Pyramid Review
Player's Handbook (for Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition)
Published by Wizards of the Coast
Written by Rob Heinsoo, Andy Collins, & James Wyatt
Cover by Wayne Reynolds
Illustrated by Zoltan Boros & Gabor Szikszai, Matt Cavotta, Eric Deschamps, Wayne England, David Griffith, Ralph Horsley, Howard Lyon, Raven Mimura, Lee Moyer, William O'Connor, Steve Prescott, Dan Scott, Anne Stokes, Franz Vohwinkel, & Eva Widermann
322-page full-color hardcover; $34.95
This is not Dungeons & Dragons.
Or at least if Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition is Dungeons & Dragons, then it is not the Dungeons & Dragons as the gaming hobby has known it for some 34 years. For a mere five years after the last rules update, Wizards of the Coast have given what is the most well-known, number-one RPG the most radical of makeovers. This is, in fact, even more of a radical redesign than the intellectual property received when it was upgraded from Dungeons & Dragons to the First Edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. It is, though, a redesign that is more in keeping with contemporary gaming -- more so than with either Dungeons & Dragons Third Edition or Dungeons & Dragons 3.5. For Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition is heavily influenced by MMORPGs (Massively Multi-player Online Roleplay Games), such as World of Warcraft, and by the Dungeons & Dragons Miniatures Game.
It is definitely not Dungeons & Dragons in the sense that, although Wizards of the Coast will still call it Dungeons & Dragons, the average gamer will . . .
This article originally appeared in the second volume of Pyramid. See the current Pyramid website for more information.
Article publication date: July 4, 2008
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