Customer Reviews

Dungeon Master's Guide: Core Rulebook II v. 3.5 (Dungeons & Dragons d20 System)

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

Well when they did 3.5 I would have thought that is was a fill in on the holes in 3.0. It is not. Most things have the basics from 3.0 but many things are totaly different from the ground up. If you want to do 3.5, you have to do all the books. This is not a partial switch, it is an all or nothing. When you first switch you keep finding more changes that on first look make no sense. After playing 4 or 5 sessions, you start to realize that , hey this is really good. My first impression was that 3.5 was the pitts, but after a good while, I realized it is much better than 3.0. I started playing d&d in 1977, and this is a really nice version, once you realize that it is a new total rework, not just a half step. If you are going to switch and need to get all three books, by them as the set. The price drop for the set makes it much easer on the money.

I was among the most vehemently obstinate when it came time to make the decision to convert to the 3rd Edition Dungeons and Dragons. I've been playing using the first and second edition rules sets for nearly 15 years, and my first read-through of the 3e core rules made me think about only one thing - Magic: The Gathering.

However, my group and I have recently seen the light and moved into the realm of Third Edition, and I will admit that I was very wrong to cast it aside so quickly. Streamlined rules, simplified spell descriptions, combat rounds that don't seem to stand still - I could go on an on. But this review is about the Dungeon Master's Guide, and I have but one word - OUTSTANDING.

One of the fatal flaws of the second edition DMG was its apparently convenient "parallel organization" - that is, the chapters were organized in the same order in both books to make reference easier. However, the 3e DMG has done away with this, and for good reason - most of the information in the PLayer's Handbook doesn't need to be repeated in the DMG.

The new DMG is chock-full of Dungeon Master stuff. Combat? See the PHB. Character class or race? See the PHB. Encumbrance, alignment, magic? See the PHB. The DMG boasts such goodies as presitge classes, a modularized magic item system, a complete (finally) description of every extraordinary and supernatural ability in the game, prestige classes, the fundamentals for Epic Characters, and on and on.

Bravo, Wizards. Bravo.

Even if you refuse to pick up the 3.5 PHB, I seriously recommend getting the 3.5 DMG, for these reasons.

1) More prestige classes. The ones in the old 3.0 were subpar; the new ones added are great, even through they should have left out the Red Wizard one if they insist on it being a Forgotten Realms only class.

2) You want to have extra-planar or epic level adventures. Well, you can buy the new DMG and skip buying the Manual of the Planes and Epic Handbooks, as the core stuff in both books is in the new DMG as well. However, you probably don't want to use the Epic system used here, as without the Epic Book's spell seeds, spellcasters are rather subpar.

The new DMg is basically the old DMG with all the best stuff from the past 3 years included. A must buy for any DM, even if you have the old 3e DMG, especially for the ... price.

I've played D&D since the early 1980s when I was introduced to Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. Dungeons & Dragons has gone through many evolutionary changes to reach its current 3rd Edition state - many of which I do not favor. I must agree with a previous reviewer in saying that this is not the D&D I remember playing; rather, it is an overcomplicated game meant to satisfy a generation of computer and console gamers by emphasizing combat development of super-heroic player characters over social roleplaying. While it is nice to see Advanced Dungeons & Dragons become simply, Dungeons & Dragons, again; the trendy Digital Age version nomenclature of 3.5 is rather sad.

Criticisms of 3rd Edition aside, this tome is vital for gaming in the 3rd Edition world. It resolves issues presented in the previous 3.0 release. If you own the original 3rd Edition DMG, you might be better off looking for the errata elsewhere.

This DMG, along with other 3rd Edition books, has very high production value (which adds to the cost). The pages are full color and glossy. We old timers had grainy paper and black & white artwork until 2nd Edition when pages had more color. I was disappointed to find that the groundbreaking artwork found throughout the 2nd Edition pantheon of books has been replaced with distorted, almost comic book-like works, that just do not do D&D justice.

The DMG by its very nature is like a college textbook full of tables and charts. The book isn't supposed to be entertaining reading, unlike the many other books in the D&D pantheon. Therefore, the decision to use extensive color and graphics in this book is more for consistency than function. Overall, while the book is very attractive, I found the graphics and typography to be a major distraction that would slow me down if I needed to shoot through the book to find an important chart. I preferred the more mundane appearance of the 2nd Edition books.

Since the advent of 3rd Edition D&D, there is a new "Behind the Curtain" feature that gives reader some insight into why a particular rule change was made. I like this, and I hope to see it more extensively used. Unfortunately, these footnotes run sparse in the DMG. Of all the D&D books, the DMG should have used this feature the most.

I did enjoy the introductory chapter that explains to aspiring DMs their role in the game, and I thought that the Chapter 5 section on Campaigns does a good job of outlining some of the more noticeable details of a game setting.

As with all previous D&D editions, you will need more than this one book in order to run a game. If you just want to play D&D, get the Player's Handbook. If you are like me and continue to run Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st or 2nd Edition games, then you will not get much from 3rd Edition. You'll already have your own house rules, and you'll probably agree with me in saying that 2nd Edition offered more supplements to evolve your character.

If you are new to Dungeons & Dragons, don't be alarmed. For the unitiated, D&D 3rd Edition is a solid game based on time-tested mechanics. You won't have any biases or expectations to satisfy. Realizing that the 3rd Edition will lay serious damage to your wallet, you might consider collecting the 2nd Edition books, which though out of print, will provide you with limitless options for gaming at a much lower cost and give you a faithful introduction to now famous settings as the Forgotten Realms, Greyhawk, and Dark Sun.

The 3.5 edition Players Handbook contains virtually all the necessary rules to play D&D. This book is basically supplementary material. It is reasonably well put together and I love the artwork, but 3.5 edition takes some getting used to.

When compared with OD&D or AD&D (1st and 2nd edition), somethings have been improved, and other things have become harder to manage. I'll start with the improvements...

1. Movement and time are pretty standardized and a little easier to handle in 3.5 edition. The game lends itself towards combat simulation with minatures, and is very exact.
2. Skills have been introduced, which allow for greater character development, although I should mention that OD&D had skills as well (see the Rules Cyclopedia).
3. Wizards has ditched the negative numbers, which lessens the complexity of the game a bit.
4. Apologies to Gary Gygax, but the writing is a whole lot better in the new books.
5. Detecting secret doors, and searching is handled in a much better manner than earlier editions of D&D.

Now for the bad...

1. Savings throws are no longer based on a table, and now require a mathematical calculation based on the level of spell, modifications made by the spellcaster, etc. This is a bit clumsy.
2. Turning undead is a lot more complicated.
3. Attacks of opportunity can slow the game down, as players sit and wonder how they will perform an action without invoking an attack of opportunity.
4. Way too many feats are available, and they also make characters overly powerful and disrupt game mechanics. It would have been a lot better to have a handful of feats available to each character class.
5. I'd like to see the other dice used more (d12, d10, etc.)

So it's far from a perfect system, but the d20 system works well, especially at lower levels. The nice thing about the d20 system, is it can be ported to other time periods and games (Star Wars, etc.)

Wizards seems to want to print as many hardcovers as possible. It would have been pretty easy to combine the DM's guide with the Player's Handbook and cut out some of the fat. Most of the dungeon modules are printed by other companies.

I'm worried that 4th edition will be out very soon, and players will feel compelled to go out and buy all new books. This is what I loved about OD&D -the same system was in place between 1974 and 1993, with some minor modifications.

Wizards of the Coast made a good marketing move by releasing a revision of its most well known rpg, not only it can increase sales but it is supposed to make the game system even better. Thats not exactly what happens when you fire the original game designers and put new people to revise it. Its kinda like making some newbie fantasy author reviewing Harry Potter books and releasing updated versions. How can you really revise something you didnt create? Perhaps by talking with the authors, but not even that occured as Monte Cook said on his review.

Theres are lots of good news though, like the urgent fix on Harm, Heal and Haste spells; The downgrading on wizards power by reducing the ammount of spell DC augnment on bumping feats/class abilities; The total redisign on Ranger and Monk classes; and so on...

But... There are some terrible terrible mistakes. Like making weapons vary with size (like small longsword and large longsword, which in fact is the same as a great swrod); Combat rules even more tied to miniatures system (looks like a war game, and not everyone likes miniatures or can afford tons of them); Some weird racial abilities (half elves now gain bonuses to diplomacy skills because they "get along with everyone" ??);
Clerics got even more powers with mass healing/harming spells; etc...

Overall its 3.5 stars for 3.5 edition. But because you have to pay 90 bucks for the 3 books I give 3 stars.

Now, I am not going to say that they needed a 3.5 edition. I am going to say that a revision does seem to make the classes and their abilities more balanced (by making some weaker and a few stronger). Monsters are much more powerful in general terms. Also, there is a lot more helpful information included in the books, especially in the DM's Guide. The DM's Guide contains a great deal more information, helping the DM to make intelligent choices and guide the world of his or her players. All the magic items now include information for Detect Magic and the like, easing that all too familiar problem for DMs. All the included Prestige Classes are also useful. By far the two most important and useful things are the combat/spotting/etc. related information and the free map, counters, etc. at the end of the book. So far I've found very few errors.

First things first: I don't think Wizard is releasing this because they are money grubbers. But I *do* think this book says something about their poor quality control & editing processes. This half-edition should never have been necessary. This is the book that SHOULD have been version 3. That said, if you want to become a good D&D DM but don't know how, you need this version 3.5 book.
The 3.0 book is useless to new DMs. It is a mish-mashed regurgitation of 2nd edition structure and 3rd edition rules with a useless glossary and index page. The 3.0 DMs guide was a horror that may have permanently scared off anyone who was thinking about DMing. If you bought version 3 wanting to see what DMing would be like, then sell it or use it to prop up a short table leg.
This 3.5 version is an excellent book. Things are properly organized, clarified, tabled and exampled. The book is presented in almost a chronological order and makes for decent recreational & sequential reading. Don't give up on learning to be a DM. Instead, buy the 3.5 version and dig in! This version is worth the money, especially if you are brand new to being a game master.

You may or may not have seen my reveiw of the the players handbook. (If not, click on the link above). If so, then you know that I have a set of old ADnD books, and I think that 3.5 is a much better game system. The ADnD DMG had very little information on how to actually be a DM, it was just stuff the DM needs. Other then treasure tables, monster tables, and a bit about NPCs and campaingns, it is mostly a rehash of the PHB.

Many people think that they can bring the score of the 3.5 books down by posting the same review on all 3 core books. There's the "I've been playing DnD since the 70's, and this book sucks" type of reviews, the same one on all three books. C'mon, people!

That said, I, being more of a DM then a player, feel that the 3.5 DMG is a far better resource then the ADnD one. It covers the essential material, including HOW TO BE A DM! That's what should be in a DUNGEON MASTER'S GUIDE, don't you think?

There is also the reveiw that says the game is being changed to suit a "console gamer" generation. As someone who was not around in the 70's, I really can't say much on that statement, but I will say this... The books may have been changed that way, but that's the way the human race has evolved. In another ten years, there will probaly be a new addtion to the game, suited for the teens of that age, and those of us who are teens now will probaly be talking about how stupid it is.

As a closing note: No one is forcing you to change. We "younger" gamers may find 3.5 to be the addtion that we like, but if you want to paly an older addtion, no one's stopping you.

The D&D 3.5 core rulebooks (Player's Handbook, Dungeon Master's Guide, and Monstrous Manual) represent the newest and best incarnation of the greatest roleplaying game of all time. Many reviews have focused on the differences between versions 3 and 3.5. As someone who "skipped" version 3, I am reviewing these books as a newcomer to the d20 system. This is one of the most coherent, most streamlined, easiest to use roleplaying games I have ever seen. Everything about these books is top notch, from the binding, to the paper quality, to the editing. There is room for tremendous depth of play here. The character creation system strikes an ideal balance between detail and ease of use. Created characters will be rich and unique -- perfect for that extended campaign. The information contained in the DMG and MM are everything a new DM needs to get a great game up and running. If you're new to D&D, or if you're upgrading from versions 1 or 2, I highly recommend these books.