Dungeons & dragons player's handbook 2

Can't help feeling that this book is just designed to make people pay more. The PHB2 offers more options that to me should've been part of the three core books. Rules expansion features very little here - most of it is to offer up what used to be D&D staples as “options”.

Essentially, it brings back long-timers gnomes and half-orcs, the shifters from Eberron, the goliaths from Races of Stone, and the deva race. For classes, it pulls in the previouly mainstream bards, barbarians, druids, and sorcerers, then throws in avengers, invokers, shamans, and wardens.

One reason I feel that these should not have been “additions” is because these classes round out and fill out to the new MMO-style paradigm D&D4.0 adopted - for example, PHB1 had only a single “controller”, so PHB2 brings out more “alternatives”.

All my other previous criticisms apply. The paragon stuff, even with the new racial paragons continue to make things too narrow and too stereotyped. The bardic powers that teleport all over the place just feels hilarious and ridiculous to me.

Aside from these, there's a just couple more feats, items, and rituals for the new classes, plus some simple rules on background/racial bonuses.