Review Details

D&D 5E RPG: Player's Handbook (Hardcover)

Product Review (submitted on May 2, 2019):

I have interesting feelings about 5E as someone who started with Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 edition 11 years ago. For a player who is new and looking to jump right into tabletop RPGs this system is excellent. Character creation has been improved thanks in large part to a well organized and easy to read book, and the general variety of classes and races is a welcomed touch as well. The book itself is of excellent quality, with some of the most consistent and imaginative artwork that one will find in any tabletop RPG. My concerns with the Player's Handbook, as well as 5E as a whole is that there is a general lack of depth found in previous editions as well as other systems. At first this frustrated me, especially when I usually start my players at higher levels. Equipping players with tailor made, customized gear is not as cut and dry as it has been in the past with the various tables available for magical item generation with the estimated in game gold costs. This leaves much more responsibility on the DM to know the items available, knowing the overall balancing of the system, and coming up with items and starting gold appropriate to the tier of play. In some ways it puts more power in the hands of the DM, but in some ways it can stifle some of the player's ability to think creatively in their builds during creation. However, these are minor criticisms as the overall ease of play, variety of subclasses, races, and abilities make this system an excellent addition to any bookshelf and is a nice starting point for new players or veterans looking for a game with flexibility and ease of play.