Top Dungeons and Dragons 3.5e Products
Top Dungeons and Dragons 3.5e Products
Hey check out the most popular D&D 3.5 products. Leave a comment to tell us what we missed!
Dungeon Master’s Guide: Core Rulebook II (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.5 Fantasy Roleplaying)
Weave exciting tales of heroism filled with magic and monsters. Within these pages, you’ll discover the tools and options you need to create detailed worlds and dynamic adventures for your players to experience in the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game.
The revised Dungeon Master’s Guide is an essential rulebook for Dungeon Masters of the D&D game. The Dungeon Master’s Guide has been reorganized to be more user friendly. It features information on running a D&D game, adjudicating play, writing adventures, nonplayer characters (including nonplayer character classes), running a campaign, characters, magic items (including intelligent and cursed items, and artifacts), and a dictionary of special abilities and conditions. Changes have been made to the item creation rules and pricing, and prestige classes new to the Dungeon Master’s Guide are included (over 10 prestige classes). The revision includes expanded advice on how to run a campaign and instructs players on how to take full advantage of the tie-in D&D miniatures line.
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars Must Have Core Rulebook
This is one of the three Core Rulebooks in D&D so is necessary for one person in your group to have one (The more the better though). You’ll need this book for the basics on Prestige classes, Magic Items, and all the Rewards tables (Treasure and Experience).
Essential to D&D. Need to own.
Also, 4e sucks.
That is all
4 Stars Dugeon master
The drawings are a little cartoonish…but still a great book. Now I just have to find some Die Hard D&D players.
5 Stars Essential
An amazing guide to the world of Dungeons and Dragons. I can’t imagine a better tool to immerse yourself in this fantastical world.
5 Stars blarghag?
I received exactly what I wanted and it was in the time they said they would deliver it. What else do I need to write about?
5 Stars Complete guide to world-building
This is a complete guide to world-building. If you are planning on building your own campaign setting, you need this book to help you flesh out cities, landscapes, environment, population, government, etc. The whole first half of the book is devoted to making your world as awesome as possible. The next quarter tells you how to deal with players, as cantankerous as they can be at times, including rule-solving disputes, spur-of-the-moment changes, and how to deal with a player who threatens the stability of your playing group. Lastly, it contains a few prestige classes, and a basic listing of common magic items for use in the campaign. Overall, a very, very useful book for DMs, but I would keep it out of the hands of players.
Unearthed Arcana (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.5 Fantasy Roleplaying)
User Ratings and Reviews
4 Stars Very good acquisition
It is a very good book, which can give to a GM the versatility of new rules.
5 Stars Getting Hit With Everything but the Kitchen Sink Never Felt So Good
I admit it. When it comes to Dungeons and Dragons I could never leave well enough alone. Aparently neither could the compilers of this cornocopia-like compendium of house rules and alternate systems for everyone’s favorite RPG. For all those out there looking to spice up or revitalize your Dungeons and Dragons experience, this is your resource. Reading trough, one wonders if it is humanly possible to find time to use and apreciate all the options found within. Perhaps that is the true beauty of the thing: that the options persist in being inexahustable. With such a resource one never needs fear falling into any kind of hack-and-slash RPG rut. Game getting trite? Mix in healthy dose of Unearthed Arcana and Hey-Presto! You’ve got an entirely new game going! I recomend this supplement for all Dungeons and Dragons RPGers who belive that the game could be so much more.
5 Stars Prepare to Drink From the Fire Hose
Unearthed Arcana opens with these words and no phrase has ever been more appropriate. This is not a standard core rule book, where the DM can just say yay or nay on whether or not they’re using the material. Unearthed Arcana is not even trying to be that kind of book. Unearthed Arcana is a collection of dozens (hundreds, if you count like a marketer) optional rules, many of which conflict with one another. This book has something for everybody and everything for nobody.
If you buy this book thinking your getting another normal core rule book, you’re probably not going to like it. If you buy this book hoping to find individual rules to liven your campaign, you’ll probably like it very much.
Chapter 1 contains racial rules. These rules are the most niche oriented of the book. For instance, the first section involves environmental racial variants (like desert elves). Honestly, I don’t think I’ll ever use these unless I do an extremely theme oriented campaign (like a home grown Dark Sun). This is followed by elemental variants, which are even more niche-like (air elves). Then come bloodlines, which are fairly interesting, if you allow this sort of thing. Bloodlines allow you to introduce racial traits without saying a character is half something. If great great grandmama had strange thing for minotaurs or demons, these rules can help your character reflect that (and give the family something not to talk about). Finally, this chapter finishes with what most will think is its most useful section, the racial paragons. These are three-level prestige classes which grant bonuses that emulate the most stereotypical traits of a race (Stonecutting and constitution for dwarves, for example).
Chapter 2 is all about the classes. This starts with variant classes, which are your base classes, tweaked somewhat. For instance, the cloistered cleric is a variant class that drops some of the cleric abilities (it lowers the hit die, for instance) to grant such abilities as Lore and the Knowledge domain. These are actually quite interesting. This is followed by an extensive section on variant specialist wizards and then rules for spontaneous divine casters then variant rules for various class abilities, such as turning undead and the barbarian’s rage. Next is the prestige class section, but in this section, they take three base classes (Bard, Paladin and Ranger) and they present them as prestige classes. This will be particularly handy for games where, for instance, a person must petition to a holy order to become a paladin. Next come Gestalt characters, which are essentially characters that have two classes at once (as opposed to multi-classing) for games where there aren’t enough players to cover all the class bases (are you starting to see why no one can use all these rules at once?). Finally come the generic classes, which are a way to step away from all the class complexity and get down to four very basic choices.
Wow. Seems like a lot doesn’t it. We just finished page 78.
Chapter 3 is building characters, and no, this doesn’t have the old Unearthed Arcana’s stat rolling system. It starts with alterative skill systems and rules for complex skill checks. Then it moves onto character traits (which are like advantages in other games). Next comes . . . you guessed it . . . character flaws. Next come spelltouched feats for those characters that have had a lot of exposure to certain spells. This is followed by rules for grouping weapons by type for the sake of weapon group proficiencies. Next comes a set of alternate rules for crafting items (magical or otherwise) during campaign down time. Finally comes background rules, for representing skills a character had before becoming an adventurer.
Is your head spinning yet? Mine is.
Next comes Chapter 4: Adventuring. This is where things really start contradicting themselves. It starts with class defense bonuses, like in Star Wars, and moves into armor Damage Reduction. Then it moves into rules for having armor convert damage instead of stopping it outright. Then it moves into an injury system that negates the use of hit points completely. But wait. Then it bring hit points back in the form of vitality and wound damage (like in Star Wars again). Next it goes back to the original hit point system, but allows for a character to have “reserve points” which essentially allow them to heal very quickly. Then it moves on to alternate rules for massive damage while throwing out a rule for dodging when it isn’t your turn (a page layout nonsequitur). Next come new death or dying rules (which look a lot like the rules for dying in the vitality points section, but we’re back to hit points, now, remember?) Then we move on to action points, which characters can spend during a game to help save their proverbial bacon. Next comes combat facing rules (which I’ve been waiting for forever) with some extremely ineffective luck rules thrown in a sidebar. But wait! Maybe you’re an old GURPS player. We better throw in hex rules as well. Speaking of GURPS, who cares if this is D20. Let’s take out the d20 from the game and have the player’s roll 3d6s instead. Speaking of that, lets have the players roll all the dice, taking the load off the DM. And, and, and . . .
Oh. I guess that chapter ends there.
On to Chapter 5, because we’ve barely even touched . . . Magic. Lets start with rules that give a character a magic ratting, based on all their multiclassing, instead of a straight spellcaster level. Hey, rogues pick up stuff about magic too. Then lets introduce the concept of themed summoning lists, because it’s always embarrassing the summon an amphibian on the lip of an active volcano. While we’re at it, let’s let characters throw money at the problem of metamagicked spells instead of increasing the spell slots (and drop in a rule about metamagic and sorcerers while we’re at it). Wait! That reminds us. We have all these new possible spontaneous casters now. Lets put in metamagic rules for them and a second optional rules for sorcerers, to boot. Speaking of spontaneous casting. How about spell points? A lot of people play Rolemaster, don’t they? Speaking of that, lets have characters recharge between spells, eliminating the hard cap on spells per day entirely. You know, I’ve stopped mentioning the side bars completely now. Still, I have momentum, so lets move on to legendary weapons, which increase in power with the character (new prestige classes in here). You know, that sounds kinda like a familiar, so lets throw in familiars that are items. Now let’s shift gears and throw in rules for ritual magic (we’ll call them incantations). Since we’ve now brought magic into the hands of even nonspellcasters, lets finish up with . . .
. . . .Chapter 6: Campaigns.
In case we hadn’t, you know, done enough to shake up your game.
Let’s start with new rules for contacts, but contacts need to have opinions of the characters, so we’ll move onto reputation rules. Hey, didn’t reputation first come from Oriental Adventures? Yeah, let’s throw in honor too. You know with honor comes the opposite, so we should have taint rules as well and if we’re going to have tainted characters we’ll need, you guessed it, tainted prestige classes. Wow. I’m starting to lose it here. I think we need rules for sanity! That was a little much, so we’ll change tracks again, this time attacking the concept of prerequisites. How do you know if a character has the toughness feat? Let’s base prerequisites on tests instead. While we’re breaking free of molds, how about XP awards that aren’t based on level? That sounds good so lets turn the page to . . .
. . . the afterword? Are we done already? I’m barely even started.
I don’t know if you became as exhausted reading this as I did writing it, but now you should have some idea what’s in store in Unearthed Arcana. Some of these rules are very good. Some of them are stupid. I doubt anyone will completely agree on which are which, and I think that was their attention. The biggest thing to keep in mind is to watch how these rules interact. For instance, if you use vitality points or the death and dying rules, character death is based on fortitude saves, so you best make sure your rules keep those from getting out of control. If you have one gestalt character you better have everyone play gestalt characters. Also, don’t try to integrate rules which oppose one another too greatly, like the injury rules and vitality points, unless you want to play with real world insanity as well.
The biggest drawback of this book is you’re going to waste money. No one can use more than half of these rules at a time without verging on the ridiculous, so unless you have an extremely high turnover on campaigns, it will take years to use the whole book. Meanwhile, you’re paying for development, paper and color ink that you’re not using. But If that doesn’t bother you, this is the book for you.
5 Stars Great
Lots of great resources over all a good buy. Really helped to improve our gaming experiance.
5 Stars This is the best first party book in 3.5 D&D
Honestly, when it comes down to it, every single RPG book is a book of houserules. This book lacks a coherent theme, but instead just presents you with a ton of different systems that you can add to your game a la carte. Many of them are very good ideas.
You aren’t going to use them all. That’s not the point. But you are going to like some, hate others and be inspired by a few more. This is a great book for getting ideas or trying things differently.
User Ratings and Reviews
2 Stars Who *isn’t* a scoundrel?
I was very excited about pre-ordering this book, as it sounded like just the thing for giving sneaky, underhanded spells/feats to sneaky, underhanded characters.
However, being a scoundrel has nothing to do with being sneaky or underhanded. Or clever. Or…well, anything at all. EVERYONE’s a scoundrel, as illustrated by the book’s “What is a scoundrel?” section. Darth Vader and Mario (yes, that Mario) are cited as examples.
This book is full of very similar feats (more often than not, they’re just “Choose to re-roll” affairs).
I would not recommend it.
5 Stars I loved this book
I really found this book helpful, as the skill tricks can be used for different classes and I tend to play a more tactical based character anyway. I’ve had an enjoyable time experimenting with many classes using the recommendations from this book and the luck feats are rather entertaining at times.
5 Stars great buy
This book is pretty good. It is unreasonable to expect that every person is going to use every bit of this book. No one has that much time, or that many characters. Unless of course your characters are suicidal and you roll up a new one every session. To me, if you can pick up a supplement book, pluck out a few classes, feats, and some other good information out of it, chances are its a good buy. Especially considering you can bring that to your gaming group and someone else there might like something that you didn’t have a use for. The prestige classes are pretty interesting in terms of class abilities, but I wasn’t crazy about them. The enrichment material at the front of the book is excellent though, just like the stuff in PHB2. Solid gold for helping you role-play or just concept a character. The feats and skill tricks presented in this book are also good. In my current campaign I play a Scout (from Complete Adventurer) and I like the character a lot. The problem was, I wasn’t getting the full statistical output that my character’s personality supports. With the feats in this book, I was able to customize my character by multiclassing in some things without losing some of the Scout class ability progression, which let me make the character into who I felt he should be. The book also has many other feats that make it a lot more appealing to multiclass with levels in a Scoundrel-type class. The skill tricks also add a lot of flavor to your character as well as giving them some cool abilities like some feats give, but with the limitation that they can be used once per day. The book isn’t all for the Rogue type, though. It has a fair amount of prestige classes and feats and skill tricks for various casters. To name a few, this book contains the Grey Guard prestige class, sort of like a Paladin with less remorse and more freedom of action. It also has a skill trick that lets anyone with 5 ranks in the Heal skill heal some damage when they stabilize. All in all, I won’t use everything in this book, but I will use a good amount of it and it is likely that some of my other players will, too.
4 Stars Nice supplement
Really well done.This product gives the players interested in playing rogues some great options and extra uses for skills for all classes.New prestige classes and core classes,spells,and items.
4 Stars Awesome book!
I have every “Complete” except CChampion. This is one of the best ones there is…great buy! If you liked C. Adventurer you will like this too. The skill tricks introduce a great new option to the game (spend skill points to get mini-feats).
There is even enough stuff for spellcasters in here for it to be worth the money. If you like playing anything remotely scoundrelish (no matter what class), you will benefit from this book.
Spell Compendium (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.5 Fantasy Roleplaying)
Spell Compendium provides players and Dungeon Masters with quick access to the D&D spells they need most. Drawing from a treasure trove of sources, Spell Compendium is the one place to find spells that are referenced time and again: the best, most iconic, most popular, and most frequently used. This convenient reference introduces a new spell format that includes descriptive text.
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars Great Book For All D&D Fanatics
I have been playing Dungeons and Dragons since 1st edition and have always wanted one book that encompasses all the spells there are out there all though it dosen’t have spells from the PHB it has all the rest ranging from Draconomicon to Vile Darkness and everything in between anyone who plays any type of character in D&D would do well to buy this book and even if you don’t play a player it’s good for making a memerable reacurring villian that your players will always love to see what he pulls out his spell book next
5 Stars New tricks for the old mage
The Spell Compendium contains a wealth of new spells and spell ideas for any of your spellcasting characters. Some of these do edge towards the overpowered, while some go the opposite way, but regardless, they offer some special variety and uniqueness for your spellcaster to take advantage of. Many of them have appeared in one form or another in numerous modules or other sources. Now they are collected for easy reference. Some are certainly great utility spells that have been missing since 2nd edition. I even found one that was very similar to a spell I once created from scratch for a campaign I was in that I felt my character needed as part of a divinatory/investigative tool (Object Read).
Also, the collected listing of Domains, their powers and spells is a welcome addition. So if you are looking for some potentially signature spell or style that will set your spellcaster apart from the usual, or want to throw something totally unexpected at your party of adventurers, this book may have it.
4 Stars Useful but not all-inclusive
Spell Compendium is a solid resource for spellcasters of any class. Its major downfall, however, is that it does not include core (Player Handbook) spells. That said, it’s fairly easy to navigate and contains a plethora of new, useful, and interesting spells from a variety of other “splat” books. A bit pricey, but worth it for serious spellcasters with the understanding that core spells aren’t included.
5 Stars Spell Casting Amped up
For the player who want’s to stick with 3.5 and play a spell caster, this is the book. Our Game Master groans every time we pick it up. You can’t go wrong!
5 Stars Review: Spell Compendium 3.5
Spell Compendium is a misleading name. You won’t find descriptions of spells that are in other WotC books, you may recognize many of the spells, but that’s because they were reprinted, or CHANGED from their original splatbooks (primarily the D20 stuff, such as the complete series). Many of the spells are more powerful than their counterparts in the splatbooks, but a few simply aren’t as good. I would give specific examples, but that would be copyright infringement.
I recommend buying this book while it’s still affordable, because as myself and many others dislike D&D v4.0, what we like, and has a diminishing supply, will go up exponentially in price. This is also one of very few books that I’ve seen go up so substantially in price since 3.5 ended, so that alone should be a good market indicator of its high demand, demand due to its usefulness.
Complete Mage™
A Player’s Guide to All Things Arcane
Skip Williams Penny Williams
Ari Marmell Kolja Raven Liquette
Arcane Power at Your Fingertips
Every sentient creature is born with some potential to work magic. However, true mastery of arcane magic requires skill, practice, and power beyond the reach of common folk–specifically, the power to harness raw magic and shape it into a desired effect. You are among those gifted few who have learned to channel arcane magic, shaping it to serve your creative or destructive whims.
This D&D® supplement is intended for players and Dungeon Masters. In addition to providing the definitive treatise on arcane magic, it expands the character options available to users of arcane magic, including bards, sorcerers, wizards, assassins, warlocks, and wu jen. Herein you’ll find never-before-seen prestige classes, spells and invocations, magic items, alchemical items, heritage feats, and reserve feats (a new type of feat that grants special abilities to those who remain charged with magical power). Alternative class features give other character classes–from the barbarian to the rogue–a little taste of what it’s like to be an arcanist without sacrificing their core identities.
For use with these Dungeons & Dragons® core books
Player’s Handbook™ Dungeon Master’s Guide™ Monster Manual™
User Ratings and Reviews
2 Stars Abracadabra for 3.5
$e is coming, so buying this and thinking you are staying current is a lie. Just buy it if you are sticking with 3.5 till the end and better yet get it used. A lot of people are shedding their 3.5 books because 4e is coming.
4 Stars A good supplement but its still a suplement
I use alot of arce casters as villians and also player charcters. I love some of the prestige classes but the spells are a little weak and the feats are very narroly designed. A good book but it isant at all requried or a must have.
5 Stars Complete Mage Review
The Complete Mage is a little 3.5 d20 supplemental book that surfaced just a few months before v4.0 ripped 3.5 off of the shelves. It is also, in my opinion, one of the BEST v3.5 books ever printed. Why would an experienced 3.5 player say such a thing? Its because this book works off of my FAVORITE aspect of D&D, a now extinct concept called “magic”. The word was nixed in 4.0, I don’t know what WoTC was thinking.
Among the AWESOME things in this book, you’ll find
Class variants (one for wizard called FOCUSED SPECIALIST is particularly awesome!)
Feats (pretty much anything under the heading “Reserve Feats” turns your wizard into someone useful, even at low levels)
Prestige classes (My favorite is the Master Specialist, but there are more in there.)
5 Stars Just what I was looking for
3.5 D&D books are getting hard to find so when I found it, it was great.
3 Stars Worth having if you like spellcasters
Has some very useful prestige classes, new feats, and improved spells. Not the best expansion WOTC produced, but one of the better ones for arcane spellcasters.
Player’s Handbook II (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.5 Fantasy Roleplaying) (Bk. 2)
The Player’s Handbook II builds upon existing materials in the Player’s Handbook. This is the first direct follow up to the best-selling and most used D&D rulebook. It is specifically designed to expand the options available for players by both providing new material and increasing the uses for existing rules. Included are chapters on character race, background, classes, feats, spells, character creation, and character advancement. New rules include racial affiliations that make race matter as a character advances in level, new character classes and alternate class features for existing classes, new feats, tools for rapid character creation, and additional organization and teamwork benefits — an option first introduced in Dungeon Master’s Guide II and Heroes of Battle.
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars 4th Edition out in 2008 … CAUTION
The 4th edition of D&D is out in 2008… that’ll make these books officially obsolete… I see no need to buy this book now.. if anyone you wanna play with already has this.. they’ll lend it to you.. expecially if you agree to be the one in the group that gets a 4th edition book…
5 Stars A great read and a must have for
Much like the dungeon masters guide 2, the Players Handbook 2 (in my opinion) should’ve been produced first. The manual covers all kinds of logical ways for beginners to create wonderful characters and is an excellent buy for anyone who is interested in a good read along with learning the 3.5 system. Again, it’s my feeling that Wizards was under pressure to publish a manual addressing game mechanics & rules right away to allow for a product to be on the shelf. The Players Handbook 2 for sure picks up for what was lost in the first manual and also contains a few more rulings (more like house rule introductions). Well worth the money and well worth the read. For any one who’s never played D&D before, they should read the PHB2 first and have the first manual on hand for reference and cross comparisons.
4 Stars Very useful ….. and really helps out the Ftr!
Our group continues to find uses for the material in this book. Our parties Ftr loves it (as would be obvious to anyone that reviews the feats in here), and the DM is constantly using the classes and spells in here.
The new starting packages for old classes is good stuff too. Only a few easily corrected balance problems.
Good stuff.
5 Stars Players Handbook II : Must Have D&D 3.5 Book
If you do not like the MMO feel of 4.0 D&D, and play 3.5, this is a book you want in your collection. The Players handbook II presents three new classes that fill in a needed niche for 3.5 edition. The feats presented in this book add some amazing customization options that address the balance issues between melee types and casters. While some of the new character options for old classes are lackluster, they present some interesting opportunities for new character builds. There is also a section covering team skills that may find some use in your game; it is always good to have new uses for old powers, or a reason to take 1 rank in a skill. The least useful section of this book is the organization chapter. Depending on how much of your world(s) you create, you may find this section useful.
Even with one bad chapter, no other book has pulled us back to playing D&D 3.5 quite like the Players Handbook II.
5 Stars Alternate Class Abilities!!
Highly recommend this book. I love the alternate class abilities. I have never found a familar very useful for a wizard but the new instant spell abilities are great. Fun new abilities for all the classes. There is a lot of other useful stuff too.
Magic Item Compendium (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.5 Fantasy Roleplaying)
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars Very useful
It’s a very handy book for 3.5 gamers. The seller was prompt and efficient with communications and shipping. The items listed inside are a lot of fun…
4 Stars A Good Sourcebook
Simply stated, this is a good book.
To expand on this,the Magic Item Compendium is similar to the Spell Compendium in which it takes the magic item properties of many previously made source books(as early as Complete Adventurer to as late as Magic of Incarnum in the WOTC revised 3rd edition D&D series), as well as many prominent magic items. The book promises over 1,000, but if this is true I can’t say. It does have many other properties right on, such as having lower cost items than featured in the main books. But what really caught this book for me is it’s flexibility.
Sure, one could argue that having a book merely composed of magic items would be pretty much useless unless your campaign allowed for a lot of said magic items. But, these could be easily ‘dispelled’ by the books overall purpose: Taking all of the magic item properties of most of the source books previous to it’s making and putting them in one handy tome. There are magic items (and their properties) from the Eberron setting, from the Draconomicon, from the Complete Adventurer book, all without having to buy the said source books! Even if one where to have said source books, the Magic Item Compendium focuses specifically on finding these properties and items within and presenting them in a well organized fashion for any DM looking to create new, more interesting items of choice.
Another handy feature of the Magic Item Compendium is giving items levels by price, and tables to show what priced magic item a player of x level would most likely have.
This book, like many wotc books, isn’t without it’s woes. It has about 7 pages worth of errata, or corrections, on the wotc site, meaning if you want the book to be free of error you’ll have to retrieve the errata file.
Not to mention that while the magic items and are neatly organized and easy to read from, all of the meat and bones new rules (magic item levels, creating relics and item set bonuses, etc.) are all in the back of the book, after all of the actual items the rules refer to have been presented.
Other than a few minor complaints, the book is solid and a good addition to any campaign.
4 Stars Magic Item Compendium
The book put the magic items a gamemaster might want to uses as treasure for a adventure in one book, instead of having to look at several books to come up with a treasures. It is also useful for item creations for a wizard or priest that might want something different then what lists in the Dungeon Master Guide.
1 Stars Magic Item Compendium : Not worth your money
If you like the watered down feeling of D&D 4.0’s magic items, then this book is for you. If you want to give your players items they might actually want I suggest you turn to the Dungeon Master’s Guide. A friend bought this book to use with our game. Every player at the table took a peek inside and decided they would rather have “real loot” instead of items from this book. While some of the items are creative, they just don’t compare to “useful” items you can find in other books.
5 Stars Magic Item Compendium (D&D d20 3.5 Roleplaying)
This item was a gift for a young lady (18 yo)that has been playing D&D for some years. She was thrilled with the book and it was exactly what she wanted. Can’t give many more details other than she had looked at several others and this one was her choice.
Monster Manual: Core Rulebook III (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.5 Fantasy Roleplaying)
Fearsome and formidable foes lurk within. Encounter a horde of monsters armed and ready to battle your boldest heroes or fight alongside them. The fully illustrated pages of this book are overrun with all the creatures, statistics, spells, and strategies you need to challenge the heroic characters of any Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game.
Over 200 creeps, critters, and creatures keep players on their toes. From aboleths to zombies, the revised Monster Manual holds a diverse cast of enemies and allies essential for any Dungeons & Dragons campaign. There are hundreds of monsters ready for action, including many new creatures never seen before. The revised Monster Manual now contains an adjusted layout that makes monster statistics easier to understand and use. It has 31 new illustrations and a new index, and contains expanded information on monster classes and playing monsters as heroes, along with information on how to take full advantage of the tie-in D&D miniatures line planned for the fall of 2003 from Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
User Ratings and Reviews
4 Stars Monster Manual
The drawings are a little cartoonish…but still a great book. Now I just have to find some Die Hard D&D players.
5 Stars Monster Manual: A must for any Dungeon Master
I recently set up a Dungeons and Dragons group and I was having a bit of trouble coming up with different creatures (as far as what their stats should be and what type of attacks/spells different creatures have). The Monster Manual lists several different creatures and any stat that you will need to fight them. It has everything from how they attack to how strong they are (challenge rating). Definitely an invaluable source for Dungeon Masters who are starting out or even seasoned Dungeon Masters. It also teaches you how to eventually make your own creatures or characters so that you don’t even need the book anymore.
4 Stars Monster Manual review for dog-eared used books
The product came in the specified condition. A little beat up, etc. but all the pages are there, it works.
4 Stars A wonderful supplement!
This is great supplement for first time and veteran Dungeon Masters. As always the core rule books are important.
5 Stars Monsters for everyone!
This tome contains some fascinating monsters for use in the Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 edition universe. They’ll fit most campaign settings from level 1 to beyond level 20, whether you want to use an official Wizards setting, or just take the Animals section in the back of the book and make them the scariest critters ever for your own setting. It even contains rules for making your own monsters, if you really want to get creative. A must-own for the DM, not so much for the players.
The essential sourcebook for any D&D character looking to build adventuring skills.
Complete Adventurer™ serves primarily as a player resource focused on adventuring skills for characters of any class. As adventuring is the foundation for the entire D&D experience, nearly every aspect of the D&D game benefits from the material in this product. Characters have access to new combat options, spells, equipment, classes, and prestige classes, as well as exciting new character classes such as ninja and scout. Complete Adventurer also provides new information on several organizations and guilds, and Dungeon Masters will find material for creating or optimizing single creatures or even entire campaign worlds.
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars Great book for Gamers
I find this book very helpful in my D&D games. With the new prestige classes introduce, I have completed my characters and so have my fellow gamers. I would recommend that any serious gamer aquire this book for their collection. It could be a life saver.
5 Stars Helpfull material
This book, besides new classes, and prestige classes, contain a lot of information about new spells for all classes and feats that may lead your new adventures. I rate it OK. a must have book.
5 Stars One of the best “splat” books
As an ardent D&D DM, I collect all the generic source books when I can. Some are so-so, but this is one of my faves. Lots of general stuff for players and NPCs, and less “weird/nutty/overpowered or dumb” Prestige classes.
-The prestige classes in the book are pretty good, more for folk who preffer “quest/Roleplaying” than “hack n’ slash”. The vigilante, dread pirate and street fighter fit in well with “rough and ready”, city campaigns and the like.
-Most of the feats are pretty good (though I don’t like the one that lets you use a weapon in off hand as light, uh, no, too much potential for abuse)
Over all, pretty good if you’re more “adventure/rp” and less “munchkin with dice”, but the things in it are good “crunch” as well as “fluff”…it’s nice though to see more believeable stereotypes brought to life in the PrCs, and be useful, such as the streetfighter and bloodhound.
-It also adds the “Ninja” as a full class, and the Scout. I dislike the scout’s “skirmish” ability as it makes no sense (more damage while firing on the move, eh? Sorry, not believable), but many will like the Ninja, which is different enough from the rogue for them not to overlap too much, and still be cool to play.
5 Stars Enjoyable Book…
Complete Adventurer is an awesome book in most respects. It provides the player with a number of interesting classes and prestige classes, awesome feats and a few new weapons and items. Along with Complete Arcane, this is one of my favorite 3.5 titles. I highly recommend it.
5 Stars One of the best D&D books out there
Aplicable to all classes to one degree or another. Very fun content and totaly worth the price.
Eberron Campaign Setting (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.5 Fantasy Roleplaying)
An entirely new campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons® roleplaying game.
During the spring and summer of 2002, Wizards of the Coast, Inc., put out a request to the gaming community for proposals for a new D&D game setting. 11,000 proposals and two years of development later, the Eberron Campaign Setting is the result of that search. This brand-new setting for the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game is an avenue for any D&D fan to experience swashbuckling adventure and explore mysterious new territories.
Designed to introduce a new, fresh world with unlimited possibilities for exploration, the Eberron Campaign Setting includes everything needed to develop characters and run campaigns in this exciting new arena. It includes new character races, monsters, prestige classes, feats, organizations, and equipment unique to the world, and it introduces a new base class to the D&D game. It contains substantial information on new elements of magic, including spells, domains, items, artifacts, and more. Also included are historical and cultural details of the world, along with extensive illustrations and a wealth of maps that put the setting into vivid context. This title will also include both adventure hooks and a full adventure so that players and Dungeon Masters can immediately begin enjoying everything this rich new setting has to offer.
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars D & D noir
The Ebberon campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons game system brings players into a new world. This is no backwoods medieval period setting. This is technology married to magic, and twisting plots. this is a world where the “normal” rules no longer apply. I highly recomend this book for any Dungeons & Dragons fan who wants something truly new.
5 Stars 100% Awesome!
This is a great setting. It’s very easy to get involved in Eberron, and there is just enough to play in such a vast world. The new races are very attractive and fun, and the personality of the world is very interesting. Since I play Eberron, adventures just got more fun. Of course, you don’t need this material to take your players through amazing locations, jungles filled with ancient secrets and mysterious enemy lands, but this book will surly put you up to it.
5 Stars The Eberron Setting : My Take
Ever since the setting was announced i hated it. I hated the idea of a “steampunk” type setting and i hated the idea that wizards would produce yet another campaign setting and split up there writers even further. I hated the fact there were new overpowered races like the warforged, shifters, and changelings and i hated that the warforged were sentient constructs. In fact i hated that whole idea for the setting.
Then i bought it and read it. I can now honestly say “I love the Eberron setting.” It is like nothing out there. It is new and original and isn’t just the same ole greyhawk or forgetten realms. The lands are all interesting and the races are all fun to play. Yes they may be out of place and overpowered in some dnd games but they fit right in with the Eberron theme. It is not a steampunk setting like i thought and is closer to a High magic setting. The artwork and layout are fantastic as well.
My only complaint was that i didn’t buy this book sooner. I waited until it dropped down dirt cheap and picked it up. Now with 4th edition coming in 2weeks I’m not sure when ill find time to delve into the setting. I just know that ill be the first to preorder the 4th edition version when it is released. (that is if 4th doesn’t suck, heck ill probably still order the eberron setting even if it does). Great setting. Ranks right up there with Forgotten Realms and i may have to give the edge to Eberron just because it seems more about having fun than FR does. Forgotten realms borders on learning an encyclopedia that is if you want to run a true “FR” game. Good setting and i would recommend it to any dm out there looking for something different.
5 Stars Awsome
Eberron is young, new to the line of AD&D settings, overall the book is well detailed on the world and its history. What I like as well is it’s new races and classes, and the opportunity to decide the draconic Prophecy for your self to decide how best to run a never forgotten campaign that friends will never forget. Eberron is quite unique and awesome!
5 Stars eh its ok
totally needs to even out its race descriptions…4 pages for warforged…4 paragraphs fer a changling….NOT COOL for a DM with 2 changlings in the party…
Complete Warrior (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.5 Fantasy Roleplaying)
Forge your name in battle!
The Complete Warrior provides you with an in-depth look at combat and provides detailed information on how to prepare a character for confrontation.
This title was not only compiled from various D&D sources, but contains new things as well, including new battle-oriented character classes, prestige classes, combat maneuvers, feats, spells, magic items, and equipment. The prestige classes included have been revised and updated based on player feedback, and there are rules for unusual combat situations. The Complete Warrior will assist all class types, including those classes not typically associated with melee combat. There are also tips on running a martially focused campaign and advice on how to make your own prestige classes and feats.
To use this accessory, a Dungeon Master also needs the Player’s Handbook, Dungeon Master’s Guide, and Monster Manual. A player needs only the Player’s Handbook.
User Ratings and Reviews
4 Stars Solid addition to any D&D Library.
Like the thrill of close combat? Enjoy sneaking around in an attempt to find the best angle to sink your dagger into an enemy’s back? Then the Complete Warrior is for you. This book goes into great detail about how to be an offensive fighter in a D&D group.
Pros: Lists a plethora of prestige classes accompanied by beautiful graphic depictions, gives an experienced player more fantastic material for their higher-level characters. Also includes multiple new basic starting classes to choose from. Talks about a variety of tactics to use in-game during combat. All-around a good addition to those who lean toward creating Fighters, Rogues, Rangers, Paladins, etc.
Cons: Not enough basic starting classes added. The types that were added don’t have the same feel to me as the classics, such as the new Samurai class, and I will probably will only use one (the Swashbuckler) in the future.
4 Stars Lots of crunch!
Complete Warrior was the first “Complete” book I got, and is still my favorite. It has tons of crunchy bits. Yes, much of the stuff is 3.5 revisions from Sword and Fist and Masters of the Wild, but it is useful none-the-less. In 3e many of the classes and feats in those books were overpowered and no sensible DM should have let them be used as written, some of those 3e failings were corrected in Complete Warrior.
As always, a sensible DM should not allow their players to use anything out of any book they bring to the table. If you don’t want hulking hurlers, all you have to do is not allow large size characters or say no–easy. My advice, cut the cheese, as a DM. If it sounds cheesy and hard to incorporate, DON’T LET ANYONE DO IT! Let your spoiled players whine and cry, and keep delivering a good game.
3 Stars Gives some new options for fighting classes
I enjoy playing a fighter in 3.5, and I was looking for some new opportunities at higher levels. This book doesn’t offer as many new options as I would like. It’s a bit short, and only introduces a few new classes. I would like to try some of the classes and races, but if you’ve already begun, there isn’t much for a pure fighter. I would try a different book.
5 Stars Best Accessory
No book has a better supply of classes and feats for making a fighter character the best player at the table.
5 Stars One of the ‘Must Have’ Suppliments
D&D today is great. I’m a geek from way back and have ranted and raved or applauded many versions of this game. The current one is…overall…the best. It’s by no means flawless but they give it depth while trying to maintain a basic simplicity. For the most part, they succeed. Many of the suppliments of the core game however are definitely wanting. One gets the impression that no editor bothered to pay attention to see if it maintains the same balance as the other suppliments, much less the core game. There are some gems however that just add even more colour to the game overall. The Complete Warrior is one of those gems. Chock full of prestige classes and a few full 1-20 classes, as well as some interesting feats and additional infortmation…it is, as a whole, very useful and fun (the Swashbuckler and Samurai classes are definitely favourites of mine now). Not all of the prestige classes hit the mark but more do than do not. I would not recommend all of the suppliments but this one just happens to be a must for the serious gamer.
Monster Manual III (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.5 Fantasy Roleplaying Supplement) (No. 3)
An indispensable resource containing more than 100 new monsters for any Dungeons & Dragons© game.
This supplement to the D&D game provides descriptions for a vast array of new creatures. Several design changes have been implemented from previous monster titles due to fan feedback. Each monster will now be illustrated, and each entry will now begin at the top of its own page. Both of these changes are meant to facilitate faster gameplay. There will also be details on how to include any creature in a Forgotten Realms© or Eberron campaign.
User Ratings and Reviews
4 Stars An enjoyable reference…
I found the Monster Manual III to be a useful tool in my D&D book collection. Many new monsters, friend and foe alike, can be found within the 224 pages. However, a great deal of the monsters that grace the material are of the outsider/demon/devil types, or are undead. There are quite a few more creepy crawlers too. Any DM who is tired of the same old encounter will find Monster Manual III to be an enjoyable reference.
1 Stars garbage
Wizards is really scraping the barrel with this one. Wizards has obviously run out of ORIGINAL ideas. It’s like a bunch of guys got together in a room, smoked allot of pot and just threw together a bunch of chracteristics from other monsters and combined them into one monster. I can’t believe people pay for this **it When are people going to THINK for themselves. Wizards does not own D&D. The people who play it do. The game was finished decades ago. Every reiteration is just money for Wizards. Wizards is in it for the PROFIT. If a pile of steaming dog **it on a plate could be sold for profit they would do it. Wake up!
5 Stars Monster Manual III: More to Explore!
I’m happy to say that I was very satisfied with this product. Though it’s clear that the book has been opened, I was happy to find there were no highlights or stains or smudges of any kind as per noted. I enjoy using this book for my gaming needs and always thrilled that I have a book that I ordered online where there are no pages missing.
There are many more monsters than I’d ever dreamed of in this book with a wide variety of type, terrain, and species. I’d be happy to buy more!
5 Stars With this and the MM you are good to go.
This book covers the holes in the Monster Manual. With these two books you are set for a solid D&D game. It is heavy on the Eberron and Forgotten Realms stuff though. If you have a lot of Eberron books you will probably feel a little gypped at the reuse of material.
3 Stars Useful if your careful
There are many imaginative creatures within the MMIII and I have enjoyed using the new Lizardfolk and Voidminded Creatures. Having more creatures for your adventures is always helpful to keep your players challenged but this book suffers from one major problem. The creatures tend to be under rated and therefore can be extremely deadly if you use the CR ratings in the book to balance your fights. Easily overcomed if you take the time to review the creatures you are using to make sure they fit what you have planned.
Raw Chaos and Pure Evil
Out of the maelstrom of chaos the demons came–a primordial horde of perverse souls consumed by hatred. They are as ancient and infinite as the multiverse itself. Even the bottomless Abyss could not contain their malice, and so they spread out across the planes, corrupting and destroying everything in their path. No living soul is beyond their reach, and with each conquered soul their numbers grow. What can stand against such a terrifying onslaught?
This supplement for the D&D® game presents the definitive treatise on demons and their unspeakable home plane. Along with information about the physiology, psychology, society, and schemes of demonkind, you’ll find feats, spells, items, and tactics commonly employed by demons and those who oppose them. This book also provides detailed information on various demons, demon lords, and Abyssal layers.
For use with these Dungeons & Dragons® core books
Player’s Handbook™ Dungeon Master’s Guide™ Monster Manual™
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars Among the best planar products ever published
This examination of the Abyss and its inhabitants is a credit not only to D&D, but to the fantasy genre as a whole. I honestly believe people who don’t even play the game can get something out of this.
The anatomy, society, and mindset of demons draws from real life legends and the games publication history. Whether you are a Planescape fan or treasure the 1st edition MoTP, you will find something to enjoy here.
The obyriths as proto-demons are a great edition to planar history. The Abyssal Lords are appropriately menacing and diverse as a place of chaos and evil would warrant, as are the Abyssal layers.
Well worth the asking price, especially given the Amazon discount.
3 Stars An ok update to the Abyss
Book is ok, not great. Nice to catch up on the latest politics and whereabouts of your denizens of the Abyss but nothing you aboslutely need to have.
5 Stars great book
Good book for upgrading the gameplay. It’s complete the plane manual. Fiendish Codex I: Hordes of the Abyss (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.5 Fantasy Roleplaying Supplement) (pt. 1)
4 Stars Good start.
This book is very useful. Anyone facing the forces of chaos and evil (Or running them) will find this useful. Also, finally there are good stats for yocholols for 3.5e.
5 Stars Produtos five star…
Outro bom livro para os mestres de RPG…Muito descritivo e para uma campanha nos planos inferiores torna-se indispansavel. Vale a pena.
Weapons of Legacy (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.5 Fantasy Roleplaying Supplement)
User Ratings and Reviews
1 Stars Great Idea, Horrible Implementation
Weapons of Legacy
Good: The idea of weapons that “power up” or that you keep through an entire campaign is a great idea. Now the fighter doesn’t need to dump his weapon every few levels; he can hang onto it and it gets better as he does. The items have some great history and background, with plenty of plot hooks to use in a game.
Bad: The system sucks. It forces you to shoot yourself in the foot for these items - BIG TIME. I’d never choose one for a starting character; you could buy better items with starting gold and you wouldn’t have the minuses these items incur nor find yourself dumping levels, XP and gold to improve the items. They just aren’t worth it. I’ve seen plenty of 3rd party publishers do these types of items hundreds of times better.
4 Stars Finally, the Perfect Weapon
This book is interesting; I’ll grant it that. It comes up with a whole new system of weaponry that will make a huge impact on D&D. Already other books have included weapons of legacy for their various prestige classes and such.
A weapon of legacy is a weapon that levels up with your character. Basically, you’ll find a weapon that’s a simple +1 whatever, and then as you progress it will gain new abilities. It’s a great idea, your gear leveling up with you. The weapons they create are cool and well-themed and good for any fighting character.
It would seem that unless you specialized in one of the types of weapons presented and were a fighter that you wouldn’t be able to use this book. Luckily, that’s not so. My favorite part of the book is the part that describes creating your own weapon of legacy. It’s probably the most useful section as well. You can create an anything of legacy, weapon, ring, shield, whatever you like. This opens the book up to any character type. The rules on this are extensive. It comes with scores of example abilities and descriptions for how to implement them. I had a great time designing my own. So, if you like taking what something gives you and making a special one for your character or to give to the characters in your campaign, then this is a great book. If you’d rather just have a huge number of items to choose from that were already well-created, this book falls a little short. There just aren’t enough items to satisfy a party.
All in all it’s a very interesting book with a great new idea, and if you have the patience to use the ruleset to make your own items, it will serve you extremely well.
4 Stars ummmm
I guess this was a good buy it arrived in perfect condition in a timely mannerand had a wealth of info on side quest material and some starters for a DM looking for some exciting weaponry but i would say this book is only useful to an experienced DM as there are somr strange adaptions that need considerations.
4 Stars Great Book
This book gives the player and DM alike options to place great items in the game that have a standard format in which to build. Also it gives the DM options ot make a trademark item that a key villian or hero might have. I would recommend using the items in this book in moderation because they are pretty powerful.
Also do not let the title fool you, it does not only give you options on weapons but a variety of items from rings to armor.
4 Stars A Weapon Earned
Reading though the Weapons of Legacy book is a pleasure. It has good but short background tales of the exploits of each item. The weapons described might seem underpowered to certain types of gamers, but if anyone has ever played a game in which they had to truly work, think and fight their way to earn a weapon of power then those players will understand the reason for this book. Weapons of Legacy does not give power gamers a source of weapons to rip opponents to shreds. Instead it sets up scenarios to allow a player to become worthy of a legedary tool of incredible abilities. Any DM who has ever made their players struggle for a mere +1 weapon will apreciate the complexity of having to discover the various rituals that unlock ever increasing powers of amazing weapons. I would recomend this book to any DM looking for side quests, minor adventures or a way to expose an advanced player to a new way of earning a legendary status.
Player’s Handbook, Version 3.5 (Dungeon & Dragons Roleplaying Game: Core Rules)
This Revised Edition (also called 3.5) of one-third of the Dungeons & Dragons trinity of core rulebooks (the other two being The Dungeon Master’s Guide and The Monster Manual) contains errata, rules updates, and outright changes to the already-published Third Edition rules. The majority of changes are made in a quest for the holy grail of game rules: balance. To prevent boredom and enable creative choices, no single ability, spell, character class, or weapon should have an overwhelming advantage over another. So what has changed?
- The spells Harm, Heal, and Haste have been toned down. Other spells have been adjusted or renamed.
- Weapons are classified by the Size of the intended wielder, not the size of the individual weapons. A noteworthy effect of this new weapon size system is that Small characters can wield small-size greatswords, longswords, longspears (with reach), and other two-handed weapons.
- Classes have been tweaked. Bards and rangers received the most changes.
- New feats have been added (some original, some from the builder books), and some feats have been altered (a Power Attack now gives double benefit for two-handed weapons).
- Redundant skills have been rolled into one (such as sense motive and read lips) while others have been renamed (such as “wilderness lore” becoming “survival”). Skill synergies have been expanded and knowledge skills now include appropriate monster lore.
In addition to outright rules changes and tweaks, much of the core rule content has been clarified and updated with 3E errata. The combat section, in particular, is organized much better. Even the dreaded grapple rules are now relatively clear. A much-appreciated import from the D&D Miniatures game are new and simple rules for cover and line of sight, as well as clear photographic illustrations of the concepts of facing, attacks of opportunity, and reach.
All in all, 3.5 is a welcome update. The typographical errors are forgivable, given the extent of the update. The new options available to players (in the form of new class features and feats) make the play experience more fun. Veterans will enjoy re-learning the game they love and exploring all the new character possibilities. Perhaps more importantly, they’ll find that introducing new gamers to the admittedly formidable D&D ruleset is easier with 3.5 than it was with 3E–call it a +2 circumstance bonus. –Mike FehlauerEndless adventure and untold excitement await! Prepare to venture forth with your bold compaions into a world of heroic fantasy. Within these pages, you’ll discover all the tools and options you need to create characters worthy of song and legend for the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game.
The revised Player’s Handbook is the definitive rulebook for the Dungeons & Dragons game. It contains complete rules for the newest edition and is an essential purchase for anyone who wants to play the game.
The revised Player’s Handbook received revisions to character classes to make them more balanced, including updates to the bard, druid, monk, paladin, and ranger. Spell lists for characters have been revised and some spell levels adjusted. Skills have been consolidated somewhat and clarified. A larger number of feats have been added to give even more options for character customization in this area. In addition, the new and revised content instructs players on how to take full advantage of the tie-in D&D miniatures line planned to release in the fall of 2003 from Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars Player’s Handbook, Version 3.5
Great book must have for Dungeons and Dragons players whao want to play 3.5 D+D.
5 Stars The essential D&D book
If you want to play D&D, you need to buy this book. This book has the basics for any player. It has a good variety of classes, races, and items. It has helpful reference for playing the game, and is good for people of all skill levels. In my opinion, 3.5 is more balanced than version 4. This is a great investment.
1 Stars never recieved said order
not much to say, e-mailed the company twice and they never sent the book, but they sure took the cash for it. would not tell any one to order from this company, and if you are a service personnel dont waste your cash with this company.
5 Stars Seeing the new system made me realize how much I like this one
The 3.5 system allowed for massive customization and character creation, as long as you have an imaginative group and a DM who is good with making house rules to bring things down to earth, then this was the best D&D system to date.
The forth edition really seems set to drain the money out of one’s pockets. There’s the miniature push, the web site subscription that should help you to solve problems that the books themselves create, oh and the common place D&D material that was left out of the basic books to lure one to have to buy the additional books, hooray.
I’m glad people are this interested in this system and I hope more people discover it.
5 Stars Long Live The King!
Forget 4th edition - it’s an de-evolution of the RPG.
While there are many who will argue there are plenty of problems with the 3E version of the game, the truth is that 3.5E is the culmination of the D&D game; the largest number of options, the most varied way to play and handle anything in the D&D game. It has a solid mix of in-combat and out-of-combat options to allow for nearly any play style one wishes to pursue.
It’s completeness is, in some ways its own downfall. The sheer volume of material available for 3E can bankrupt an individual. There are rules for everything, and just about anything can be quantified if you look hard enough. DMing for 3E can be quite a chore at the higher levels and it doesn’t work so well after 10th level (but no edition of D&D ever really has, truth be told).
With the Player’s Handbook, Dungeon Master’s Guide and Monster Manual, you have enough for nearly endless hours of gameplay.
Filed under: Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 Edition, Dungeons and Dragons Book Reviews, Dungeons and Dragons News
