The latest version of the tabletop game addresses many of the weaknesses and complexity issues that plagued the 3 and 3.5 versions. The art is top quality and well placed in each chapter. I was suprised by how useful the DMG is for actually helping setup and running a campaign. I liked how the monsters could be easily changed by changing levels, role and abilities. The players hand book is much better resource for players with all the class information and spells/powers in the same sections.

On the downside, I wish the leather bound gift set was offered first.

I bought this product for my husband who treats his books like golden treasures. In two weeks time the print was smearing and the binding was breaking allowing whole sections of pages to fall out of the book. The manufacturing of this product is the shoddiest I've ever seen. I plan on returning this printing and waiting for the next one which I hope will be better.
As for the content, well everyone who has played the editions previous to this will have an opinion about it. I haven't formed mine yet, but it seems like it will be more manageable than 3.5 which was just too complicated for people who also have lives outside of gaming. I don't recommend beginners start with this edition, however, unless there are old-timers to help them sort out the rules as some things are esoteric enough to be confusing to the uninitiated.

I bought this product for my husband who treats his books like golden treasures. In two weeks time the print was smearing and the binding was breaking allowing whole sections of pages to fall out of the book. The manufacturing of this product is the shoddiest I've ever seen. I plan on returning this printing and waiting for the next one which I hope will be better.
As for the content, well everyone who has played the editions previous to this will have an opinion about it. I haven't formed mine yet, but it seems like it will be more manageable than 3.5 which was just too complicated for people who also have lives outside of gaming. I don't recommend beginners start with this edition, however, unless there are old-timers to help them sort out the rules as some things are esoteric enough to be confusing to the uninitiated.

The price Amazon was selling these for was less than half what they were going for at my local gaming store. I was amazed. The books were brand new, excellent shape, and the boxed set, which makes it even better. The books themselves are beautiful. Well done, the system is much smoother and easier to run. A must for anyone who plays, or anyone who collects the genre.

I'll assume people who are looking at this review and this product know what D&D is. So, an honest opinion is that this new edition has more suck than THACO! It has been dummied-down in an attempt to pull those who play MMO games, like World of Warcraft, back to pencil & paper RPGs. I was hoping for a system that would help evolve 3.5 into something more solid with supported epic level play. However, this new system gimps the challenges, your customization, and the wealth system. Personally, I'd recommend staying with 3.5 until they put their heads on straight and make a 5th edition. The only reason this is getting 2 stars instead of one is the great price and the free shipping that I got from Amazon.

D&D 4.0 is much improved over 3.5. The rules are streamlined, the art and text are beautiful, and everything is so organized. It's very easy to teach to new players but has enough depth to appeal to experienced players. My only complaint is that there is simply not enough character classes, but that will improve with time and as more books are released. Wizards of the Coast made some great moves in making the game more appealing to all, and I think you'll find that the new rules really fit into to today's gaming while still allowing all the roleplaying you desire. A much needed and welcomed update.

First, this is the cheapest you'll find the core set anywhere!! Second, this is a major improvement on 3.5 hands down. 4.0 has breathed new life into tabletop RPGs and make them fun and exciting again!

This is less of a review and more of a complaint. I couldn't wait to get these books. When the arrived I immediately began reading the PHB and I noticed just through casual handling the ink in the art and letters was smudging drastically. I have contacted them and recieved no response.

Poor quality construction. Disentegrated in my car after having left it for four hours. I live in Cincinnati, not the desert. And the mechanics are dumbing down DnD. Seems like WOW. I want to press buttons and table top.

I would review this, but I don't have it. After preordering some time in advance, I received word that there apparently wasn't enough to fulfill my order and the delivery was pushed back into July. Then I receive more word that the delivery is pushed back into August. So before you purchase, make sure that you read the fine print of when they can actually get the product to you.

It's a great improvement over 3.5, not to say all changes were for the best. There will be naysayers who fear change and stick with 3.5 because of that.

However, the simplicity of 4e should at least cause you to consider it if you have any potential new players. It's simplified greatly, but without losing it's flare.

Pros: The game is MUCH more playable now, mainly because combat is speedier and more varied than it was before. Managing the availability of your powers makes combat unpredictable and fun. Also, the rules are wonderfully well organized: if you have to look for one, you can expect it to be easy to find and to be explained well (the mini illustrations in the combat section are probably the best example of this). In all, the game is far more intuitive than any previous edition, from how the rules interact with each other to how everything is phrased and categorized. The vast amount of playtesting that was put into creating 4th edition makes a huge difference in the way the game is played.

Cons: In simplifying the game, the designers made a single regrettable decision: they took out what they couldn't simplify enough. Grappling was replaced by the grab action, and trip, disarm, and sunder were scrapped entirely. Also, some classes lost a LOT of their flavor: forget trying to create a necromancer wizard or a ranger who specializes on slaying dragons (still, it's better to have a wizard without flavor than a transmuter with no spells). Another thing that didn't change for the better: the mechanics of the social skills (Diplomacy, Bluff, etc.) are still too meaningless to be used in combat. Also, the character sheets are unintuitive, the illustrations in the Monster Manual are (for the most part) not as good as the ones in 3rd edition, and the alignment simplifications are unecessary.

Conclusion: 4th edition is a fantastic system that facilitates quicker, funner battles and overall better gameplay. You lose some obscure features of the game and get crappy character sheets, but it's nothing an array of new focused accessories and a couple of web enhancements can't fix.

This is what 2nd edition should have been. It reminds me of AD&D with some cool powers. It goes back to how role playing should be, not the 3.5 number crunching. Now your fighter can once again talk himself out of a rough situation and not worry that he has no ranks in bluff.

The DMG is now a tool in which a new player can try their shot at DMing because now it walks you through the process. Designing encounters has become 100% easier so you can spend more time on the story and not the stats. The MM is easy to read and monster layout is simple, which makes DMing on the fly that much easier.

The only problem I had was with the PHB it was the fact that the Bard and Barbarian are gone but there is a wizard and warlock. It seems that the warlock could have been a character concept for a wizard but I guess you cannot always like everything. They say the other classes will come out in a PHB 2, which is when I stop buying because the multitude of books is what drove me away from 3.5. Wizards should realize that what made D&D great was the tons of classic adventures not the pile of extra fluff source books.

I would like to see them spend more time on either making new adventures or retooling the classics for 4ed so a new generation might experience The Lost City, The Desert of Desolation. I may even convert these myself now that it looks easier to do.

Game On

I'm sad to see the latest version of D&D and I think it's time that a new fantasy based RPG should either emerge, or Wizards of the Coast should give up the "Magic: The Gathering" mentality they have towards D&D. The character classes resemble building a deck. The role playing is squashed in an effort to enhance character creation. The rules have been so overly simplified as to be pathetic. Simple things like attribute bonuses have become so innane that all the races have bonuses now, with no minuses. It's as if Wizards of the Coast thinks the customer can't subtract. The gaming jargon is so heavy in the new edition that you can't read it without getting a headache from the memory of two geeks arguing over the correct use of cards in a "Magic" duel.

The worst part is that everything I've heard about the new edition was meant to make the game "more balanced". Last time I checked, the characters weren't competing with one another. It doesn't matter if the wizard has powerful spells, because, news flash, ITS A WIZARD. This edition gets one star from me only because the last edition was so over the top with the feat system that people were only concerned with creating power characters.

What's also enraging is that they have changed the system so much with this newest edition, that the hundreds (if not thousands) of dollars you can spend on books and accessories are now completely useless. It was bad enough from 2nd to 3rd edition, but old books could be accommodated with the 3rd edition rules. It still sucked then to have to buy all new books, but 2nd edition had been around for a long time and they needed to breathe new life into D&D. I don't agree with the way they did it, but they had to think about the bottom line. This newest edition is a low quality gimmick to part you with your money that is sure not to satisfy.

It's the new D&D, backing to the basics and kicking off the 3.XX wasting of money.
All that you need to play, straight and easy.
Lots of suggestions, explanations and exemples.
Try it.

Overall I am pleased with fourth edition. First level PCs have more endurance. The books themselves are attractive and organized. I do miss the idea of prestige classes, but the basic classes are much cooler.

I found the boxed set to be a great value. The quality of the books seems reasonably high, although I have had a couple of smudges appear already which made me drop a star from my review. The cost was very cheap through Amazon saving almost 45% from the full price. The box the set comes in is quite attractive and sturdy.

4E has been argued about a great deal online, as people feel strongly about how great/terrible it is. I personally have been quite impressed with the system, and have run half a dozen sessions thus far with 3 different groups having a wonderful time each game. The game is streamlined with a lot of the mechanics playing more fluidly letting my players focus on the roleplaying not the rollplaying.

The new DMG is a fantastic resource both for long time Dungeon Masters like myself, and a perfect guide for a new DM getting started. I very much wish something like this book had existed when I began. It has a great deal of information about pacing, and story building, as well as catering to specific players personalities as well as a bunch of crunch such as Monster Templates, NPC generation, and rewards.

The MM is by far the best part of the set. I cannot express how perfectly they did with this book. As a DM I hated the endless hours it would take to generate a really cool encounter in 3.x. The new MM makes it incredibly easy to build interesting and challenging encounters very quickly (even on the fly). The way monsters are set up now gives them a smaller collection of abilities that are all usable throughout an encounter, some as immediate reactions, or special effects when conditions are met (like reaching half hit points). The new rules are the most noticable in the most iconic of all monsters, Dragons.

Dragons in 3.x were incredibly difficult to play in combat because of there massive collection of abilities (especially at higher age categories). You had to chose between dozens of spells, many melee attacks, breath weapon attacks, crushing, etc.. and each ability took up the same action types, so it made it very hard to determine the best action for a dragon to take, and many times you wouldn't be able to use them to their fullest. In 4E dragons have fewer abilities, but they are if anything much more powerful because the abilities can all be used during battle... they can tail slap when flanked, they can breath weapon for free when at half hit points, and melee attacks are handled much more elegantly with far fewer attack rolls to represent each round of melee. The new monsters play much smoother, with minimal time to set up, and provide a great challenge for players.

Overall, I think the Core set is a great buy, and I am a fan of 4E Dungeons and Dragons.

Almost every complaint about 4e is wrong. Many are coming from people not willing to try out the new game because at first glance it seems to different.

Personally I've played since the old blue box set and every edition up to 3.5. I love all of them. 3.0 and 3.5 added much to the game but they came with certain issues too. DMs hands were tied by complicated rules combinations, overly detailed monsters and flawed math that became apparent in low and high level play and made epic characters broken. All of this factors into the "sweet spot" of characters from level 5-12 in D&D 3.5.

Wizards of the Coast understood these issues and how they affected DMs, new players, and group dynamics. They looked at issues like the 5' step and full attack, open ended multi classing, multiclass spell casting, high level magic and planar travel, buff spells and ability bonus magic items (leading to the 6 must have items). WOTC decided to boil D&D down to what makes it D&D and make it as smooth playing as possible.

Common negative comments that are flat out wrong:

1) D&D plays like WOW now: This is so untrue! D&D still focuses on heroic characters being unique in the world, struggling against the forces of darkness and experiencing the heroes journey. Combat is much more cinematic, classes are much more iconic and customizable and the magic items and powers are about the hero and story now and not boosting stats or min/maxing your characters. This is not a MMO, from the get go D&D knows its a role playing game. The game has rules now for Quests, skill challenges, story based exploration and encounters and combat being more exciting with monster minions and leaders. Imagine the players fighting through hundreds of zombies to reach the evil lich and break his spell or the players leading armies of soldiers in an epic battle. With minions and leader class monsters, this is very easy to do now.

2) D&D is more video gamey now: Again not true. Many people are stating that 4e has more healing and more lives (represented by healing surges). Healing surges represent your life force, and are consumed as your cleric (or warlord) heals you. As healing surges are used up, players become much more prone to dying and can die easily if they are not healed. From what our players have noticed is that combat is deadlier and players feel more mortal and less video gamey with the new healing rules. Makes for very intense fights.

3) D&D has become a miniature game: This is not exactly true. Miniatures are no more part of the game then they were last edition. The main difference is that combat is more dynamic and has alot more moving around and doing heroic action. This of course is awesome, but does make it easier to run combat with miniatures than without. Personally, I was not a big fan of minis before 4e, but 4e has shown me how they can add to the game and make it still be a great roleplaying experience. Honestly, the group tactics, combat abilities of monsters and dramatic moments that happen in combat now are improved by using minis (or tokens or whatever).

4) They took out or change (gnomes, bards, barbarians, etc): Well, yes they did. But they promised all of those things to come back in future player's handbooks. They also gave us all of the rules, magic items and class abilities all in one book. The DMG has rules and advice players do not need at all and the MM is just monsters. The PHB now has all of the resources players need. It is the most complete version yet. Be patient and the missing materials will be out soon enough.

5) The wizard doesn't feel like a D&D wizard anymore: This is plain crazy. Wizards still have spell books, they still perpare daily powers, they still cast fireball, magic missile, shield, acid arrow, etc. They have awesome cantrips! For every player that says they are to weak now, another one finds ways to abuse the cool powers wizards still have. Also, wizard's start with the ritual caster feat and trained arcana skill, so they are very good at doing arcane rituals, which make up the non-combat spells. If anything, this is the best version of the D&D wizard yet!

6) There was no need to change 3.5! Yes there was. It was a pain for DMs to build adventures and npcs for. Every rule tied into every other rule. You could not tweak something easily and half the rules had to be looked up constantly no matter how many times your group used them (grapple anyone?). The new game is intuitive, exciting and full of great character creation, awesome monsters, fun rules and all around good D&D adventure. For the first time since I was a kid, I feel like I am playing a heroic fantasy roleplaying game instead of a game driven by its rules. The game is a breeze to DM, with easy to use drag and drop style creation tools. It is unreal how fun they made DMing again. No Dm I know says they will go back to a previous version of D&D after running 4e.

Anyrate, if you see someone claiming D&D 4e is a bad product, most likely they have not ran it or played it. It took me about 4 encounters to get past the changes and see the gems in 4e. DO NOT LISTEN TO THE NAYSAYERS! Try 4e for yourself. Start with Keep on the Shadowfell. It has everything you need to play and gives a good demo up through level 3. You will be glad you did.

This product was not a good idea for Hasbro. They should have left well enough alone.
The transitions from Advanced D&D to D&D 2nd ed & finally 3/3.5 were, overall, good things. Rules became clearer, more options became available for characters, and play was generally sped up. Not perfect, but those are what house rules are for, right?
D&D 4th edition offers none of these. The entire character generation process has become less flexible. There are less options for each character class, and the classes themselves pretty much shoe-horn you into pre-determined character types. And thank you, more intelligent characters should get more skills, not the same number as every other Johhny Pickpocket who can barely pick their own nose, let alone a lock.
Experience has gone from a logical formula to an (apparently) abritrary amount of increase. Every character class has the same basic melee combat statistics. I'm sure everyone who has actually had some formal combat training will agree with me: A warrior with years of combat training is far more capable of filleting orcs with a dagger than some hoary old wizard with no stamina and less strength. Yet in 4th edition, both are equally capable of basic melee attacks with weapons they are proficient in. Bullocks!
The jacket design is insitutional, and the layout has some arcane logic that I had trouble following, and I've been playing D&D since 1984. The interior art has suffered as well. William O'Connor does better work than that, Hasbro; what did you do, pay him a cut rate?
There are some good ideas here, such as at-will powers for minor spells. The issue should have been addressed in some other manner that wouldn't have left the game feeling like someone got Evercrack all over my D&D. If Hasbro wanted something so clearly meant to appeal to the casual MMO player, they should have just sucked it up and launched a MMO. Instead, we're left with this half-baked excuse for an RPG.
In sort: Not worth my time, not worth your time, don't waste your money. Stick with 3.5/d20, and check out the fabulous work being done by companies such as Green Ronin. I'm sending my copies back for a refund.

D&D 4E is a welcome update. It's much more accessible now while retaining the flavor of D&D. The art is also very good. Plus you really can't beat the gift set price.

Still reading the books. I like 4th ed rules in some ways, but in other ways, not so much... but the books have some awesome illustrations, nice layouts, and the cover for the set is very handy and beautifully illustrated.

I think that as D&D has evolved, players expect the game to become more and more mature. Maturity in this sense is allowing players to play the characters they want to play. If players honestly believe that it is Wizards' fault that the game spiraled out of control with multiclassing and uber-powers from all the books they put out, then they're really not holding true to the spirit of the game as espoused by Gary Gygax. The fundamental rule is to make the game yours. Play the game you want to play with the rules you want to use. Don't like a certain book put out by Wizards? Disallow it. Wizards is just there to give you the tools to do what you want.

4th Edition breaks this paradigm because of the complaints of players who see every official D&D supplement from Wizards as fair game to all players. This should not be the case.

What 4th Edition seeks to do is bring everyone in line with the same rules in a much more balanced game. I don't think this is the job of Wizards and it's definitely not the way mature players approach the game.

The problem is not the game. It's a minority voice and approach to trhe game that is driving sales and the continuing devolution of the game. As a result, we have 4th Edition.

This is an early review as I only have a couple of games under my belt and I may very well change my mind, but here is where I am at so far. I think Wizards did some really good things with 4th and some really bad things. Things that were broken in 3.5 *cough* grappling *cough* are now fixed or made useless. Here is a quick run down:

The Good:
1)Simplified and varied combat- I do not see the game slowing down like 3e did in the higher levels. You only get one attack a round period, for anyone that has played high level 3e you will find this a godsend. At the same time as it is simple so far you always seem to have something useful to do.

2) I think the races are more balanced than in previous editions. Humans may be broken, time will tell.

3) I like the new monster manual and DMG. I think they are well put together products. I feel like the DMG is finally serving its true purpose it was meant to serve. I also like the baddies having a more interesting role.

4) I like that casters are not totally inept at lower levels, ie the whole party does not spend time guarding the wizard and can do other things.

5) Classes seem more balanaced as well, not and uber class that I can see so far.

6) With the MM you have access to some nifty BALANCED races, that are not in the PHB.

The Bad:

1) I do not like the magic item system in the least. For me I loved the way 3e done things, with magic items. By 3rd level you got yourself a nice Masterwork item and then by 5th you are starting to pick up magic gear. It just felt like a nice balanaced smoothe ride to the finish. In 4e you have a Fiery Broadsword +2 by level 5 and it is all okay, it really just lost a lot of the flavor and meaningfulness to magic items. I would harken to compare this to the early days of EQ(3e) and the early days of WoW(4e).

2) I have not yet decided but had much discussion what 4e really is, on one hand it is a great minatures war game. On the other hand it feels like a watered down MMO style game, not sure if I like that. What it is not is a deep role playing system.

3) Where is the crafting? This kind of harkens up to number 1, where to make a magic item all you need is a ritual and BAM! you got yourself a new nifty magic item. There is no sacarfice of anything, it took time in 3.5 to make items and you felt good when you made something cool.

4) For some reason I cannot put my finger on I would say that Wizards ripped out what little RPing was in DnD for more simplification. DnD has always been very light on deep RP but now it seems to have none. Wish I could just put my finger on why.

5) Classes are more balanced but they seem to lack variety. I do not really feel like I can customize my character. There are two fighters in my party and we have almost the exact same abilites.

6) WTF is a Dragonborn? someone shoot the guy that made them a race, stupidest idea ever.

Conclusion:

What 4e does it does well. It is a more balanced system in terms of rules, races and classes. At the same time to accomplish this it gave up variety and some of the things that made DnD some interesting. Someone once compated 3e to a life simulator (albeit a high fantasy life) and 4e to a fast paced Blizzard game, I would agree with both of those assertations.

To say that I am disappointed by this edition of the game is an understatement. The newest version of D&D has devolved into a pen and paper version of World of Warcraft. I quit World of Warcraft.

In theory, differences from previous editions of the game system aren't a bad thing. However, the game has changed enough of the core elements that I truly do not want to play. If it were not for the fact that my best friend really wants to try DM'ing this game, I would have posted my copy on eBay already. As it is, I am afraid that most people will dislike the game as much as I do and I won't be able to sell the PHB.

On the bright side, I hear that the DM side of the game is extremely easy to manage. So the tables have turned. In the old games, the players had to fight over the good DMs. Now, the DMs will have to fight over the players willing to move to this crappy edition.

There are enough posts with details (some intelligible, some not) that I do not feel it is necessary to list argument points.

I have reviewed and played this edition and love it. However, I do not yet own it. I ordered this product May 7th, and they delayed the original shipping date of June 6 to June 16-24. Then they delayed it again from June 24-July 3. Then again they delayed it to July 27. Then I called them, and the man told me he would put a note in to have them do what they could to send it earlier... the next morning it was delayed until August 3. There are only three reasons keeping me to this order. First reason is, I don't want to go to the other company to be bumped to the back of the back ordering. Second, it IS cheaper than the other company... and third, there is always the hope that it comes sooner than they expect.

If you haven't ordered this product yet, I will say it is worth it. I've played it. Let me comment on the game itself. If you are new to D&D, this is a great edition. Easier to understand, and very playable. If you are a D&D veteran, you will notice that the mechanics have changed (such as skill acquision, etc.) and some of the classes and races have been removed or replaced. In my opinion, the lesser played races and classes were removed. Existing classes (notably the cleric) have been redone to make them fun to play. Nobody I played with wanted to play a human cleric. Now they are totally worth playing. I've read gripes about how they took story telling away, or how it's like WoW... but to me, D&D books have always been guides. Your story telling doesn't depend on a book, and this game (even more so than previous versions) is open to house rules. For example if you want to make a race that's not covered, you are given the tools to do so. I made a helf-orc the other day (half elf, half orc) and had a very easy time doing it, and used the advice from the manual to do it. I would rate the product itself a 5 star.

... Having said that... get the books from the store, or from Amazon's competitor. Grrr.... Bad execution of a great product.

I have reviewed and played this edition and love it. However, I do not yet own it. I ordered this product May 7th, and they delayed the original shipping date of June 6 to June 16-24. Then they delayed it again from June 24-July 3. Then again they delayed it to July 27. Then I called them, and the man told me he would put a note in to have them do what they could to send it earlier... the next morning it was delayed until August 3. There are only three reasons keeping me to this order.

If you haven't ordered this product yet, I will say it is worth it... but get them from the store, or from Amazon's competitor. Grrr.... Bad execution of a great product.

Having never played Dungeons & Dragons before, I was hesitant when asked to play. I was told there was some sort of new book, so everyone would be re-learning, so I wouldn't feel out of place as a complete n00b. Here were people I had known in real life, asking me to play DnD! Up until then I didn't know anyone who had played!

So I went with some reservations. There was some connotations I has in my mind about what to expect. That night, I learned quick, had a blast, and was proven wrong.

I can't compare this to older versions, but I can say that this product for me, was great as a first timer.

Hands down the best version of Dungeons and Dragons (and I have played them all). You need to understand that the game play is fundamentally different than it was in previous versions, but what they've changed has been changed for the better. The game feels much more balanced now, and although the way it plays might seem (at first) to attempt to cater to the MMO fans - I would suggest that you play through an encounter or two, because during the game it doesn't feel that way. I have played two encounters with my 1st level party, one against kobolds and one against goblins (the iconic 1st level critters), and I am not lying when I tell you that those first two battles felt more epic to me than any battles I have experienced in 3.5. Not only did the game run smoothly, we spent very little time reviewing the rules (even though they were still new to us). To me, the more time you spend in the game, and the less you spend in the books, the better. I absolutely love 4th edition, if you're a D&D fan, you've probably already tried it, or have decided not to. If you haven't played Dungeons and Dragons, and are thinking about starting, there has been no better time than now.

Yes it's different, but play through it and decide for yourself whether you like it. Apparently you'll either love it or hate it (according to the amazon.com reviews) - but a review is not going to determine which.

Try it for yourself, and game until you die.

Ok...as a player and a DM I was most unhappy that WOTC decided to come up with yet another new edition.I mean really,can't they just make changes in the current system that works so well? Now that's what I was thinking.But,I gotta say,they really did make some vast and sweeping changes that needed to be made and couldn't have been addressed in the old system.In my opinion,they have improved on the old product a great deal.How many times have you played a wizard that ran out of spells and basically took pot shots at the bad guys with a sling the rest of the night because you were out of spells? How many times have you endured other players wining about needing to rest for 8 hours so they could get their spells back?How many times as a DM have you had players show up with characters that "rolled" 18 for five out of six stats and rolled almost max on hp too while other players at the table were lucky to have a fighter with a 16 STR and half the HP for their level? Ever lost a major villain in an entirely anti climactic battle because someone hit him with a save or die spell that he rolled a one on? These issues are addressed in this edition and more.The game is streamlined and easier to run and play.The artwork is fantastic.The book quality is ok.4e is an excellent system made by players/DMs that knew what to fix.How well it works in the long run has yet to be seen,but from what I have seen,this product is an outstanding purchase.

I've run some skirmish fights and part of Keep on the Shadowfell. In a nutshell, i miss the old iconic flavor of the past 3 editions. However, balance was a key design goal in 4e and i do think they accomplished that. No longer will you have magic users mastering over everyone at high level. And gone are the days of weakling 1st level characters who easily die.

I would have to say though that i am most disappointed by the Monster Manual. At first glance i was very impressed, but after a deeper reading and comparison to the older books, i started to notice just how much information they left out. The new Monster Manual is no longer FUN to read like the manuals of past editions. Enemies all have neat abilities, but i'm starting to wonder if the details of "Push, Pull, Slide, Shift, Immobilize, Save Ends" for nearly every single monster in the book will get boring quickly. Most of them are just variations of this crammed into the statblock, with little information about the ecologies or background of the monster. It is literally just something to kill.

It's a two edged blade though. On the plus side, low level monsters like kobolds are GREAT fun, with tons of cool abilities they never had before. In comparison, high level enemies like Liches are dumbed down, with just a small handful of powers and NO SPELLS like in past editions. They just toss necrotic energy at you for damage.

So, i'll need to play some more 4e before i decide if i'll stay on board for the long haul. I really wanted this to the penultimate edition of a great, classic game, but i can't say that it is. And that really disappoints me.

I'm really quite happy with Fourth Edition. The physical books are hardcover and good quality, they're entirely in full color and the usual large Dungeons and Dragons book size.
Most people seem to be debating the merits of Fourth Edition as a new tabletop game system. The only other game system I've played is 3.5 Edition, and in my opinion 4e blows it out of the water, though no system is flawless.

PROS: This game is much more simplified and streamlined than 3.5, which I like, and it seems to have better balance. If you like having a wide gulf between the abilites of combat classes and magic users, and you really enjoy overly complicated math, stick with 3.5. If I'm fiddling with numbers, though, I call it taxes or homework, not fun.

CONS: The simplification means that characters are less customizable - every halfling rogue is nearly statistically identical to every other halfling rogue. I don't particularly care, as I prefer roleplay-heavy games and am not so fussed about the numerical differences between characters. Wizards has also gotten rid of bards and druids, and gnomes are no longer a player race. Druids and gnomes aren't much of a loss, but I liked bards. I've also heard that 4e's simplicity does not compare to the second edition (Advanced Dungeons and Dragons, or AD&D). That's well and good, but I don't have AD&D and neither does anyone in my age category. Our parents were teenagers when AD&D became hugely popular, thanks very much, and there's nothing we can do about that.

N.B. FOR NEW PLAYERS: This is everything you'll need to buy to start a game. (You'll also need some paper and pencils, but I assume everybody has those). If you're only going to play (not run the game), you can get away with just buying the Player's Handbook. Even if this isn't the best game system in all of history, it is preferable to the game system that came before it. Dungeons and Dragons is the most widely played tabletop role-playing game - chances are, some iteration of this system is what the other tabletop gamers in your area are familiar with and want to play. It's a lot of fun, and I recommend it without reservations. How this version compares with the other versions through the ages is probably not your concern. Grab some graph paper and good pencils, and enjoy your adventures.

Other reviewers have done a fairly good job of describing what exactly they like about the new edition, so I won't go into much detail. Suffice it to say that for the most part, it's easy to see the potential that it has, even if it'll take some time getting used to a new system. Most of the changes to the mechanics have significantly simplified things, and despite what other reviewers might say, no roleplaying aspects have been taken away. It's still a roleplaying game in a fantasy setting, and the DM still has complete, unrestricted control over the story. One issue for me that kept this from being a 5-star review is the skill system.

I haven't decided how I feel about the skill system. If I understand things correctly, any skill can be used by any class, trained or untrained, with training doing nothing more than adding a +5 bonus to that skill. Not only that, but every class gets 1/2 their level + ability modifier to every skill. Training in a skill is done only once at character creation time (unless retraining or taking a feat), Intelligence no longer adds additional skills, and any class can train in any skill simply by taking the Skill Training feat.

In a way this makes sense. Why shouldn't a wizard who studies and practices picking locks be able to do it just as well as a rogue? On the other hand, it makes skill checks a mundane thing, an activity no better than making an attack roll. Characters no longer have to choose what they're good at, sacrificing one skill set for another. A wizard no longer has to give up athletic and utility skills for knowledge skills. He just gets both automatically. This also diminishes one of the primary roles of the rogue as the skilled Jack of all trades. Now any character can fill that role equally well. Again, it makes sense from a real-world stand-point, but it's such a big break from tradition that I'm just not sure it's a good thing.

D&D has been around in one form or another for 31+ years, which is about as long as I've been playing. The advantage of D&D and the D20 game system in general is that everybody knows it. There's no huge learning curve needed to just start playing the game. Every previous edition of D&D has understood this basic strength.

Fourth Edition, plain and simple, is not D&D, and is not the D20 system. It's an entirely new game. Wizards of the Coast has made a huge mistake with this. They're trying to attract video game players by turning D&D into a pen and paper version of World of Warcraft. That tactic is simply not going to work. Current World of Warcraft players are not going to stop playing World of Warcraft to play this. Current D&D enthusiasts simply are not going to bother learning this new system, not when third party vendors are still supporting edition 3.5, and not while better RPG systems already exist (Note: This based on my discussions with customers from game stores in the fifth largest city in the US).

Bottom line, fourth edition is going to go over for Wizards of the Coast the same way that "New Coke" went over for Coca Cola. My advice would be to save your money, and stick with an older edition of D&D. At its best, fourth edition is simply not an improvement over what has come before it. It's just something different.

There are a lot of people trashing this product. I don't know what it is about this edition that's spurning so much hatred, but don't listen to it. Buy this game if you want to have fun with your RPG.

If you would rather stick with tradition and you fear change, then this might not be the best edition for you. So, if things like the complete overhaul of the spell system and the fact that magic missile doesn't automatically hit bothers you, then this is not the system for you.

Also, if you're one of those people who liked D&D because you enjoyed the system mastery aspects of it (you probably are in this category if you know what "non-associated class levels" means in 3rd Edition, and think it's a powerful tool for DMs to use), then this edition might seem like a step backwards for you.

But, if you're interested in getting together with friends, rolling dice, and having fun, then this system is great. The major thing that I like about 4E is it shifts the focus. Now, the fun is had AT THE TABLE, rather than when you picks your feats and spells. It's still got all the depth of 3rd Edition while eliminating all the unnecessary complexity.

Dungeons and Dragons has been a staple in my nerd pedigree since I was 16 years old. I've played on and off since high school, playing D&D 2nd edition and D&D 3.5. For most of this time I was the dungeon master of the game, putting together adventures, customizing monsters and encounters, and building the story through which the players would all play.

About a year ago I got quite frustrated with D&D 3.5. Our gaming group, a group of adult friends who gathered monthly to play for about four or five hours, had reached level 13. Most of the players ran more than one character, sometimes because another member of the group left and sometimes to fill a role the party missed. During these games every battle took nearly two hours. It got so bad that I had to tune adventures around four, three, and sometimes as few as two combat encounters per adventure simply to ensure we'd leave at a normal time. Modules like "City of the Spider Queen" had to be completely re-written to let our group have any chance at finishing it.

At Gencon 2007, Wizards of the Coast announced Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition and, a year later, I now have the 4th edition Players Handbook, Monster Manual, and Dungeon Master's Guide sitting on my desk.

D&D 4th edition solved many of the problems I have with 3.5. Combat is fast, characters are streamlined but still powerful, I'm able to write and run the adventures I want, and everyone at the table is having a great time.

Dungeons and Dragons 4th edition is the best tabletop RPG I have ever played.

What makes 4th Edition Great

There's a lot of great stuff in 4th edition but a few of these stand out as the clear advantages of the system.

First, the rules are simplified and more consistent. For example, attacks against enemies always mean rolling a d20 and adding your modifier. It doesn't matter if you're hitting with a sword or firing a fireball. You always roll attack rolls. This is a big switch from 3.5 where spells required defenders to roll saving throws while fighters rolled attacks against static defender ACs. The four defenses in 4th edition; AC, fortitude, reflex, and will; make sense and feel natural.

Second, all character classes are fun to play. The cleric in 4th edition sure isn't your daddy's cleric. Though healing is still a large part of a cleric's job, the cleric can drop a lot of damage and boost a party's effectiveness quite a bit. This is the first D&D cleric that is genuinely fun to play.

Third, class powers rock. I remember when I first saw feats in D&D 3.5 how I saw them as the evolution of skills. Feats were skills that actually meant something in combat. Now combat powers take that up a step further. Character powers are the true strength in your character. They are the abilities you will use the most often in any given combat. They are the cinematic action-packed moves that impress the rest of the players and make you feel like a real hero instead of a farmer with a sword.

Fourth, character power and monster power is very well balanced. The power curves in D&D is much smoother from level 1 to 30 than it was from 1 to 20 in 3.5. One of the brilliant changes in D&D 4th edition is the monster power levels. Instead of simply having a monster level that compares to a character level, monsters can come in four different types: minions, standard guys, elite guys, and solo guys. Minions may be as powerful statistically as a player at any level but any single successful attack kills them in a single blow. This way a level 23 party may get attacked by twenty level 20 abyssal ghouls but any single hit on any of them will drop them dead. Normal guys are the typical monsters we're used to. Elite guys are powerful versions of normal guys but count as two, have twice the hit points, and often have some sort of secondary attacks. Solo guys, like dragons and beholders, can fight off an entire party by themselves. Again, these can be at any level, so a level 3 solo white dragon still counts as a single solo creatures as does a level 30 solo ancient red dragon. As a DM, these make it a lot easier to build powerful boss creatures surrounded by threatening fodder like a good John Woo movie.

Fourth, and most importantly, 4th edition is simply more fun to play. Players focus on their powers instead of digging into the minutia of the rules. Fighters have a whole pile of actions to perform while wizards are much more streamlined and focused instead of choosing from hundreds of possible options while the rest of the players look bored.

The Problems of 4E

D&D 4th edition isn't perfect. For one, since every attack requires an attack roll, players will miss a lot more often than they used to in 3.5. Wizards always had the option to cast a magic missile and do a little damage. Now magic missiles can miss, something unheard of for the last 30 years. When your turn may not come around for ten minutes or so, it's pretty lame to miss your roll and have to wait another ten minutes.

Second, 4th edition is really built around miniatures on a battle grid. While players can possibly play D&D with just dialog and maybe some paper diagrams, most of the rules focus on a square battle grid and miniatures. For the past two years or so I've become hopelessly addicted to D&D miniatures so this isn't a problem for me. It justifies the money I've spent.

Third, character creation is still pretty complicated. Attributes, races, classes, and items all have modifiers to your baseline statistics that require quite a lot of page flipping. For example, to calculate your athletics skill check you have to know your level, your attribute modifier, your possible racial modifier, your class trained skills, and any possible armor modifier. For an experienced player this isn't so bad, and its a LOT better than the overly complicated skill system in 3.5, but it makes it difficult to quickly build characters for a one-night game. I personally can't wait for some sort of online javascript character generator that can help me quickly build PCs for a one-night game. In the mean time, I'm back to using PC-like D&D miniatures for quick games or 1 on 1 games.

The Fear of Change

There's a lot of criticism surrounding 4th edition. Amazon currently posts a customer rating of 3 out of 5. Many of the reviewers don't even own the books but simply attack with many various criticisms that generally come down to the following:

4th Edition is too simplified and misses a lot of the stuff I had and liked in 3.5.
I already have too much invested in 3.5 and I don't want to switch.
4th Edition is World of Warcraft on paper.
Nearly all of these arguments come down to a single problem; a fear of change.

I don't know how many of the critics are actual Dungeon Masters and I don't know of those who are DMs how many have tried 4th edition, but after reading through and playing through a few D&D 4th edition games, as a DM I can't see ever going back. In my 3.5 games the planning was too complicated, too much time was spent at the table looking up strange rules, and combat took forever. 4th edition gets rid of all of that without losing the tactics and fun that makes a game like D&D great.

I can understand those who feel like their shelf full of 3.5 books suddenly became worthless. However, looking at my own substantial collection of books, I see very few I'd actually give away. Many of them, like the Book of Vile Darkness and the two Fiendish Codices bring me nostalgia even now. Game systems change and there's no one forcing anyone to switch. Everyone knew Wizards would come out with a new version some day and frankly, I'm glad they did.

The "D&D = Warcraft" straw-man argument is perplexing. First, a pen and paper game is never like a computer game. Second, WoW is pretty popular so who cares if it does steal from it. There are elements to D&D that mimic some of the rules of WoW such as the talent trees and some of the character class attributes, but combat is still very much D&D and 4th Edition definitely has its own flavor.

D&D's Biggest Problem

There's one large unwritten problem surrounding a game like D&D, one that has nothing to do with the rules or the cost of the books. Sometimes its just hard to find a group with which to play. I've been lucky in my life to have four of five good D&D groups that played for over a few years. I'm very lucky to have two groups now, one a weekly game that I run with my friends and another that I play in every other week. This mostly comes from the location in which I live, there are enough people around the DC area to find a few different groups of folks. For folks living out in the sticks, however, finding a group can be rough.

Add onto this the stigma of being a D&D player, one we often enjoy together but one that gets in the way when we want to find or build a group, and many might toss D&D aside and focus on computer games instead. I know there were times in my life where I really wanted to play D&D but was too shy to really hunt down and find a good group. It takes a lot of guts to invite yourself into a group of a bunch of strangers, especially for socially awkward folks like myself who tend to gravitate towards games like this.

There's no clear solution to this. The internet helps with sites like Meetup.com and various D&D boards where people meet and get together. However, as long as the game isn't mainstream, it will be hard for a lot of people to play.

I can think of only one solution that may help give players the opportunity to play: adventures written for two players. Like D&D miniatures, D&D could be played by two players, one as a DM and one as a player. The player character would have to fight alone but could fight down a series of nasty bad guys and solve a simple plot. I've read enough posts to see a high demand for one-on-one adventures but so far have seen very few ever published. Like soloing in World of Warcraft, one-on-one D&D adventures have a better opportunity to bring D&D to more people. I hope to see this expand in the future.

Until better solutions can be found, D&D will always be a hobbyist game played by a few folks in dark basements scattered across the country.

4th Edition, My New Favorite Game

As a DM, 4th edition is a dream. It gives me all the tools to build an exciting adventure that feels like an excellent action movie without worrying about power balance. Combat is fast and fun, with lots of options for both the players and the DMs. The rules are easy enough for veteran players to jump right in with mostly logical conclusions to the questions that come up during gameplay.

As a player, D&D 4th edition makes every class fun, gives enough options and customization to build the sort of character one wants to play without so much customization as to overwhelm. Class powers are the next evolution in character action providing the action-packed actions we'd expect in a good book or movie.

Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition is the best tabletop RPG I've ever played.

I have already written reviews of the three separate core rulebooks.

As I said before, the new D&D 4th edition core rules are a combination of classic D&D flavor with the latest in modern game design.

The gift set joins all three books in a sturdy, yet attractive slipcase.

First of all, I have very little to add based on all the other responses. If you want to know how this version of D&D is bad, they'll tell you. What we need to look at now are the implications of this new era of gaming. This edition does not allow for the flexibility necessary to tell fun, unique stories. Not really. Not if you think about the limits imposed by the system and the archetypal themes the designers have abandoned in favor of playability or, rather, simplicity. The kind of role-playing I like to do focuses on the story, and I have always had an ear toward writing when I'm gaming. It's not like that for everyone, and some people may like the "game" elements of this edition. I don't like what I've seen and read because I don't feel like I can tell a good story with this rules set. This edition is more about powers and miniatures and those other elements of D&D. It's less about a generic fantasy system where everything is possible and more about combat and what story the designers have set forth. Role-playing should be less about what tropes the system demands and more about your own imagination. Just look through the books and see how the designers are telling you how to play. What races do what. What classes work this way. What powers this type of character should have. How you should interact with the rest of the party. The list goes on.

This is actually a review of Amazon's policies rather than the books. I ordered the gift set back in early April. June 6th came and went and still no message saying anything was shipped. It finally shipped on June 8th. Today is the 20th of June and no books yet! It has been lost in shipping. Now, when I called Customer Service, they tell me that the replacement will ship out July 27th!! Come on Amazon!! You can do better than that!! You've been slipping over the last few months.

D&D. New edition. The system is much more fun than any previous verious. Your party's wizard is going to complain until he/she gets used to not being the superstar anymore. Everyone else will love it. For my group, this version has brought back alot of the fun of 2nd and 1st Edition.

First and foremost...

The system as presented is cohesive, solid and altogether playable. That being said it has almost NONE of the flavor that veteran D&Der's have come to know and love.

A bit of background - I've played one form of Dungeons and Dragons since it was AD&D. I experienced Revised, skills and powers and then the monumental 3rd edition. And while 3rd edition changed the way the game was played, it still had that dungeons and dragons flavor. It felt like the natural evolution from skills and powers to 3rd edition.

3rd Ed was all about choices. Choices on race, class, feats, skills. Be the hero you want to be. 4th Ed takes a huge step back in that regard. I was deeply disappointed in the treatment of some of the iconic classes (Don't get me started on the wizard).

That's not to say that the game is 'bad'. It isn't. It's well balanced (for the most part), beautifully presented, and within the context of itself it is very solid. The problem I ultimately have with it is the title. It really feels like Wizards is simply cashing in on the name value of Dungeons and Dragons instead of adding something to the unique and awesome legacy that is D&D.

On it's own merits this would be a 4 star RPG - it loses a star for the gross mistreatment of it's namesake. Shame on Wizards.

Oh - as for the actual packaging. My books arrived in a standard Amazon box with NO PACKING material whatsoever. The slipcase is very badly banged up but the books themselves are in good shape.

I'm going to start by throwing out a few things that may tell you if D&D 4E is or is not for you:

4th Edition may not be for you if:
* You want a system with completely transparent rules that work identically for you and the bad guys
* You love 3rd edition multiclassing rules and the ability of 3E to mix and match just about any piece
* You dislike being required to use a map and tabletop representation

You'll probably like 4th Edition if:
* You don't like spending hours to pour over every book to create characters and find the "best" feat, spell, etc...
* You enjoy fights and roleplaying in D&D, but don't want to have to think about it too much out an actual play session
* You like having a clear role and purpose to play in game

4th Edition (in my opinion) is a rather obvious evolution to a rather old game. The ultimate goal of 4th edition is to refocus D&D on the pieces that most people enjoyed and remove the pieces that caused the most consternation and frustration.

To be fair, there is a substantial (both active and vocal) subset of the 3E D&D community that feels that the modular nature of 3E was it's greatest strength and that they are removing that in 4E. WotC ultimately decided that that group was a minority and the problems with that piece were causing some of the biggest frustration for average or casual players becoming more involved. (I'll leave it to you to decide if that was a good decision).

4th Edition focuses on:
* Making all players relatively equal in power level
* Give everyone "stuff" to do every combat
* Simplify combat
* Distills most conflict (with combat or skills) into clearly deliniated encounters and leaves the in-between times to rules-minimal role-playing

There are many people who you will hear telling you that 4E is broken or a step backward for a vareity of reasons. I'd challenge that many of them are inflated or incorrect.

For example, many say that they shouldn't be required to play D&D on a map, and that that isn't an RPG - it's a miniature game. Those that have played through different RPGs and editions will acknowledge (if they are being honest with themselves) that in most map-less RPGs, the DM and players are frequently writing maps and positioning on a piece of paper, chalkboard, or whiteboard - or there are regular conflict where people are arguing about positioning, how close they are to a bad guy, why this guy shouldn't be able to hurt them, and so on. And sometimes those conflicts can end peoples interest in participating in this hobby.

Just like an RPG has rules, because we all learned that if we just "make pretend" you get into those childhood arguments of "I shot you/No you didn't", D&D designers have come to the realization over the years that short of a map, no one is going to picture a scene in their head exactly the same way.

Map's aren't a betrayal to the "true nature" of RPGs - they are a natural evolution that has been learned as time has passed.

If you are someone interested in the game I'd whole-heartedly recommend buying the Players hand book and Keep on the Shadowfell and trying it out. Don't let anyone tell you why you should or shouldn't play it and instead make the (rather minimal) investment of one book and see if you have fun.

I think you will.

If you like board or miniature games then, by all means, buy this product. But, if you're looking for a RPG, there's a great possibility that this game is not for you.
If you're a fan of D&D, let me warn you: this is practically a new game, with a different philosophy, and without relation to previous editions.
Gamers looking for a more traditional D&D (and, in a lot of ways, for a better immersion experience in RPGs) should try Pathfinder, True20, Castles & Crusades or another of the "d20 games".

3rd edition (and "3.5th edition") had their flaws, but they had a marvelous feature that hadn't been seen in other games up to that point. Other game developers and computer programmers could contribute their own work, leading to programs like OpenRPG and PCGen.

The new edition's license won't provide for this kind of openness, leading to far less support than the last one enjoyed. No reason to invest money in it now.

This edition of Dungeons and Dragons is a drastic change from the previous editions. When judged on it's own, I think that it is an excellent game. It definitely emphasizes the combat aspects of D&D, it has revamped that experience and given more options within combat for all the character classes. But the way these options work is best represented by tactical combat, either through miniatures, tokens, or whatevery you might use. It certainly doesn't lend itself to narrative combat. For some, this might be the sticking point.

The character roles are certainly more defined and less flexible, but I've always felt that way, even with the original multi-classing of 3.x. I've heard the debates that 3.x multi-classers are, overall, less powerful than their pure class counterparts. At least with this edition, multiclassing isn't presented in a way that makes people think that their multi-class character will be an even match for a pure class of equal level. I'm alright going into a game where I know that my options are limited by the structure of the rules. If I don't want that, I won't play it then. Each class plays a bit differently and has its own specialties. And the range of powers makes it feel more heroic than the previous editions where a cat was a danger to a wizard.

As for the roleplaying aspect, I think that a lot of the roleplaying is something that goes beyond the game system in most RPGs anyway.

I don't see this edition as a step backward. It is too different from the previous editions for that.

Overall, I like the system and character classes. I think that it simplifies many of the rules that were in 3.x that involved tactical combat and actually makes me want to play using minis or tokens and a battlemat.

If you love 4e the gift set is the way to go. The slipcover is fantastic and the books themselves are all great. I can't recommend 4e more. Playing this is the most fun I've had with any edition of D&D yet and I've played a lot of them.

O.K. Ihave gone through the new 4th ed core rule books and I must say that I'm scared. Not just scared, but personally sick. I learned the game on 2nd edition and converted to 3rd when that came out to great success. 3.5 was the apex of creativity for PCs and DMs. This 4th edition is just plain horrible. Why did WotC have to do this? I suspect it was all an effort to draw the mallcore baby 15 year old MMO crowd in to D&D, since pen and paper (i.e "real") RPGs have taken a "critical hit" with the arrival of WoW. Many reviews I've read here are right, this almost is like a table top verison of WoW, focused on hack and slash/ collect the loot mechanics rather then roleplaying and character development. It has been seriously "dumbed-down" to grab newbies. Yes, 3.x did take work to learn, however the challenge and rule complexity made it a vastly more interesting game. Gone are any grasp towards immersing yourself in a living, breathing world, rather its now just a table top battle game ala Hero Click or Stratego. Are people really just getting dumber? No longer can you have a personalized/standout character with specialties, 4th makes us play cardboard cut-out archtype mega clishes, due to the dumping of multiclassing and the ability for anyone to simple "borrow" other class abilities with no general basis in logic. A fighter that can cast spells in armor....OH Kaaaaay, no general risk takinig either since all my wounds heal at the end of the day.Theclasses have also been cut down and the generic races have been replaced with world specific ones like the Dragonboen and Tiefling, making it harder to incorporate into games worlds that you create, rather WotC wants you to buy their campaing sets. The skill system totally thrown out the window, much less useful and streamlined to eat up less "battle time". This is totally not the D&D I grew up with and had so many fun times with. Why WotC Why?



Stick with the 3.x rulebooks, that is real D&D not this tripe.

The D&D4 gift box is a really nice set (nice paper, great artwork...) but the problem is that this new edition is not good.
The problem is that it turns D&D to a miniature game, less personalization options as you have fewer class (exit the Barbarian, Bard, Druid, Monk... and all the achievements of D&D3.5). For sure we get some promise of a great future but nothing to come for your next saturday night!
Skills system is now awfully poor (less skills and less ways to use them) and no "prestige class" before the 10th level.
Monster manual is really beautiful but details and informations about each creature are dramatically reduced.
Fewer magic items are presented and the "magic recipe" for their creation suppressed.
D&D4 is a step back, they tried to put a video game system on paper, it's not a start for imagination and gameplay but a limitation to it.

If you like(d) D&D3.5 skip this fourth edition!!!