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Player's Handbook 3: A 4th Edition D&D Core Rulebook |  | Authors: Mike Mearls, Rob Heinsoo, Robert J. Schwalb
Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
Category: Book
List Price: $34.95
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Rating:  13 reviews
Sales Rank: 4807
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 4th Revised edition
Pages: 224
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.9
Dimensions (in): 10.9 x 8.2 x 0.7
ISBN: 078695390X
Dewey Decimal Number: 793
EAN: 9780786953905
ASIN: 078695390X
Publication Date: March 16, 2010
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | Players Handbook 3 Rules Supplement - 4th Edition Dungeons and Dragons RPG | | • | Players Handbook 3 expands the range of options available to D&D players |
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Product Description
WOC25124 Players Handbook 3 Rules Supplement - 4th Edition Dungeons and Dragons RPG by Wizards of the Coast
Rules for psionic, divine, and primal heroes.
Players Handbook 3 expands the range of options available to D&D players with new classes, races, powers, and other material.
This book builds on the array of classes and races presented in the Players Handbook and Players Handbook 2 core rulebooks, presenting old favorites and new, never-before-seen options to the game. Players Handbook 3 also adds the psionic power source to the 4th Edition D&D game, along with several new classes that harness this power source.
Page Count 224, Hardcover
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 13
 Very cool new classes and powers but not for beginners. June 6, 2010
Maurice G. Tousignant (Canada)
Summary:
Like Player's Handbook 2, PHB three offers a wide variety of new character options. There are 4 new races, 6 new classes, prestige classes to go with these, 6 new Epic destinies, a slew of new feats and a bunch of Magic items. New to PHB3 are rules for Hybrid Characters and Skill Powers.
The new races are Githzerai, Minotaurs, Shardminds and Wilden. The Shardminds have to be the oddest race released so far for any edition. They are made up of living crystal that shattered off of the gate to The Far Realm. Odd just odd. The Wilden remind me of Dryad's from Warhammer Fantasy as they can take on different aspects based on the seasons. The Githzerai and Minotaurs are old races that it's nice to see get the 4e treatment.
The new classes are Ardent, Battlemind, Monk, Psion, Runepriest and Seeker. Most of these are psionic classes and full rules for how psionics work are included. Basically you get a set of power points that renew each short rest. You use these to improve your powers (augment). Instead of getting encounter powers your at-will powers have 3 different power levels each, a basic 0 cost version and then versions that cost 1 or more power points. It's an interesting change from the old Psi point system to be sure.
The new psionic classes are the Ardent, Battlmind and Psion. The Ardent is a psionic leader. The Battlemind a psionic Defender. The Psion is a psionic controller and has many of the powers from the orgiinal psionic handbooks (Id insinuation ring a bell?).
The Monk has a psionic power source but doesn't use powerpoints. At first I thought this was odd but then when you think of a Martial Artists focusing of Ki it actually does fit the psionic theme. Monks are quite a bit different from previous editions but do keep their mobility and things like Flurry of Blows.
Two non-psionic classes fill the last two spots. The Runepriest is a Divine Leader and the Seeker is a Primal Controller.
Hybrid character rules allow players to make what would have been a dual class character from previous editions. This is more in depth and more of a mix of two classes then the previous multiclass rues where you used a feat and got to select some powers from another class. These rules fully integrate two classes into one new class. Basically there is a hybrid version of each character class that gives you so many hit points, specific skill training, proficiencies, defense bonuses and powers. You chose two of these and combine the powers, bonuses and abilities from both. There are also suggestions on how to make an effective hybrid character.
The chapter on skill powers gives all characters of all races and classes new options. Skill powers are utility powers that you can take when you would normally gain a utility power for your class. These are all based on being trained in specific skills and allow you options based on that training. There are multiple levels of power for each possible skill. There also is also a feat in the feat section of the book that lets you take a skill power without using up one of your 'class based' utility slots.
Next you will find a ton of new Feats, most of which are specific to the races and classes in this book. Feats are followed by new magic items. What's interesting here are the new Ki Focuses and Rune powers which are totally new types for this book. There are some new expendable items as well. Also included are enhanced implements. These rules compliment the rules for special weapons and armour released in previous books (e.g. Adamantine Armour)
A summary of how to read a power finishes the books. There are some rule updates in here as well mostly dealing with Implements and Weapons as Implements.
The Good:
I love the Skill Powers section! There are so many great character options here and they are open to any character of any race and class. They give some great alternative powers to the ones offered by the classes. They also really let you compensate for a characters weaknesses or even more so a parties weakness. For example: if you have no Leader in the group but you have characters trained in Heal, then have everyone train on the Heal Skill Powers Healers Gift and Physician's Cure. The Endurance Skill Powers are especially juicy finally giving reason for characters to train in what was an undervalued skill.
The new classes, at least the ones I have played or played with are really great. They really offer a lot of options and combos on the battlefield. I personally love my Ardent that I put through Dungeons and Dragons encounters. I really liked all the reactive things I could do and the buffs I provided the party as long as they stayed close. I'm also a real fan of the Monk, I've played with two different players playing Monks and they have impressed me each time. I really like the way the Runepriest works as well getting two options an aggressive one and a defensive one with most powers really open up the options. If Darksun wasn't the next encounters campaign I would be trying out a Runepriest.
The Bad:
All of the included classes are more complex then the base PHB classes and are more suited to experienced players. All of them have a lot of options in their powers and most give a wide range of temporary buffs and de-buffs that need to be tracked. This is great for players who want more options but I suggest avoiding these classes for new players.
I'm not sold on the Shardmind. It's just too odd. A living piece of a shattered gate bent on destroying Aberrant creatures. The whole 'every shardmind has a different view on how to fight the abyss' thing seems forced and a cop out for why they don't just all get together and fix the gate. This seemed to me to be a race better suited to Dragon Magazine then a core rulebook.
I did not like the way the rules changes were just there mixed in with all the re-stating of existing rules in the 'how to read a power' section. It would have been nice to highlight where rules have been enhanced or clarified. I almost skipped over this section except for the fact that I knew ahead of time that there were some rule changes.
The Ugly:
I'm not a fan of the Hybrid rules. This seems like something WotC put in because fans wanted to play their old Fighter/Thief from previous editions. It just doesn't seem to mesh well with the other class rules and seems like it could be widely unbalancing in both making characters too weak and too powerful. I had no problem with the feat based multiclass rules and think they sufficed. Not that I should be complaining that a company is catering to their fans but these rules seem unneeded by 4th edition.
Overall:
I know it looks like I had more bad to say then good this time around but that's not the case with my overall impression of this book. The new races are cool enough (except for the Shardmind which is just too weird) but the new classes are excellent. I really like the way psionics are handled and I like what they did with the old favorrite The Monk. The rules on Skill Powers really top this one off as a great book. I personally don't like the Hybrid rules but I'm sure there are gamers out there that have been waiting for these rules since 4e was released. A word of warning for new players though, these new classes are quite a bit more complex then the basic ones in the PHB and I recommend skipping this book until at least your second character.
 Meh... June 4, 2010
R. Hayward (Columbia, MD)
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
If you want to buy a D&D book, there are probably better options. My main issue with this book is that there is very few exciting/interesting options for campaigns in progress.
 Broadening 4E Horizons May 14, 2010
Patrick Tracy (Salt Lake City)
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
While adding the Monk class and some neat races is a good step for 4E, I see the skill-based powers and the Hybrid Class mechanic that is instituted in this book as the more interesting design choices. Now, people who really want to create the "smidgen of everything" classes that were possible in 3E can go to town (without playing a Bard). As someone who's always liked the Minotaur as a playable race, they "had me" early on. I've played the Psion, the Runepriest, and the Ardent thus far. All had interesting options and tricks during play. The power point mechanic adds a new strategic element to the combat, and I found it to yield some fascinating results in the heat of battle (when the dice cooperated).
As with 4E in general, I find that there are few to non "stinkers" here. That is, it's hard to find a class or race that immediately strikes me as un-fun or just badly balanced. Your mileage may vary, but for me, I think that the designers have done a great job at making a cinematic, easy to grasp system for combat in 4E. Some say that it's just a glorified skirmish system that is the analog equivalent to a computer game, but you can't really design in roleplaying. That comes from the great stories that friends create together at the table. I've had many a game where hardly a die was rolled in anger, and it was no less fun. In the end, the system is only there to enhance and clarify the fun when weapons are drawn.
You can have good fun with just the first three core books, if the budget is tight, but the additional Player's Handbooks and so on can add new wrinkles to the game. I think they're a worthwhile addition. Recommended.
Growing your game April 17, 2010
J. D. Nava Ortega (Mexico City, Mexico)
4 out of 6 found this review helpful
As usual, Wizards of the Coast has released another book with more fully-playable races and new classes for Dungeons & Dragons. There's nothing really different, except for the Hybrid character options that allows to combine classes to make a more sophisticated PC that can sustain one or two of the roles of each class, or at least change its aproach to its primary role.
Something that seems very interesting is the introduction of Skill Powers, which represent specific ways of using one of the skills your character have in form of in-combat powers. This seems like a nice way to increase your hability roster, besides giving options that enrich greatly your role-playing during combats.
There are, however, some flaws on this book. The races featured are the Minotaur, the Githzerai, the Wilden and the Shardmind. These Shardgminds and Wilden are new races, and I do find them interesting both. However, why did they choose the Githzerai and the Minotaur? I'm not complaining, but of the great array of creatures that D&D has featured along four editions, a larger selection could have been presented in the book. Why the Minotaurs and Githzerai, then? Why not the Gnoll (also explored thoroughly in Dragon Magazine), or the Aasimar from past editions? Why not all six, to say something, or another six?
The classes in this book are all nice; however, some of them are more appealing than others. The Monk (striker) and the Psion (controller) are, I believe, the main course in the book, but also the Runepriest has a certain charm, being a Divine Leader that uses runes to achieve its goals. The Seeker is a controller-role version of a Ranger, or at least it feels like it, and the Battlemind is a Psionic Fighter/Paladin. The Ardent is a Psionic Leader, but the concept itself is kind of blurry. It senses and enhaces emotions, or something like that.
I have little more to say... more feats, more items... the Psionic powers are played in a different way (augmenting At-Will's instead of using Encounter's). This is a nice book. Maybe not all of the stuff will be as good as the Monk or the Psion, and you may feel the same thing I do about the races, but don't worry. I'm positive there will be another Player's Handbook in a few months.
4E Players Handbook 3 April 15, 2010
Justin J. Wichman (Eau Claire, WI USA)
5 out of 8 found this review helpful
Looking over the players handbook I was impressed with some aspects and also a little disappointed with others.
Races:
In my opinion half the races presented in this handbook were a great addition while the other half were not up to par. Since starting gaming many years back I have had many players ask me if they could play a minotaur, but it being a EL8 didn't allow them to until far into the campaign. The addition of this race and the gith were good. The Shard-whatever and the wilden-leaf/stick people were to a bit of a stretch, they just seemed strange and weird (not that their abilities or stats were bad).
Classes:
Overall not bad, some were interesting. There's much controversy in my gaming groups about whether or not the monk should be psionic... I see both arguments so I guess I just don't really care either way.
The addition of the hybrid characters was to me awesome. It in a way brought back multi-classing... At least I feel it's closer to multi-classing from 3.0/3.5.
The girth of the book was a bit small but there is good information in it. It is just starting to feel like Wizards is pumping off books for quantity and no longer for quality/length. On another note, pathfinder has completely captivated my attention, a nearly 600 page book for practically the same price as one (when comparing prices on amazon).
Showing reviews 1-5 of 13
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