I finally got round to buying this book. I’ve been looking forward to it for a while. Words fail me when trying to express just how disappointed I’ve been with every iteration of D&D since Second Edition. This was partly because I was so used to it that even the foibles were either loved or replaced with house rules. I took part in the beta for Fifth edition and I thought the mechanics worked really well. In short I was looking forward to reading this book but at the same time in my head I was repeating the mantra “Please don’t be crap”.
I may have grinned liked a super-villain as I read this book. I remember when I read Pathfinder that they seemed to have taken the essence of D&D and improved the system. This game feels like they looked at what Pathfinder did to improve D&D and they improved on that. The system works. Combat is fast and brutal. The spell system works. There are a lot less similar spells to choose from and the ability to cast spells at a higher level made perfect sense especially for healers.
What’s new? Tieflings for one. The infernal race don’t just look fun but there are built in plot hooks too. Family feuds are nasty but imagine the fun you could have dragging mortals in to an infernal civil war. The same with Dragonkin. What could possibly go wrong with looking like a dragon? Probably the biggest change for me is that there are now multiple reasons to have charisma as a double digit stat. There are plenty more fun new things but they are for you to discover.
Probably the biggest change for me was the book itself. Character creation seem to flow nicely. I had issues with the backgrounds section but that was trivial. The look and feel of the book is very different from previous offerings. D&D books have always had some cool artwork but always in isolation. This book feels more like a work of art rather than a list of rules with some artwork added to break up the text. I found myself turning a page and looking at the entire vista before I started to read. This edition is by far the most visually appealing D&D so far and hopefully it has inspired me to find some fun new ways to try and kill my players.
Still not sure? Here’s the really awesome thing – Wizards have a FREE downloadable basic version of the Players Handbook and Dungeon Masters Guide. There is enough information to learn the mechanics and see if you will enjoy the game. It was like meth for geeks. How could we resist buying the holy trinity (PHB, DMG and MM) after trying it out. We couldn’t and neither should you.
Tony's Thoughts 