Special Edition Player's Handbook: Dungeons & Dragons Core Rulebook [Leather Bound]

First off, let me state that I am one of the rare people who loved 3.5, and that I realize this book exists to milk money from people. It works.

The first thing I noticed about this book, besides the obvious and well done leather, was the color. The lined the embossing (Partially) and the page edges with a bright silver, leading me to call it the "MPH" or, Mithril Players Handbook. I think a gold would have worked better. Their is also the problem of the page cuts, and that is the pages are almost melded together at some points. Not fatal, but a nuisence un-sticking them. This also leaves the page edges a little frayed, but because I actually plan on USING this book, not much of a concern.

The cover emboss has been simplified from the origional plan, and I must say I have mixed feeling about it. I like the simplfication, as it stands out more, but now the center detail has been filled in with that silver color, which i admit ill probably like once it starts showing a little wear.

In closing, I must say im impressed with the design, and haveing the Erratta is a nice feature too, but if this is your first Players Handbook, it isnt worth it.

Forget collecters this is for fans, and a true fan is shown by the wear on their dice, and the suicidal levels of caffine in their bloodstream, not by the books they carry.

Let me first say that this isn't a review of the 4th edition PHB overall, but of how the Deluxe version is different from the basic version. I like 4th edition D&D to buy this book in the first place. But I feel that they should have released this version of the book in 2009 to make sure all the bugs got out of 4th ed.

I was aware what the book contained and what it didn't. I knew it wasn't going to contain any new material, just 10 pages of errata of the first printing of the 4th ed PHB.

The page tags are nice. But they do not come off easy with worry that they may damage the pages. The ink quality is the same from the other 4th ed books which is widely believed to be subpar due to the fact that it smugs. This was something that I have not noticed in the multitude of 3.X and AD&D books I've owned over the years.

The biggest difference is the foil bindings and glossy front and back covers. I am turned off by this more then I thought I would be. It makes the PHB appear to be a thick hard cover special edition comic book. Because of this I have become more concerned about putting dings into this expensive book.

The 3.5 Special Edition PHB, DMG, and MM got it right and is worth the price. Nice sturdy black leather covers that make you feel like you are opening a wizard's tome. The silk book marker is classer then the page tags.

I bought this book because of the heavy discount Amazon.com gave it at the time. I definatly wouldn't buy it again nor recommend it to anybody unless they don't like carrying around errata pages like myself. While I do not have the Deluxe version of the DMG or MM I would not recommend buying those at all for the increase price. For the price you are only get 5 pages of errata for each book with a pretty cover. I feel the DMG is pretty much a worthless book to those who already know how to DM and create a world. The errata for it doesn't make a difference.

In short: If you like to splurg, go ahead. But I wouldn't buy this if you already own the basic PHB.

First, I will mention up front that I am a book lover. I probably own over 3,000 books (and growing). I especially enjoy books that are good to look at and are durable, able to handle a lot of wear. This book is both. The leather cover is lovely and durable, as is the rest of the book. Since it is a book that is destined to see a lot of wear as a reference rulebook for a game, this is especially important (as it would not be for a book you may only read once). The red cloth bookmark is a nice touch (especially when contrasted with the Special Edition DMG's blue cloth bookmark when you have both books sitting on top of each other on your gaming table, their bookmarks visible).

It is a nice touch that there is eratta in this (as in the Special DMG). It is also nice that there is nothing otherwise new in the book. If you already have the 3.5 PHB, you don't need to buy this. This is a book that you buy because you love the game and you love a beautiful book, not because you feel you need to complete your ruleset or otherwise keep it current (the eratta is available online). So any who might cynically think this is just a money-sop for Wizards can quiet down now. It is a purely optional purchase - so in that sense, they've just increased your options and given you an extra choice in the marketplace; a choice I was happy to take advantage of.

Some have complained about the pages initially sticking together on the edges from the silver coloring. But this is a minor issue - the pages easily separate the first time you turn each of them, and you can separate almost all of them just by quickly spinning the pages past your thumb. And for me, it is a plus - it tells me that I'm the first person to open the pages of the book, and I enjoyed the visceral pleasure of breaking it in for my own personal use. This book will last a very long time, and will look quite nice on my shelf next to my leatherbound Complete Works of William Shakespeare and my leatherbound More than Complete Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.