Microbiology: An Introduction (10th Edition)

Author : Gerard J. Tortora Edition : 10 Number of Pages : 960 Publisher : Benjamin Cummings List Price : $165.40 Amazon Price : $165.40

Product Description

This #1 selling non-majors microbiology textbook is praised for its straightforward presentation of complex topics, careful balance of concepts and applications, and proven art that teaches. In its Tenth Edition, Tortora/Funke/Caseaddresses the #1 challenge of the microbiology course: the wide variance in student levels, including the under-preparedness of many students. The Tenth Edition meets students at their skill level. First, the book signals core microbiology content to students with the new and highly visual Foundation Figures that students need to understand before moving forward in a chapter. Second, the book gives students frequent opportunities for self-assessment with the new Check Your Understanding questions that correspond by number to the chapter Learning Objectives. Then, a new “visual learning” orientation includes: an increased number of the popular Diseases in Focus boxes, newly illustrated end-of-chapter Study Outlines that provide students with visual cues to remind them of chapter content, and new end-of-chapter Draw It questions. The all-new art program is contemporary without compromising Tortora/Funke/Case’s hallmark reputation for precision and clarity. Content revisions include substantially revised immunity chapters and an increased emphasis on antimicrobial resistance, bioterrorism, and biofilms. The Microbial World and You, Chemical Principles, Observing Microorganisms Through a Microscope, Functional Anatomy of Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic Cells, Microbial Metabolism, Microbial Growth, The Control of Microbial Growth, Microbial Genetics, Biotechnology and Recombinant DNA, Classification of Microorganisms, The Prokaryotes: Domains Bacteria and Archaea, The Eukaryotes: Fungi, Algae, Protozoa, and Helminths, Viruses, Viroids, and Prions, Principles of Disease and Epidemiology, Microbial Mechanisms of Pathogenicity, Innate Immunity: Nonspecific Defenses of the Host, Adaptive Immunity: Specific Defenses of the Host, Practical Applications of Immunology, Disorders Associated with the Immune System, Antimicrobial Drugs, Microbial Diseases of the Skin and Eyes, Microbial Diseases of the Nervous System, Microbial Diseases of the Cardiovascular and Lymphatic Systems, Microbial Diseases of the Respiratory System, Microbial Diseases of the Digestive System, Microbial Diseases of the Urinary and Reproductive Systems, Environmental Microbiology,  Applied and Industrial Microbiology . Intended for those interested in learning the basics of microbiology.
Related Search : 10th edition , microbiology introduction

The Tales of Beedle the Bard, Collector's Edition (Offered Exclusively by Amazon)

Author : J. K. Rowling Edition : Collectors Release Date : 2008-12-04 Publisher : Children's High Level Group List Price : $100.00 Amazon Price : $232.99 Used Price : $300.00

Amazon.com Review

The Tales of Beedle the Bard, Collector's Edition
Offered Exclusively by Amazon (Available in Limited Quantities)

In December 2007, J.K. Rowling unveiled The Tales of Beedle the Bard, a very special book of five fairy tales illustrated by the bard herself, embellished with silver ornaments and mounted moonstones. Amazon was fortunate to come into possession of one of the original copies, and it was our privilege to share images and reviews of this incredible artifact. Now J.K. Rowling is giving millions of Harry Potter fans worldwide cause for celebration with a new edition of The Tales of Beedle the Bard (available December 4, 2008) and Amazon is thrilled to exclusively offer a luxuriously packaged Collector's Edition designed to evoke the spirit of the handcrafted original.

Tucked in its own case disguised as a wizarding textbook found in the Hogwarts library, the Collector's Edition includes an exclusive reproduction of J.K. Rowling's handwritten introduction, as well as 10 additional illustrations not found in the Standard Edition or the original. Opening the case reveals a velvet bag embroidered with J.K. Rowling’s signature, in which sits the piece de resistance: your very own copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard, complete with metal skull, corners, and clasp; replica gemstones; and emerald ribbon. As a special gift for fans, the Collector's edition also includes a set of 10 ready-for-framing prints of J.K. Rowling's illustrations, enclosed in a velvet-lined pocket in the lid of the outer case.

Offering the trademark wit and imagination familiar to Rowling's legions of readers--as well as Aesop's wisdom and the occasional darkness of the Brothers Grimm--each of these five tales reveals a lesson befitting children and parents alike: the strength gained with a trusted friendship, the redemptive power of love, and the true magic that exists in the hearts of all of us. Rowling's new introduction also comments on the personal lessons she has taken from the Tales, noting that the characters in Beedle's collection "take their fates into their own hands, rather than taking a prolonged nap or waiting for someone to return a lost shoe," and "that magic causes as much trouble as it cures."

But the true jewel of this new edition is the enlightening and comprehensive commentary (including extensive footnotes!) by Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, who brings his unique wizard's-eye perspective to the collection. Discovered "among the many papers which Dumbledore left in his will to the Hogwarts Archives," the venerable wizard's ruminations on the Tales allow today's readers to place them in the context of 16th century Muggle society, even allowing that "Beedle was somewhat out of step with his times in preaching a message of brotherly love for Muggles" during the era of witch hunts that would eventually drive the wizarding community into self-imposed exile. In fact, versions of the same stories told in wizarding households would shock many for their uncharitable treatment of their Muggle characters.

Professor Dumbledore also includes fascinating historical backstory, including tidbits such as the history and pursuit of magic wands, a brief comment on the Dark Arts and its practitioners, and the struggles with censorship that eventually led "a certain Beatrix Bloxam" to cleanse the Tales of "much of the darker themes that she found distasteful," forever altering the meaning of the stories for their Muggle audience. Dumbledore also allows us a glimpse of his personal relationship to the Tales, remarking that it was through "Babbity Rabbity and Her Cackling Stump" that "many of us [wizards] first discovered that magic could not bring back the dead."

Both a wise and delightful addition to the Harry Potter canon, this new translation of The Tales of Beedle the Bard is all that fans could hope for and more--and an essential volume for the libraries of Muggles, wizards, and witches, both young and old.

The Children's Voice Campaign
The Tales of Beedle the Bard is published by The Children’s High Level Group (CHLG), registered charity number 1112575, a charity co-founded in 2005 by J.K. Rowling and Emma Nicholson MEP to make life better for vulnerable children.

All net proceeds from the sale will be donated to The Children's Voice campaign.

The Children's Voice campaign is run by CHLG. It campaigns for child rights across Europe, particularly in Eastern Europe where over a million children and teenagers are growing up in institutions, often in unacceptable conditions. In most cases they are without adequate human or emotional contact and stimulation, while many only just survive without life's basics such as adequate shelter and food.

CHLG's Children's Voice campaign helps around a quarter of a million children each year through education activities; outreach work in institutions; and a dedicated telephone and email help line.

Also Available: the Standard Edition
The Tales of Beedle the Bard, Standard Edition contains the five fairy tales, a new introduction by J.K. Rowling, illustrations reproduced from the original handcrafted book, and commentary on each of the tales from Professor Albus Dumbledore.

Collector's Edition Product Features:
   • All five fairy tales from the original The Tales of Beedle the Bard
   • Outer case disguised as a wizarding textbook from the Hogwarts library
   • 10 ready-for-framing prints of J.K. Rowling's illustrations
   • Exclusive reproduction of J.K. Rowling's handwritten introduction
   • 10 new illustrations by J.K. Rowling not included in the Standard Edition or the original handcrafted edition
   • Velvet bag embroidered with J.K. Rowling's signature
   • Metal skull, corners, and clasp
   • Replica gemstones
   • Emerald ribbon

Stay tuned for updated images and details about The Tales of Beedle the Bard, Collector's Edition. Check our Frequently Asked Questions page for more information.

Read this review and description in: Italian | Korean | Portuguese | Russian | Spanish [PDF]

Amazon Reviews the Original Handcrafted Edition of The Tales of Beedle the Bard
The following is Amazon's original December 2007 review. Please note that the review and images below pertain to the handmade book purchased at auction:

There is no easy way to define the experience of seeing, holding, or reading J.K. Rowling's The Tales of Beedle the Bard, so let's just start with one word: "Whoa." The very fact of its existence (an artifact pulled straight out of a novel) is magical, not to mention the facts that only seven copies exist in all the world and each of the never-before-told tales is handwritten and illustrated by J.K. Rowling herself (and it's quite clear from the first few pages that she has some skill as an artist). Rowling's handwriting is like the familiar scrawl of a favorite aunt--it's not hard to read, but it does require attention--allowing you to take it slow and savor the mystery of each next word.

So how do you review one of the most remarkable tomes you've ever had the pleasure of opening? You just turn each page and allow yourself to be swept away by each story. You soak up the simple tales that read like Aesop's fables and echo the themes of the series; you follow every dip and curve of Rowling's handwriting and revel in every detail that makes the book unique--a slight darkening of a letter here, a place where the writing nearly runs off the page there. You take all that and you try and bring it to life, knowing that you will never be able to do it justice. With that, let's dig in and begin at the beginning, shall we? --Daphne Durham

Caution: the full reviews contain spoilers!
Please note that the review and images below pertain to the handmade book purchased at auction in December 2007.

"The Wizard and the Hopping Pot" "The Fountain of Fair Fortune" "The Warlock's Hairy Heart" "Babbitty Rabbitty and her Cackling Stump" "The Tale of the Three Brothers"

More images from the original handcrafted edition of The Tales of Beedle the Bard
Please note that these are images of the handcrafted book purchased at auction in December 2007. Click thumbnails to open full-size images in a new window. See more on our original The Tales of Beedle the Bard pages.

The Beedle the Bard Ballad Writing Contest
Amazon customers have spoken, and out of thousands of entrants, you have chosen Rhiannon D. of Australia as the winner of the Beedle the Bard Ballad Writing Contest, sending her and a friend on a trip for two to London, England and a weekend with The Tales of Beedle the Bard. See her Grand Prize winning entry, as well as all of the other delightful semifinalist submissions.

Magic, Mystery, and Mayhem: A Conversation with J.K. Rowling
"I am an extraordinarily lucky person, doing what I love best in the world. I’m sure that I will always be a writer. It was wonderful enough just to be published. The greatest reward is the enthusiasm of the readers." --J.K. Rowling

Find out more about Harry's creator in our exclusive interview with J.K. Rowling.

Rediscover the Complete Harry Potter Series
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Hardcover
Paperback Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Hardcover
Paperback Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Hardcover
Paperback Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Hardcover
Paperback Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Hardcover
Paperback Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Hardcover
Paperback Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Hardcover
Deluxe Hardcover

Why We Love Harry: Our Favorite Moments from the Series
There are plenty of reasons to love Rowling's wildly popular series--no doubt you have several dozen of your own. Our list features favorite moments, characters, and artifacts from the first five books. Keep in mind that this list is by no means exhaustive (what we love about Harry could fill ten books!) and does not include any of the spectacular revelatory moments that would spoil the books for those (few) who have not read them. Enjoy.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
* Harry's first trip to the zoo with the Dursleys, when a boa constrictor winks at him.
* When the Dursleys' house is suddenly besieged by letters for Harry from Hogwarts. Readers learn how much the Dursleys have been keeping from Harry. Rowling does a wonderful job in displaying the lengths to which Uncle Vernon will go to deny that magic exists.
* Harry's first visit to Diagon Alley with Hagrid. Full of curiosities and rich with magic and marvel, Harry's first trip includes a trip to Gringotts and Ollivanders, where Harry gets his wand (holly and phoenix feather) and discovers yet another connection to He-Who-Must-No-Be-Named. This moment is the reader's first full introduction to Rowling's world of witchcraft and wizards.
* Harry's experience with the Sorting Hat.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
* The de-gnoming of the Weasleys' garden. Harry discovers that even wizards have chores--gnomes must be grabbed (ignoring angry protests "Gerroff me! Gerroff me!"), swung about (to make them too dizzy to come back), and tossed out of the garden--this delightful scene highlights Rowling's clever and witty genius.
* Harry's first experience with a Howler, sent to Ron by his mother.
* The Dueling Club battle between Harry and Malfoy. Gilderoy Lockhart starts the Dueling Club to help students practice spells on each other, but he is not prepared for the intensity of the animosity between Harry and Draco. Since they are still young, their minibattle is innocent enough, including tickling and dancing charms.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
* Ron's attempt to use a telephone to call Harry at the Dursleys'.
* Harry's first encounter with a Dementor on the train (and just about any other encounter with Dementors). Harry's brush with the Dementors is terrifying and prepares Potter fans for a darker, scarier book.
* Harry, Ron, and Hermione's behavior in Professor Trelawney's Divination class. Some of the best moments in Rowling's books occur when she reminds us that the wizards-in-training at Hogwarts are, after all, just children. Clearly, even at a school of witchcraft and wizardry, classes can be boring and seem pointless to children.
* The Boggart lesson in Professor Lupin's classroom.
* Harry, Ron, and Hermione's knock-down confrontation with Snape.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
* Hermione's disgust at the reception for the veela (Bulgarian National Team Mascots) at the Quidditch World Cup. Rowling's fourth book addresses issues about growing up--the dynamic between the boys and girls at Hogwarts starts to change. Nowhere is this more plain than the hilarious scene in which magical cheerleaders nearly convince Harry and Ron to jump from the stands to impress them.
* Viktor Krum's crush on Hermione--and Ron's objection to it.
* Malfoy's "Potter Stinks" badge.
* Hermione's creation of S.P.E.W., the intolerant bigotry of the Death Eaters, and the danger of the Triwizard Tournament. Add in the changing dynamics between girls and boys at Hogwarts, and suddenly Rowling's fourth book has a weight and seriousness not as present in early books in the series. Candy and tickle spells are left behind as the students tackle darker, more serious issues and take on larger responsibilities, including the knowledge of illegal curses.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

* Harry's outburst to his friends at No. 12 Grimmauld Place. A combination of frustration over being kept in the dark and fear that he will be expelled fuels much of Harry's anger, and it all comes out at once, directly aimed at Ron and Hermione. Rowling perfectly portrays Harry's frustration at being too old to shirk responsibility, but too young to be accepted as part of the fight that he knows is coming.
* Harry's detention with Professor Umbridge. Rowling shows her darker side, leading readers to believe that Hogwarts is no longer a safe haven for young wizards. Dolores represents a bureaucratic tyrant capable of real evil, and Harry is forced to endure their private battle of wills alone.
* Harry and Cho's painfully awkward interactions. Rowling clearly remembers what it was like to be a teenager.
* Harry's Occlumency lessons with Snape.
* Dumbledore's confession to Harry.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

* The introduction of the Horcrux.
* Molly Weasley asking Arthur Weasley about his "dearest ambition. "Rowling has always been great at revealing little intriguing bits about her characters at a time, and Arthur’s answer "to find out how airplanes stay up" reminds us about his obsession with Muggles.
* Harry's private lessons with Dumbledore, and more time spent with the fascinating and dangerous pensieve, arguably one of Rowling’s most ingenious inventions.
* Fred and George Weasley’s Joke Shop, and the slogan: "Why Are You Worrying About You-Know-Who? You Should Be Worrying About U-NO-POO--the Constipation Sensation That's Gripping the Nation!"
* Luna's Quidditch commentary. Rowling created scores of Luna Lovegood fans with hilarious and bizarre commentary from the most unlikely Quidditch commentator.
* The effects of Felix Felicis.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

* The revelation of Snape's nature (especially Snape’s Patronus and the emotion behind it). It serves as a reminder that it is love (requited or not) in all its forms that drives many of our actions.
* Harry asking if the conversation with Dumbledore was real or happening in his head, and Dumbledore responding "Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?"
* Ron gifting Harry a book on dating witches, a subtle reminder that they are still teens, after all.

Visit the Harry Potter Store
Can't get enough of Harry, Ron, and Hermione? Our Harry Potter Store features all things Harry, including books, audio CDs and cassettes, DVDs, soundtracks, games, and more.

Customer reviews

Nice for a mass-produced item by .. J. Cottrell (Portland, OR USA)
My expectations may have been a little high. The blue "gemstones" in the eyes of the metal skull on the cover were kind of a cheesy touch. To be honest, for $100, I was expecting a little more pizzazz than some glued-on crafts-store gems. Swarovski crystals would have done the job. They have a certain shine to them. And the Caribbean blue was not a good choice. If they must be blue, stick on a shade, like midnight blue, that looks like it has some depth you can't see through. A pale Caribbean blue just makes you think you can see all the way through the gemstone to the glue behind it. And it would have been even cooler if the book did look as handmade as possible--i.e. artsily ripped page edges to give the book even more of an antiquated, one of a kind look. Just wishing. There's nothing to prevent me from carrying out either idea on the book myself now that I have a copy :) I can be pretty good with a glue gun. And I am very good at ripping things, or as good as anyone else. Heh. So, I'll just make some lemonade and get to it.

The things that impressed me enough to give this item four stars: real leather binding for the covers of the fake book and the real book, super-speedy shipping (always a blessing during the chaos of the usual Christmastime shipping panic).

A collecters dream that may disappoint children by .. Alan Jarvis (Portland, OR USA)
Be very clear on what you are getting. The big "book" is a poor quality platic container for the actual book. Ensure that your child or collector knows they are getting the little (it is around 6"x4") book inside a big plastic box, that should help avoid tears for either child or collector. The actual book is heavy for its size and the silver looking fixtures are real metal. The typeface and illustrations are attractive and have an old fashioned quality style to them.

blah by .. M. Anghel (Garden State)
I actually got the book for someone else and she was very disappointed with the contents of the book. Amazon has no fault in this...it's the quality of the writing that's sucky...

Excellent quality and good fun. by .. Trace (Texas)
This book arrived on the release date, and I was not at all dissapointed. Despite the price, this edition with the printed drawings (10 of them) and the reproduced hand-written introduction by J.K. Rowling are very fun collectable touches, also the velvet bag is nice and fits very snugly inside the larger book. Another thing is, being a reproduction of the multi-million doller hand written version, I thought that the metal clasps and such would feel cheap, but they do not, the book within the book feels very solid. Overall it's a fun novety, and a very neat collectable that i'd reccomend to any Harry Potter fan.

Tales of Beedle the Bard - a beautiful collectors edition by .. Alice on Absinthe (Australia)
This book, purchased as a family present was wonderfully received. I was suprised at the exceptional packaging, coming all the way to Australia, and the contents were well and truly above expectation. The outer folder and illustrated prints (by J.K.Rowling) were beautiful as is the book itself.

Related Search : offered exclusively , amazon , tales beedle

Dungeons and Dragons Core Rulebook Gift Set, 4th Edition

Format : Box set Author : Wizards RPG Team Edition : 4th Number of Pages : 832 Release Date : 2008-06-06 Publisher : Wizards of the Coast Company : Wizards of the Coast List Price : $104.95 Amazon Price : $54.54 Used Price : $54.54

Product Description

All three 4th Edition core rulebooks in one handsome slipcase.

The Dungeons & Dragons Roleplaying Game has defined the medieval fantasy genre and the tabletop RPG industry for more than 30 years. In the D&D game, players create characters that band together to explore dungeons, slay monsters, and find treasure. The 4th Edition D&D rules offer the best possible play experience by presenting exciting character options, an elegant and robust rules system, and handy storytelling tools for the Dungeon Master.

This gift set provides all three 4th Edition Dungeons & Dragons core rulebooks (Player's Handbook, Dungeon Master's Guide, and Monster Manual) in a handsome slipcase that looks great on any bookshelf.

Customer reviews

Waste of money by .. Richard I. Dimick (Boise, Idaho)
I wasnt expecting to be purchasing the d&d minis game. thats what this edition is, its garbage if youre expecting "d&d". if you arent looking for a table top miniatures wargame, save your money.

Two steps forward; one step back by .. Francis Tapon (San Francisco, CA USA)
PROS:

- Balanced and simplified.
- Mostly logical and intuitive.
- Plenty of variety and options.
- Faster paced than previous versions, which increases the fun factor.

CONS:

- UNREALISTIC HIT POINTS SYSTEM. I've always disliked the unrealistic way that D&D handles hit points. It never made sense that a high level, but 70 year old human wizard, can survive a building falling on him (or that a low level thief trying to guillotine the old Wizard's throat with a heavy battle axe while the Wizard sleeps). Meanwhile, a muscular fighter in his 20s would die instantly in these two scenarios just because he's 1st level. I've heard all the "logic" behind D&D hit points, but it still insults everyone's intelligence and demands a bit too much fantasy in such scenarios. It's a pity WotC didn't correct this design flaw to something like the Alternity system. In that system your hit points are based on your Constitution, and it barely goes up as you gain experience. The only way to protect yourself in Alternity was to get heavy armor, which absorbs damage. Still, I can live with the HP flaw.

- UNREALISTIC HEALING SURGES. In 4e, your character can instantly boost his hit points by 25% of his maximum value. If his max HP is 100, then, when he has only 3 HP left, he can magically jump to 28 HP. Oh, and he can do this several times a day. C'mon. Yes, the previous system was flawed: you had to have many potions of healing and/or a generous Cleric in the party. However, the concept of a healing surge just feels too much like a video game. The idea that characters can heal massive injuries in seconds and climb out of death's door without any magic or divide intervention is a bit too much fantasy for me.
One solution would be to do away with surges and just give characters far more hit points. However, this opens another can of worms.
Therefore, my house-rule is a kludgey solution, but it helps add a touch of "fantasy realism" to this new healing surge feature that I simply find hard to swallow.
Alt-Rule: At the start of his adventuring life, each hero obtains a divine amulet that effectively gives the same healing surges, but the power comes from their deity via the amulet. As long as they don't piss off their deity, the amulet continues to work. Each character comes up with a story of how they got their amulet. Wizards and Clerics can make their implements their "amulets." If they lose their amulet, they can get a new one from their house of worship, although it would be more interesting to have them go on a challenging quest to find a replacement amulet. It's not a great solution, but I can stomach it more than the standard 4e rule, which has us believe that the heroes have this innate ability to heal themselves quickly. In D&D, it seems easier to believe that such a healing ability would come from an artifact, not from an innate ability.

- DEATH HAS LOST ITS STING. It's not only relatively easy to Raise Dead, but it's super easy to recover from it (just achieve 3 milestones and you're as good as new). In short, in 4e the fear of death is nearly gone. In old D&D, you would permanently lose one point of Constitution with each resurrection and there was a percentage chance that you wouldn't even be able to be resurrected. When you combine surges with easy resurrections, characters can now truly laugh at the face of death.

- COMBAT IS STILL TOO COMPLEX AND TIME-CONSUMING. They've come a long way at simplifying combat and they deserve credit for that. However, I still dislike that a single battle can take up an hour of gaming to complete. Although you lose detail and realism as you speed up a combat system, I wouldn't mind paying that price. I'm into roleplaying, not rollplaying. If I want nonstop die rolling, I'd just play a wargame with loads of miniatures. In a gaming session, combat still occupies roughly 75% of the gaming time. Although that might be an improvement from 85%, it's still way too high. I wish the combat system were even more simple and faster.
Possible simplifications: get rid of opportunity attacks and forbid the "targeting" or "cursing" of an enemy (which results in the annoying task of keeping track of them). Consider having AC cover all defenses (thereby eliminating the 3 other defense stats). Have the damage be automatically determined based on how much you exceed the "to hit" goal. All these ideas are radical, but there must be a way to speed up combat without totally giving up realism.

- SKILL SYSTEM NEEDS WORK: Characters should be able to laser focus on a skill and become insanely good at it if they are willing to pay the price (i.e., not be that good at lots of other skills). Unfortunately, 4E forces players to spread out their training. You get 5 points when you initially train in something, but from then on, you can't purposely train more on one skill to improve it disproportionately to your other skills. You improve moderately everywhere. This is boring and adds little to game balance. If I give 50 skill points to a character and say, "Spend it as you will" (with a few basic limitations), then it would be just like how players assign points to their ability scores during character creation. The balance would still basically be there (i.e., every 10th level character has x many skill points to dole out), but players would enjoy greater skill specialization.


TO MOST CRITICS:

The main gripe that 4e critics have is that they dislike the lack of flexibility of 4e. It's easy to criticize, so let's all put our game designer hat on for second.

Let's rate a game on 1-100 scale, in terms of the variety of characters you can make. Let's say 3e gave you the capacity to make characters that were anywhere from a 50 to 95. In comparison, 4e lets you make characters anywhere from 75 to 85.

Result? One has more flexibility; the other has more balance.

(Let's not quibble about the numbers I picked, just follow the logic.)

Therefore, you can't have it both ways: you can't have more options AND more balance. The more bells and whistles you put in, the less balance you'll get. The more balance you strive for, the fewer options you must give the players. There's no way around this, from a game design perspective. As you pull down one lever, the other goes up.

Moreover, those who complain about 4e's "lack of options" are overreacting. First, you have plenty of Races to choose from (dozens if you include supplements). Second, you have plenty of classes to choose from (even more if you include supplements). You can specialize. You want an illusionist? Just pick powers/spells that emphasize illusions. Not enough? Invent some. Finally, you can always add color by roleplaying the character anyway you want.

However, all these options may not be enough for some. That's when you can toss out the rulebook and start making new rules! You want variety? You hate all the balance in 4e? Then make all players roll their ability scores instead of having them choose a standard array of scores. With die rolling, you'll get some who are quite powerful, while others are quite weak.

You hate how everyone has a power that causes 6d6 of damage? Give one or two characters a magic weapon that causes 12d6. Or better yet, one that causes 1-100 HP of damage. Now that's fun and random. You pull the trigger and it might not even kill an orc. Other times it takes down a dragon. How's that for spicing things up? If 4e is too boring and balanced for you, it's easy to spice it up.

In short, 4e is just a framework. Its default settings are balanced. And it's about time too! D&D has always suffered from being unbalanced. Wizards were always painfully weak at low levels and painfully strong at high levels. Fighters always got more boring as they went up in levels. It's great that all the classes and races are finally are in sync.

Finally, the old rules were too complex. Sure, if you've played D&D for as long as I have, they're don't seem complicated. However, try explaining them to a novice. You can do it, but 4e is much easier. (It's still not super easy though.)


CONCLUSION:
For those that value the roleplaying and teamwork aspects of D&D, you'll love 4e because its rules are streamlined and simplified from previous versions. That translates into:

* Less time looking up and debating the rules and more time roleplaying.

* Less time rolling dice in complicated combat and more time roleplaying.

* More balanced characters, which leads to more equal contribution and teamwork.

There's still a MYRIAD of options to choose from. Frankly, I'm still overwhelmed. In 4e you can play a Bugbear, Doppelganger, Drow, Githyanki, Githzerai,Gnoll, Goblin, Hobgoblin, Kobold, Minotaur, and even an Orc! And people say there is not enough variety or options? Please!

If you want even more options, then bend the rules as much as you want, just like people did in all the other previous editions of D&D.

I've been playing D&D since its the late 1970s. 4E is part of the evolution toward logic and balance. Yes, 3e was more flexible, but it was also less balanced than 4e.

Since 4e still has plenty of flexibility, I'd rather not trade in game balance to get even more options. I value balance and simplicity for the sake of more roleplaying and fairness. Power gamers and min-maxers will probably disagree with me. However, for the rest of us who like roleplaying and balance, D&D has taken a big step in the right direction.

Now if it could just further streamline combat (by forgoing some realism and detail), improve the skills system, and make death scary again, then this RPG would get 5 stars.

P.S. That 5 star RPG is extinct. It's called Alternity.

good version by .. Kyle Bairdsen (Columbia, SC USA)
I used to play D&D back in the day but haven't been able to get back into it recently partially due to the complexity of the 3.x editions. 4e is a good version of the game. Sorry to see Druids and Monks eliminated.

Noticed that the DMG is pretty fluffy. If you are on a budget, the players handbook is really what you need to figure out how 4e works. It's the best combat system of all the versions imo.

Far departure from any other edition by .. M. Brown (Pittsburgh, PA)
THE GOOD: While many will lampoon WotC's efforts as an attempt to mimic MMORPGs, if you keep an open mind it is probably the best balanced version of D&D ever made... and with some in-house tweaking, the funnest. Things that always annoyed me (like how a fighter's AC never improved as his level went up unless his gear improved) have been mostly addressed in a rather concise fashion and the game is clearly designed so that combat is faster-paced and everyone has a distinct combat style. The hit/miss resolution for skills and attacks is better than previous versions IMHO. Just about all skills/powers have an entry that says something like Dexterity vs. AC or Constitution vs. Will...

THE BAD: For those that were used to the customizability of your character in 3E, a lot of it is gone. For example, you can't attack with 2 weapons unless you have a skill/feat that allows you to. There are many compromises like that where rules are simpler to make the game easier on DMs and more fast-paced. The biggest thing that annoys me is the power-tier system. Powers fall into 3 categories: at-will, encounter, and daily. At-will can generally be used every round. Encounter can be used once per encounter and daily is used roughly once or twice per day. Most of the skills you acquire will fall into daily or encounter (at level 18, your AT-WILL/ENCOUNTER/DAILY powers learned is 2/4/3). But some battles last a pretty long time. For example, a level 18 mordrant hydra has 880hp according to the 4th edition MM. While it's certainly probable that a balanced party of 5 lvl18 characters will defeat it if it's alone, it could easily be 2 dozen rounds before that thing goes down. So that's 1 round you use your encounter power, 1 for your daily (if you have it) and then you spam one of 2 at-will powers for the remainder of the battle. Granted, back in the old days, most classes except the mage and cleric only had one option each round anyway but why penalize the casters to balance the non-casters? (There are utility powers and rituals as well and they don't typically count against those quotas.) That was fairly easy to fix. Also, unless I read the rules wrong, only high crit weapons got to roll extra dice for natural 20s. Everyone else simply maxed out the damage they could normally roll. Changed that, too.

THE UGLY: The "healing surge" rules took some getting used to. Once you understand that healing scales very well in this version (a level 20 fighter gets SUBSTANTIALLY more HP from being the recipient of "Lay On Hands" than a level 2 fighter - even from the same paladin) and that without a hard limit on healing most characters would be unstoppable if a healing spell happened to be an AtWill power, it starts to make sense. The combat is much more tactical and even semi-large battles are not easy to play without a graphical representation. Especially when you have a half-dozen armored types knocking each other around. You don't necessarily need miniatures; coins, tokens and grid paper should be enough.

BOTTOM LINE: Aside from long battles where you might be using 1 at-will power ad nauseum and critical hits not scaling for weapons that weren't "High crit", I thought it was a pretty solid edition. A couple "house rules" to patch up the deficiencies and you should have a blast.

Excellent buy. by .. Flynn (Los Angeles, CA USA)
I was hesitant at first to buy the Dungeons & Dragons Fourth Edition set because I've heard a lot of negative things about it. That it's much simpler and ruins the feel of D&D for veterans of the game. This couldn't be further from the truth. This game still feels completely like D&D and they fix many of the problems that 3.5 had while streamlining the game to make it move faster and involve a lot less math.

An example of which is their doing away with Level Adjustments for playing certain races, such as the Tieflings. Everything has instead been balanced out almost perfectly.

I highly recommend this to anyone who has 3.5, once you play a game with this system you'll want to sell all your 3.5 books.

Related Search : gift set , 4th edition , dungeons dragons

The Tales of Beedle the Bard, Standard Edition

Author : J. K. Rowling Edition : Standard Release Date : 2008-12-04 Publisher : Children's High Level Group Company : Harper Collins Publishers List Price : $12.99 Amazon Price : $4.39 Used Price : $5.19

Product Description

Customer reviews

Good follow-up for Potter fans by .. P. G. Mooman (Texas)
For those who are saddened by the end of the Harry Potter saga, "The Tales of Beetle the Bard" is a refreshing visit back to the wizarding world. Whilst children can enjoy the tales, adults will find it relaxing reading, too. A collection of short stories, so even those short on time can find a moment to enter the world of magic. For Harry Potter fans, highly recommended. And who knew JK Rowling was such a good artist?

Fantastic Collection of Fictional Fairy Tales by .. H. Kim (Vancouver, BC Canada)
It was pretty ingenious of J.K. Rowling to write a collection of stories which appear in the last Harry Potter book. It was a delight reading some more HP-related stories. After the last book, I was left with a sort of void, asking myself, "What will I read next?" 'The Tales of the Beedle the Bard' is written with such authenticity, it's almost believable that these stories have actually been passed down for generations as genuine fairy tales, much like the stories told by Brothers Grimm and such.

A quick, light read, yet completely enjoyable. Along with afterwords by Albus Dumbledore, they're stories which will both entertain and educate.

Not up to par by .. Andre P. Gerspach (Wenatchee, WA)
I love the Harry Potter series. I thought this book was cute and added a little something to the HP story but i was mostly disappointed. Stories were fairly short and the footnotes on everything was overdone. Took me as long to read as a good comic book.

great book for those who love Harry Potter by .. momof3boys (bel air, md)
my son loved all the Harry Potter books and he enjoyed this one as well

Cute Book by .. Diania Castenholz ()
I thought it was very well done, and it was really cute to read. I love
Harry Potter anyway, so I was glad to get it, and that it helps a good cause is also great. The illustrations were done very well, and it was an easy book to read so any child would be able to grasp the meaning of the story.

Related Search : edition , tales beedle , bard standard

A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, Third Edition (PMBOK Guides)

Author : Project Management Institute Edition : 3 Number of Pages : 380 Publisher : Project Management Institute List Price : $49.95 Amazon Price : $31.42 Used Price : $31.98

Product Description

A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide)—2000 Edition is now available in eight additional languages to help project managers around the world.

Each of PMI’s official translations includes a bilingual glossary of newly translated and standardized project management terminology. This allows candidates to study the guide in the same language in which they plan to take the Project Management Professional (PMP®) certification exam.

PMI undertook a rigorous, year-long process to ensure the maximum effectiveness of each official translation. Each translation team included qualified bilingual PMPs as well as professional translators and editors.

Official translations: Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Korean, German and Italian.

Customer reviews

Good intent, poor execution, must read regardless by .. Sinesie Somosan (Victoria, BC, Canada)
This review is for the 3rd edition of the PMBOK.

I used the book to study for the PMP exam as my main study source together with Rita's PMP Exam Prep book.

The intent of the book is great. The concepts in the book are sound and undoubtedly useful, after you decipher them :), but the writing is just so poor and so unnecessarily complicated, that makes the reading a real pain. I guess it is what you typically get when books are written by committees. There is a lot of duplication, and also many mistakes... way too many.

Regardless, if you really want to truly understand PMI's take on PM you need to read and understand the book. Just keep in mind that it is a model after all for project management and that in reality each situation requires proper judgement of what should be used out if it, at what extent, and so forth.

In the end, the content of the book did help me learn a lot, pass the exam and become a much better project manager. No question about this.

A final note, keep in mind that the book does not contain all the aspects that one needs to know for passing the PMP exam. It does not claim that it does though either; just be aware of that. My take would be use this book with another exam preparation guide that will fill that gap. It will also make your life easier from a point of view of "digesting" the concepts. I used Rita's Exam Prep book and it did the job for me.

Professional field guide for project management by .. Rolf Dobelli (Luzern Switzerland)
Volunteer committees at the Project Management Institute (PMI) created this guide to the processes involved in managing projects. Communication among clients, the project team and vendors is crucial to project management, so the book establishes a common vocabulary and a standard way of discussing a project. The book focuses on going from step to step with reliable coordination and smooth communication. Newcomers will find it helpful as they become conversant in the way professionals view and discuss project management. And, given that this is a standard work in the field, professionals are likely to regard it already as a reliable reference, including the useful process checklist. getAbstract applauds this manual's solid utility for its targeted audience. It is even quite readable, though it is directed only to insiders.

Good book by .. GoHokies ()
This book has a lot of good information and is a must for any up and coming project manager.

Classroom book by .. Arman Sassani (Irvine, CA USA)
Great book for generic and basic info about PM and being a PMBOK, it is a reference book. Currently using it for the PM class at CSUF.

Very good condition by .. Vicki L. Mangol (Fort Lauderdale, FL)
This book came to me in very good condition. It looks like it wasn't used at all. Good job!

Related Search : guide project , guides , edition pmbok