Dungeons & Dragons Player's Handbook: Roleplaying Game Core Rules, 4th Edition

I bought it when it came out and was astounded at all the changes, such as these. Whats the use of having a mage if every other character can cast too. Then giving dragons there own class with no Level adjustment, when it should be a Lizard men class.. Every second level you get a feat? If I was playing a video game it could keep track of all these feats. At 10th level I would have 5 feats come on! A feat usta be like gold, now there just giving it away. Oh heres a great one no detect magic just like the video games. I think they forgot this was supposed to be a roleplaying game were is the dam mystery of having an item and not knowing if it was magic or not? Man thats just basic story telling. Take for example LOTR how would the story go if he picked up the ring and knew it was magic off the bat?
Okay there is one change I like thats the magic points for wizards. Oh and there is a big mess up on the DCs on the the books. Do they have a patch for it?
If you look at the rating on 4.0 it should be 5 stars, thats what I expected from them. People should be raving how great this system is. Well this is just my humble opinion of a gamer 30years worth, I'm not mad, I'm very disappointed.

I've been playing this game, off and on for over 30 years. First edition through 4th. I think what they've done with 4e was bold, and overall they have greatly improved the game.

The PHB and MM are fine, there just isn't much to the DMG however. Two of us in my group that just like studying the rules got it, but we've told the other players not to bother. There just isn't much in the DMG.

As someone who actually has played D&D 4e (quite a bit actually, since I have a friend who has completely committed himself to it, despite its glaring inadequacies) I can say that without a doubt it is one of the least engaging role-playing games that I have ever had the chance to play. The characters are generic and uninspired in spite of the "EXTREME, COOL POWERS!! (tm)" spin that the text tries to put on everything. I've made several characters of the same class and I have yet to feel as though any of them were truly unique.

Combat is boring due to the monsters having been injected with so many hit points each that it takes quite a while to kill anything that is not a minion. Once every party member inevitably exhausts their "daily" powers in a flurry of fleeting excitement during the first rounds of combat trying to quickly dispatch the monster that they have encountered upon first wandering into the field just outside town as mewling first level adventurers, which unbeknownst to them has well over 100 hit points, the game quickly becomes a chore, consisting of informing the DM that you use your cinematically and non-sensically named "tide of iron" attack in round after round of mindless swinging and usually missing. Minions (monsters that die in one hit no matter the source, be it a sword to the head, or a gentle retort from a frail old woman) of course, have been added without a reason for their existence, aside from "CINEMATIC ACTION! HEROES KILL PEOPLE ALL THE TIME WITH ONE HIT IN THE MOVIES!".

The addition of trite races such as the "i'm so anti-hero that I have Spawn (tm) sheets on my bed which is shaped like a pentagram" tieflings, and the "I watched Eragon and I want to play a dragon, and now my DM can't say no" dragonborn, makes the intentions and loyalties of the game-designers fairly transparent. It also makes me want to cut myself and blog about how much I hate everyone on my myspace page.

In my opinion, the game designers quite obviously set out to create a game intended to appeal to a wider market. They have even stated as much themselves. Judging from the content of 4e this wider market consists of kindergartners, and those who wore Oakley's sunglasses in the 90's because they saw a famous sports personality wearing them. They also quite obviously wanted to tap into the limitless revenue that the MMORPG market has streaming from its gaping orifices. The game designers, in this case, have not stated as much, because they have been warned by scientists that the sheer volume of the massive "I TOLD YOU SO!" that would be dislodged from every disgruntled 3.5 fan if such a revelation were ever made, would be enough crack the very fabric of space-time, allowing the formless denizens of indescribable horror that lurk on the other side of the veil which we call 'reality' to pour forth into our world, immediately causing sales of 4e to plummet. While surely this is a noble and truly capitalistic goal, the only problem with trying to reach this elusive "wider" audience of part-time WoW players and the mentally under-developed, is that role-playing as a hobby always has been (and probably always will be) the demesne of the idle intellectual, as roleplaying requires several of the traits possesed by those with too much time and too much wasted potential. Trying to create a roleplaying game targeted at the common denominator is akin to creating a calculus textbook for puppies, or a comprehensive ornithological guide for NASCAR fans.

Essentially, I'd say not only to not buy any current or future printed book of the 4th edition Dungeons & Dragons series, but also to strive to cultivate a feeling of being actively insulted by their mere existence. When you finally bypass being merely jaded by this pointless new edition, and you surmount the lofty pinnacle of abject loathing (Ah! What's this? An abject pinnacle? An oxymoron... OR IS IT??? YOU make the call!) and you are able to experience a burning hatred for several strangers whom, though you have never met them, somehow conspired to destroy that one beautiful thing in your life where you were able to find some bit of enjoyment, then you will have an understanding, however fragmentary, of how I feel.

In an effort to reach a wider audience with my review, here's the "Cool" (tm WotC 2008) version:

this game is the SuXX0r. its like WoW except it sux. if D&D was a beer, then the makers of 4e are like some dudes that came along and pissed in ur beer. the end.

The book was all nice, neat, and all that jazz, but 4th ed itself, it just seems to be lacking, I suggest WAIT TILL 4.5. 4.0 feels more like a public test release; Save your money, just wait a little longer. Wizards of the Coast have already released updates for the 3 core books, and some others.

3 stars cause

Goods
New ideas
New races
New Powers
New Classes
Simplified


Bads
Little to no customization for PCs, no where near 3.5.
Over Simplified everything
Confusing over use of words: Basic Melee Attack Bonus, Basic Ranged Attack Bonus, Basic this, Basic that, Power this, Power that, Basic Melee Ranged Power power. you get the idea.
All the powers are Combat orientated.
Skills are over simplified

Why buy something that is out dated already, check wizards of the coast and look for yourself, they've already releasing Updates for all the Core Books.

It is truly sad how many people criticize the new D&D for changing much of the game system. WoTC should be thanked for their new vision and complimented because they got it right. They fixed the problem with wizards running out of spells and have so few hit points that they can be knock unconscious by a dagger. They fixed the danger of early levels where you could die when you fell 10 feet. And they made combat much more interesting, with a variety of options.

If you like the old versions then by all means use those editions. But the whole point of 4th edition is to take new concepts and ideas and try to improve the game. 4th edition definitely takes risks and is a large change, yet that bold step has paid off with a much more interesting system with many more options and opportunities.