|
Player's Handbook 2: A 4th Edition D&D Core Rulebook (Bk.2) |  | Authors: Jeremy Crawford, Mike Mearls, James Wyatt
Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
Category: Book
List Price: $34.95
Buy New: $21.84
as of 7/29/2010 17:37 MDT details
You Save: $13.11 (38%)
New (39) Used (14) from $15.95
Seller: thebookgrove
Rating:  69 reviews
Sales Rank: 6628
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 224
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.9
Dimensions (in): 10.9 x 8.5 x 0.6
MPN: WOC2189872
ISBN: 0786950161
Dewey Decimal Number: 793.93
EAN: 9780786950164
ASIN: 0786950161
Publication Date: March 17, 2009
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
| |
| Features:
| • | ISBN13: 9780786950164 | | • | Condition: New | | • | Notes: BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed |
|
| Similar Items:
| |
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Player's Player's Handbook 2 expands the range of options available to D and D players with new classes races powers and other material. This 224-page book builds on the array of classes and races presented in the first Player?s Handbook adding both old favorites and new never-before-seen options to the game. Some of the racial options include the gnome shifter and half-orc. The classes featured include old favorites like the barbarian druid bard and sorcerer. The book adds a new power source for 4th Edition D and D: classes using the new primal power source include the barbarian and the druid.
|
| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 69
 Power creep June 2, 2010
Humuhumunukunukuapua'a (Cincinnati, OH United States)
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
Most of the classes in here just feel better and more universally useful than the base classes in players handbook one. Even still, this game has had most of it's "character" smashed out of it in the name of "balance" and neato cool "tactical" gaming.
Some people might like this, but I found this to be kind of the nail in the coffin for my 4e experience. Some of the classes just don't feel like they really have a point. It's like they decided to make a new origin and needed a class to fill each role in that origin, but there isn't much of a point to play some of the classes in here... Some of the classes feel schizophrenic - like the class has special abilities that require you to get hit and take damage, yet there are feats that make you harder to hit? It feels pretty diluted and generic. I played several sessions with PHB 2, hoping it would refresh my lost faith in DnD 4e. Basically if you don't like it after playing from PHB1, this isn't going to change your mind.
 excellent and most awesome April 28, 2010
Morgan Hubbart
I recommend this book to anyone into 4th edition, It returns to us the barbarian, Bard, druid and sorceror. Also adding Avenger, Invoker,Shaman and warden. Provides more racial such as; Deva, Gnome, Half-orc and shifter, new feats, adventuring gear, magic items, rituals and more.
Usefull for 4ed players April 7, 2010
D. Kralj (Cro)
Basically, if you want new and interesting classes and races, this is a must have. i am really happy with the new primal heroes inside (warden especially) as well as the new races (2 thumbs up for goliath). every segment is balanced with the already existing 4ed book so there wont be any problems in using this supplement in an existing campaign. im a little disappointed that you have the same price tag for HHB1 and PHB2 since PHB2 has 100 pages less then the previous 1, but i'm sure that the guys at wizards have their legit reasons :). overall good thing to have if you play dnd 4ed.
P.S. Note that if your a DnD Insider subscriber that you realistically don't need this book, as all of the options presented here are integrated within the downloadable DnD character creator toolset. i will add this comment to every book that is within the software offered by DDI since i'm a collector, and will probably have all the books pushed out for 4th edition :)
Review February 11, 2010
Dan W. Feldner (Minot, ND)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
A must have for all D&D players in 4th addition. Though if you have insider this book can be almost pointless. Though there is always somethig to be said about having the information you need in physical form. Will most likely be purchasing a second copy sooner rather than later to help with growing demands for D&D in our house hold.
 Good for the system, still bad for D&D November 4, 2009
Michigoon (Mid-MI)
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
This book is a hard one to review. On the one hand, all of the bits are technically pretty well-balanced and add a lot of options to D&D 4th edition. On the other hand, most everything presented here still ruins the flavor of D&D as most have known it.
The bits: Presented are 5 new races that blend fairly well with the basic onces- keep in mind the basic book includes Dragonborn and feytouched Eladrin and demonic Tieflings, so there's a lot of far-out flexibility there. There's several new Classes presented that are all mostly solid. Of special note is the Sorceror which has both proven popular with power gamers for being very friendly to "min-maxing" (or using the rules to the utmost to create the most powerful character), while not completely breaking the game. There's also a smattering of feats and items, although most of what's presented is locked to the new races and classes. If you made your character in the first handbook and you're just looking for options, you'll really only find a handful per section that you can use. the book is Wizards' usual quality, complete with a host of errors that already have a free PDF online to help you correct.
The mechanics: Big portions of this book sadly fall into the category of making certain classes almost entirely locked to certain races, and vice versa. Half-Orcs and the Barbarian class are obviously made for each other. The Sorceror class, with heaps of mentions of "Dragon" and "Draconic" per page, obviously lends itself to the Dragonborn. The Avenger and the Devas were obviously developed together as well (you can use Intelligence to swing a Greatsword?). There's some flexibility there, but you're left with a strong impression that you can't really break the mold in this game, especially with multiclassic essentially gone.
The flavor: 4th edition chose to focus on a more "wild" and "chaotic" feel, moving away from the musty old tomes and cloistered cities that once defined the series. This book takes that to the extreme, with all of the races but one being of a wild and wandering nature. Half-Orcs live in tribes and may blend into cities. Gnomes are a slave race with no home. Goliaths are mountain-men. Shifters are partial were-animals. And then you have celestial Devas, who are incredibly civilized heavenly beings? The art and the flavor for devas is very cool, but things just don't come together on that one. You wind up getting the impression that the flavor followed behind the form on this one. The book needed a race that could min-max for magical Classes (and swing a sword with their IQ), just as well as Goliaths match fighting, and hence the Devas came about. The only thing missing is a class that can cast magic using their physical Strength, right? Well hold on, because Sorcerors can actually do that. No longer does your muscle-bound, melee-loving brute of a character need to be burdened by a lack of spellcasting. See the comment about min-maxing.
The money: PHB2 is also an exercise in getting you to pay a lot of money for something you shouldn't have had to. Half-Orcs made it into the basic book for 3.X Edition, and they should still be in now. Bards should also be in the basic book, having been staples of the game since its very early days. Virtually every gaming group I know has had to get PHBII to recover these missing options, which is great for Wizards' pocketbooks, but causes players to spend more money and have to and look across two books where there should be one.
If you haven't gotten into this 4th Edition yet, or if you're on the fence about whether or not you like the base system, I can say this probably won't do much to help your fears. Despite the new options, this book actually makes your lack of options (in terms of character growth and power builds) under the new system much more evident. The book also strongly enforces the change in flavor of the game- which very frankly is a modified Eberron (from the recent Last War to the more wild flavor, and so forth).
So overall, the question of whether or not you're going to like this book is largely based on whether you really like the changes in 4th edition as a whole, and whether you're already invested in the system. There's plenty of good options here if you're already playing the 4e game, and in fact it's pretty much necessary considering core Races and Classes are contained herein.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 69
|
|
|
Legal and Privacy CERTAIN CONTENT THAT APPEARS ON THIS SITE COMES FROM AMAZON SERVICES LLC. THIS CONTENT IS PROVIDED ‘AS IS’ AND IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE OR REMOVAL AT ANY TIME. Powered by Associate-O-Matic
| |
