I was quite shocked and surprised to find so many mixed reviews for this product. Some are rated down for what are clear packaging and shipping issues and have nothing to do with the product itself!
I’m an older gamer and a DM. I cut my teeth on the second edition, but spent most of my youth playing AD&D 2nd Edition. I’ve played every edition since, except for fourth, quite extensively. And I have a lot of experience with other game systems like Star Wars, DC Heroes, MERP, GURPS, Rifts, and so on.
Xanathar’s guide is functionally a compendium of all the “more” that’s been accumulating since the first major waves of books for 5th Edition D&D was released. My book came in great condition. The artwork and quality are excellent. Here are some of the most heavily featured sections of the book.
Chapter 1: Character Options
This section details the additional subclasses that have been steadily coming out via Unearthed Arcana. They have been cleaned up and balanced (though not all are perfect) for release in this single compendium. Many of the options include some revised takes on older class variations (like the Samurai and Swashbuckler), some new attempts at previously tried themes (A more evil-ish Paladin in the Oath of Conquest, or the Arcane Archer), and some completely new (to my knowledge) subclasses like the Horizon Walker, a ranger of the planes who moves through the multiverse.
At the end of the chapter are some new, optional racial feats. Most of these are most interesting when used on some of the “weirder” races like the Dragonborn. Many of the changes and options in this whole chapter put a greater emphasis on role-playing centered classes and class options. Our group is more into the role-playing than the roll-playing. So that’s a plus. Combat-focused gamers may find some of the new classes underwhelming.
Chapter 2: Dungeon Master’s Tools
As a DM, this section is fantastic. It leads with some rules clarification and additional options if the DM wants to make things more interesting. There are also some visual helps regarding area of affect and how they are presented on grid-systems. Also included here is a much needed thorough breakdown of “fair” encounter building with tables and suggestions for DM’s.
My favorite part of this section is the random encounter tables. They finally include tables for random encounters that are broken out by level and type of environment. And there is quite a collection. Pages and pages. And the tables all have really cool, interesting things your players could run into. Really, really fun and excited to try.
Following that is some really good, thorough help regarding traps and how to make them more interesting, some ideas for down time and after that there is a nice collection of new magic items. Nerd candy to read. Also included are some ways to make magic items and their creation more interesting.
Chapter 3: Spells
New spells. Always nice. And at the end, multiple pages of names for quick name generation.
If I had to say something negative, I’d say it’s a smaller book and it doesn’t anything super new like a completely new class or magic system. Another criticism is I wouldn’t recommend this to new players who are not going to DM. There’s a lot of “spoiler” information in here that may kill off the wow-factor of springing something new on a party that DM’s love to have.
This is a fantastic book. I would say if I had to recommend three books to fans of 5e. 1 and 2 would of course be the Players Handbook and then the Dungeon Master’s guide. This would be number 3. It’s more of everything. More character choice, more race choices, more rules choices, more tables, more spells and more variety. And especially to DM’s this will be incredibly useful. It’s a book that I’ll have out in front of me every time I run a game. A great addition.
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From the Publisher
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| Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes | Xanathar's Guide to Everything | Volo's Guide to Monsters | |
| Get this to: | Craft inspired adventures with new and expanded monster lore, introduce new monsters to your campaign, and open new character race options | Explore a wealth of new rules options and create a wider world for your players to explore | Immerse your players in monster lore for a deeper roleplaying experience |
| Audience: | Dungeon Masters, experienced players | Dungeon Masters, experienced players | Dungeon Masters, experienced players |
| Contents: | Over 150 monsters with stats and illustrations / More options for character creation with new races / Expanded monster lore for Dungeon Masters to add depth to a campaign | Dozens of new spells / Over 25 new subclasses / New Racial Feats / Random encounter tables for quick combat setup / Rules for Downtime Revisited / Tools like improved traps, magic items, and more for Dungeon Masters to add to their adventures | 7 new playable races plus 6 monstrous races / In-depth monster lore including new variants of existing monsters, encounter tables, lair details, history, and more / Dozens of monsters new to fifth edition D&D for players to conquer |
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Top reviews from the United States
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Reviewed in the United States on November 21, 2017
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Reviewed in the United States on November 21, 2017
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Reviewed in the United States on January 1, 2018
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Top reviews from other countries
R. J. Moore
Shoddy
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 19, 2018Verified Purchase
Shoddy
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 19, 2018
I would have put a lovely five stars for this, since the contents were great. But the condition of the book on TWO separate occasions has been appalling. The first copy came with a few pages stuck together and one page (see photo) was folded and torn down the middle. The second copy had such a mass of glue oozed over the bottom (see other photo) that I couldn't even open the book. I'm going to try one more time for an intact copy, but D&D seriously need to get their act together about these shoddy production values.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 19, 2018
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Rotgut
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Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 20, 2020Verified Purchase
Pritchard
Fantastic expansion!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 20, 2018Verified Purchase
Ashley
Brilliant Expansion Book
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 10, 2020Verified Purchase
Irena
Lovely but yet another defective book
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 15, 2018Verified Purchase
Lovely but yet another defective book
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 15, 2018
A good book for DMs with material that might inspire adventures, classes, and loot. I have been happily reading it until I realised that the last 30 pages were missing and were a repeat of an earlier section of the book. Amazon has kindly arranged for a quick replacement however I am worried about whether it will be more of the same. Seeing other people complaining about the same issue here does not fill me with confidence, as obviously the “defective batch” is still being distributed.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 15, 2018
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