Player's Handbook: Core Rulebook I (Dungeons & Dragons, Third Edition)
Average Customer Review:
Hardcover (01 August, 2000)
list price: $29.95
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Editorial Review

The Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition Player's Handbook contains allthe rules you need to create characters and begin adventuring with the world'smost popular role-playing game. Newcomers to the game will appreciate thisbook's clear explanations, effective examples, pleasing layout, elegant rules,and brilliant art. It's never been easier to create and role-play a heroic humanranger, cunning elf wizard, or any other fantasy character from the game's 7races and 11 classes.

Old-school players will likewise be pleased, as the outdated AD&D rules systemhas been given a thorough overhaul. Gone are almost all the old restrictions onrace and alignment. Halfling sorcerers, half-orc paladins, dwarf barbarians, andgnome monks are now possible. THACO, negative armor class, funky saving throws,inflated ability scores, heat-based infravision, and just about every otherneedlessly complex rule has been reworked into a faster, more consistent, andmore fun system. Players can choose unique special abilities for theircharacters as they gain levels, which means that even two fighters of the samerace and class can have very different abilities. The end result of all thesechanges is a dynamic game with more customized characters.

Almost every page has some form of new artwork, and the art almost always servesto explain a concept or illustrate a point. The book is filled with examplemontages that help to show the difference between human, half-elf, and elf, orrelative size differences between creatures, or what the various levels of coverand concealment look like. These illustrations make the rules much more clear.The style of the artwork is consistent throughout the book and is a definitedeparture from older editions of AD&D. Instead of the classic medieval artworkof Larry Elmore, the new book has the spiky, leathery, Mad Max-meets-Renaissancelook of the Magic: The Gathering card game.

We would have preferred less radical artistic changes, but we love everythingelse that Wizards of the Coast has done with Dungeons & Dragons. The rules arefast and clear, and the characters--including the new sorcerer class and thereturn of the monk, barbarian, and half-orc--are fabulous. If you're new to theD&D game, then this rule book is the perfect introduction. And if you're anold-school gamer who played D&D back in the day, then welcome to the new era ofD&D. You won't want to go back. --Mike Fehlauer ... Read more

Reviews (389)

3.0 is STILL better than 3.5
I wouldn't listen to anyone that claims the "new and improved" 3.5 is any bit "new and improved".

3.0 is truly the right blend of D&D tradition and sound game mechanics. 3.5 is a pile of garbage house-rules for actual D&D crafted by a new batch of "limited" designer minds.

This book is D&D 3rd edition, no other.

3.5 edition has arived
Woc has done it again. They have released another editon, and it is supearior.Edition 3.5 is very like third (Hence the .5), but realy cleans up the classes and makes things more balanced.This book is good, but the new Players Handbook 3.5 Edition just blows it out of the water.They tweaked all that needed tweeking, and left the good stuff there. Toss your third Edition and go buy 3.5!

The book that starts and runs the game
This book for most people is the only book you will ever need for Dungeons & Dragons. While there are many more accesories expanding the game, This is the ancor, and the only book needed for a player. It includes all of the Races, Classes, Spells, Feats, and Items you need to make and run a Charactor.
The best art of this book is that not only does it list all the things you need to know, it explains in full detail how all things are related to each other. If read like a book, (front to back not just paging for specifics) It spells out what you need, need to do, and how to. You start with the abilities, go into races, classes, and then skills, and items. Finsihing with spells, and feats.
Over all, i would rae this 5, because of what it offers, and its necesity to the game it serves. i recomend you buy it, even if you dont buy it here. ... Read more

Isbn: 0786915501
Subjects:  1. Games    2. Games / Gamebooks / Crosswords    3. Games/Puzzles    4. Role Playing & Fantasy - Dungeons & Dragons    5. Role Playing & Fantasy - General   

Dungeon Master's Guide: Core Rulebook II (Dungeons & Dragons, Third Edition)
Average Customer Review:
Hardcover (01 September, 2000)
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Editorial Review

The 3rd Edition Dungeon Master's Guide focuses on how to createand run a fun Dungeons & Dragons game. Like previous editions, the 3rdEdition DMG further explains the rules introduced in the Player's Handbook. But thisbook goes beyond rules and offers valuable tips on pacing, story creation,conflict, villains, motivation, and player rewards.

Novice DMs will benefit from the sections on creating individual adventures anddescribing action, while even experienced DMs will appreciate the notes onextended campaigns, detailed world creation, and high-level play. We loved the"Behind the Curtain" blurbs, which explain the reasoning behind the changes madein 3rd Edition. Well-considered optional rules are offered to daring DMs,including rules for monsters as PC races (troll paladin, anyone?), hightechnology, and guidelines for creating custom races and classes.

The nuts and (lightning) bolts of DMing are also covered in great detail. Thebook teaches DMs how to gauge Challenge Ratings for players and monsters inorder to create balanced encounters. These encounters are easier to run thanksto 3rd Edition's standardized monster abilities, each of which are covered indepth. Rewarding players for successful encounters is also easier, now that thecumbersome treasure tables of 2nd Edition have been replaced. Particularattention is paid to magic items: how to award them, how players create them,how to adjudicate them, and how to take them away. The new magic itemenhancement rules (similar to the magic items in the computer game Diablo) are also detailed.

One dramatic departure from D&D as we knew it could have used a bit moreattention. The DMG introduces the concept of prestige classes, and includesrules for six sample prestige classes: arcane archer, assassin, blackguard,dwarven defender, loremaster, and shadowdancer. Characters can't take theseclasses at first level but must instead work toward them by choosing specificclasses, skills, and feats. For example, before taking a level in arcane archera character needs to be an elf or half-elf and have a high attack bonus,specific archery feats, and the ability to cast at least one arcane spell.Unsure how these classes will affect your game? Want tips on how to properlycreate and balance these classes? Sorry, the DMG does not provide adequateanswers.

But aside from this complaint the DMG stands out as an honestly useful guidebook to the incredible new Dungeons & Dragons game. The rules and tips are wellorganized and easy to find, thanks to a detailed table of contents and fullindex. Artwork, examples, and diagrams are liberally placed throughout the book.All this attention to detail makes the DMG an easy and effective read. Wewouldn't want to DM without it. --Mike Fehlauer ... Read more

Reviews (71)

DM'ing Made Simple
Let's face it. All my fellow DM's know Dungeon Mastering is hard. You need to be in tune with the entire game enviornment, and every NPC and every monster and...I could go on, but I'm not going to bore you. Anyway, I think 3rd Edition rules are pretty darn good, but this Dungeon Masters Guide is useless for experienced DM's.

There are many useful tables throughout the book based on almost everything imaginable. They are quite useful for in-game reference. The classes included are quite interesting. My personal favorite is the "Paladin Gone Bad." It's real name is the Fallen Blackguard, and he is very bad-arse. They have other interesting ones, like the Arcane Archer, and Loremaster. There are tips in the first chapter of the book for beginners, that could come in handy.

The problem is this book is geared for neophyte DMs. Experienced ones can rip out Chapters 1,4, and 5, because they just give you pointers on what adventures and campaigns are and how to control them. Trust me, If you've DMed for a fair amount of time, don't even bother buying this, and stick with your 2E Dungeon Master's Guide for reference. iF you are new to DMing, this is the perfect review for you.

The How and Why of D&D3e
The 3rd Edition Dungeon Master's Guide is exactly what it should be - a description of the how and why of 3rd Edition rules.

It is so much more than a collection of tables and charts. Sure, those are there as a short cut, an easy reference. What the book really brings to the table, though, is a system for knowing how to modify the system and add things to the game without throwing the power balance all out of whack. An example of the is the "Most important thing for a DM to know:" a quick and easy rule for modifying a situation. If it's easy, give a +2 bonus. Difficult? -2. REALLY difficult? -4. After the session is over, look up the actual 'rule' on the situation, and most times you'll find that you were right.

Most importantly, though, is that the book does this without cramming a default campaign setting down your throat. Many DMs out there, myself included, want to play in our own worlds that we've created, and the DMG lets you do exactly that.

This book is better laid-out than the Player's Handbook, which is why I gave it 5 stars. If half stars were available, I would have given it 4.5, since the book isn't perfect. Sure, there are some problems, but they're so much more minor than 2ed, with so many more possibilities for expanding the system that they're easily overlooked.

3rd Edition is what brougth my circle of gamers back to the table. It's so much easier to play that I can't imagine how we ever dealt with other systems. Much more time to roleplay, and less time taken looking up rules!

So much less than it seems...
The Third Edition DMG is not the book it should have been.It is a disjointed collection of rules that really don't fit together very well.

The most important flaw is the experience and rewards systems.It's designed to rocket the characters to 20th level without ever placing them in any real danger.Please, since when is one lone 4th level NPC a challenge for four 4th level characters?Any why are 1st and 3rd level characters treated the same on the experience chart?A 3rd level party is going to have more than triple the resources that a 1st level party has available.Combined with a reward chart that puts a truckloads of magical items into the characters hands, this book puts Third Edition D&D solidly into the munchkin world (For the RPG terminology impaired, that's like a Monty Haul campaign but without any danger of loosing).

Other irregularities include the fact that there are rules on drowning and being crushed to death by water pressure (deep under the sea), but no rules for actually moving in water or fighting under water.

There are rules for generating towns and cities.Those rules do not function in a reasonable manner, unless the DM manually saturates the cities with specifically placed characters.Even something as simple as using the tables to determine what the levels of the high priests of the religions present in a city breaks down unless there are less than four seperate religions present in the city.

The section on magic items is poorly laid our and difficult to use for anything other than random magic item rolls.Some of the magic items are undervalued, overly powerful, or both.

A lot of space is devoted to incomplete tutorials on how to be a game master.Ironically, that's not matieral that should actually be in the Dungeon Master's Guide.This is supposed to be a reference book for running a campaign, not "The Dummies Guide to Dungeon Masterery".

The rules for gunpowder weapons and lasers are useless filler that takes up space that could have been devoted to environments that average game master would actually like to see his characters in, like say astral combat rules and underwater combat rules.Who cares how much damage a laser might do if it were in the hands of a barbarian.Anyone who actually wants to use laser weapons is just going to use a d20 modern or futuristic sourcebook anyways.

The D&D economy is so disfunctional that no wizard or sorceror who can create any magic items (including scrolls) should ever be allowed to die.It's always worth a cleric's while to bring the chump back from the dead and make him work off the investment.Also it becomes blatantly clear that NPCs are supposed to give special respect to the PCs simply because they are PCs, otherwise how can you explain the fact that a character can earn a wage of 15 gps a week as a stablehand but only needs to pay his stablehands 1 gp per week.

The section on special abilities is redundant because most of it is repeated in the Monster Manual and the encounter tables are useless without the Monster Manual.Since they were also rendered useless by the first expansion printed for the Monster Manual, it is very obvious that they should have been printed in the Monster Manual itself.

Half of an entire chapter is dedicated to charts of stats for average characters of each of the classes at each level.This space is completely wasted.

Overall, the DMG is first book produced for Third Edition that was simply bad.No attempt was made to turn a collection of notes and rules into a good refence book for Third Edition D&D.Instead it seems to have been thrown together with a nice binding and cover and some artwork and rushed out the door.Not all of the material is bad, but all you have to do is try to use the book to realize how useless it really is.

I would only recommend this book to someone who is being forced to run Third Edition D&D. ... Read more

Isbn: 078691551X
Subjects:  1. Dungeons and dragons (Game)    2. Fantasy - Epic    3. Fiction    4. Games / Gamebooks / Crosswords    5. Games/Puzzles    6. Role Playing & Fantasy - Dungeons & Dragons    7. Rules   

Monster Manual: Core Rulebook III (Dungeons & Dragons, Third Edition)
Average Customer Review:
Hardcover (01 October, 2000)
list price: $29.95
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Reviews (91)

How to make a better Monster Manual
A: Include all monsters from the previous edition's manual
B: Introduce a few new and interesting monsters (10-40 would suffice)
C: Make the layout flip-friendly for rushing GMs
D: Make sure the monsters go beyond combat statistics (as in their habitats are listed, form of society, mating and etc.Like a National Geographic Mag.)

I think if at least one of these is followed, it's worth the same as the original.If all are followed, it's a goldmine.I have the great annoyance to tell you that none of these were followed.

There are 1/3 the number monsters in the new manual as the old one (I hear that if you add this manual, 2, and the Monsters of Faerun books together you get almost as many as the old 2nd edition MM.)I believe that the creators argued "The original MM only had 40 monsters in it!"My answer to this is simple: the first edition didn't have 25+ years of books and two editions in front of it to help.

The new monsters (which ended up drowning out old favorites) are way too underpowered or overpowered, lack depth, and generally seem a little too sci-fi (remember, this is a fantasy game)

The layout definately sucks, it took me an hour to find anything.One monster a page is definately a better road to travel.

Last but not least, the monsters BARELY go beyond the numbers.I suggest you either buy all three of the above mentioned "Monster Manuals" (have fun shuffling books!) or just play 2nd edition AD&D.

Tons of Monsters...Yet Lacking
The Third Edition (3E) Monster Manual is a great purchase for any DM. It has a good amount of monsters, pretty descriptive stats, yet...it seems one caliber less than the 2E Monster Manual.

On one hand, the 3E Monster Manual delivers over 200 monsters to terrorize your campaign setting. They have some awesome new monsters. My personal favorite, is a devil, and is known as a Kyton. He is demonic humanoid with hundreds of chains drooping from his body, and his mode of attack is flailing those chains. Pretty hardcore.

On the other hand, the 3E Monster Manual doesn't seem to give enough. Some of the monsters just plain [are bad], and they aren't unique in any way. Also, the amount of creatures do not come near the amount that were in the 2E monster manual, which is frustrating.

On the FINAL hand, It is a must for any DM playing 3E. It isn't a bad book at all...it just seems lacking. The monster stats are good...the amount of monsters are good...but don't expect much more. (If they had 3.5 stars I would give this book 3.5)

Content: Meh...Book Quality: HORRIBLE
Being someone new to the Dungeons and Dragons scene, I had great hope and joy when I opened my amazon.com package containing the Player's Handbook (PHB) and the Monster Manual (MM).

First note: all the D&D books are quite hard to understand without playing first.That would be why you buy the "Adventure Game" using the same ruleset.The MM is the shortest of the D&D books, which makes sense, as it mostly talks only about monsters.The content is hard to understand first hand, however it is quite detailed.

Now, we go onto the quality of the book.Both the DM Guide and the PHB have a hard cover binding and high-quality full-colored pages.The MM has this too, but in my recent experiences, the binding at the spine (the binding that is holding the pages together) is quite loose.So loose that in fact, one player of mine has all the pages completely out of the binding.True, out of 12 NEW MM's that I have seen, all of them had an extremely loose binding, especially with the pages in the back.You can see the rope that is holding the pages together there.Just note: a lot of the pages in this book will fall out with heavy use.something not too normal with hardcover books.

My suggestion, since you are looking at this, is to wait until July 2003, where a new, revised MM will be avaliable.That MM will have 108 more pages, and hopefully a better binding with that many pages.All the D&D core rulebooks are being revised and released in July 2003 (at the end of the month).If you want the D&D books right now, then I suggest the Player's Handbook, the Dungeon Master's Guide, and the Monster Manual II.The MM II will not be revised, and was released recently, so it will be easier to understand.If there is one rulebook that you should not buy, it would be this one.Wait for July 2003 and reap the rewards. ... Read more

Isbn: 0786915528
Sales Rank: 27742
Subjects:  1. Dungeons and dragons (Game)    2. Fantasy - Epic    3. Fiction    4. Games / Gamebooks / Crosswords    5. Games/Puzzles    6. Role Playing & Fantasy - Dungeons & Dragons   

The Speaker in Dreams: An Adventure for 5th-Level Characters (Dungeons & Dragons Adventure)
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (13 January, 2001)
list price: $9.95 -- our price: $8.95
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Reviews (14)

Highly engaging city adventure
If there was one bad thing to say about this adventure, it's that it was too good!

The DM has to work hard to get the full value of this module because there is so much going on at the same time.The reward is well worth the effort though, as your players will light up at the feeling of being immersed in a city where things are going on all around them whether they are looking or not.

This story-driven adventure is a nice change from an event driven dungeon where sometimes you get the feel that the monsters were "in stasis" waiting for PC's to show up and deal with them.

This adventure is full of plots, side-plots, plot-twists, rumors, and red-herrings and it is a lot of fun for the group to try and separate fact from wives tale, important from meaningless, to slowly uncover the trail that leads to what is really going on.

Good for ideas, bad to run
Very little information provided on NPC's and monsters. You have to look up EVERYTHING! Which makes game time real slow. Also, Gather information checks are HIGH, bring your bards! Rather tough battles, HIGHLY confusing for characters to run through. Mine kept looking for a missing town guard, which was a complete waste of gametime. My main gripe was the complate lack of information on monsters/NPC's, and no place provided in the book to write in what you need when you game.

Work it on before you play
This module has a city in trouble from a manipulator. The problem for the DM is that if s/he just inserts this on the campaign, the players could feel like they got into the theater halfway into the movie.

In my case, I had already bought "The Sunless Citadel" and "The Forge of Fury" before starting the campaign. Comparing the towns depicted on the modules, I decided beforehand to use Brindinford (from Speaker in Dreams) as the characters' HQ. This allows me to build up the events in Speaker, so the players can feel that they are not being dropped in mid season.

Besides that, I think this module is a very good one to use as a break from too many Dungeons. ... Read more

Isbn: 0786918306
Sales Rank: 115464
Subjects:  1. Games    2. Games / Gamebooks / Crosswords    3. Games/Puzzles    4. Role Playing & Fantasy - Dungeons & Dragons    5. Role Playing & Fantasy - General    6. Games / Role Playing & Fantasy    7. Fantasy   

Character Sheets (Dungeons & Dragons Accessory)
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (28 August, 2000)
list price: $9.95 -- our price: $9.95
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Reviews (44)

Obsolete Product
These class-specific character sheets used to be the fairly useful.However, changes in the 3.5 edition of the game make these sheets obsolete.

Rather [weak]
Honestly, you can find better character sheets for free out on the web, made by fans. This product just basically gives you customized character sheets for each class, with the class already filled in, and all the class skills already checkmarked, and I believe the hit dies were already filled in too. Oh, there is a blank sheet included as well for the multi-class characters. The 32 sheets or so in this product aren't even going to get you started, especially when so many of them are unusable because they're a class that you never play. The sheets are all in black and white, and the paper stock isn't really anything fancier than regular copier paper.

All in all, give this thing a pass. Print out something from the web and go somewhere to take a bunch of copies. You'll be much happier and get a better value for money.

This is what I get for buying it all at once
After saving up for a month or so, I purchased the Player's Handbook, DM Guide, Monster Manual, and these character sheets. Three out of the four were worth the cost.

These character sheets are a simple repetition of information readily available elsewhere, they aren't sturdily made, and they don't have nearly enough room for your stats.

If you really want to keep good record of a character, try Green Ronin's Character Record Folio. It's well worth the price. ... Read more

Isbn: 0786916427
Sales Rank: 151933
Subjects:  1. Games    2. Games / Gamebooks / Crosswords    3. Role Playing & Fantasy - Dungeons & Dragons    4. Role Playing & Fantasy - General    5. Science Fiction    6. Games / Role Playing & Fantasy   

d20 System Dice with Booklet
Average Customer Review:
Game (May, 2001)
list price: $6.95 -- our price: $6.95
(price subject to change: see help)
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Reviews (8)

Useful But Could've Been Better!
The basic tools were given. Basically the dice. However, it seems like Wizard's of the Coast would have provided a more in depth explanation for new comer's to the d20 system to make it more user friendly. Like d20 For Dummies.

Fast to Get
I don't live in the USA, so getting some dice is very hard, especially when my friends are thinking on getting themselves some. So i told them to get this box that is cheap compared to the price of the trip to the nearest gaming store, and they are available in the bookstore around the corner. Yea, you may complain about the expensive, but some people don't have the time to go looking fo the final gaming store/website where to find the good products, they just want to start playing. That is what this set is all about.

For the Desperate Only
The sole advatage of buying these dice is that they are sold at your local chain bookstore.The instructions are obtuse and redundant, and the dice are cheap, small, and only one of each type is provided.Advice: take your ~[$$] to a hobby store and pick out your own dice or failing that buy for [$$] the D&D introduction game that includes the same identical dice, and get a few goodies as well.

As a note it sickens me when for the price they charge for cheap, [discount chain store] quality dice they couldn't throw in another set, or at the bare minimum include the 10-00 10 sided die as a complement to the 10 sided dice that comes with the 'System dice.' ... Read more

Isbn: 0786920351
Sales Rank: 205358
Subjects:  1. Games    2. Games/Puzzles    3. Role Playing & Fantasy - Dungeons & Dragons    4. Role Playing & Fantasy - General    5. Role Playing Games    6. Games / Role Playing & Fantasy   

Dungeons & Dragons (New Line Platinum Series)
by Jeremy Irons Justin Whalin Zoe McLellan
Director: Courtney Solomon
Average Customer Review:
DVD (14 September, 2004)
list price: $12.97 -- our price: $11.67
(price subject to change: see help)
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Editorial Review

There is trouble in Izmer. With the emperor dead from an assassin'spoison, the 16-year-old princess Savina (Thora Birch) inherits not just thethrone but also the royal scepter, which has the power to command gold dragons. With a youthful idealism, she decides all people should be equal, from lowly commoners to the ruling-class, magic-wielding mages. This doesn't sit well with the mages, so Archmage Profion (Jeremy Irons) leads a revolt in the Council against Savina's rule, forcing her to relinquish the royal scepter. In order to maintain her power, she decides she needs the rod of Savrille, which can control red dragons. To retrieve it, she hires two bumbling thieves, Ridley (Justin Whalin) and Snails (Marlon Wayans), and an apprentice mage (Zoe McLellan). The true trouble in Izmer is the fact that it's a poorly imagined world that cribs more from Star Wars and Raiders of the Lost Ark than it does from the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game that shares its title. Director Courtney Solomon optioned the rights to the game in 1991, when he was 21, and should have spent the years since then drafting a coherent script. Mediocre special effects take precedence over story, and the actors try to make up for that by hamming it up. Irons, in particular, covers his embarrassment by chewing the scenery and spitting it out. Often unintentionally funny, Dungeons & Dragons is that fun kind of bad movie, whose cult status would be all but guaranteed if it weren't for a slow second act mired in the boring bumbling ofthe awkward thieves. Still, there are plenty of laughs to be had. --AndySpletzer ... Read more

Features

• Color
• Closed-captioned
• Widescreen
• Dolby

Reviews (283)

A bit to like here and there but just too bland.
Seeing a film in the theater on Christmas Eve has been a tradition of mine since I was a kid. On Xmas Eve 2000, my theater hadn't yet gotten Cast Away or Crouching Tiger, but it did have my third choice, D&D.

Well, I've never been so intricately close to D&D that I would have been labeled a sinner in the 80s, but I have ALWAYS loved medieval fantasy, and many of the D&D stories and characters. So, I had the feeling going to the film that I would have a good old popcorn munching time with one of my favorite genres. No decent movies about medieval times had come out in a while, so what better than D&D to end the drought?

Well, I left the theater laughing. Not at the movie, but at myself for having such high hopes. It had potential, I'll say that. I chuckled at a joke or two, I liked some of feel, like magicians and thieves and whatnot. But in the end, it felt like a washed out, Lord of the Rings lite. And who would have known that LOTR would indeed come out a year later and absolutely blow everyone's socks off?

The main problem with D&D is its basic plot. Several characters band together to retrieve a magical item and defeat the wizard. Ok, sounds fair. But the characters are so wooden and stereotypical, I just didn't care. The thieves are rebels who believe in justice and equality. The wizards are old and power hungry. The dwarf likes beer and fights. The elves are delicate and mysterious. And that's about the most we get to know anybody, although the main two characters (thieves) get more screen time and somewhat anachronistic dialogue. I admit I was surprised by a death halfway through, and surprised again at what happened / didn't happen with the dead at the end of the film. But outside of that, it's pretty stock stuff. And don't look for Jeremy Irons to save the film, he overacts here with the best of them. Although I did enjoy his last scene or two involving his magic and the dragon battle.

I guess bottom line is that it's worth a see if you're a real D&D or fantasy fan, but other than that, it's not that great, and if you've seen Lord of the Rings by then you've already seen better. Just too bland.

You must"Save vs. Boredom"before watching this
This ranks as the very first movie I ever had to stop watching about halfway through due to violent lack of interest. I love the fantasy genre, even some of the lesser B-films ("Hawk the Slayer" being a favorite), and was long ago a D&D junkie, but this one could simply not hold my interest whatsoever. Boring, boring, boring... I wanted to like it, but it wasn't really gelling with my concept of what a D&D film would be like. Heck, the old D&D cartoon was better than this, and not as goofy.
I've always felt that it was some sort of rush job, because the LOTR films were being made at that time and someone wanted to beat Peter Jackson to the goal line by releasing a mainstreamfantasy film. But it makes absolutely NO SENSE how New Line could release this goblin filth, then shortly thereafter release the epic to end all epics The Lord of the Rings.

A joke... dont even waste a free rental....
Critics say this movie has a cheap look and is badly directed. Despite the presence of talented actors, the performances are really bad, and additionally, some people are offended at Marlon Wayans' character, calling it a racist throwback to black stereotypes. With the release of Lord Of The Rings, we (D&D Fans) were FINALLY able to come out of the closet. It is a glowing moment for us after years of ridicule from co-workers... family.... peers.... etc from the age of 12. The Dungeon & Dragon's movie released in 2000 only ADDED to that pain! After watching LOTR with people unfamiliar with Wizards of The Coast products, I was able to broach the topic and get some of my friends interested in playing the D&D game. The ONLY amusement this movie has given us as fans is it's RIDICULE factor.... and even that pales after a minute or so. I'm baffled that there is talk of a sequel. I suppose for those in the age range of 13yrs or younger will give this movie more than 1 star. Instead get Hawk the Slayer. It's low budget but at least it was an 'honest' attempt at making a good B movie unlike this one. ... Read more

Asin: B00003CXQM
Subjects:  1. Feature Film-action/Adventure   

Toastmaster 576 10 Cup Coffeemaker with Digital Timer
Average Customer Review:
Kitchen
list price: $94.50
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Editorial Review

Programmable up to 24 hours in advance for preparing "wake-up" coffee, this handsome coffeemaker brews 10 cups of coffee and then keeps it hot in a glass carafe on a warming plate. The clock/timer is only one of many useful features; others include an optional charcoal filter to reduce chlorine in tap water, a magnifying window to display the water level, a button to select either a four-or-fewer-cups or a five-or-more-cups brewing cycle for optimum flavor, a swing-out filter basket, and an automatic coffee-flow shutoff for 30 seconds if the carafe is removed for a quick pour. For safety, the machine turns off two hours after the brewing cycle begins; for convenience, the chrome handle atop the machine stays cool, and there's hidden power-cord storage. The coffeemaker measures 15 inches high by 8 inches wide by 11 inches deep (with the carafe on the warming plate). --Fred Brack ... Read more

Features

• Measures 15 by 8 by 11 inches; 3-year warranty against defects
• 24-hour clock/timer for brewing "wake-up" coffee at selected time
• Warming plate keeps coffee hot in 10-cup glass carafe
• Optional charcoal water filter reduces chlorine taste, odor
• Swing-out filter basket; brew-pause for a cup midbrew; 2-hour auto shut-off

Reviews (4)

Nice Look, Bad Carafe, Hard To Read LED
When opening the coffee maker, I realized that part of the carafe handle is missing, after taking everything out of the box; I saw the piece of plastic on the bottom. The handle of this carafe is made up of 2 plastic pieces that are supposed to snap together, however they don�t, the outer handle keeps coming loose, so I had to resort to my super glue and glued the sucker in permanently. I have used this machine for about 5 times now and noticed that if you do not pour the water in VERY SLOWLY, it will overflow. Using Starbucks® Whole Bean House Blend coffee, I noticed that the coffee tastes like it does in any other drip coffee maker and not close to the coffee served at my local Starbucks. The last disappointment about this coffee maker is that the LED clock/timer is extremely hard to read, you literally have to stare down at it to see it, even then, if you don�t have bright light nearby, you will have a hard time determine the time.

Good Styling and Good Coffee
This is a very nicely styled coffee maker.That is the main reason I bought it.It has a very good brew stop for when you want that quick cup before it finishes brewing a full pot.No drips.The coffee tastes good and it is easy to clean. It contains a replacable charcoal water filter which will get rid of the chlorine taste that is in the usual tap water. It really does make the coffee taste better.It also has a two hour shut off so you won't get a burnt pot if you forget to shut it off.The cup indicator has a very nice feature where the water in the resevour magnifies the number of cups markers which makes it easy to see exactly how much water you have. My only complaints with the unit is that it is designed to be used on a counter top. The timer and clock are facing up on the base of the unit and can only be seen when you look straight down on it. When used on a shelf, it can be difficult to read the timer and fill the resevoir.You have to be careful when filling it with water from the top.It is very easy to spill water all over if you pour too fast.Over all it is a good unit and a good value.

Toastmaster 576 10 Cup Coffeemaker with Digital Timner
The unit looks and performs as advertised.It has ease of operation, and the controls are very simple.I bought the black one, and it looks great.The charcoal filter unit is a nice touch also, and makes for a great cup of coffee.I would recommend this unit to anyone. ... Read more

Asin: B00005AM8H
Subjects:  1. Automatic    2. Drip Coffee Machines    3. Coffee Makers    4. (Coffeemakers)   

Fiestaware Black 149 18-Ounce Jumbo Cups, Set of 4
Average Customer Review:
Kitchen
list price: $44.00 -- our price: $30.99
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Editorial Review

These jumbo Fiestaware cups are a fitting tribute to the product line introduced in 1936 and still beloved in the 21st century. Adding original Fiestaware's signature art deco design and bold palette to the grande-size mug popularized by the coffee craze of the last two decades, these cups successfully merge old and new. Their 18-ounce capacity and 4-1/2-inch diameter make them ideal for coffee, soup, or even dipping cookies in milk. They are more contemporary in appearance than many other Fiestaware pieces and mix well with casual contemporary dishes or with the full spectrum of Fiestaware products in different colors. Match these cups with Fiestaware jumbo saucers for a cup and saucer set. --Emily Wolf ... Read more

Features

• Great for coffee, soup, or even cookies and milk
• 18-ounce capacity, 4-1/2-inch diameter
• Vitrified china with lead-free glaze
• Complements other Fiestaware pieces for a well-matched set
• Dishwasher and microwave safe

Reviews (17)

Perfect fit under a Senseo Coffeemaker
I like a big mug of coffee, and the Senseo coffee maker just does not have that much room under the spout. My tall mugs don't fit, but these do perfectly. Just a note for fellow Senseo lovers.

perfect but just a bit too big
brilliant nicely shaped monster mugs.look great, but we still keep reaching for the old regular-style non-fiestaware mugs cause the jumbo ones are often just too much (and we live in texas, where oversized is always better).definitely agree with previous reviewer who wishes there were an in-between size from fiestaware.those little mugs with the pretty but useless ring handles don't work, and the wonderful jumbo mug is overkill for normal use.i'd vote for keeping the design, just scaling it down a bit.

Very BIG, but very useful
My only beef with these mugs is that they're so big. I own the smaller Fiestaware mugs too, and I complained about those being too small, but seriously - I wish there were a middle ground. Though I'd take 'too big' over too small any day. You can have a big cuppa tea or coffee or soup with these things. An excellent multitasker, I've even used mine to store cups of broth in the freezer. These definitely need some sort of tight-fitting lid developed for them for better storage in the fridge or freezer. ... Read more

Asin: B000056I8D

Defenders of the Faith: A Guidebook to Clerics and Paladins (Dungeons & Dragons Accessory)
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (May, 2001)
list price: $19.95 -- our price: $13.57
(price subject to change: see help)
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Reviews (27)

The older book was better
I am referring to the Complete Guide to Paladins for 2nd edtion. That book had far more material in greater depth than Defenders does. Again, this book also seems underdone, like so many 3rd edition books. The most useful material was the section describing how the faiths of specific alignments, and deities, work. As for the rest, it is "overbalanced". Most of the feats are so "balanced" as to be worthless, as are the prestige classes. The kits found in the Complete Guide are better, I think, with real balance, not +'s and -'s canceling each other out. The organizations listed were a little better, but again, the Guide had more interesting ones. Although I have focussed on Paladins, the same holds for priests. The Complete Guide to Priests wasn't that good, so I can't recommend looking for it. Overall, I wouldn't bother buying this again just four about 10 pages of useful material.

worst so far... BUT...
i got this book for a paladin so i was really disappointed.the only good parts was the section on dragon mounts. but this book has great stuff on clerics, i look at them in a whole new light now.but if you want paladins, back order Dragon #199

worst so far... BUT...
i got this book for a paladin so i was really disappointed.the only good parts was the section on dragon mounts. but this book has great stuff on clerics, i look at them in a whole new light now.but if you want paladins, back order Dragon #199 ... Read more

Isbn: 0786918403
Sales Rank: 52113
Subjects:  1. Games    2. Games / Gamebooks / Crosswords    3. Games/Puzzles    4. Role Playing & Fantasy - Dungeons & Dragons    5. Role Playing & Fantasy - General    6. Games / Role Playing & Fantasy   

Sword and Fist: A Guidebook to Fighters and Monks (Dungeons & Dragons Accessory)
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (01 December, 2000)
list price: $19.95 -- our price: $13.57
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Reviews (37)

Mediocre product
Sword & Fist is a neat book, and for 10 bucks, i would have considered it an excellent buy. But unfortunatly, for 20 bucks, it is highly over priced.

There are some new feats in here that are pretty neat, but most of the feats are geared towards Monks. Some feats also have no value whatsoever, such as "Dirty Fighting" which lets you make a single attack as a full-round action, adding +1d4 to the damage.

The prestige classes are either excellent or horribly worthless. My personal favorites though, is the Weapon Master and Duelist. All the others are generally meant for certain organizations, or as antagonists, such as the Ravagers, the Red Avanger, and the Ninja of the Crescent Moon.

The tactics section is utter garbage. It just gives you the "proper usage" of feats like Cleave and Spring Attack. It also gives out pointers as the hit-ratio percentage of using the monk's 'Flurry of Blows.' Theres also some strategies about using Monstrous Fighters and Monks and mounted opponents and such.

One fine section of the book, which is the new weapons and equipment, was pretty intriguing. They seem more powerful then the weapons in the Player's handbook, but all the ones represented in SaF are exotic weapons, and thus require the Exotic Weapon Proficiency feat. The mercurial swords, Whip Daggers, and the Orc Shotput are some definite winners.

Overall, a useful book, but dont pay 20 dollars for it.

The ultimate suppliment
I found that this book contained everything I've been looking for: great new weapons, very useful feats, and lots of new prestige classes (I always wanted to make a Samurai!) "Sword and Fist" also contains various buildings which can be useful for DMs to base, for instance, a guard tower or an elf house on.If there is anything I was dissapointed about was how little information there was on chariots, but then, the book would also be better a thousand pages long.FIVE STARS!

Aspiring to Mediocrity and Failing
Sword and Fist is the first book in one of the worst series of supplements to ever be released for D&D.

Sword and Fist has the following significant problems:

1) There are six pages of errata for a 95 page book.

2) An excessive amount of space is wasted in repetitive charts.

3) The feat section is a handful of feats that seem to have been chosen at random for their "cool" factor.

4) Many of the feats are either incredibly useful, or not useful at all.For example, Power Lunge could allow a third level character to inflict 14 extra points of damage with a single attack while on the other hand Dirty Fighting requires that a character forego all his extra attack to get 1d4 extra damage.These benefits are not equal in any way, shape or form.

5) Some of the prestige classes, like the Fist of Hextor and the Ravager, absolutely can not be used by a player character, so why are they present in a player oriented book?

6) Other prestige classes, like the Duelist, Devoted Defender, Ghostwalker, and Gladiator are obviously copies of movie characters without giving any credit to the source of inspiration.

7) Some of the prestige classes, like the Fist of Hextor, Knight Protector of the Great Kingdom, Ninja of the Crescent Moon, Order of the Bow Initiate, Red Avenger and Warmaster are tied to specific organizations and/or locations.It simply makes no sense to put them in what should be a relatively generic source book.For example, the Warmaster and the Knight Protector should be in a supplement for the Kingdom of Furyondy or the Great Kingdom respectively.

8) The organization section takes some of the organizations from the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer and rewrites them, and then adds new organizations that have nothing to do with the World of Greyhawk.Focusing either on Greyhawk material or on generic material would have greatly improved the book.

9) The "Game within the Game" chapter is just a basic tutorial on tactics.Not very interesting and it's recommendations are mediocre at best.

10) The tools of the Trade section is probably the single worst section of the book.The stats for most of the weapons are wrong, and many of the weapons are either bizarre, inappropriate or both.The "cool" mercurial weapons are a joke, because mercury reacts with steel to create a brittle alloy.Thus the weapons are not only impractically difficult to manifacture, they'd be worthless in combat.

11) This is a player oriented book, thus there is no reason for any magic items to be in the book at all.

On the upside:
1) The Cavalier, Duelist, and Weapon Master are among the best prestige classes in this entire series.They are generic enough to be adapted to any campaign world, and useful enough to be worth the costs to a variety of character types.

Overall, I received the impression that the author did not try to write "a good book", but merely one that was "good enough".He failed.I heartily recommend to anyone who is thinking of buying this book:

Save your money and buy something good. ... Read more

Isbn: 0786918292
Sales Rank: 33676
Subjects:  1. Fantasy    2. Games    3. Games / Gamebooks / Crosswords    4. Role Playing & Fantasy - Dungeons & Dragons    5. Role Playing & Fantasy - General   

Tome and Blood: A Guidebook to Wizards and Sorcerers (Dungeons & Dragons Accessory)
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (July, 2001)
list price: $19.95 -- our price: $13.57
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Reviews (47)

cheese for the hero
Wizards must have for D&D

Pretty Good
well I got tome and blood for my birthday and I was looking through and I found some alright prestige classes. after a while I read a little bit farther in the prestige class section and found the Dragon Disiple. Since I am a sorcerer I was Amazed.It is literally the best Persige Class is the entire book. after thati look at the spells and I found the lesser acid orbs. they are like magic missle except a bit better.(at least i thin they are better. all in all i think this is a pretty good book.

A nice supplement
"Tome and Blood" is a fairly good supplement with a wide variety of useful feat, interesting prestige classes, and a couple of good spells. Some of the prestige classes, "The Acolyte of the Flesh" and the "Alienist" for example, would be hard pressed to be useful for a player character but would be nice NPC's.

I was slightly disappointed at the variety of schools, lots of innovation for necromancy, but the other schools, particularly illusion seemed to get short handed.

Also, compared to some of the d20 licensee products like Fantasy Flight Games's "Spells and Spellcraft" or Malhavoc Press's "Eldritch Might" series, this was pretty expensive for the amount of information given. ... Read more

Isbn: 0786918454
Sales Rank: 28255
Subjects:  1. Games    2. Games / Gamebooks / Crosswords    3. Games/Puzzles    4. Role Playing & Fantasy - Dungeons & Dragons    5. Role Playing & Fantasy - General    6. Games / Role Playing & Fantasy