 The Player's Handbook is the most powerful tome in the Dungeons and Dragons library. This fundamental volume is the basis of player-character generation and maintenance: it outlines the races and classes, skills, feats, equipment, spells, and combat, adventuring, and magic rules. If you intend to play Dungeons and Dragons for any length of time, it would be best if you picked up your own copy of the Player's Handbook. Sure, you can borrow a copy from a friend or share during a gaming session, but what about those times between sessions when you're trying to decide which feat to take once you level, or just for a bit of fun constructing a character (or twelve) you'll never play?
Chapter 1: Attributes
Attributes are the backbone of Dungeons and Dragons. They influence everything from skills and saves to combat and magic. Few mechanical aspects of the game are unaffected by a character's attributes. Chapter 1 details the importance of each of the six attributes and gives examples on how each is involved in D&D. Chapter 2: Races
The first step toward truly generating a character, picking a race, is explored in this chapter. Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Halflings, Gnomes, Half-Elves, and Half-Orcs are explained here, with descriptions of appearances, cultures, and other, more mechanical, effects. Chapter 3: Classes
Once you've got a race, you'll need to figure out what your character actually does to make his or her way in the adventure world. Choices include Fighter, Wizard, Cleric, Bard, Ranger, Monk, and more, totaling 11 different classes. Each class section describes the class, which races are likely to undertake it, how its members tend to interact with the other classes, and alignment guidelines (or restrictions), among other information. 20 levels of progression are provided for each class; beyond this, Epic Level rules come into play, which is a whole other book. Chapter 4: Skills
Now that you've chosen a race and class, you will find you have a number of skill points to spend. Chapter 4 tells about the dozens of skills available in Dungeons and Dragons, giving information on when and how to use the skills as well as the DC (Difficulty Challenge, target number) for a plethora of adventuring objectives. Jump, Climb, and Swim your way through and over obstacles; Disable Devices, Open Locks, or use Sleight of Hand as opportunities arise; Concentrate on tasks, Decipher Scripts, and analyze magic with Spellcraft; Hide and Move Silently or Tumble past foes. These are just a few of the possibilities presented here. Chapter 5: Feats
Another step along the road of character creation is the choice of feats. These are special bonuses or abilities learned or acquired by your character by numerous means. Can you perform a Power Attack for greater damage? Perhaps you can Track your foes with razor-sharp accuracy? Or maybe your prowess lies in your Deft Hands? Tens of such feats of greatness are listed. Chapter 6: Characters
The final step in generating your actual character lies within this chapter. Here are suggestions for character description, tables for height, weight and starting age, and descriptions of the alignments. The latter delves into arguments for playing a given alignment, each with a closing argument purporting that alignment to be the strongest. Overall, this chapter helps you add flavor to your character, to turn her from merely a Halfling Rogue to a conniving treasure-hunter. Chapter 7: Equipment
Once you have your character, you're going to need some gear to go adventuring with. Chapter 7 explores your options for weapons, armor, and other gear, like food rations, rams and crowbars, thieves' tools, wagons, and much more. The tables list item weight and cost, along with descriptions of each and any special game rules associated with them. Chapter 8: Combat
Combat in Dungeons and Dragons is a complicated affair, with rules governing almost every aspect. The eighth chapter of the Player's Handbook explains these rules, which vary from simple hit-or-miss melee to firing a bow while grappled at a creature that is behind partial cover. Also found here are the definitions of different action types, how many of each you can take in a round, and what falls into each action type. Chapter 9: Adventuring
Now that you're geared up and know how to fight, you will need to find your way out into the world. This chapter details the various rules and pieces of information you'll need to get from point A to point B. Tables list data such as carrying capacities for creatures of all sizes, kinds, and strengths, overland movement speeds over different terrain types, and durability of objects from weapons to walls. Chapter 10: Magic
Though the very basics of how magic is used in combat are covered in Chapter 8, Chapter 10 focuses on more elaborate rules involving the use of magic in Dungeons and Dragons. Major (and minor) concepts in spellcasting are explained, including counterspelling, spell failure chances, caster level, and rules for stacking magic effects. Also outlined are each of the schools of magic and their respective subschools, as well as how to use information included in spell descriptions such as duration and target type. Finally, the chapter explains how each spellcasting class handles spell preparation and spell learning. Chapter 11: Spells
Easily the longest in the book, the final chapter of the Player's Handbook lists hundreds of spells that form the basis of magic in the game. Spells for bards, clerics, druids, paladins, rangers, sorcerers, and wizards are first listed by class and level for the convenience of players to see what spells they can cast. The majority of the chapter, however, is full descriptions of each spell, along with certain important information you need to know to actually use them, such as duration, target, saving throws (if any), and more. General Guidelines and Glossary
Though technically not a chapter, this last section of the book defines a wide variety of terms used throughout Dungeons and Dragons books, such as status effects and special attack types. It also gives information on some basic conventions in the game, like how to deal with fractions and multipliers in certain cases. Closing Comments
This book is a necessity for each player if you want to play Dungeons and Dragons without frequent interruptions. You will need to look up spells, combat rules, class ability information, and many other tidbits during play, and having a copy of the Player's Handbook for your very own prevents the problems associated with having to share copies around with too many people. Picking up a copy is highly recommended if you don't have one already. The Wizard thinks: 
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