Use BOOKDEAL25 at Amazon and you can get the PH for about $20.00.

Right now LULU has it for $7.68 plus shipping. Here is a link: LULU D&D 5e pdf page.

Apparently there is a black and white version for $2.99 + shipping,. Here is the link for that one: LULU D&D 5e B/W page.

That isn't even the PHB. It is that gimped "basic rule book" they sold in the box set. Might as well download the free PDF frm wizards and print for free.

No - it is the basic PDF rulebook, not the one from the starter set. 7.68 or 2.99 are both fairly cheap for a printed and bound item.

Even worse to pay for.

Yeah, the basic rules are free in PDF straight from WOTC.



I'll check that out.

It would cost as much to have it printed and bound by a store. Yes, cheaper if you can print it yourself - some people don't have that option.

Note that it isn't the full player's handbook - it is just the free pdf that Wizards released. see my links above for a $2.99 or $7.98 copy.

???? Yes, that is the full color PHB for 5E.

I'm just pointing out that the 5e PHB that is available in stores is a full color 320 page book.

That is a different book than the 115 page PHB which was released in pdf for free on the D&D website. It only contains the 4 main classes and races.

The one on LULU is the 115 page free pdf version printed (in color or black and white) and bound and shipped to the buyer.

Yeah, I was confused with what you quoted, since I was talking about getting the 320 page book for something like $20 to $22, after that discount.

I didn't mean to sound snarky. Yes, the one on Amazon is the complete PHB. I just wanted to make clear that the one on LULU is NOT the regular 5e PHB - instead it is the 115 page PDF version. Just trying to make things clear and not mislead anyone since we are talking about 2 different products at two very different price points.

I don't think I'd buy the Lulu print of the Players D&D Basic Rules*, even stripped down as the PDF is there's still too much fluff in there for a really "basic" book. I assume the difference between the "full colour" and B&W versions is the same as the PDFs, i.e. the colour version has beige interiors - I don't even know why they'd bother making that available, but maybe people will go for it and I'm all for consumer choice.

It would be nice if they mentioned which version of the PDF this is, though. I haven't been to the WotC site lately to check whether they've updated it (or the DM rules PDF) since the DMG came out.

I think, if it comes up, I might just edit down the WotC PDFs and print copies of that for any players that haven't yet been convinced to shell out for the PHB.

* Emphasis mine, to differentiate it from the actual PHB.

I gather that whoever put that together really did it as a public service. Some people like their books to be professionally bound but may either not have the ability to make a book at Lulu or couldn't be arsed to do it. This guy did it and made it available for everyone. I suspected, by the price then confirmed on the Lulu page that the cost of the book is Lulu's cost only. The guy who put it up on Lulu is not making one red cent for his efforts as this would be illegal.

Right, I just noticed it's not an official thing by WotC (although I realised from the price that is was at-cost). That makes more sense. Still, I see the PDF as more of a teaser than a fully functional book so there'd be limited utility in having it in book form for me. Probably fine for running a B/X-style game, though (with a Monster Manual).

$20ish for the full real 320 page PHB might be the deal breaker that makes me finally buy it.
(sigh)

i've been trying to resist. LIke donuts, I'm powerless to resist.

I've said it before but I will reiterate; When it boils down I am a fan of D&D. Even though I like C&C and play C&C my heart belongs to D&D. So yes, I am watching 5e with interest and a small amount of cautious hope.

A local game dealer who just shut down his store sold me a brand new 5E phb for 15.00. It's been nice flipping through it. Even played in somebody's game about 3 times. It was okay, but my heart is in C&C more than D&D. Don't get me wrong. Still love a lot of the old material (70's, early 80's, etc.) but C&C is just too simple, and accomplishes everything I need it to do.

My heart is with D&D. (the game type not the Intellectual property) That game ceased after 2nd Edition and started up again with C&C as the real 3rd Edition "D&D".

I haven't played it yet, but have read through the PHB a little and I'm sure to have fun with it, but most of the things I see in the new D&D, C&C does more elegantly and easier. That said, I can't wait to play it when Tree runs it in a few months.

R-

Sounds good, Rigon! 20 bucks saved.

I agree Arduin, I prefer the 1 and 2E material overall. Played my share of 3 and a bit of 3.5, but was rescued by C&C. Thanks to Stephen and Todd for showing up (5 years in a row) at Egyptian Campaign in Carbondale, Illinois.

What he said.

If I'm going to play a D&D type game (as opposed to a TnT RPG, an RQ RPG, a Traveller RPG - all different types and feels from what we call "a D&D type game") it's going to be C&C, which is - as far as my experience proves - the original edition (pre-AD&D) but done right.

So I took the 5e PHB out of the library (best library!) and I'm really impressed with it on a read thru. poop on that.
LOL

There is a lot I like about 5th edition, but my Thursday game of it is showing me I still much prefer C&C.

The only thing about C&C that doesn't (and can't) suit me, is classes. A goofy complaint, since it is a class-based game.

As a player and a GM, classes annoy me. In C&C, they don't get in my way as much as with DnD and Pathfinder, but they still annoy me.

But for my players, especially young or new players, classes are excellent shortcuts which save them from having to come up with backgrounds, and they tend to grow into the characters as they play them.

In short, I think Gary made the right choice, and TLG followed the right choice, to make it easier for players who haven't been playing for decades. Am grateful that classes aren't the confining things they were back in the 1970s.

Plus with the Crusader Companion PDF, you have so many class options available to you, you can start of with just about any kind of character "template" you can think of. Thats how I think of the classes, at least. As templates of what you want your character to primarily be about. Combine that with the class and a half rules, you can have a template ready made for just about anything you can imagine playing. Then like you mention, fill in any "blanks" that need to be filled in as the character progresses.

Working on an Albino Cross-dressing Eskimo Dwarf Cleric class right now.

We used to have a library (All hail Tompkins County Public Library) that stocked a fairly wide compliment of gaming books, including quite a few issues of Dragon Magazine. Trouble was these books and magazines had a bad habit of disappearing from the library). Since that time, I don't recall a library having anything in the way of role-playing gaming books available.

So, I've picked up the core books and starter set a while back. I did read the PHB and think it's a pretty good system - though the Art was a big miss for me, 'nuff has been said on the Halfling pictures. the MM is well presented and reminds in some areas of the Hacklopedia of Beasts (for HM5e). As for the DMG, I'm slowly working my way through that - a good read so far with good info on running a campaign. 5e isa game that I would play or run, but not on the top of my list right now. Like a lot of posters here, C&C does what 5E does, but I think with less hassle.

The two adventures Hoard of the Dragon Queen and Rise of Tiamat I also picked up, I like how they seem to be going with hardback adventure releases. Similar to Paizo, but less stuff to buy at least from Hasbro.

Of the 5e stuff put out by Gale Force 9, I picked up the DM Screen and while the art and presentation is well done and it's a solidly built product, it's utility is limited to Dragon Queen adventures and there is little usable info. You'll still need to get the DM Screen that WOTC is putting out in the next couple of days - but no idea what's going to be on that.

I also picked up the Arcane spell cards from Gale Force 9. Lots of info, pretty thick and durable out of the box - but I sleeved them anyway and by doing that - annoyingly they won't fit back into the box. They seem quite useful, but have some wrong information on and not all the info needed on the cards to complete the spell description. Nor do they have page info on all the cards for reference.

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Why, why, why do companies do this?!! Making the boxes a bit bigger length-wise and width wise..and I'm talking to you Gale Force 9 and you, Steve Jackson Games and lovely Munchkin 'Boxes of holding' and you too Fantasy Flight Games who make all these great card games - and Sleeves for them mind you -but don't leave enough room to put sleeved cards back in the box...ugh!!!

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