Player's Handbook 3 - 9.5/10

Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
Author(s): Mike Mearls, Bruce R. Cordell, Robert J. Schwalb
Line: Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition
Type: Core Rules
Category: RPG

Suggested Retail: $34.95
Pages: 224
Release Date: March 16, 2010

Review

by Kalvin Lyle

I missed it the first couple times I opened the book, but sitting down to write this review I started at the front page… well second page, right after the index. A full page of flavour text. D&D has always been light on world/ambience/background and heavy on maps/magic items/monsters, which is probably what’s kept it at the top of the charts. Seeing a full page of flavour text at the start of a D&D book makes my spine tingle. Times, they are a changing.

A CORE rulebook you say…

It’s interesting that the Player’s Handbook 3, along with the others are CORE rulesbooks and not supplements. Certainly you CAN play without them. The only purpose they serve is to extend the rules and give players and DM’s more… um er stuff… I guess. So what are the shiny new bits that you will lay down coin for?  Are they worth adding to the CORE of your D&D game? Let’s have a gander.

They are not called Tauren!

Typically the third or even the second release of new races by any system produces a couple Jar Jar races to be mocked and drawn silly moustaches on. Not in PHB3.  The Wilden are borderline for me, but the rest are great!  Maybe I might draw a moustache on the crystal dude, but just for nostalgia.

Dark Sun Bitches! ….um and the Monk

That’s right Dark Sun. The biggest meanest reason in the world to buy the Player’s Handbook 3 for 4e Dungeons & Dragons, oh and the Monk class.  Later this year Wizards will be re-releasing their best fantasy setting ever made, Dark Sun and right near the center of that world is Psionics and the PHB3 gives us a pretty good preview. The only deviation from the core rules are the addition of Power Points to some of the classes. Certain powers are augmentable with the spending of Power Points. Which might sound great, but I have my reservations. It’s another stat to track, plus you have to spend them before you attack, so they will often be wasted in the heroic tier. Personally, not my thing. Some less powerful post hit effects or post hit augmentation effects on some of the powers at the lower levels would have been better.

Useless skill powers!?

Oh you said U-TIL-ITY!  My bad.  This addition to the rules does bring D&D one step closer to Exhaulted, which makes me very happy.  Seriously though, the skill powers are a GREAT addition, IF you didn’t have to swap them for existing utility powers.  The power levels of the new skill powers seem off to me, but you judge.  Healer’s Gift, a level 2 skill utility power, allows you to.. ahem… touch your friend (standard action, once per encounter) and let them spend a healing surge.  Cure Light Wounds, a level 2 class utility power does the same thing except Daily and the target doesn’t lose a healing surge.  Wait, what!?  A skill power is better than a class power of the same level.  Yup.  Why any cleric would ever take Cure Light Wounds now is beyond me.

Class Mashups

Skipping the obvious car jokes, the Hybrid rules are a bit of a confusing addition to this book.  Firstly, the layout is just awful.  Feels more like a appendix than a full chapter.  Honestly, the art to text ration for the book is great, until you get to Hybrid Characters, which looks crammed in.  I keep skipping over class desciptions because it all blends together.  At first glance Hybrids might seem like alternate rules for Multi-classing, but they are actually a different system.  Each of the classes are split in half and you pick two and stick them together, then you can add a multi-classing feat on top if you like.  I’d be worried that the wunderkind character is created by your power gamer and the class roles go out the window.  Fun times!

So what’s all that mean exactly?

Player’s Handbook 3 is the best non-core Core Rules book to be released by Wizards of the Coast… well ever.  The new races don’t suck, the new classes are interesting and they re-added a completely new power source to the world, Psionics.  If you only buy one game book this year buy this one.  Unless you don’t actually own any of the core rules books for 4th edition D&D, then go buy them, then buy this one.

And finally…. a boring but more useful list of the books contents:

  • Racial Paragon Paths
  • 4 New Races
    • Githzerai
    • Minotaurs
    • Shardminds
    • Wilden
  • 6 New Classes
  • Hybrid Characters (alternative to multi-classing)
  • 6 New Epic Destinies
  • New Character Options
    • Skill Powers (alternate utility powers)
    • New Feats
    • Superior Implements (minor magic powers for items, requires a feat to use)
    • Magic Items

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