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Player's Handbook

A much better edition27 March 2013 Isn't it funny that when you go to comment on a book you suddenly discover at least two other books that you have also read (or at least I do) which means that since I write a commentary on every book that I have read, it means that there are more books that I have to review. Anyway, I am currently sitting in my hotel room in Frankfurt waiting for my train to Amsterdam to leave, and since it is incredibly cold outside (and that I have already wondered around the city yesterday) I thought that I might say a few words on this particular book (but then I was going to do that anyway). This version of Dungeons and Dragons is probably my favourite version of the game, though I have heard arguments in favour of 4th edition. I personally have never looked at 4th edition, particularly since some of the elements from this version that I really liked were dropped. However, from what I have heard they have made 4th edition much easier, and I must agree that the complexity with Dungeons and Dragons is quite high. Further, the earlier versions were quite clunky, but then you pretty much need to be a computer (which technically we are) to be able to run the game. I loved the introduction of the feats, a more effective skill system, and also the ability to customise your character. They also created an open gaming license (probably in response to their attempts to copyright aspects of the game so that the users of the product were forced to buy things rather than make things up themselves). Also with the introduction of 3rd Edition, the accompanying magazines (Dragon Magazine and Dungeon Magazine) became a lot more glossier. Much of the game was standardised an ended up running a lot better. The problem with roleplaying games though is that it is incredibly difficult to attempt to make the games realistic. The more realistic the game becomes, the more complex the rules become, which means that game becomes more difficult and much slower to run, and the adventures much more time consuming to prepare (I prefer to create my own rather than use store bought modules – especially considering their price). Therefore one has to sacrifice some reality merely for play value. However, since it is a game, one does not need to be realistic in the way that the rules run, and I have seen some incredibly simplistic games in my time. However, as mentioned, the simpler the rules become, the less realistic the game becomes, and the less complex the characters become. In fact, simplified rules tend to create characters that the only difference is the way the players run them.

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