Customer Reviews

Player's Handbook - Deluxe Edition: A 4th Edition Core Rulebook (D&D Core Rulebook)

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Let me first say that this isn't a review of the 4th edition PHB overall, but of how the Deluxe version is different from the basic version. I like 4th edition D&D to buy this book in the first place. But I feel that they should have released this version of the book in 2009 to make sure all the bugs got out of 4th ed.

I was aware what the book contained and what it didn't. I knew it wasn't going to contain any new material, just 10 pages of errata of the first printing of the 4th ed PHB.

The page tags are nice. But they do not come off easy with worry that they may damage the pages. The ink quality is the same from the other 4th ed books which is widely believed to be subpar due to the fact that it smugs. This was something that I have not noticed in the multitude of 3.X and AD&D books I've owned over the years.

The biggest difference is the foil bindings and glossy front and back covers. I am turned off by this more then I thought I would be. It makes the PHB appear to be a thick hard cover special edition comic book. Because of this I have become more concerned about putting dings into this expensive book.

The 3.5 Special Edition PHB, DMG, and MM got it right and is worth the price. Nice sturdy black leather covers that make you feel like you are opening a wizard's tome. The silk book marker is classer then the page tags.

I bought this book because of the heavy discount Amazon.com gave it at the time. I definatly wouldn't buy it again nor recommend it to anybody unless they don't like carrying around errata pages like myself. While I do not have the Deluxe version of the DMG or MM I would not recommend buying those at all for the increase price. For the price you are only get 5 pages of errata for each book with a pretty cover. I feel the DMG is pretty much a worthless book to those who already know how to DM and create a world. The errata for it doesn't make a difference.

In short: If you like to splurg, go ahead. But I wouldn't buy this if you already own the basic PHB.

What is good: The bindings of these deluxe books are much better than the standard, cheaper printings. And the cover is much nicer (though leather would have been even better). The paper quality is also better. Lastly, and most importantly, these books contain updates/corrections to the rules that the standard printings do not yet include.
What is bad: The ink on the pages of these books still smears, just like the cheaper printings. This alone causes me to knock off a full two stars from the rating. Paying this much money, I expect them to be of perfect quality... and running my fingers across the ink and having them smear is just inexcusable. I only had one other trivial complaint (and no I did not knock off any stars because of this). The gilt edges stick together when you first get them. I fail to see how the gilt makes them look any better and I had to carefully separate them upon my first reading to assure I caused no damage. Without the ink-smearing debacle I would have otherwise given these books a 5 star rating.

there is no reason this book is more expensive, except perhaps the error correction. if anything it should have been the regular player's handbook.

I'm extremely disappointed that these books are not leather bound and that they are not significantly higher quality than the standard rulebooks. This "Deluxe" Players Handbook is only different on the cover -- not in quality, quantity or presentation.

It was "nice" that Wizards of the Coast posted the steady stream of typo corrections, omissions and rewritten rules on their web site; it would have been even "nicer" if a better editing effort had been performed on the regular version of the 4.0 edition PHB, so that some of the more annoying omissions had been caught before the regular version came out. Still, if Wizards can refrain from making more corrections to the PHB for at least the next 12 to 24 months, it will give me a chance to actually use the PHB without having paste yet another corrections page into the book.

This will hurt feelings but this is not d&d this is an entirely new games system and , I don't like it
plays like a video game or strategy game more than roleplay.

In my opinion d&d ended with 3.5 and even then it was losing it's flavor, the only thing I can say is thanks to
wotc for the ogl.

and really phb vol 3 , dmg vol 3, etc.etc, I invested more money than I should have in 3.5.

i bought this because i thought it would have new races and classes but i found out it didnt. it just has a new cover and a foil finish but in the end its the same thing as the 1st 4th edition handbook. I wish I hadnt wasted my money on it.