting the full statistical output that my character's personality supports. With the feats in this book, I was able to customize my character by multiclassing in some things without losing some of the Scout class ability progression, which let me make the character into who I felt he should be. The book also has many other feats that make it a lot more appealing to multiclass with levels in a Scoundrel-type class. The skill tricks also add a lot of flavor to your character as well as giving them some cool abilities like some feats give, but with the limitation that they can be used once per day. The book isn't all for the Rogue type, though. It has a fair amount of prestige classes and feats and skill tricks for various casters. To name a few, this book contains the Grey Guard prestige class, sort of like a Paladin with less remorse and more freedom of action. It also has a skill trick that lets anyone with 5 ranks in the Heal skill heal some damage when they stabilize. All in all, I won't use everything in this book, but I will use a good amount of it and it is likely that some of my other players will, too.
Who *isn't* a scoundrel?.......2007-07-24
I was very excited about pre-ordering this book, as it sounded like just the thing for giving sneaky, underhanded spells/feats to sneaky, underhanded characters.
However, being a scoundrel has nothing to do with being sneaky or underhanded. Or clever. Or...well, anything at all. EVERYONE's a scoundrel, as illustrated by the book's "What is a scoundrel?" section. Darth Vader and Mario (yes, that Mario) are cited as examples.
This book is full of very similar feats (more often than not, they're just "Choose to re-roll" affairs).
I would not recommend it.
I loved this book.......2007-07-19
I really found this book helpful, as the skill tricks can be used for different classes and I tend to play a more tactical based character anyway. I've had an enjoyable time experimenting with many classes using the recommendations from this book and the luck feats are rather entertaining at times.
A 5 star, if you're more devious, than "Conan" ;).......2007-06-27
More a sort of explanation and thought provoking book to stir your adventures and characters, than just hard "crunch", it's a good one for those who play more devious, roguish characters or settings, than a "hack n' slash" one.
So, 5 star if you like that, but 3 or 4 star if not into such things.
It's less practical than "Complete Adventurer", but if you play a more roleplay focused, or gritty/personality type of campaign, it can be just the thing.
:)
I'd rather be lucky than good........2007-06-15
This book is an excellent addition to your D and D library, especially if you like to play a character who uses their wits in place of brawn.
If you are familiar with "The Complete X" line of books from WotC than the layout of this book is no surprise. Prestige classes, new feats, new equipment, etc... Either you need more feats to choose from or you don't, same with Prestige classes. However, please read on.
What is new in this book is what really makes this book stand out, in my opinion. Skill Tricks. These tricks are almost like mini feats. They are extremely useful and come in several varieties. Basically they add a bit more flavor to your already useful skill ranks to get a bit more milage out of a skill check. They aid in combat, movement, awareness checks and other sundry uses.
Face it, if you are attracted to this kind of character to begin with you are going to have a on of skill points, skill points gives you more options and uses for spending them.
Book Description
An important reference to the most popular spells in the Dungeons & Dragons®
game. A must have at every D&D game table!
Spell Compendium provides players and Dungeon Masters with quick access to the
D&D spells they need most. Drawing from a treasure trove of sources, Spell Compendium is the one place to find spells that are referenced time and again: the best, most iconic, most popular, and most frequently used. This convenient reference introduces a new spell format that includes descriptive text.
Customer Reviews:
Good d&d resource.......2007-08-31
The Spell Compendium is a good resource for 3.5 d&d. There are a lot of spells in here that will find their way onto casters' lists. I think it strikes a pretty good balance in terms of game balance.
Great book, a few errors.......2007-08-24
This is a great book for spellcasters. You will find you've now got way too many spells to deal with. It gathers up all the spells from the Complete This and Comlete That and other ancillary books and adds in some brand new ones as well. There are a few entries that have obvious errors in them, including one spell that is completely useless because it is missing information.
It would be better if it contained the spells from the Player's Handbook as well, so you could have all your spells in one place. But at least you're now down to two spellbooks instead of a bunch with a little of this and a little of that.
I'd give it four and a half stars because of the errors, but I'm feeling generous.
Excellent book.......2007-08-22
This book is excellent. Anyone who says that this book is lacking because it doesn't have the core book spells doesn't know cost efficiency or understand logic. It is not logical to expect a company to reprint material from a book that players MUST HAVE in order to play, nor is it cost efficient to reprint such a massive amount of material. The PHB was 1/3-1/4 spells. That is a waste of space, money and time. That being said, this book is an excellent collection of spells. If you have any sort of caster, this book is almost as necessary as the core books. I rolled up a Cleric for an updated version of Tomb of Horrors, and the spells presented in this book saved the party at least two times on their own. Needless to say there are many useful and fun spells. A worthy addition to any D&D book collection.
Limited Usefulness.......2007-08-13
When I think spell 'compendium' I think of a volume that contains all spells in the Dnd 'verse period. The whole point of a spell compendium in my mind is to have all the spells in the game easily accessible and organized in one book. Therefor this book falls short for two reasons:
a) though it lists spells alphabeticially, it is not indexed.
b) it contains all the spells in the game...except for ones in the players handbook. Granted, this volume does reduce the ammount of books open for a spellcaster choosing their ideal spell combinations, but why WOC didn't go the distance to make a "one stop choose-your-magic-here" book is beyond me.
Upside: lots of fun spells. But that should be obvious from the title.
A Nice New Set of Fresh Spells.......2007-08-07
As far as I'm concerned, there can't be too many spells to choose from. That's why I really like books like this for it's concice collection of new spells. My only complain is that the Spell List by Level is on the back, when all the other books have it in the front. Oh Well. Otherwise the spells are clever, useful and original. Great as an addition to any campaign.
Customer Reviews:
Finally, the Lunars seem to have remembered which gameworld they're in........2007-09-17
I can't really speak to the mechanical improvements, since I have yet to play a lunar character in a game, but the backstory alone is an enormous improvement over 1st ed. Back then, Lunars were like a bunch of old World o' Darkness were____s that had wandered into the wrong gameworld--they hated civilization, preferring the 'purity' of the 'barbarians.' Conan plus anarcho-primitivism, how appealing. That, and the old rules made Lunars probably the least popular Exalt type book in the old edition.
Now, however, the Lunar backstory and culture are free of fantasy cliches (ie 'Barbarians') and sure to provide great kernels for character creation. The basic concept that the lunars are 'stewards' as opposed to the Solar 'lawgivers' is well developed into an exalt ethos that puts emphasis on mortal self-determination and self-reliance, a really interesting contrast to the Solar and Terrestrial desire to set themselves up as God-Kings. The factions of the lunars are fleshed out nicely--The Winding Path are dedicated to helping as many different societies as possible evolve among mortals. The Sun King Seneschals once merely hated the Terrestrials but now that the Solars are back may want to be the power behind the throne. The Crossroads Society are the sorcerers who trade lore and take a leading role in protecting the Lunars from the Wyld. Finally the Swords of Luna fight the fair folk (that's it) and the Wardens of Gaia are either civilization-loathing primitivists or simply greens who would like to see mortals live in harmony with nature.
In short, while the old lunars book did little more than provide crazed, not particularly fleshed-out antagonists, the new lunars book paints a picture of exalts at least as interesting as the solars who can either have wonderful adventures on their own or add a new angle to a game with Solars.
Excellent Lunar come back.......2007-07-24
Well I must first say that english is not my native language so please forgive me if I make mistakes. Thanks.
Now as for the Lunar Exalted Book. WOAW. Simple.
They completely erradicated all the mistakes of the Lunars First Edition.
Now Lunars are complete characters full of options and with a nice setting, nice background, history, great Knacks, Charms, Gifts and Fury stuff. Excellent new backgrounds, details on what they been doing this last centuries. A good reasoning of the Wyld core in all Lunar Essences. A great explanation of why they need the moonsilver ink tattoos and their restrictions. Also the Thousand Rivers proyect and their involvement in human populations like Halta, Chiaroscuro, Diamond, etc..
IF I have some disagreements with the book would be that some Charms (7) dont work well. Certain lack of Wyld Mutations to develop the Combat Form of the Lunar (cause they are spread between the Main Corebook, the Compass of Celestial Directions The Wyld and in this Book) I feel like they should have reprinted a complete list of possible Wyld Mutations and rules in this Corebook. Personally I feel that maybe they should have given a little more importance to Artifacts made of Moonsilver and maybe special Celestial Sorcery Spells unique to Lunars. But this is just an opinion.
So far an excellent book. Full of great things.
I hunger to play a full-fledged Shapeshifter that can edure anything and slay Creation's enemies while saving humankind from threats of the Wyld!
Yup it's fixed.......2007-06-13
A big improvement from the 1E version of the same. The Lunars are now not only powerful but have intersting charms and trees that will not make character design a headache. This is with out a doubt the most important update of the 2nd Ed of the Exalted game
Extrordinary improvement over 1st Ed.......2007-05-11
The second edition of Lunars presents a much more cohesive and believable let of heros than its predecessor. The social groupings are much more fleshed out and thought through, and alone are almost worth the cost of the book. These characters are presented as Heroic, though flawed persons, contrary to the nearly mindless savage Wyld cult leaders they are in 1st Ed. Thankfully, the Charm trees appear to have been cleaned up as well, at least upon first impression.
Overall, this expansion is much more in line with the overall feel of the Exalted series, giving the Lunars a much more believable and glorious moment in the spotlight.
Book Description
Over 200 creeps, critters, and creatures to keep players on their toes. From Aboleths to Zombies, the Third Edition Monster Manual holds a diverse cast of enemies and allies essential for any Dungeons & Dragons campaign. There are hundreds of monsters ready for action, including many new creatures never seen before. Plus, all monster entries include character stats so for the first time players can play as the monsters. Dungeon Masters and players alike will find the new Monster Manual an indispensable aid in populating their Third Edition campaigns.
Customer Reviews:
How to make a better Monster Manual.......2003-07-18
A: Include all monsters from the previous edition's manual
B: Introduce a few new and interesting monsters (10-40 would suffice)
C: Make the layout flip-friendly for rushing GMs
D: Make sure the monsters go beyond combat statistics (as in their habitats are listed, form of society, mating and etc. Like a National Geographic Mag.)
I think if at least one of these is followed, it's worth the same as the original. If all are followed, it's a goldmine. I have the great annoyance to tell you that none of these were followed.
There are 1/3 the number monsters in the new manual as the old one (I hear that if you add this manual, 2, and the Monsters of Faerun books together you get almost as many as the old 2nd edition MM.) I believe that the creators argued "The original MM only had 40 monsters in it!" My answer to this is simple: the first edition didn't have 25+ years of books and two editions in front of it to help.
The new monsters (which ended up drowning out old favorites) are way too underpowered or overpowered, lack depth, and generally seem a little too sci-fi (remember, this is a fantasy game)
The layout definately sucks, it took me an hour to find anything. One monster a page is definately a better road to travel.
Last but not least, the monsters BARELY go beyond the numbers. I suggest you either buy all three of the above mentioned "Monster Manuals" (have fun shuffling books!) or just play 2nd edition AD&D.
Tons of Monsters...Yet Lacking.......2003-06-07
The Third Edition (3E) Monster Manual is a great purchase for any DM. It has a good amount of monsters, pretty descriptive stats, yet...it seems one caliber less than the 2E Monster Manual.
On one hand, the 3E Monster Manual delivers over 200 monsters to terrorize your campaign setting. They have some awesome new monsters. My personal favorite, is a devil, and is known as a Kyton. He is demonic humanoid with hundreds of chains drooping from his body, and his mode of attack is flailing those chains. Pretty hardcore.
On the other hand, the 3E Monster Manual doesn't seem to give enough. Some of the monsters just plain [are bad], and they aren't unique in any way. Also, the amount of creatures do not come near the amount that were in the 2E monster manual, which is frustrating.
On the FINAL hand, It is a must for any DM playing 3E. It isn't a bad book at all...it just seems lacking. The monster stats are good...the amount of monsters are good...but don't expect much more. (If they had 3.5 stars I would give this book 3.5)
Content: Meh... Book Quality: HORRIBLE.......2003-02-04
Being someone new to the Dungeons and Dragons scene, I had great hope and joy when I opened my amazon.com package containing the Player's Handbook (PHB) and the Monster Manual (MM).
First note: all the D&D books are quite hard to understand without playing first. That would be why you buy the "Adventure Game" using the same ruleset. The MM is the shortest of the D&D books, which makes sense, as it mostly talks only about monsters. The content is hard to understand first hand, however it is quite detailed.
Now, we go onto the quality of the book. Both the DM Guide and the PHB have a hard cover binding and high-quality full-colored pages. The MM has this too, but in my recent experiences, the binding at the spine (the binding that is holding the pages together) is quite loose. So loose that in fact, one player of mine has all the pages completely out of the binding. True, out of 12 NEW MM's that I have seen, all of them had an extremely loose binding, especially with the pages in the back. You can see the rope that is holding the pages together there. Just note: a lot of the pages in this book will fall out with heavy use. something not too normal with hardcover books.
My suggestion, since you are looking at this, is to wait until July 2003, where a new, revised MM will be avaliable. That MM will have 108 more pages, and hopefully a better binding with that many pages. All the D&D core rulebooks are being revised and released in July 2003 (at the end of the month). If you want the D&D books right now, then I suggest the Player's Handbook, the Dungeon Master's Guide, and the Monster Manual II. The MM II will not be revised, and was released recently, so it will be easier to understand. If there is one rulebook that you should not buy, it would be this one. Wait for July 2003 and reap the rewards.
Least of the Three.......2003-01-08
The Monster Manual is labelled a core rulebook, and it truly is. Without the description and rules within, a DM would be hard-pressed to create the creatures necessary to challenge her players at various levels. The book is beautiful and well-laid-out, as you would expect from the other core books. The rules section in the front is short and concise, as most of the rules have been explained in the previous two books.
Therein, actually, is my biggest complaint about the book. I feel that, unlike the DMG, far too little explanation is given in the MM about how to create new monsters and balance them against each other. Even sketchy guidelines like the magic item creation rules in the DMG would have been a wonderful addition to the book. As it is, you can only create a monster, then compare it to all the other monsters of a comparable skill level, and guess whether yours is about right. It's a good metric, but it's cumbersome.
The third core book, I feel, has too much in the way of tables and not enough in terms of flavor text and rules explanation. While still a great resource for what it is, I think it is lacking the flare that made the first two core books a pleasure to own.
great.......2002-10-01
i dont accutully want to rite a revew, just to rate it
Customer Reviews:
Expedition to the Demonweb Pits--Demonically Good!.......2007-09-06
Wow! This massively rich Dungeons & Dragons experience is a weaving of expert writing, deliciously devilish (or demonic)creativity and deadly challenges--sure to please any veteran or new explorer of the outer planes of existence.
Whether you are a DM wanting to take your players on a plane-spanning adventure, a hardened warrior seeking to right unthinkable evils, or spellcaster seeking to push the envelope on your powers, this is an adventure you don't want to miss! Playable over the course of a single weekend, I can't recommend a better mod for PCs of level 9-11.
Familiarity with extraplanar worlds is helpful, so check these books out also:
Planar Handbook (Dungeon & Dragons d20 3.5 Fantasy Roleplaying)
planar handbook
Good gaming,
Tyrskald
Running it now..........2007-06-13
I'm running this now (the party's near the end of Chapter 2), and so far it's quite a bit of fun... if you're in the right mindset.
If you're looking for a wacky jaunt across the planes, merrily killing drow and demons, this will probably work for you. If you're looking for an adventure with plot & complexity, you'd best look elsewhere. I was looking for a pretty brainless adventure I could run once a month for some gaming-deprived out-of-town friends. My prep time is somewhat minimal, so this seemed like a good buy.
The format of the adventure actually is pretty easy to use. You get all the material for a single encounter on one page, or two facing pages, along with full stat blocks. That layout makes my job as DM pretty easy while I'm running the game. It's somewhat annoying while I'm *preparing* for the game, but once I got used to it, it worked.
I'd give it 5 stars for the material and for the presentation, but the stat blocks are awful. I'm not talking about the new stat block format - I *love* the new stat blocks (top section is pre-encounter, second is player's turn, third is monster's turn, fourth is detail, fifth is exposition), but the stat blocks are full of errors. I don't know that anyone really did proofreading on this book. (Two Examples: Ratatosk damage assumes small-size weapons while the creature's size is listed as Medium. Rule-Of-Three's dagger attacks don't include the magic bonus.)
Are these things written with a dart board?.......2007-06-12
This thing sucks. I was expecting something really interesting and would involved politics of the Abyss, but got a hastily thrown together group of encounters. The plot line makes little sense. The hook to get the PCs involved makes little sense. The reasons for why most NPCs would assist the PCs makes little sense. From a combat perspective, it's probably decent as a dungeon crawl. (I haven't run/played it, so I can't say how balanced the encounters are) You'd have to totally ignore the plot and story to enjoy it, though. Unfortunately, this follows in line with almost all of the adventures that WOTC has put out in the last 4 years. They're great dungeon crawls if the PCs are okay with just being led along by a string of encounters. You're left in the end wondering what the hell the reasons for the adventure even were. They could have done sooooo much more with NPCs like Grazz't and Orcus and the interplay of politics between the demon lords. I'm very disappointed. The only plus side is the pages and printing and diagrams are visually nice and the encounter format is concise. I'd rather have the encounters placed back right into the main text, however, 'cuz I don't want to have to "refer to appendix C for monster and environment details" kind of junk.
Challenge rating ill concieved.......2007-06-12
As a player and a DM for over 20 years,I was anxious to see this 3.5 update of the classic early gygax era modules,I read through the new adventure and was astounded that they suggest this module is suitable for a 9th level group,the first encounter alone states that even though it is highly challenging a fully empowered and rested group should prevail.This is the mind set throughout the book.Several Demon lord aspects abound in the module which I find that most characters would have difficulty defeating that were less than 14 th level.Although the book states these encounters may be avoided,most players will invariably face nearly every one.
I enjoy the flow of story but any player familiar with the game would laugh at the concept of 9th level characters "plane traveling" and surviving the rigors associated with dealing with the denizens of aforementioned alternate planes.This module should have been designated for 12th-16th level players which would be more in line with the game mechanics.
Rushed camgaign.......2007-06-08
I am co-DM in a campaign and we decided to go with the "quick" version of this setting. I'm not sure if it is better in the earlier stages but so far it seems like this book was rushed. There are some mobs on the maps that don't have a map key while others do, and the maps for the encounters in the pits are somewhat confusing. This is a fun campaign setting, our players are really enjoying it, but if you are going to DM it make sure you go over it thoroughly before each game. Some things that should quick to find are a bit tough to navigate for players that are into the role playing aspect more. They are in there, just spread out and seemingly disconnected. Not a good campaign to pick on spur of the moment, but it is fun to play and DM if you have the time for it.
Customer Reviews:
Mediocre at best.......2007-09-05
I was very disappointed with this book. It has little to do with Cormyr. Even if you're focused on setting a game in Cormyr you can skip purchasing this book. You'll get nothing in the way of useful source material. The adventure has one or two interesting parts, but you can definitely do better by writing your own. This book also seems to focus on a new style that comes off as focusing more on the fights than the story. I found important information scattered about the book and it was often difficult to make it fit together.
A good product from wizards of the coast.......2007-07-13
Wizards of the Coast has been known to drown the public with crappy products just in the hopes of us buying it before we realize its crap, but this was far better then could have been expected. It is well layed out and easy to follow. The story actually makes sense and grabs the players. If you like Dungeons and Dragons and play in the forgotten Realms then I highly recommend this product. Even if you don't it provides some great ideas for any home run campaigns.
Not a true Supplement.......2007-07-13
I was dissapointed when I first read throught this book to find that it is mislabeled as a Supplement when it is in fact an Adventure Module. I am running a campaign in the Cormyr region so I was desperate to find the fine detailed facts that only a true supplement can provide. The adventure looks fun but I am a little afraid to run it because my players read it.
It does have some supplemental information about one city in Corymr. Just not enough of what I was looking for. I ended up turning to a Volo's guide.
Play before you rip..........2007-07-02
I have now played through this entire adventure as the DM. The reason I bought it in the first place is that I love the Forgotten Realms and am a college student, so no time to write my own. I have heard many people say that it is underwhelming or not enough new material. Let me say this...So what. It is beautifully written by 5 amazing authors who all contributed to the design of the story. If you constantly follow the Forgotten Realms story, this adventure and the 2 follow-ups will fit in nice between the events of certain novels. Also, the encounters are challenging, very customizable, and quite suitable for any play group.
As I said before, I have finished this adventure with 1 play group and am halfway with another. If you want new stuff, write it yourself or add any of the hundreds of items and classes other FR books add. I personally went and rewrote many of the major NPCs stat blocks using Champions of Ruin and Lost Empires.
Finally, remember that the story in the adventure is incomplete. To the players, they will feel like they have survived (or not survived...3 or 4 times in my party's case) something huge. My players absolutly clammored for more and the second book in the series releases later this month.
If you like the F.R. and need a precon adventure, look no further.
All it's cracked up to be!.......2007-05-30
Good product. As always with WotC, retail price is steep but this one is worth it - especially if you are a fan of Faerun.
Well done, deep plot, good illustrations - all in all, nice installment in this super campaign.
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Monster Manual V (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.5 Fantasy Roleplaying)
