Well I just got my 3rd Ed. PHB in the mail yesterday and a lot has changed. I haven't had a chance to read the hold thing yet but from what I cover I does look good - different but good.

I was interested if anyone else has looked at the rules yet and what they think. Of course without playing the new system it's somewhat guess work, but what's your impression? Do you think it better? How will it effect in RPGs?

i havent seen the New PHB, but i checked out the Conversion Manual on this site. from what i have read, most of the changes seem to be pretty good, just might take some time to get used to though. i have noticed a lot of the 'terms' have changed as well, like THACO changing to 'attack bonus'. i guess i should really pick up the book to get a better look @ the changes. and like you said the only way to get a good idea of how the changes work is to play.

It was certainly different then I had imagined. I thought it would simply be cut down 2nd edition, but it had some cool changes. Its pretty good

You know guys, as I do not live in the US I have never seen the AD&D handbooks.

Is it possible to order both the 2nd and the 3rd editions online? I would love to have them.

Thanx in advance.

here ya go Modjahed:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/stores/browse/-/books/4442/002-3275096-5746401

its a long address, but it will take right to the 3rd edition, its only like 17 bucks. i didn't look for the 2nd edition, but its gotta be on the same site.

[This message has been edited by Wingfoot (edited August 18, 2000).]

Check out http://www.sorcerers.net/Books/index_man.htm
I just added all the 3rd Ed. manuals and the character sheets. You can buy it from the US or UK Amazon...

Thanx a lot.

I got the new PHB in Glasgow last week, it is out over here, and a lot of the rules have been made better, but it does seem that WOTC are trying to push the new miniatures for the game with the combat rules. It seems that you'll need something like that just to run a small skirmish and know exactly where everything is and how far away things are. And I think that some character classes can be a bit too "stat dependant" to be effective, now it look's like everyone needs good INT just to be effective at the skills they want.
The art and new look is absoloutely gorgeous though and the game itself is good. I just wish they'd released the DMG & MM at the same time so I could get a proper game going!

I think you have some good points. My group is going to run a campaign but all we can do is make character before the DMG comes out, and even after that we may need to change things. I think the system has a lot of good new rules (armor for mages, more balanced classes, etc) but you are right about the combat system.

In a role-playing game the PC should be able to visualize everything in their heads - how the battle looks, how the monsters and PC move, etc. With the new rules you do need to use drawing a little more. There two ways to solve this problem. Either you ajust the system to run smoother without using drawings or you do what we do and get a large white board with hexes on it. I'll never buy a minature! I guess the new system will just kill a lot more tree due to DMs using scratch paper. :)

Oh, I've got a load of miniatures, I think I'm just bitter that D&D never really needed them before. Now it's just a little too hard to visualise everything and how far apart they are, especially for the DM. But overall hurrah for the new rules. Now I just have to finish my campaign world, or at least the bit I'm going to use, including a spider (and related things eg; ettercaps) kingdom.