Planar Handbook any good?

[The_Gunslinger658]

Hi-

How is the 3.5 version compared to the 3.0 version? I'm thinking about purchasing this book but I want to make sure it's worth my while.


Scott

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

"The Planar Handbook" isn't a 3.5 update of "Manual of the Planes." It's more like a player's guide to the planes, if the planes were kind of cheesy.

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

"The Planar Handbook" isn't a 3.5 update of "Manual of the Planes." It's more like a player's guide to the planes, if the planes were kind of cheesy.

If?! IF?! The Planes ARE Cheesy! That's the fun of it!

 

[reanjr]

It's not really all that great. If you are going to run a plane-only campaign, it would certainly find some use, but most of the content isn't all that spectacular.

And, as stated, it's not a 3.5 update to Manual of the Planes. It's more like the player's version of Manual of the Planes. Except it isn't really even that. It's more like a planar book in a brown cover so that it can be marketed towards players rather than DMs.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

If?! IF?! The Planes ARE Cheesy! That's the fun of it!

There's cheese, and then there's cheese.

"Planar Handbook" takes them from that really nice extra-sharp white cheddar that everyone gets by the brick at CostCo or Sam's Club or Price Club to processed cheese food slices.

(IOW, the planes should be cool enough to want to visit on their own, not because you'll get a kewl power-up from it, like finding a secret level in a videogame.)

 

[reanjr]

(IOW, the planes should be cool enough to want to visit on their own, not because you'll get a kewl power-up from it, like finding a secret level in a videogame.)

Planar Touchstones!!! Yea!!

 

[The_Gunslinger658]

Hi-

The Complete Planar?

So this supplement is just a book full of power ups, Prs classes and so on? No materiel for the DM?

Scott

 

[Greylock]

The Manual of the Planes and the Planar Handbook serve different audiences, although the PH tries to play to both. MotP for the DM, and the PH for the player. MotP is the superior book, in my probably non-controversial opinion, but it would be nice to see both books combined someday.

 

[jester47]

The Planar Handbook aint all bad.

It has updates for some off the monsters in the MotP, and some of the other monsters from that previous book are done up as races.

There are about 10 pages of feats and player options. Most of this is explanation of the planar substitution levels. This is the idea that a character from the outer planes will have different class abilities than a character from the prime.

The section on prestige classes really tip the hat to planescape and are versions of the planar factions from that setting (though not all are covered).

The equipment is gear magical and mundane that you might find on the planes. If your DM is careful in what he gives you then this is no big deal as the items are priced according to power.

The spells listed are the type of spells that you would get if you had a bunch of wizards hanging out on the planes coming up with spells. There are also some 3.5 versions of some of the 3.0 MotP spells.

The planar sites is a fairly decent chapter until you get to the touchstones. There are a lot of other places in the planes that they could have detailed like the metropolises but instead you get a lot of weird locations. If you take out the power up aspect of the touchstones, you still have some neat places to check out though. This is by far the weaker part of the book.

If you have to pick one, get the original manual of the planes. If you have to get two add Byond Countless Doorways by Malhavoc Press. If you have to get three, pick this one up as it compliments the other books quite well.

But the Planar Handbook is far from being a bad book IMO. Alone it has somthing to be desired, but as a 3.5 companion to the manual of the planes it is pretty good.

Aaron.

Aaron.

 

[JustKim]

(IOW, the planes should be cool enough to want to visit on their own, not because you'll get a kewl power-up from it, like finding a secret level in a videogame.)

That's a funny connection to make. Isn't the convention of using secret doors to hide valuables (Rather than locking them up like any sane person would) much more like video game secret levels than the focal site planar touchstones? If used right they can add a spiritual depth to the planes that's sometimes lost, I don't think they're necessarily "video gamey" as the generic complaint goes.

On the Planar Handbook, I haven't used much from it. Expanding on the simple weapons list seemed really unnecessary, then you have things like a race with +2 Wisdom, another that makes an opponent flatfooted with no save, and arcane healing. I did like the PrCs and the Sigil section.