Player’s Handbook, 4th ed.
Author	Rob Heinsoo, Andy Collins, James Wyatt
Genre(s)	Role-playing game
Publisher	Wizards of the Coast
Publication date	June 2008
Media type	Print (Hardback)
Pages	320
ISBN	0-7869-4867-1

The Player's Handbook (in previous editions of the game, Players Handbook) is a book of rules for the fantasy role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons. Rob Heinsoo is a game developer for Wizards of the Coast. He has been involved in a number of Dungeons & Dragons game products including lead designer for Andy Collins may refer to Andy Collins (radio, American radio personality Andy Collins (television, British television personality This article refers to the English Architect. For the Game designer, see James Wyatt (game designer. A role-playing game ( RPG; often roleplaying game) is a Game in which the participants assume the roles of Fictional characters. Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of Literature or Information &ndash the activity of making information available for public view Wizards of the Coast (often referred to as WotC or simply Wizards) is an American publisher of Games primarily based on Fantasy and 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common A hardcover (or hardback or hardbound) is a Book bound with rigid protective covers (typically of cardboard covered with Cloth A Book is a set or collection of written printed illustrated or blank sheets made of Paper, Parchment, or other material usually fastened together Fantasy is a Genre that uses magic and other Supernatural forms as a primary element of plot, theme, and/or setting A role-playing game ( RPG; often roleplaying game) is a Game in which the participants assume the roles of Fictional characters. Dungeons & Dragons (abbreviated as D&D or DnD) is a Fantasy Role-playing game (RPG originally designed by It does not contain the complete set of rules, but only those concerning players of the game. Additional rules, concerning Dungeon Masters, who referee the game, can be found in the Dungeon Master's Guide. A Gamemaster or Game Master (often abbreviated as GM) is a player in a multiplayer Game who acts as organizer arbitrator and officiant in rules situations A referee is a person who has authority to make decisions about play in many Sports Officials in various sports are known by a variety of titles including referee The Dungeon Master's Guide (" DMG " or " DM's Guide " in earlier editions the Dungeon Masters Guide or Many optional rules, such as those governing extremely high-level players, and some of the more obscure spells, are found in other sources.

Since the first edition^[1], the Player's Handbook contains tables and rules for creating characters and lists the abilities of the different character classes, the properties and costs of equipment, a complete list of spells that magic-using character classes (such as wizards or clerics) can cast, and numerous other rules that govern gameplay^[2]. Character class is a fundamental part of the identity and nature of characters in the Dungeons & Dragons Role-playing game. Magic, sometimes known as sorcery, is a Conceptual system that asserts human ability to control the natural world (including events objects people and Some Role-playing games or game systems can include a set of rules that are used to portray magic in the Paranormal sense Magic-User redirects here See Spellcaster for magic users or below for the old Dungeons & Dragons character class In the Dungeons & Dragons Role-playing game, the cleric is one of the base character classes. Both the Dungeon Master's Guide and the Player's Handbook give advice, tips and suggestions for various styles of play. ^[3]

The Player's Handbook along with the Dungeon Master's Guide and Monster Manual make up the core rulebooks of Dungeons & Dragons. The Dungeon Master's Guide (" DMG " or " DM's Guide " in earlier editions the Dungeon Masters Guide or The Monster Manual ^[4]

Edition history

See also: Editions of Dungeons & Dragons

The Player's Handbook has gone through several editions through the years. Over the years there have been a number of different versions of the Dungeons & Dragons Fantasy Role-playing game (D&D The original Advanced Dungeons & Dragons First Edition Players Handbook, published in 1978^[5] was written by Gary Gygax and edited by Mike Carr, who also wrote the Foreword. Ernest Gary Gygax ( July 27, 1938 &ndash March 4, 2008) ( IPA:) was an American Writer and Game designer Mike Carr (born September 4, 1951) is a writer and game designer known for writing Fight in the Skies (1968 also known as Dawn Patrol It divided the game rules between the Players Handbook and the Dungeon Masters Guide. Later editions of the game moved the bulk of the game rules to the Player's Handbook, leaving information needed chiefly by the Dungeon Master in the Dungeon Master's Guide. The second edition, published in 1989, was the work of several authors and edited by David "Zeb" Cook^[6]. David "Zeb" Cook is an American Game designer best known for his work at TSR Inc It included major changes regarding character classes, races, and magic, and incorporated many new rules that had been published in supplements such as Unearthed Arcana and Dragonlance Adventures. Unearthed Arcana is the title shared by two Hardback books published for different versions of the Dungeons & Dragons Fantasy Role-playing The following is a compilation of the various modules and sourcebooks printed for the Dragonlance campaign setting in the Dungeons & Dragons style of game The third edition, published in 2000, represented a major overhaul of the game, including the adoption of the d20 system. The d20 System is a Role-playing game system published in 2000 by Wizards of the Coast originally developed for the third edition of Dungeons The third edition also dropped the word "Advanced" from the title, as the publisher decided to publish only one version of the game instead of a "basic" and an "advanced" version.

In 2006 Player's Handbook II was released, as part of edition "3. Player's Handbook II is a handbook or Rules and guidelines for the Dungeons & Dragons Role-playing game. 5".

On June 6th 2008, the Fourth Edition Players Handbook was released. The cover was released in a preview, though it may change before the release^[7]. The date changed after customer feedback revealed a majority preference among D&D customers to have all three core rulebooks released in the same month. ^{[8] [9] [10]}

References

• Cook, David (1989). Dragon is one of the two official Magazines for source material for the Dungeons & Dragons Role-playing game and associated products Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition Player's Handbook. TSR, Inc.. TSR Inc was an American game publishing company most famous for publishing the Dungeons & Dragons Role-playing game.  
• Gygax, Gary (1978). Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Players Handbook. TSR, Inc.. TSR Inc was an American game publishing company most famous for publishing the Dungeons & Dragons Role-playing game. ISBN 0935696016.  
• Schick, Lawrence (1991). Heroic Worlds. Prometheus Books.  

External links

• A Look Back at Player's Handbooks D&D Alumni article on Official D&D site.
• Detailed information on AD&D Player's Handbook (1st Edition) including differences between printings.

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