Rodney Thompson

I was a die-hard fan of 3.5e for a long time but 5e seems to be a worthy successor! I really enjoyed this handbook and look forward to giving it a spin.

I started playing in times of AD&D 2e and this system was unnecessarily complex even then and the worldbuilding was absolutely minimal. So when 3.5e came around it was very refreshing, books looked inviting, it felt epic, and it gave a sense of the world that adventures happen. 5e takes it to the next level - mechanics are simplified, but it doesn't limit player's options; the book is full of story hooks and many are baked into character creation (read: mandatory); it provides glimpses of different settings and sets basic themes of each (multiverse in the 1st core book!).

5e seems to be fast and intuitive mechanic-wise and gives a lot of inspiration for both DM and PCs to build an epic story. It gives a variety of options to chose from and basically everything you need to start playing (even without other core books). A lot of OP combos, powers, and spells seem to be nerfed or eliminated, so I hope for a balanced play where every choice (race/class/etc.) gives a player an awesome experience.

My only issue with this book is the lack of a short core mechanics summary. The index is very poor and frustrating, there is no glossary (like in 3.5e), and the book is full of "You will learn more about it in Chapter X". So when you want a summary of what the Proficiency Bonus is for, you need to skip through 4 different chapters of the handbook to get a full picture.… (more)