2014 D&D Core Rulebooks (Dungeons & Dragons Gift Set)

After many years of absence from pen & paper RPGs (from the TSR AD&D days, no less), I decided I would get back into it, and since I had only the "Field Folio" remaining from my prior hoard of rule books, I thought I'd start fresh with the latest version of D&D and get at least the core books I'd need. I was very pleased to find this item, and seeing as the value you get for the price looked quite attractive, I decided to buy.I won't bother addressing the quality of the game system itself and how it's represented in these books (both of which I find to be well done). What I will do however is discuss the item itself, and as a lifelong bibliophile with many hard cover collectible and limited editions of my favorite books, this set is really worth the asking price.First, the slipcase the set arrives in is quite nice and very functional. The slipcase material is thicker on the top and bottom where it may tend to see more use and to support the weight of the books and screen. The slipcase exterior is very sleek-looking. The base covering material feels like a hybrid of paper and a very thin woven fabric in a matte-black textured finish. Both large sides of the slipcase are overlain with the D&D dragon ampersand logo in a sleek glossy black finish, and the Dungeons & Dragons logo is embossed in white with a red foil underline. The spine and top use the same glossy black material to overlay some wavy, mystical-looking lines, and the spine itself has a smaller red-foil embossed D&D dragon ampersand. All in all, a very smart-looking slipcase made sturdy enough to handle the rigors of use for a busy gamer while looking attractive on the shelf.As to the books, to me, these are probably the most visually satisfying rule books I've ever owned for an RPG, and they certainly make the AD&D books I used to own pale by comparison (the "Fiend Folio" with its pen-and-ink black-and-white drawings on non-glossy standard page stock, while classic, just doesn't hold a candle to these quality-wise).First, the exterior. I've read reviews of this item that state the books do and don't have foil covers. The set I received most certainly does though I'm afraid the photos I've included don't really capture the visual sheen of the foil as well as I'd like. Each book has a foil-impregnated illustration of very high quality (Tyler Jacobson gets cover illustration honors for the "Player's Handbook" and "Dungeon Master's Guide," and Raymond Swanland draws cover art duty for the "Monster Manual"). Each cover illustration fills the front cover, wraps around the spine, and fills half the back cover, the other rear half being finished in glossy black with a synopsis and D&D logo. Each piece of cover art has a primary color focus with respect to the foil component, the red of the Player's Handbook being the most dramatic-looking to me.As to the book interiors, the endpapers of each are smartly done in thick, matte-black paper to preserve the first and last content pages, and said pages are printed on what I'm probably wrongly referring to as thick, glossy paper stock you might find in a good coffee table book which gives the pages a good heft for repeated page-turning and a satisfying feel to the fingers. Those features alone impressed me, but what really opened my eyes is the quantity of high-quality, full-color illustrations found throughout all three books. These books are truly just a joy to look through and enjoy for the artwork alone, and I really appreciate that there are so many illustrations of items in the game world, both mundane and magical. It really helps to give the active imagination some fuel while role-playing and provides a common visual basis for DMs and players alike. Additionally, while I'm no expert in bookbinding, the spines all appear to have been done with a combination of sewing and thermal processes that seem quite stout. The books lay close to flat even while using pages toward the front or back of the books (I can recall more than one AD&D source book back in the day that started shedding pages from its binding much earlier than I was happy with, particularly the "Unearthed Arcana").Another interior feature I noticed was that of organization. In both the "Player's Handbook" and "Dungeon Master's Guide," the lower page corners are tipped with colors that correspond to the part of the book you're in, and in the "Monster Manual," each lower page edge shows the letter of the alphabet you're looking through. These are certainly not high-tech innovations, but they are handy helps for quickly navigating the books' content and I thought were a nice feature to add by the publisher to make these reference works that much more useful to those using the books.Now, not everything can be perfect, and if I do have a gripe about this set, it's with the DM screen, specifically with its vertical height. The artwork and rules content of the screen are lovely and useful, and the outward-facing dragon illustration is what I'll call foil-imbued which gives the clouds in the sky a rather celestial look. However, I personally would have preferred to have a DM screen of the same height as the books. The one in the set is about 4/5 as tall as the books and perhaps a little too easy for players to peek over during a session. I do however like that it has four panels so the DM gets a generous plot of table real estate for notes and dice-rolling and what-not, but it's still not tall enough to my liking.In the grand scheme however, the gripe about the screen is really just a preference issue. This slipcased set is really a very impressive, well-crafted, content-rich, art-heavy, foil-decorated rule book and DM screen collection that looks as gorgeous on the shelf in your gaming library as it does at the table during a session with your favorite RPG group. The materials and workmanship are of high quality which I expect will provide a long, useful life for these books through many hours of gaming and adventure-making. Plus, when the non-foil editions of these books go for $50 each at retail, if you're in the market for these, there's really no reason at all not to buy this set while it's available. You're getting each rule book at almost a 50% discount off retail, and they're throwing in a well-made slipcase for storage, foil cover art all around, and a DM screen, really a no-brainer of a value proposition.I'm not often in the position to recommend many things unreservedly; this set I most certainly do. Wizards of the Coast has taken the bookmaking task seriously with this set, and it really shows. If they put out any other D&D rule book sets like this, I'll definitely be ordering them.

I'm 50 this year. My daughter "discovered" Dungeons & Dragons recently and to my great astonishment, I found out it was still a thing. And not only that, I found out it was better than ever. I purchased this fantastic book set and jumped right back into that wonderful fantasy world that I had sadly left behind.My 10 year old daughter turned off the TV and has not stopped READING (yay!!) the Monster Manual which is in its 5th edition. Every monster has basic statistics and descriptions to go with its own stunning artwork. The artists conceptions of these fantastic creatures has grown and expanded and the art techniques have grown along with them. It would be enough to get this one great book at this price but you get two more.I never owned the Dungeon Masters Manual growing up. This book has everything you need to help your imagination come up with great, terrifiying, treasure filled adventures. The rules, weapons, magic spells, potions, tendencies, backgrounds, storylines are all at your fingertips. Tables and charts to help your adventurers weave their way through your home made story. Gorgeous illustrations of weapons and magic items on every page. I love this book. I can't stop looking through it!!The Player manual is perfect for deciding what kinds of players you wish to take on your adventure. Humans, elves, dwarves, hobbits, faeries, water people. Mixed race characters too! (D&D is blind to color and race and it is fantastic!!). Half-Demons, half-cats, half-orcs, half-dragons!! Magicians, Fighters, Thieves, Healers, Palidins. All their weapons and spells, all the illustrations are just astounding. I cannot say enough good things about the art work in these books.As if you need more, you also get a very cool Dungeon masters screen with Dragon art on the players side and helpful, often used charts and tables on the DM's side. The set comes with a sleeve to keep all these books together.Since I bought this book set a month ago, and some new gaming dice (sold separately), my daughter and I have played D&D the last four Saturdays. No tv. Just book reading and adventures through story telling and dice rolling. It has been marvelous, quality time with my little girl. She is hooked!If you ever liked, or loved to play D&D, these books will help you rediscover your imagination. I highly recommend this wonderful book set. Happy Adventuring!!

I grew up on the original 1.0 set and played through the emergence of the 3.0 system for decades before going off to do other things, like get married, buy a house, have kids - all those silly things. Now that I'm an adult I can buy toys for me again, and this set is absolutely magical. Great hardbound slipcase, solid books with all the core content needed for playing and DMing alike, and a bonus DM screen thrown in for good measure. The art is everything I've come to know and love about Dungeons and Dragons over the years, and having this bundle is a great way to save money and get the basics for playing.

Since I bought it for my granddaughter and she wanted her own and loved it, I'd say it was a success to buy it. I don't know much about the game, but my oldest and youngest son's have been playing it for years, and my oldest James was the one to tell my granddaughter if you get your set, then I and his 2 of 3 boys, who play now, will help teach her how to play. Much better than watching TV, and helps understand how to strategize when playing the game. I hope if you have grandchildren in the 8 yr old and up find someone if you don't have anyone in your family, either friends kids or if there is a club because it is well worth it.SJM

Always a good idea to get these books if you’re a dnd nerd or wanna be. I recommend these all the time and mine came used. They had a little bit of damage, but I don’t mind! They are still in good condition for reading and referencing.