Dungeon Master's Guide: Core Rulebook II (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.5 Fantasy Roleplaying) | 
 enlarge | Brand: Wizards of the Coast
Category: Book
List Price: $29.95
Buy New: $12.49
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Avg. Customer Rating:  47 reviews
Sales Rank: 15737
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 320
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.6
Dimensions (in): 10.9 x 8.5 x 0.8
ISBN: 0786928891
Dewey Decimal Number: 793.93
EAN: 9780786928897
ASIN: 0786928891
Publication Date: July 18, 2003
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: New book, ships out next business day, 100% satisfaction guaranteed, may have slight shelf wear
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Product Description
Weave exciting tales of heroism filled with magic and monsters. Within these pages, you’ll discover the tools and options you need to create detailed worlds and dynamic adventures for your players to experience in the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game.
The revised Dungeon Master's Guide is an essential rulebook for Dungeon Masters of the D&D game. The Dungeon Master's Guide has been reorganized to be more user friendly. It features information on running a D&D game, adjudicating play, writing adventures, nonplayer characters (including nonplayer character classes), running a campaign, characters, magic items (including intelligent and cursed items, and artifacts), and a dictionary of special abilities and conditions. Changes have been made to the item creation rules and pricing, and prestige classes new to the Dungeon Master's Guide are included (over 10 prestige classes). The revision includes expanded advice on how to run a campaign and instructs players on how to take full advantage of the tie-in D&D miniatures line.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 42 more reviews...
The best of the 3.5 updates December 8, 2007
Of the three core rulebooks to receive an update in 2003, the Dungeon Master's Guide serves as the best argument that the 3rd edition needed a revision. The original guide, while containing some useful DMing advice, was poorly laid out and contained very little useful information to people who had experienced role-playing games before (and, for that matter, not enough useful information to people who hadn't). This revision, while far from perfect, is a definite upgrade from the original. The layout is more coherent, the chapter on world-building is specifically quite useful, and a number of useful variant and expanded rules are scattered throughout the book. Here you'll find details of other planes of existence, of new magic items, and of rules for epic-level characters, just for starters. Additionally, there's plenty of good advice for novice and experienced DMs alike, as well as a number of side bars that not only explain why a certain rule is written the way it is, but variants to expand the game beyond its core confines.
Not all of the book is a welcome update, however. The epic-level rules are very limited, and require the use of the Epic Level Handbook to really be useful. The NPCs section has become more generic and therefore less useful to someone who needs a quick character on the fly. Finally, while the manifold of character options discussed are useful, most of the prestige classes that have been added in the revision are dull a flavorless, mostly serving only as a poor fix to the multiclassing rules. In the case of the epic rules and prestige classes, it's a no-harm, no-foul situation; those rules weren't in the original version, and therefore are by default an added perk of the revision. In the case of the NPCs section, the revision actually made things worse, not better.
Nonetheless, the 3.5 revision of the Dungeon Master's Guide makes this version of the guide the best one that we've seen in almost 30 years. Barring the original DM's Guide by Gary Gygax, which is famous as a role-playing bible regardless of the actual edition played, this version of the book provides the most comprehensive breakdown of what it means to be a Dungeon Master and how you can improve your games for everyone. Even if you still hold a grudge against Wizards of the Coast for their poor decision to revise the rules so quickly after the release of a new edition, this version of the Dungeon Master's Guide is such an improvement over the last that it is worth a look.
 Help the Dungeon Master! Please! August 7, 2007
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
This is a great supplement for the DM. It gives you loads of great information in a clear manner. I really like the way this book is organised, it is quite intuitive. The re-vamp of Magic Items is a great improvement, as well as the introduction of Prestige Classes. My group LOVES prestige classes, maybe a little too much!
Overall if you want to introduce you group to the wonderful world of D&D 3.5 pick up this book plus the Player's Handbook 3.5 and you will find them both clear and easy to read.
EXCELLENT SERVICE!!! June 15, 2007
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Everything was here faster than all other orders and in great shape!!!
DM May 25, 2007
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
My boyfriend's birthday was coming up and instead of just getting him a steak dinner and some electronic device, I decided to get him something that was a little more exciting. DM's Guide. He wants to start a game this summer and this is a must so I bought him a couple books and we are on our way. Nothing says I love you and I want to be with you a long time than a Dungeons & Dragons book.
(plus it arrived the next day -it was great)
I Have Nothing Bad to Say About this Book May 10, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Pros
* Increased detail in the Adventure's section. Encounter charts, for example.
* The inclusion of a section on the planes. While this has little use for those who own Manual of the Planes, it considerably opens up the options to d20 companies.
* Epic Level rules, while simple, open up characters above 20th level to other game designers.
* Many additional prestige classes. While most of these are published elsewhere, their inclusion here (and therefore in the SRD) means that game designers can now include arch mages and duelists (to name two examples) in their d20 products.
* Many great changes in the magic items department. They gave Adamantium a purpose, finally, made certain magical properties effect only the price of an item, not its overall plus. They fixed the price of skill bonus items, as well.
* Inclusion of templates at the back of the book allow for more ease of play, were miniatures are involved.
Cons
I have nothing bad to say about this book.
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