Customer Reviews

Wizards Presents: Classes and Races (Dungeons & Dragons)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

Opinions of this book will probably vary greatly. I am enjoying my copy quite a bit because I love behind the scenes info. Before purchasing this book, ask yourself: Do you watch the making-of stuff on the second discs in your Two-Disc Special Edition DVDs? If you answered yes, you are the target audience for this "Preview" of next year's 4th edition of DnD. Be forewarned: this book contains NO mechanics of the new system but has many hints as to what to expect. After reading it I am quite excited at the new directions the game is taking. This book is not essential in any way, but if you cannot wait for 4E or you just like knowing how game designers go about changing this most iconic RPG you will find this book to your liking.

Rate this product for what it is: A discussion of the thought processes behind redesigning D&D. It's not a sneak peek at the new rules or anything; it's just a gallery of images and a snapshot of what Wizards of the Coast was thinking in September 2007, which means it's all subject to change.

That said, the art ranges from OK to very nice, a lot of the ideas are evocative and many of the discussions are informative.

If your only goal is to get the hard nuggets of information, the "good stuff" from this and the companion book are all available online, since many of those who bought it have been free with the information.

It's a nice art book and a nice companion piece to the upcoming game, but it's not a product that everyone will want or enjoy.

This preview of the new D&D 4th edition realy peak your intrest in the new gamesystem for D&D and the new classes presented in it.
I would though recomend that you buy the core rulebooks instead. Now that they are been released, there is no need to purchase this preview book.

I loved reading this book. I've been pretty indifferent about 4E since I heard it was coming (which is virtually as long as I've been playing D&D). This book got me completely excited about it.

That said, there is little, if anything, in this book that a little web-surfing couldn't tell you. Everything is presented as "we have this idea, but it may or may not be the first thing we give you and may or may not be exactly as we're telling you, now." When 4E is released, this book will be obsolete; we'll have all of the real information.

I am no web bloodhound. I am not about to go scrounging for information all around the net, so this was a great source of gossip-y info for me. $20 does feel a bit expensive, but I expect it at this point. Some reviewers feel like the contributing authors are talking down to the audience, but I never felt that at all. They are players who have their own issues with 3.5 and they are members of the community, who have heard the complaints of their fellows; and we should all know that the complainers have louder voices than the praisers.

This book is a conceptual preview, not an early release of rules. I enjoyed it thoroughly, but will have little value, come June '08.

"Wizards Presents: Races and Classes" was a solid preview to the long-anticipated 4th edition of the D&D RPG. On the one hand, the various articles read like blog entries--and they very well may be. This information could have been, and perhaps should have been, distributed for free on the Wizards of the Coast web site. On the other hand, being a long time RPG player (25+ years) who started with red-box D&D, I was eager to see the changes that the WotC team were making to the game, and importantly this book explains those changes from the *designers'* perspectives, giving rationales for what they changed and why. This behind-the-scenes perspective was captivating, and after reading it I was far more favorably disposed to giving D&D 4e a try.

I enjoyed this preview book. For those of you looking for rules and "crunchy" content this book doesn't contain much. But for an intersting insight into RPG conceptual design and the thought process that goes into creating a new game this is an excellent resource.

The artwork is excellent and gives a nice peek at some of the strong visual foundations that will carry the new edition. In addition the book allows a nice "behind the scenes" look at what the design team didn't like about 3rd edition and is shooting for with 4th edition.

Overall I would say that this book, along with Wizards Presents: World's & Monsters, are a great start to begin the transition from 3rd edition to 4th. I would highly recommend both.

Let's review this for what it really is shall we?

This book, is first and foremost a designer's discussion of sorts. They talk about the core concepts of Fourth Edition. (which had not yet been released) I read this book back before the game came out and it got me interested in the new coming game (friend bought it, I read it in the car) it gave me hope that maybe Wotc just maybe grew a brain and decided to fix 3e's one and true biggest problem. Casters.

They also discussed another failing of third edition, Races. Races were a joke, they recognized this. They decided that for a start each race should have a substantial enough write up fluff wise, and that each race should be good at different things to make them balanced instead of trying to make them all suck so hard (except the Human) that they weren't worth play. And they discussed that they would try to bring races along so that your racial choice was always relevant.

I honestly think the book is a better read now, that Fourth Edition is out and has been out for some time than it was coming into Fourth and out of Third. Alot of things they said back then make more sense now than they did before, and some things made more sense then. (I personally feel Races could have been handled via bloodlines style instead of feat style)

It's a good book to have for having on the coffee table. Which is probably what this book was meant to be in the first place. If you've embraced your inner Gamer rather than be ashamed of it, this is a book you should add to your coffee table. If you are still ashamed of your Gamerness, you could probably do without this book in your life.

If you don't enjoy coffee table books, you probably shouldn't get this book anyway since it won't have much of anything for you. If your one of those people that like having "special features" on DVDs, and just want a little more insight into Fourth Edition. Get this book.

Races & Classes succeeds in providing the reader with an interesting exploration of both the new D&D 4E character creation and the D&D 4E team's design process. As a game designer myself, I found the information valuable for multiple reasons.

As a preview for 4E, this book stands out as a great investment. There are strong, detailed examinations of the races, classes, and other bits of character creation. While these are explicitly stated as being "in the works and subject to change," they offer a great semi-solid view on what the final guiding principles behind 4E are going to be.

As a look into the 4E dev team's design processes, Races & Classes provides a unique and sometimes hilarious look into how a AAA company builds a new edition of the world's most popular role-playing game from the ground up. There are fun quotes, clever anecdotes, and curiously-specific notes that make the whole book an entertaining and educational read.

The only reason this book gets four stars instead of five is because, like most WotC RPG materials, it's overpriced. If a 4.5 star rating was possible, I would have given it that.

I'm really not sure what some of these reviewers were expecting. This book is exactly what it is advertised as- a 4th Edition Preview. The book itself even says: "So, take this book as what it is - a snapshot of the 4th Edition design and development process at this point in time (August 2007)."

Every thing from the development of the evolving mechanics to new core races are revealed, as well as new and better takes on the classic races in the D&D game. This is a highly recommended book for those considering checking out the new edition and even more recommended for those nay-sayers who are down-talking 4th Edition but don't really know what they are talking about. One more thing: Evil Paladins. ;)

Wizards Presents: Worlds and Monsters (D&D Supplement)

Much has been said about the quality of this product. It is light on pay data, it is a filler product to keep the line going while the products are retooled, and so on. And some of this is correct.

The reality though this is an excellent product for what it is designed to do: provide space for the designers to voice some of their designer notes in an open way to a very vocal and nervous community who has, lets face it, bolted en masse before from missteps in this production line.

People looking for lots of inside information with numbers and tables will be disappointed. These products are designers notes, not mini rule books. For me, who is forever tinkering with rules and trying variants, they are invaluable. For the average mook, they might not be as useful.

I highly recommend this product for anyone who likes to look under the hood of creative products.