The ''Player's Handbook'' (spelled ''Players Handbook'' in first edition ''

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Several different editions of the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') fantasy role-playing game have been produced since 1974. The current publisher of ''D&D'', Wizards of the Coast, produces new materials only for the most current edition of the ga ...

'' (''AD&D'')) is a book of rules for the

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within ...

Dungeons & Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by TSR (company)#Tactical Studies Rules ...

'' (''D&D''). It does not contain the complete set of rules for the game, and only includes rules for use by players of the game. Additional rules, for use by Dungeon Masters (DMs), who

referee A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other titl ...

the game, can be found in the ''

Dungeon Master's Guide The ''Dungeon Master's Guide'' (''DMG'' or ''DM's Guide''; in some printings, the ''Dungeon Masters Guide'' or ''Dungeon Master Guide'') is a book of rules for the fantasy role-playing game ''Dungeons & Dragons''. The ''Dungeon Master's Guide'' co ...

''. Many optional rules, such as those governing extremely high-level players, and some of the more obscure spells, are found in other sources. Since the first edition, the ''Player's Handbook'' has contained tables and rules for creating characters, lists of the abilities of the different character classes, the properties and costs of equipment, descriptions of

spells Spell(s) or The Spell(s) may refer to: Processes * Spell (paranormal), an incantation * Spell (ritual), a magical ritual * Spelling, the writing of words Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''The Spell'' (1977 film), an American ...

that

magic Magic or Magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces * Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic * Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...

-using character classes (such as wizards or clerics) can cast, and numerous other rules governing gameplay. Both the ''Dungeon Master's Guide'' and the ''Player's Handbook'' give advice, tips, and suggestions for various styles of play. The ''Player's Handbook'', ''Dungeon Master's Guide'', and ''

Monster Manual The ''Monster Manual'' (''MM'' is the primary bestiary sourcebook for Monsters in Dungeons & Dragons, monsters in the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'' fantasy role-playing game, first published in 1977 by TSR (company), TSR. The ''Monster Manual' ...

'' make up the core ''D&D'' rulebooks.

''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons''

The first ''Players Handbook'' was released in June 1978 as a 128-page hardcover.Players Handbook
at acaeum.com. Retrieved November 22, 2008. It was written by

Gary Gygax Ernest Gary Gygax ( ; July 27, 1938 – March 4, 2008) was an American game designer and author best known for co-creating the pioneering role-playing game ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') with Dave Arneson. In the 1960s, Gygax created an ...

and edited by Mike Carr, who also wrote the foreword. The original cover art was by D.A. Trampier, who also provided interior illustrations along with

David C. Sutherland III David C. Sutherland III (April 4, 1949"United States Social Security Death Index," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/JT69-9Y8 : accessed 12 Feb 2013), David C Sutherland, 6 June 2005; citing U.S. Social Security Administra ...

. In this edition, the game rules were divided between the ''Players Handbook'' and the ''Dungeon Masters Guide'', which was printed later. Later editions of the game moved the bulk of the game rules to the ''Player's Handbook'', leaving information needed chiefly by the DM in the ''Dungeon Master's Guide''. The new rules were so open-ended that game campaigns required a referee or Dungeon Master. The ''Players Handbook'' contained the information needed to play the standard character classes: clerics (including

druids A druid was a member of the high-ranking class in ancient Celtic cultures. Druids were religious leaders as well as legal authorities, adjudicators, lorekeepers, medical professionals and political advisors. Druids left no written accounts. Whi ...

fighters Fighter(s) or The Fighter(s) may refer to: Combat and warfare * Combatant, an individual legally entitled to engage in hostilities during an international armed conflict * Fighter aircraft, a warplane designed to destroy or damage enemy warplan ...

(including rangers and

paladins The Paladins, also called the Twelve Peers, are twelve legendary knights, the foremost members of Charlemagne's royal court, court in the 8th century. They first appear in the medieval (12th century) ''chanson de geste'' cycle of the Matter of F ...

magic-users A magician, also known as an enchanter/enchantress, mage, magic-user, archmage, sorcerer/sorceress, spell-caster, warlock, witch, or wizard, is someone who uses or practices magic derived from supernatural, occult, or arcane sources. Magicians ...

(including illusionists),

thieves Theft is the act of taking another person's property or services without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. The word ''theft'' is also used as a synonym or informal shorthand term for some ...

(including

assassins An assassin is a person who commits targeted murder. Assassin may also refer to: Origin of term * Someone belonging to the medieval Persian Ismaili order of Assassins Animals and insects * Assassin bugs, a genus in the family ''Reduviida ...

), and

monks A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedicat ...

. The book also included information on non-human races, such as dwarves,

elves An elf () is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic mythology and folklore. Elves appear especially in North Germanic mythology. They are subsequently mentioned in Snorri Sturluson's Icelandic Prose Edda. He distinguishes "ligh ...

, and

halflings Halflings are a fictional race found in some fantasy novels and games. They are often depicted as similar to humans except about half as tall, and are not quite as stocky as the similarly-sized dwarves. Similar to the depiction of hobbits in the ...

, character abilities, armor and weapons, spell descriptions, and optional rules for

psionics In American science fiction of the 1950s and 1960s, psionics was a proposed discipline that applied principles of engineering (especially electronics) to the study (and employment) of paranormal or psychic phenomena, such as telepathy and psychok ...

. The original ''Players Handbook'' was reviewed by Don Turnbull in issue No. 10 of ''

White Dwarf A white dwarf is a stellar core remnant composed mostly of electron-degenerate matter. A white dwarf is very dense: its mass is comparable to the Sun's, while its volume is comparable to the Earth's. A white dwarf's faint luminosity comes fro ...

'', who gave the book a rating of 10 out of 10. Turnbull noted, "I don't think I have ever seen a product sell so quickly as did the ''Handbook'' when it first appeared on the

Games Workshop Games Workshop Group (often abbreviated as GW) is a British manufacturer of miniature wargames, based in Nottingham, England. Its best-known products are ''Warhammer Age of Sigmar'' and ''Warhammer 40,000''. Founded in 1975 by John Peake (gam ...

stand at Dragonmeet", a British role-playing game convention; after the convention, he studied the book and concluded that "whereas the original rules are ambiguous and muddled, the ''Handbook'' is a detailed and coherent game-system, and very sophisticated." Turnbull felt a bit of apprehension at the amount of time it would require to digest all the new material, but concluded by saying "I said of the ''

'' that it was TSR's most impressive publication to date; that is no longer true—this accolade must belong to the ''Handbook'' which is nothing short of a triumph." In 1983, TSR changed the cover art of the ''Players Handbook'', although the interior contents remained the same. This printing featured cover art by

Jeff Easley Jeff Easley (born 1954) is an oil painter who creates fantasy artwork for role-playing games, comics, and magazines, as well as non-fantasy commercial art. Early life Easley was born in Nicholasville, Kentucky in 1954. He spent time drawing as ...

. Printings with this cover also bear an orange spine that fits in with other ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' books. Numerous foreign editions of the ''Players Handbook'' were published, including versions for the United Kingdom, Australia, France, and Germany.

(U.K.) published a softcover version also in 1978. Dealers continued to place orders for the 1st edition ''Players Handbook'' even after 2nd edition was released, causing the final printing to be in July 1990, a year after the release of 2nd edition. In 2012, Wizards of the Coast released a new printing of the original book, billed as the "1st Edition Premium Player's Handbook", as part of a set of limited-edition reprints of the original 1st Edition core rulebooks: the ''Monster Manual'', ''Player's Handbook'', and ''Dungeon Master's Guide''. These premium versions of the original ''AD&D'' rulebooks were reprinted with the original art and content, but feature a new cover design. Purchase of the reprinted ''Player's Handbook'' will help support the Gygax Memorial Fund—established to immortalize Gary Gygax with a memorial statue in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.

Reviews

*Casus Belli (Issue 5 - Sep 1981) * ''

Casus Belli A (; ) is an act or an event that either provokes or is used to justify a war. A ''casus belli'' involves direct offenses or threats against the nation declaring the war, whereas a ' involves offenses or threats against its ally—usually one b ...

'' #34 (Aug 1986)

''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' 2nd edition

The ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition Player's Handbook'' was a 256-page hardcover book written by

David "Zeb" Cook David "Zeb" Cook is an American game designer, best known for his work at TSR, Inc., where he was employed for over fifteen years. Cook designed several games, wrote the '' Expert Set'' for ''Dungeons & Dragons'', worked as lead designer of the ...

and released in 1989. The original cover art is by

, and the book featured eight full-page color illustrations, as well as other interior illustrations by Douglas Chaffee,

Larry Elmore Larry Elmore (born August 5, 1948) is an American fantasy artist whose work includes creating illustrations for video games, comics, magazines, and fantasy books. His list of work includes illustrations for ''Dungeons & Dragons'', ''Dragonlance'', ...

, Craig Farley,

John and Laura Lakey John and Laura Lakey are artists whose work have appeared in role-playing games. Biography John and Laura Lakey are a husband and wife team of illustrators.http://lakeystudios.com/ While each of them has produced solo artwork, they more commonly ...

Erik Olson Erik Artur Olson (Ohlson, Olsson) (Halmstad 9 May 1901 – 1986) was a Swedish painter, illustrator, graphic artist, sculptor, theater decorator, and member of Halmstadgruppen. He was the brother of artist Axel Olson, and in 1929 married ...

, Jack Pennington,

Jeff Butler Jeff Butler (born February 26, 1958, in Madison, Wisconsin) is an American illustrator and comic book artist. Butler worked with the art department of TSR, Inc. for 5 years, illustrating products for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role- ...

, Jeff Easley, Jean E. Martin, and Dave Sutherland. The ''Player's Handbook'' for 2nd edition was compatible with 1st edition rules, but was streamlined and clarified. The book included information on how to play the standard character classes: warriors (including fighters, paladins, and rangers), wizards (including mages and specialist wizards such as illusionists), priests (clerics and guidelines for variance by mythos, including the druid as an example), and rogues (including thieves and

bards In Celtic cultures, a bard is a professional story teller, verse-maker, music composer, oral historian and genealogist, employed by a patron (such as a monarch or chieftain) to commemorate one or more of the patron's ancestors and to praise t ...

); while most character classes remained about the same as in the 1st edition rules, the bard was regularized, and the assassin and monk were dropped.

TSR, Inc. TSR, Inc. was an American game publishing company, best known as the original publisher of ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D''). Its earliest incarnation, Tactical Studies Rules, was founded in October 1973 by Gary Gygax and Don Kaye. Gygax had bee ...

also removed some races from the game, such as half-orcs, although some of these were added back into the game in supplements, such as ''The Complete Book of Humanoids''. It was in the ''Player's Option - Spells & Magic'' book for the second edition that the artificier was first introduced, as a specialist choice for magic users specifically. Optional rules for skills, known as ''proficiencies'', were added, and sections describing role-playing, combat, magic, time and movement, equipment, and spell descriptions were all expanded. The book included major changes regarding character classes, races, and magic, and incorporated many new rules that had been published in supplements such as ''

Unearthed Arcana ''Unearthed Arcana'' (abbreviated UA) is the title shared by two hardback books published for different editions of the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role-playing game. Both were designed as supplements to the core rulebooks, containing materi ...

'' and ''

Dragonlance Adventures ''Dragonlance Adventures'' is a 128-page hardcover book for the Dragonlance campaign setting for the first edition of the ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role-playing game. Contents ''Dragonlance Adventures'' is a supplement which details ...

''. The 2nd edition ''Player's Handbook'' was an

Origins Origin(s) or The Origin may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Comics and manga * ''Origin'' (comics), a Wolverine comic book mini-series published by Marvel Comics in 2002 * ''The Origin'' (Buffy comic), a 1999 ''Buffy the Vampire Sl ...

and Gamer's Choice award winner.

Lawrence Schick Lawrence Schick is a game designer and writer associated with role-playing games. Early life and education Schick attended Kent State University in Ohio. Career Schick, as the head of design and development at TSR, brought aboard Tom Moldvay ...

, in his 1991 book ''Heroic Worlds'', called the book "a vast improvement" over the 1st edition book; he noted that the monk character class had been "banished to ''

Oriental Adventures ''Oriental Adventures'' (abbreviated OA) is the title shared by two hardback rulebooks published for different versions of the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') fantasy roleplaying game. Each version of ''Oriental Adventures'' provides rules for ...

'' where it belongs", but commented that the spell descriptions "have positively bloated to over 100 pages". In 1995, a new version of the 2nd edition ''Player's Handbook'' was released as part of TSR's 25th anniversary. The book was revised, becoming sixty-four pages larger,DataBase: AD&D Player's Handbook, 2nd Ed. Revised (1995)
at lyberty.com. Retrieved November 23, 2008. mainly due to layout changes and new artwork. A new foreword in this edition specifically stated that the book was not ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' 3rd edition. The 2nd edition ''Player's Handbook'' was reproduced as a premium reprint on May 21, 2013.

Reception

In the May 1989 edition of ''

Games International ''Computer Games Magazine'' was a monthly computer and console gaming print magazine, founded in October 1988 as the United Kingdom publication ''Games International''. During its history, it was known variously as ''Strategy Plus'' (October 19 ...

'', James Wallis called the 2nd edition "an improvement over the original", but concluded that it was "a step forward for the game, but a very small step." Wallis felt that the many improvements called for by the "archaic mechanics" and "hugely overly-complex" rules had not been addressed, and that the game still provided "a terrible introduction to role-playing." He concluded that the designer "lacked the vision to see what could have been done with the material", and gave the book a below-average rating of 2 out of 5, saying, "''AD&D'' may be the biggest selling rolegame of all time, but like the IBM PC, that doesn't mean that it isn't thoroughly obsolete and to be avoided."

Reviews

*''

Magia i Miecz ''Magia i Miecz'' ( Polish for: ''Magic and Sword'') was the first RPG-oriented magazine in Poland. Started in 1993, it ceased publishing in 2002 after 103 issues. The publisher was Wydawnictwo MAG. Tomasz Kołodziejczak served as the editor of ...

'' #22 (October 1995) (Polish)

''Dungeons & Dragons'' 3rd edition

The third edition, published August 10, 2000,''D&D'' Alumni: A Look Back at Player's Handbooks
Retrieved November 23, 2008. (with the ''Player's Handbook'' debuting at that year's

Gen Con Gen Con is the largest tabletop game convention in North America by both attendance and number of events. It features traditional pen-and-paper, board, and card games, including role-playing games, miniatures wargames, live action role-playing ...

) represented a major overhaul of the game, including the adoption of the d20 system. The third edition also dropped the word ''Advanced'' from the title, as the publisher decided to publish only one version of the game instead of both basic and advanced versions.

Monte Cook Monte Cook is an American professional tabletop role-playing game designer and writer, best known for his work on ''Dungeons & Dragons''. Role-playing industry career Early years Cook has been a professional game designer since 1988, worki ...

Jonathan Tweet Jonathan Tweet (born 1965) is an American game designer who has been involved in the development of the role-playing games ''Ars Magica'', ''Everway'', ''Over the Edge (game), Over the Edge'', ''Talislanta'', the third edition of ''Dungeons & Dra ...

, and

Skip Williams Ralph Williams, almost always referred to as Skip Williams, is an American game designer. He is married to Penny Williams, who is also involved with the games industry. He was the co-creator of ''Dungeons & Dragons'' 3rd Edition and the longtime au ...

all contributed to the 3rd edition ''Players Handbook'', ''

'', and ''

'', and then each designer wrote one of the books based on those contributions. Tweet is credited with the book's design. Cover art is by

Henry Higginbotham Henry Higginbotham is a working artist who specializes in non-primitive art, steampunk, sculpture and more. Education Higginbotham has a master's degree in fine arts from the University of Iowa. Works Henry G. Higginbotham has produced interior a ...

, with interior art by Lars Grant-West,

Scott Fischer Scott Eugene Fischer (December 24, 1955 – May 11, 1996) was an American mountaineer and mountain guide. He was renowned for his ascents of the world's highest mountains made without the use of supplemental oxygen. Fischer and Wally Berg were t ...

, John Foster,

Todd Lockwood Todd Wills Lockwood, (born July 9, 1957 in Boulder, Colorado, United States) is an American artist specializing in fantasy and science fiction illustration. He is best known for his work on the role-playing game ''Dungeons & Dragons'', and for his ...

, David Martin,

Arnie Swekel Arnie Swekel is an artist whose work has appeared in role-playing games. Background Swekel was born May 2, 1964, and grew up in River Rouge, Michigan. After graduating high school he briefly attended The Center for Creative Studies (now called Coll ...

, and

Sam Wood Samuel Grosvenor Wood (July 10, 1883 – September 22, 1949) was an American film director and producer who is best known for having directed such Hollywood hits as ''A Night at the Opera (film), A Night at the Opera'', ''A Day at the Races (fi ...

. The 3rd edition ''Player's Handbook'' also saw the return of half-orcs and monks to the core rules set, along with some all-new classes. The reviewer from ''

Pyramid A pyramid (from el, πυραμίς ') is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge to a single step at the top, making the shape roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilat ...

'' commented on the release of third edition, stating: "There's a lot to like about ''Dungeons and Dragons'' 3rd Edition as seen in the ''Player's Handbook''. The new artwork is gorgeous and evocative, and in the 286 pages of the main rulebook there's a lot of well-written and tightly packed rules." Another reviewer wrote a response to the first review. A third reviewer felt that the design team "smoothed out the rough edges from ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragon'' 2nd Edition and added tons of new goodies to make ''D&D'' 3rd Edition the best combat-oriented RPG you can buy". In July 2003, the rules were revised again to version 3.5 based on two years of player feedback.''Dungeons & Dragons'' 2003 Core Rulebook Revisions FAQ
Retrieved November 24, 2008. Revisions to the ''Player's Handbook'' included the classes becoming more balanced against each other. When asked about the changes from the prior ''Player's Handbook'' release, Skip Williams said "I think they range from the almost invisible (unless it affects your character directly) to the pretty radical," while Andy Collins replied "Well, I don't think I'd call any of the changes "radical." Even though some characters will undergo some significant changes, the aim is for the character to still feel like the same character, only with more interesting and balanced options." Andy Collins is credited for the ''Player's Handbook'' 3.5 revision. Cover art is by

, with interior art by Lars Grant-West,

, John Foster,

Jeremy Jarvis Jeremy Jarvis is an artist whose work has appeared in role-playing games. Early life and education Jeremy Jarvis grew up in a small town in Alabama, and moved to New York City right after high school just before his eighteenth birthday. There, he ...

, David Martin,

Wayne Reynolds Wayne Reynolds is a British artist whose work has appeared in comics and role-playing games. Early life and education Wayne Reynolds was born in Leeds, UK. He attended art college in Dewsbury and Middlesbrough. Games Wayne Reynolds has continue ...

, and

. May 2006 saw the release of the ''

Player's Handbook II ''Player's Handbook II'' is the title of a third edition ''Dungeons & Dragons'' supplement. It is a handbook of rules and guidelines for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' role-playing game. As the name implies, the book is a supplement to the edition's ...

'', designed to follow up the standard ''Player's Handbook''. This book was designed by David Noonan. It contains four new classes, along with new spells, feats, and new role-playing options. Its cover pays homage to the 1st edition ''Player's Handbook''. The 3.5 edition ''Player's Handbook'' was reproduced as a premium reprint on September 18, 2012.

Reviews

*''

SF Site SF may refer to: Locations * San Francisco, California, United States * Sidi Fredj, Algeria * South Florida, an urban region in the United States * Suomi Finland, former vehicular country code for Finland In arts and entertainment Genre ...

''Dungeons & Dragons'' 4th edition

On June 6, 2008, the Fourth Edition ''Player's Handbook'', subtitled ''Arcane, Divine and Martial Heroes'', was released. It was originally announced that the 4th edition's three core rulebooks would be released over a three-month period, but the date changed after customer feedback revealed a majority preference among D&D customers to have all three core rulebooks released in the same month. The Fourth Edition ''Player's Handbook'' was designed by

Rob Heinsoo Rob or ROB may refer to: Places * Rob, Velike Lašče, a settlement in Slovenia * Roberts International Airport (IATA code ROB), in Monrovia, Liberia People * Rob (given name), a given name or nickname, e.g., for Robert(o), Robin/Robyn * Rob ( ...

, Andy Collins, and

James Wyatt James Wyatt (3 August 1746 – 4 September 1813) was an English architect, a rival of Robert Adam in the neoclassical and neo-Gothic styles. He was elected to the Royal Academy in 1785 and was its president from 1805 to 1806. Early life W ...

. The front cover illustration was by

and the back cover illustration was by

Dan Scott ''One Tree Hill'' is an American television series created by Mark Schwahn for The WB in 2003. After its third season, The WB and UPN merged to form The CW, which then became the broadcaster for the show in the United States. Schwahn served a ...

, with interior illustrations by Zoltan Boros & Gabor Szikszai,

Matt Cavotta Matt Cavotta is an American artist and writer. His artwork is focused on the fantasy genre, with notable contributions to popular games such as ''Magic: The Gathering'' and ''Dungeons & Dragons''. Career Cavotta wrote a weekly column for Magic ...

Eric Deschamps Eric Deschamps is an artist whose work has appeared in role-playing games. Career His ''Dungeons & Dragons'' work includes interior art for '' Sharn: City of Towers'' (2004), '' Explorer's Handbook'' (2005), ''Dragon Magic'' (2006), '' Complete M ...

Wayne England Wayne England (d. 9 February 2016) was an English artist whose work regularly appeared in role-playing games, wargaming rulebooks and magazines and was used on cards for collectible card games such as ''Magic: The Gathering''. He died on 9 Feb ...

, David Griffith, Ralph Horsley,

Howard Lyon Howard Lyon is an American fantasy artist whose work has appeared in role-playing games and '' Magic: the Gathering''. Early life and education Howard Lyon was born in Mesa, Arizona and studied illustration at Brigham Young University (BYU) work ...

Raven Mimura Raven Mimura is an artist whose work has appeared in role-playing games. Early life and education Raven received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration from Rhode Island School of Design. He spent a year teaching art and building his portfolio ...

Lee Moyer Lee Moyer is an People of the United States, American Painting, painter, illustrator, graphic designer, and web designer. Notable works include posters for musicians Tori Amos and Melissa Auf der Maur, as well as Laurel and Hardy paintings for t ...

, William O'Connor,

Steve Prescott Stephen Prescott (26 December 1973 – 9 November 2013) was a professional rugby league footballer who played as a in the 1990s and 2000s. Prescott made his début for St Helens in 1993, and soon established himself as the club's first choi ...

, Dan Scott, Anne Stokes,

Franz Vohwinkel Franz Vohwinkel (born 1964 in Munich, West Germany) is a German artist and illustrator whose work has appeared in role-playing games. Works Vohwinkel drew the cover art for the book ''Dataware'' (1998) for TSR's ''Alternity'' game, and illustra ...

, and

Eva Widermann Eva Widermann (born June 6, 1978) is an illustrator and concept artist whose work appears in role-playing games. Education She went to the Scholastic of Graphic & Design, Munich. Career Widermann started her graphic design career in 1998 and wor ...

. The first ''Player's Handbook'' includes eight classes: cleric, fighter, paladin, ranger, rogue, warlock, warlord, and wizard, and eight races: dragonborn, dwarf, eladrin, elf, human, half-elf, halfling, and tiefling. The warlock and warlord classes, and the dragonborn and tiefling races, represented new additions to the core rules, while the book left out previous core elements such as the monk and bard classes and the gnome and half-orc races. Wizards of the Coast emphasized that those elements would be coming in subsequent ''Player's Handbooks'' and would be considered to be as central to the game as those in the first book. The 4th edition ''

Player's Handbook 2 ''Player's Handbook 2'' is a supplement to the 4th edition of the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' role-playing game. Contents The ''Player's Handbook 2'' includes eight classes: the avenger, barbarian, bard, druid, invoker, shaman, sorcerer, and warden, ...

'', subtitled ''Arcane, Divine and Primal Heroes'', was released on March 17, 2009. The ''Player's Handbook 2'' includes eight classes: the avenger,

barbarian A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either Civilization, uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by som ...

, bard, druid, invoker,

shaman Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiritu ...

, sorcerer, and warden, and five races: the deva,

gnome A gnome is a mythological creature and diminutive spirit in Renaissance magic and alchemy, first introduced by Paracelsus in the 16th century and later adopted by more recent authors including those of modern fantasy literature. Its characte ...

, goliath, half-orc, and shifter. The book reached No. 28 on ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

''s bestseller list the week of March 26, 2009 and No. 14 on the ''

Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

''s non-fiction bestseller list a week later. A third book in the series, ''

Player's Handbook 3 ''Player's Handbook 3'' is a supplement to the 4th edition of the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' role-playing game. Publication history ''Player's Handbook 3'', subtitled ''Psionic, Divine and Primal Heroes'', was released on March 16, 2010. Retrieved ...

'', subtitled ''Psionic, Divine and Primal Heroes'', was released on March 16, 2010. Retrieved on 2011-02-20. The book was designed by

Mike Mearls Michael Mearls is a writer and designer of fantasy role-playing games (RPGs) and related fiction. He was the senior manager for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' research and design team. He co-led design for the 5th edition of the game. He also worked ...

, Bruce R. Cordell, and Robert J. Schwalb, and featured cover art by

Michael Komarck Michael Komarck is a fantasy artist. His work has been featured in many roleplaying games, board games, book covers, and collectible cards. Komarck produced the official art and calendars for George R.R. Martin's ''A Song of Ice and Fire''. Early ...

and interior art by Ralph Beisner,

Eric Belisle The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, or Eirik is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Norse ''* ain ...

Kerem Beyit Kerem is a Turkish male given name of Arabic origin, for males and it means vineyard, nobility and generosity. People named Kerem include: * Kerem Bulut, Turkish-Australian footballer * Kerem Demirbay, Turkish-German footballer * Kerem Gönlüm ...

, Jason A. Engle,

Carl Frank Carl Frank is an artist whose work has appeared in role-playing games. Education He graduated from California State University, Fullerton with a BFA in illustration. Career His ''Dungeons & Dragons'' work includes '' Scourge of the Howling Hord ...

Randy Gallegos Randy is a given name, popular in the United States and Canada. It is primarily a masculine name. It was originally derived from the names Randall, Randolf, Randolph, as well as Bertrand and Andrew, and may be a short form (hypocorism) of them ...

Adam Gillespie Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as " ...

, Ralph Horsley, Roberto Marchesi,

Jake Masbruch Jake may refer to: Name * Jake (given name), including a list of persons and fictional characters with the name * Katrin Jäke (born c. 1975), German swimmer * Jake (gamer), American ''Overwatch'' player and coach Animals * Jake (rescue dog), a ...

, Jim Nelson, William O'Connor, Hector Ortiz,

Shane Nitzche Shane may refer to: People * Shane (actress) (born 1969), American pornographic actress * Shane (New Zealand singer) (born 1946) * iamnotshane (born 1995), formerly known as Shane, American singer * Shane (name), a masculine given name and a su ...

Chris Seaman Chris is a short form of various names including Christopher, Christian, Christina, Christine, and Christos. Chris is also used as a name in its own right, however it is not as common. People with the given name *Chris Abani (born 1966), Nige ...

John Stanko John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

Matias Tapia Matias is a form of the given name Matthew. In German-speaking Europe it is most often written as Matthias. It appears in this form in Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland. Alternate spellings are: Mathias, Mattias, Mattis, Mats and Matti. Matias ...

, Beth Trott,

Francis Tsai Francis Tsai (April 14, 1967 – April 23, 2015) was an American comic book artist, illustrator, author and conceptual artist. He was of Taiwanese and Japanese ancestry. Early life Tsai was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, and raised in Lubbock, Te ...

, Ben Wootten, and Kieran Yanner. It includes six classes: ardent, battlemind, monk, psion, runepriest, and seeker, along with four races: wilden, the

minotaur In Greek mythology, the Minotaur ( , ;. grc, ; in Latin as ''Minotaurus'' ) is a mythical creature portrayed during classical antiquity with the head and tail of a bull and the body of a man or, as described by Roman poet Ovid, a being "pa ...

githzerai This is the list of ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' 2nd edition monsters, an important element of that role-playing game. This list only includes monsters from official ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' 2nd Edition supplements published by TSR, I ...

, and shardminds. The PHB3 also includes new multi-classing rules for hybrid characters.

Reviews

Pyramid, Steve Jackson Games

''Dungeons & Dragons'' 5th edition

The fifth edition ''Player's Handbook'' was released on August 19, 2014. The ''Player's Handbook'' contains the basic rules of the 5e system, the base classes and races, and character customization options.

Reception

In ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...

's'' "Best-selling Books Week Ending September 1, 2014", ''Player's Handbook'' was #1 in "Hardcover Nonfiction" and sold 22,090 units. It remained in the top 25 for four weeks. The 5th edition ''Player's Handbook'' won the 2015

Origins Award The Origins Awards are American awards for outstanding work in the game industry. They are presented by the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts and Design at the Origins Game Fair on an annual basis for the previous year, so (for example) the 1979 aw ...

for Best Role Playing Game and Fan Favorite Role Playing Game. The book won three 2015 gold

ENnie Awards The ENNIE Awards (previously stylized as ENnie Awards) are awards for role-playing game (RPG) products (including game-related accessories, publications, and art) and their creators. The awards were created in 2001 by Russ Morrissey of EN World i ...

, "Best Game", "Best Rules", "Product of the Year", and one silver award for "Best Writing" by

Jeremy Crawford Jeremy Crawford is a game designer who has worked primarily on role-playing games. He is most widely known for being the Lead Rules Designer for Wizards of the Coast. Career Jeremy Crawford co-designed and edited the ''Blue Rose'' role-playin ...

, Robert J. Schwalb, and Bruce R. Cordell. Chuck Francisco of mania.com commented: "While it was an easily accessible system, 4e left a lukewarm feeling with my gaming group. There was something too generic and uninteresting about player characters which pervaded the system, especially in the wake of 3.5e (which some felt provided too many options so as to be confusing). In the process, 4e characters lost an indescribable crunchy feeling, but I'm pleased to say that it's been brought back for the newest installment of this venerated table top series." Andrew Zimmerman Jones of '' Black Gate'' comments on the 5th edition ''Player's Handbook'': "Their rules light approach make it a natural system for old fans to bring new players into the hobby, but even with this initial offering there are enough customization options to keep old school gamers happy playing with it."

''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons''

Reviews

''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' 2nd edition

Reception

Reviews

''Dungeons & Dragons'' 3rd edition

Reviews

''Dungeons & Dragons'' 4th edition

Reviews

''Dungeons & Dragons'' 5th edition

Reception

See also

References

Further reading