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Current (v3.5) Dungeons and Dragons The revisions of the 3.5 edition made a number of previous rulebooks obsolete, however others are still almost fully compatible with the revisions. The core rulebooks were completely replaced. The Psionics Handbook was replaced with the Expanded Psionics Handbook. The third edition had five softcover rulebooks focusing on character classes: Sword and Fist (fighter and monk), Tome and Blood (sorcerer and wizard), Defenders of the Faith (cleric and paladin), Masters of the Wild (barbarian, druid, and ranger), and Song and Silence (bard and rogue), were updated into four revised and expanded hardcover rulebooks for 3.5 edition: Complete Warrior (barbarian, fighter, ranger), Complete Divine (cleric, druid, paladin), Complete Arcane (sorcerer, wizard), Complete Adventurer (bard, rogue), and Complete Psionic (psion, wilder, psychic warrior, soulknife). Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (1st edition) The popularity of the first three core rulebooks the Monster Manual (1977), the Players Handbook(1978), and the Dungeon Master's Guide (1979), encouraged TSR to publish more and more books. Before the second edition of the game was released, there were over a dozen hardbound sourcebooks. Many were sourcebooks and optional rules, however Unearthed Arcana (1985) represented a significant suplement for both the Players Handbook and Dungeon Master's Guide. The first edition manuals, though no longer official play items, are highly prized by collectors, particularly early printings. Examples in good condition (which is rare since these books got a lot of use from players) can fetch prices many times their cover value. 2nd Edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons The 1989 2nd edition saw a complete revision of the Players Handbook and the Dungeon Master Guide. The Monster Manual replaced by the Monstrous Compedium loose leaf binder which was in turn replaced by the Monstrous Manual (1993) The second edition expanded the number of books, most notably with the "Complete Handbook" or "Complete Book of" series, which featured handbooks for almost every race and class; gnomes and halflings shared one handbook, and the only specialist wizard to receive his own handbook was the necromancer. Several other archetypes, such as the barbarian, and campaign-specific concepts, such as the gladiator of Dark Sun, were also given their own handbooks. The handbooks introduced the concept of "kits", which were essentially specialized versions of character classes. Many of these, such as the Bladesinger (an elven fighter/wizard who could fight and cast spells at the same time), were considered to be grossly unbalanced, both in comparison to other kits and in particular to characters who did not use kits. Several sourcebooks, such as the Book of Artifacts and Monstrous Compendium Appendices, provided new versions of rules, items, spells, or creatures that had been present in previous editions of the game but had been removed, for whatever reason, from the second edition of the game. While some of these conversions were direct adaptations of existing statistics into the slightly modified second edition rules, others, like the optional psionics system, were completely reinvented from the ground up and had little in common with their previous incarnations. The Player's Option series of rulebooks in the mid-1990s were interpreted by many players as an intended "third edition" of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. The Player's Option rulebooks introduced many optional rules into the game: combat and warfare rules in Player's Option: Combat & Tactics; a controversial and, according to many, highly unbalanced character customization system in Player's Option: Skills & Powers; new spells and spellcasting rules in Player's Option: Spells and Magic; and rules for advancement to epic character levels in Dungeon Master's Option: High Level Campaigns. 3rd Edition Dungeons & Dragons Third Edition Dungeons & Dragons greatly clarified and streamlined the rules, and for the first time clearly labeled the Player's Handbook, Dungeon Master's Guide and Monster Manual as the three core rulebooks. These editions provided constant and consistent rules for different monster types, effects such as invisibility and fatigue, and spells whose effects have always been the subject of lively debate amongst players. More significant was the release of most of these rules as open source, in the form of a System Reference Document that could be used by third party game companies to create their own products compatible with Dungeons & Dragons. Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (1977) Core books The Complete Handbook Series This was a series of books that contained information to add character classes and races, and expand existing ones, primaraly through the use of kits. Historical Reference series This was a series of books that contained information about historical timeframes and events using the games rules. Core books The three core books were releases in both v3.0 and v3.5. Errata is available for each of the v3.0 versions to enable players to continue using their old books with v3.5. Builder Book Series Each book includes a few new Base Classes and some updated Prestige classes from those books. v3.5 harcover books: Races Book Series These provide expanded character creation and player resources for the varying playable races in D&D, as well as adding new playable races. Environmental Series These serve primarily to flesh out rules on Environmental hazards from the Dungeon Master's Guide, but also provide ready-made campaign settings for DM's to use as well as certain player resources (playable races, more spells, etc). Adult-only books These rules expansions bear the distinction of carrying "for mature audiences only" stickers on the covers. Eberron Series These supplements to the Dungeons & Dragons game have been specifically designed to let players and DM's play the campaign setting of Eberron. Other books | |||||||||
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