Player's Handbook 2 in play

[JoeGKushner]

I see what some others have said about the fluff, but I like it. Especially the personality traits and the "How to bring it alive at the table" entries. Players weaned on 3x haven't seen much that highlights roleplaying in this way.

My problem with it is that it's not in a basic book. Details that... basic, should be in a basic RPG. Not a PHB II.

 

[buzz]

The Shifter Druid
So, within minutes of the PHB2 becoming available, both Craig and Sarah were asking to change their PCs to use the new rules. Sure thing. Suddenly, Sarah has an effective role in combat, and Craig is just having fun, stomping things into the ground.

Yep. We snagged this for the druid in our AoW campaign. This and all the other "trade your animal for a worthwhile ability" variants in PHB2 are great. Letting sorcerers forego a familiar for fast metamagic just rules, IMO.

Haven't yet used anything else, though.

Overall, I'm very happy with the book. I love Affiliations, and the spells that give you a varied effectiveness depending on how long you take to cast them. That, I think, is just about the greatest idea I've seen in a recent D&D book.

That said, I'll agree with some of the others that I found the fluff content (personalities, etc.) 100% useless. I wouldn't even think it useful for newbie players. The page count devoted to the stuff was just too great given it all had zero mechanical impact on the game. I was also puzzled how such extensive discussion of personality managed to completely ignore Alignment, the one personality mechanic that exists in D&D.

I also found the new class descriptions unnecessarily padded; each one was clocking in at 5-6 pages.

 

[Kafkonia]

And has any barbarian been played with the Always angry at [ under 5 x level in HP]. Because it sounds cool to go around all the time like a Murder Machine, but encouraging a front liner to walk around at less than 1/2 HP and -2 AC sounds like a recipie for dead PC.

Any character who chooses to walk around at less than 1/2 HP deserves what they get.

 

[johnnype]

My gripe with PH2 is that it's filled with too much, umm, filler. I do not need two pages for every class telling me very obvious archetypes. Nor do I need ~20 pages of detail on very obvious personalities like "courageous" or very obvious backgrounds like "street urchin". In other words, less fluff, more crunch.

I don't call that fluff, I call that crap. Fluff, for me at least, has more to do with setting and background information. It talks about specific people and places not generic (any setting) type material. Generic fluff (as you and many other call it) is crap, I agre with you completely. If you think WotC is bad, try reading some White Wolf material some day. They excel at padding their texts with verbiage.

 

[Gestalt]

And has any barbarian been played with the Always angry at [ under 5 x level in HP]. Because it sounds cool to go around all the time like a Murder Machine, but encouraging a front liner to walk around at less than 1/2 HP and -2 AC sounds like a recipie for dead PC.

I remember reading that and seeing two problems with it. I didn't read too closely, though, so perhaps I've imagined them.

1. Isn't it 5xBarbarian level hp to activate the pseudo-rage? This would seem to discourage multiclassing.

2. That flat 5 hp/level means that a barbarian with poor hitpoint rolls could be in a killing frenzy at all times. I can see a player getting upset about bad dice rolls, but should the character really fly into a rage for a whole experience level?

 

[Evilhalfling]

well as the DM I am the mostly only one who has used it yet.
I offered retraining as a story award, and only half the players used it (for 17th lvl charaters played from up from 4th or 11th) I allowed another to rebuild as part of a celestial quest. 3 paladin levels solved a lot of problems he was having with his straight fighter, but he skipped on the Ftr feats, (he thought they were overpowered, I guess)

The mage was granted the imbue familiar feat temporarly, but decided he didn't want to loose an existing feat for it.

I have a dragon shaman coming up in the game shortly, and he might get taken as a cohort - but he will have to change totem. So more likely he will hang around for 2 games then be ejected.

I really do like the equip, spells and feat lists - they make NPCs much easier.

Its a good book, but in my established game, with conservative players, its not getting much use.

 

[FunkBGR]

Hey -

PHB2 extra stuff. I like it. Why? Because I'm teaching 3 new people about the game, and when they ask something like, "Hey, could I make a Zorro guy?" I have something to hand them while I help the next guy out with something else.

The stuff is good for everyone in different ways. Good book.

 

[TwoSix]

And has any barbarian been played with the Always angry at [ under 5 x level in HP]. Because it sounds cool to go around all the time like a Murder Machine, but encouraging a front liner to walk around at less than 1/2 HP and -2 AC sounds like a recipie for dead PC.

It doesn't sound so good for a pure barbarian, but great as a dip level for a rogue.

 

[Shadowslayer]

My problem with it is that it's not in a basic book. Details that... basic, should be in a basic RPG. Not a PHB II.

I'll buy that...but they probably weren't thinking about it when they wrote the PHB. Better now then never.

Or else rewrite the PHB and call it 4th ed.

Did I just say that?

 

[Particle_Man]

It doesn't sound so good for a pure barbarian, but great as a dip level for a rogue.

Well, since only Barbarian levels count for this ability, it would leave a very narrow window of use if one only took one level of barbarian: One would have to be between 0 and 5 hit points in a game where at high levels one can go from 30 hp to -7 in one hit.