Barcode said:
Disappointed.
I understand the desire to present this as an "alternate PHB", meaning that you won't need a Players Handbook, but how realistic is that? Just about everyone who buys this will own the PHB anyway. Therefore, the estimated 40-60% of the book dedicated to reprinting SRD core mechanics are wasted repetition for anyone who already owns a PHB.
The good changes that were implemented in 3.5 are not present in AU (skill consolidation being one obvious example), so you'll likely want to apply those from the SRD at least, if not own the 3.5 PHB.
The races are pretty cool, and I like much of the magic system, but IMO these could have been presented in a much smaller, and therefore cheaper book. The combat variants are minor, and could have been presented in a long ENWorld post.
I thought it was visually unappealing.
If this product wasn't hyped to death, I wouldn't have thought ill of it, but it fell far below my high expectations. Not worth the price tag. For someone who does not yet own a 3.0 PHB, this is *not* a better buy than picking up the 3.5 PHB. It is not a bad alternative to buying 3.5, particularly with the availability of the SRD.
Contrasting view:
I don't own any D&D3E books. I likely never will. This is not my dislike of D20 so much as my disappointment in the WotC books. AU has me converted--i'm getting a copy as soon as i have the money. If it had required a PH, i probably wouldn't buy it.
With some of the optional rules in Diamond Throne (armor as DR, frex), i think this is in every way superior as a game to both D&D3E and D&D3.5E. If you like D&D3/3.5E will you like this more? Can't say for certain. But if you don't like D&D3/3.5E, i'd give this a look anyway. IMHO, this is a *way* better buy than the new D&D books.
On layout: i like it. It's clean, if a bit plain. Much easier on the eyes than the D&D books. From a cursory flip-through, much better organized and better written, too. It may not be visually appealing--it *is* fairly plain--but neither is it visually off-putting, like the D&D core books.
oh, as for reprinted material: i doubt there's anywhere near that much reprinted (without the book in front of me to reference). Many of the things that are reprinted are also significantly altered. Take spells: they've had many more descriptors added, diminished and enhanced versions added, and all been classified as Simple/Complex/Exotic. Couple that with rewritten spells,deleted spells, and new spells, and i suspect you'd be bitching at the difficulty of cross-referencing the info in AU and the PH had they not just reprinted all the spells that it uses.
So, where do you get 40-60% from? Do skills, combat (and i believe that's been slighly changed), reprinted feats, reprinted equipment, Abilities, and reprinted spell descriptions really make up that much of the book? Doubtful.
Finally, if you just want some of the bits, buy the PDF versions. Me, i'm disappointed that i have to buy the book, because not all of teh content is found in the PDFs.
