Dungeons & Dragons: Player's Handbook 2- Roleplaying Game Core Rules

The Player's Handbook 2 by Wizards of the Coast is a well-written, interesting tome of player options to be used in 4th Edition D&D. It includes a new power source, Primal, that opens up new, differently-flavored classes, new options for the old power sources, and several new races and general character options for the 4e player.The first chapter includes 5 new player races and new racial paragon paths for every race included in the first Player's Handbook and this one. The new races include the Deva (a reflavored Aasimar race that seems directly counter in nature to the Tiefling), the Gnome (now a race of fey), the Goliath, the Half-Orc, and the Shifter. These five grant players new flavor options and races that are effective with different classes, including those in this book. I've always found increased player options to be good, and these appear very well balanced to boot. The racial paragon paths are great in that they give players a non-class option for character flavor and development, and grant interesting abilities as well. Some may be slightly weak, but they remain interesting and playable despite this.The next chapter details 8 new classes: 4 primal, 2 divine, and 2 arcane. Included are classic options like the Barbarian, Bard, and Druid, and new options like the Avenger (a unique divine striker), the Shaman (a primal leader), and the Warden (a primal defender). All of the classes include mechanics unique to them, including transformations, rages, and spirit companions. I am personally very satisfied with the power granted to these classes, which appears on par with those included in the original handbook (though some shenanigans for the munchkins are always found eventually), and the flavor is fairly well-done. New multiclass feats are included for each new class, of course, and epic destinies appear as well, further adding to the options available to both the new and the old classes.The Magic Items section under Character Options is probably the weakest in the book. It includes only a few new general options, and not enough options specific to the new classes to make up for it (very few Songblades appear for the Bard, for example). Feats, rituals, and the new character backgrounds are good for both flavor and mechanics, and while a few feats pop out as unnecessary or overpowered (Weapon and Implement Expertise struck me immediately), nothing seems to require direct DM intervention.Finally, a few rule updates appear in the back of the book. These are not hugely important, but it is nice to have them in print form, and clarifications are appreciated.Overall, I strongly recommend the Player's Handbook 2 for both players and DMs. Players will find the character options excellent and interesting, and DMs will appreciate direct access to possibilities for new NPCs and help for their players. While the various Power Source books only enhance existing classes, the Player's Handbook 2 introduces more than a sufficient amount of new material to justify a buy, even if it is the only book you buy beyond the original core set.

I love this book. The new (and old) races in the book are a fun addition our campaign. But the real stars of this book are the new classes. The Avenger, a divine striker who embodies the power of her god but due to her line of work can become disillusioned with her god's organized religion, is a blast to play; especially if you have players who like to run off in battle and duel enemies one-on-one. The Barbarian, another striker, is a brute who deals massive (seriously) amounts of damage with two-handed weapons. The Bard is a leader and is finally useful in the game; he can dish out healing, supportive ranged attacks, and melee strikes that bolster allies. The Druid is a controller who engages enemies on the battlefield with ranged primal magic or changes into a beast and mauls his enemies. The invoker is a divine controller calling down the ancient powers of his god to bring pain down upon groups of enemies. The shaman is a leader that uses primal healing powers and uses her spirit animal to attack enemies and support allies. The sorcerer is an arcane striker whose magic comes from wild arcana running through his blood; he is the middle ground between the warlock and the wizard combining strong strikes with area blasts and bursts. The warden is the ultimate meat-shield. He gains the most hit points of any class, can mark all of his adjacent enemies, and can bash any enemy that doesn't focus on him; high AC combined with huge HP.I love this book. Every single class in this book is intriguing, has major positive qualities, and would be a blast to play. In our campaign that we are currently involved in we have a half-orc warden, a razorclaw shifter avenger, and a dwarf druid and we all love our characters. They play well together and incite strategy and teamwork in our battles.

The Players handbook II is the best source book I have ever bought. Period. It offers a huge amount of content in a concise package, none of that filler prestige class padding. There is an astonishing 8 base classes, updating such classic classes as barbarian, bard, druid, and sorcerer. All new classes introduced include: Avenger; a divine striker, Invoker; a divine controller, Shaman; a primal leader, and Warden; a primal Defender. Also a new power source, which is featured prominently, Primal is added. Essentially you draw your power from nature and the wild, like a druid.There are 5 new races, bringing back some old favorites, but also adding some great original IP. Half-orcs are revived, they get +2 str and +2dex. Devas are a new race described as "Similar to humans, but with an unearthly beauty and uncanny stillness about them." They get +2 intelligence, +2 wisdom. Gnomes are revised with +2 intelligence, +2 charisma. Goliath are a new race which are essentially very tall, Grey, dwarves. They get +2 str, +2 con. Shifters have two possible builds of either +2 str, +2 wis, or +2 dex and +2 wis. Also new paragon classes called Racial Paragon Paths are added which give you new powers that build and expand upon your basic racial powers.The feats chapter is great, again, bringing back some old ones and adding great original feats.New magic items expand on the poor selection in the player's handbookThere are new Epic destinies, but I haven't had a chance to look at them.The players handbook 2 features most of the omissions of the original phb. I was reluctant to convert to 4.0 mostly because of the omissions, especially barbarian, but when I heard that the PHB 2 would include it I converted without hesitation. It is slightly annoying that Wizards is making me pay for base classes which should have been in the original PHB, but this book is so good that I pay gladly. It fills out the fairly skimpy class and feet choices with exceptional new material, all of which can be useful to player.

The product was exactly as described.

Für Fans der 4e Serie ist dieses Buch ein Muss! es fügt viele neue Klassen in das Spiel ein (z.B. Barbar, Shamane, Druide...), bringt neue Talente und Charakteroptionen mit sich und Rundet mit neuen Rassen (z.B. Deva (Halbengel), Gnom, halbork) das ganze ab.Dazu kommen Volksspezifische Paragon path. Die neuen Klassen mit dem neuen Primal Keyword sind eine gelungene Ergänzung für jede Gruppe. Ich habe den Kauf mit vielen schönen Spielstunden belohnt bekommen!

Many people were disappointed that the Bard, Barbarian, Druid and Sorcerer classes were not present in the 4th Edition Player's Handbook 1 released by Wizards of the Coast last year.These essential classes to players of previous editions of D&D are now finally available, along with 4 new classes: Avenger, Invoker, Shaman and Warden.The new classes are all well defined and structured, in the same way as the original 8 classes in PHB1.There are 3 "Strikers": the Avenger a Divine fanatic who focuses on accuracy and pursuing a single enemy, the Barbarian a Primal warrior who uses his rages to grant him feral might, and the Sorcerer an Arcane caster who has a more wild form of magic than seen by the Wizard in PHB1.There are 2 "Leaders": the Bard an Arcane combat-musician who is far improved from the 3.5 version of the class, and the Shaman a Primal Summoner who uses a spirit companion as the focus for the benefits for the Shaman's ally.This time there are 2 "Controllers" rather than the 1 that PHB1 offered: the Druid a Primal nature guardian who utilises both ranged powers and beast form melee powers, and the Invoker a Divine conduit and direct link to their gods power who functions in a similar way to the Wizard.Due to the increase in "Controllers" only 1 "Defender" is present in PHB2: the Warden a Primal force who relies on extreme physical toughness and the aid of the earth to protect allies in battle.The new races are similarly enjoyable, many players glad to have the Gnome and Half-Orc back, but the Devas (reincarnated former servants of the gods), the Goliath (huge mountain dwelling folk), and the Shifters (two different varieties coming from Were-tigers and Were-wolves) are all enjoyable and match well with the focus on Primal power in this book.Along with these new classes and races which form the bulk of the book, there are also Racial Paragon Paths for all the races from both PHB1 and PHB2, except for Half-Elves which instead are rewarded in the Feats section of the new book. There are also rules for Backgrounds, new Magic Items, new Rituals, new Epic Destinies and finally some alterations to how certain skills work in PHB1 (mainly stealth).All in all, a great book. If you buy any product aside from the Core Three Books (Player's Handbook, Monster Manuel, Dungeon Master's Guide) I would strongly recommend it was this one.

Love the book, it's full of new stuff and I found my new class in it. The shipping was fast and the book was well packaged.

Wenn man von den paar Möglichkeiten, die das erste players handbook bietet, genug hat, bekommt man mit diesem Buch mehrvRassen, mehr Klassen, einfach mehr Möglichkeiten, als Spieler das passende für sich zu finden.Für die erste Runde D&D noch nicht erforderlich, ab der 2. würde ich mir eins holen.