I think these are the best rule books for use in game, by far. And, I've owned most every rulebook back to the very first books printed.
The PHB is the most useful PHB yet, in terms of finding things and understanding the rules. Very easy (mostly).
The MM is the most boring MM yet. If you had never played D&D before, I have no idea how you'd make one humanoid different from another using this book. For in game use and reference, it is great. But, terrible, terrible at inspiring and fluff.
The DMG is the most useful DMG yet. I've already read and used it more than I ever read and used the 3.x versions. This is a very, very well written book.
All in all, these books will see a lot more actual use from me than previous editions. However, they do not read all that well, and I'm not a fan of the lack of fluff in the MM. How can a monster ever become a classic if all we have is a picture and the crunch? The various monsters that became classics over the years did so largely due to the fluff that was built up around them. Most (not all) of that fluff started in the MMs (though some certainly started in various adventures also).
Selling the fluff in additional books - not a fan. For new DMs that might be a good idea, but for anyone like me that owns hundreds of RP books (anyone want to buy some old books), I'm not likely to buy those.
The PHB is the most useful PHB yet, in terms of finding things and understanding the rules. Very easy (mostly).
The MM is the most boring MM yet. If you had never played D&D before, I have no idea how you'd make one humanoid different from another using this book. For in game use and reference, it is great. But, terrible, terrible at inspiring and fluff.
The DMG is the most useful DMG yet. I've already read and used it more than I ever read and used the 3.x versions. This is a very, very well written book.
All in all, these books will see a lot more actual use from me than previous editions. However, they do not read all that well, and I'm not a fan of the lack of fluff in the MM. How can a monster ever become a classic if all we have is a picture and the crunch? The various monsters that became classics over the years did so largely due to the fluff that was built up around them. Most (not all) of that fluff started in the MMs (though some certainly started in various adventures also).
Selling the fluff in additional books - not a fan. For new DMs that might be a good idea, but for anyone like me that owns hundreds of RP books (anyone want to buy some old books), I'm not likely to buy those.
