Product ReviewsD&D Core Rulebook Ser.: Dungeons and Dragons Core Rulebook by Wizards RPG Team (2008, Hardcover, Gift)

Nice collection with a sleeve that presents well on a shelf and feels sturdy

If you are one who gave 4E a chance and enjoyed it, this is a great rulebook compilation. It's the 3 core rulebooks, everything you need to run the game. Errata is available free online, but unless you're a stickler or rules lawyer/min/maxer, it's not terribly necessary. The only change the game really "needs" is the monster damage boost that was corrected later in the edition. Simple rule of thumb, increase damage on MM1 monsters by doubling the static damage. So something that does 2d6+6 now does 2d6+12. Make this simple change and give Solos the ability to shake off status effects once per round and you're pretty much good to go. The books are beautiful, the covers wonderful with lavish internal illustrations. The formatting and layout is very easy to read unlike the 3E books which were very difficult to read. If you're like me and you enjoy both 4E and 5E this is a great set to have on your shelf for when you want a more combat tactical style of campaign. Read full review...

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4th Edition - Not yer Daddy's D&D...

Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition is the 2008 "Hot New Game"... good enough for me to get it, since I'll need to know it and how it shapes my potential player base. It is actually the latest of 9 distinct rulesets bearing the Dungeons and Dragons name. ([1]Little-box, [2]Blue Basic, [3]Red Basic/Blue Expert, [4]Advanced D&D 1E, [5]Advanced D&D 2E, [6] 2nd Red Basic/2nd blue Expert/teal Companion/black Master/gold Immortal and Black Basic and Cyclopedia, [7] D&D 3E [8] D&D 3.5E)

The visual look and feel of the books is a sold, visually uncluttered, reference oriented series of manuals. The art is excellent, but not always a good fit to the location. The pages are text on white, and color is used extensively for classification and clarity of headers.

The game itself is a solid character scale tactical boardgame with light roleplaying rules added. This approach to a Role-Playing Game is not new, nor even new to the D&D brand, but was not the mainstream approach with D&D.

The system for skills is flexible, simple, and very unlike the cumulation approach in prior editions. The skill system provides a number of skills with bonuses, but essentially, all skills advance at the same rate for all characters.

The majority of the game, however, is the powers system. Unlike prior editions, all classes now have powers, and each class' powers are unique. The downside is that the emphasis on combat has left the vast majority of these powers being attack or defense powers, with few non-combat powers.

Likewise, the combat system is very streamlined in and of itself. The vast array of powers can slow combat, and there is considerable bookkeeping of what has been used, but overall, the system is clean and straightforward.

Gone is experience tables by class (went away in 3rd), experience for treasure acquired, experience for roleplaying well. Difficulties now can be assigned to skill challenges based upn the target numbers needed, and used as direct measures of an encounter's difficulty. Damages and Hitpoints are higher than prior editions, and healing much faster; damage represents far less damage to flesh and far more accumulation of combat Fatigue. Gone are the distinctions of how different character types gain their magic; all character have powers, which while defined as to source, are handled much the same. There is a certain CCG/anime type feel to the names and natures of the various powers; this drastically alters the feel. Also gone is the helplessness of low level spell-casters: all classes have at-will powers, and wizards are no exception.

For those looking for an "Old-School" feel, the "gee-whiz" factor of all the powers will be a distraction. For those looking for a combat centered ruleset that repays tactical thinking, and has anime and CCG overtones, this is it.

Having played every prior major D&D ruleset, it does not feel much like them. Combat is less abstract, and far more tactical. The game is written to teach itself, and may be off-putting to grognards, but it is a fairly solid ruleset. Approach it as a whole new game, not a new edition of your favorite D&D flavor, and you will have a better view of it.

Bottom Line: Solid writing, suitable for new players, radical departure from prior editions, tactical combat focus permeates ruleset.Read full review...

Very well-written books

I've been a D&D gamer since the Basic rules came out in 1977 and have purchased the rulebooks for every revision up to now. I've actually read these books cover-to-cover and have found the experience quite enjoyable.

As an old school D&Der, I find some of the rules changes to be questionable (alignment changes, healing surges, character "powers"), but I'm open-minded enough to let the gameplay determine how good the changes are. So far, I haven't actually been in or run an adventure using the 4th ed. rules, but I can give an educated opinion on the new edition based on my vast experience with the game.

First, all three of the core books are very well written. I've found no typos or other editing flaws that one might expect in three books of 250+ pages. The artwork used in the books is excellent as well. The content is well-organized and clearly presented using tables and short paragraphs.

The part that I find particularly interesting is that the 4th ed. rules have embraced their encounter-based roots. Historically, D&D has been a combat game with some role-playing thrown in. Sure, a good dungeon master includes puzzles and role-playing situations that are critical to the story, but the bottom line has always been encounters. The older rule sets gave non-combat options such as "survival" skill or whatnot, but they seemed haphazardly thrown in to make the role-players happy. Many adventures degenerated into slugfests to see how many critters you could kill before dying. In this edition, the designers go out of their way to explain how to run non-combat "encounters" so that they're every bit as interesting and challenging as combat.

The designers also made the game almost "formulaic". If, as a DM, you want to build an encounter, you simply determine the party's average level. Then, you find how many experience points (XPs) an encounter of that level would be worth. From there, you plug in monsters, traps, hazards and treasures that would add up to that XP amount. That's it. It's really quite ingenious and makes designing challenging and interesting encounters very easy. Much easier than in the past, at least.

In addition to the design ease, 4th edition also took a strategic look at combat. In the past, D&D's biggest weakness was game balance. Combat-types (fighters, rangers, paladins, clerics) would dominate the game in early levels. Once characters got around 5-6th level, the magic users and rogues would start to earn their keep. Then by 10th level or so, the combat-types' only roles were to keep the critters off the spellcasters, who would then nuke the entire room with 2-3 spells.

With the new edition's rules and class structure, game balance appears to have been well-leveled out. Everyone has a defined role that they're best suited for, but those roles are inter-dependent on the other characters. No longer do you have a single mage that kills most of the creatures before the fighters can even engage. No longer do you have the elven Cuisinart who slices and dices his way to the boss monster 3 rounds into the combat.

Overall, I'm quite excited about the new system. It seems that the combat rules are slightly more complicated, but still very accessible to a newbie. In fact, veterans like myself will have a harder time adjusting since we're having to throw out our ingrained preconceptions and re-learn the game's mechanics. I very much look forward to taking part in future adventures in this edition!Read full review...

Al’books

More then a good value

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: marchandthrift

accurate title

They fixed the overpowered characters from 3.5. Some of the changes are interesting in that all characters have second winds or healing surges. Some of the other things they did are cool, and monsters are scarry again. However, there is too much magic the gathering influence in it (goblin sharpshooter, the drowned, seriously??) and it is not the d and d you grew up with. there are major changes, so, if you are looking for a system that is d and d, then you will like it, if you are looking to play d and d, I'd say try a different version of the game.Read full review...

Great set for a great value.

This was a great set for a great value. Books are well organized and easy to follow. I'm completely new to D&D and was unsure about what I was even getting. I really enjoy this box set.

Dungeons and Dragons Core Rulebooks 4th Edition

I first learned to play D&D back in the early 80's and haven't played anything other than first edition. I wasn't sure about trying the fourth edition, but gave it a chance and have played a few times and have really enjoyed it.......Read full review...

Great set

Great set of books at an unbeatable price. Just wish wizards would release more sets of other books to take advantage of saving money

It was everything it was advertised to be.

It was everything it was advertised to be.My goal was to find material and information related to a hobby and interest, and this item was all that and more.