''Player's Handbook 2'' is a supplement to the 4th edition of the ''

Dungeons & Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG) originally created and designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by TSR (company)#Tactical ...

role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, or abbreviated as RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out ...

The ''Player's Handbook 2'' includes eight classes: the avenger,

barbarian A barbarian is a person or tribe of people that is perceived to be primitive, savage and warlike. Many cultures have referred to other cultures as barbarians, sometimes out of misunderstanding and sometimes out of prejudice. A "barbarian" may ...

, bard, druid, invoker,

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sorcerer Sorcerer may refer to: Magic * Sorcerer (supernatural), a practitioner of magic that derives from supernatural or occult sources * Sorcerer (fantasy), a fictional character who uses or practices magic that derives from supernatural or occult sou ...

, and warden, and five races: the deva,

gnome A gnome () is a mythological creature and diminutive spirit in Renaissance magic and alchemy, introduced by Paracelsus in the 16th century and widely adopted by authors, including those of modern fantasy literature. They are typically depict ...

, goliath, half-orc, and shifter.

Publication history

The 4th edition ''Player's Handbook 2'', subtitled ''Arcane, Divine and Primal Heroes'', was released on March 17, 2009. The book was designed by

Jeremy Crawford Jeremy Crawford is a game designer who has worked primarily on role-playing games. He worked for Wizards of the Coast from 2007 to 2025 on the tabletop role-playing game ''Dungeons & Dragons''. He was the Lead Rules Designer for the game's 4th ...

Mike Mearls Michael Mearls is an American writer and designer of fantasy role-playing games (RPGs) and related fiction. Mearls worked for Wizards of the Coast from 2005 to 2023, holding various positions. He was the senior manager for the ''Dungeons & Drag ...

, and

James Wyatt James Wyatt (3 August 1746 – 4 September 1813) was an English architect, a rival of Robert Adam in the Neoclassicism, neoclassical and neo-Gothic styles. He was elected to the Royal Academy of Arts in 1785 and was its president from 1805 to ...

, and featured cover art by Daniel Scott and interior art by

Steve Argyle Steve Argyle is an artist whose work has appeared in role-playing games, mainly ''Dungeons & Dragons''. Career Steve Argyle's ''Dungeons & Dragons'' work includes books such as ''Complete Champion'' (2007), the 4th edition ''Dungeon Master's G ...

, Eric Belisle, Michael Bierek, Devon Caddy-Lee,

Mitch Cotie Mitch is a short form of the masculine given name Mitchell. It is also sometimes a nickname, usually for a person with the surname Mitchell. It may refer to: People * Mitch Albom (born 1958), American author, journalist, and musician * Mitch A ...

Thomas Denmark Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the Ap ...

Eric Deschamps Eric Deschamps (born 1975) is a freelance and concept artist whose work has appeared in role-playing games, science fiction and fantasy books. Career Over the years, Deschamps has worked on various projects, including illustrations for popular p ...

Brian Despain Brian Despain is an artist whose work has appeared in galleries, in video games, on book covers and in role-playing games. Career Despain has worked as a graphic designer, 3D modeler, photo retoucher, and illustrator. He worked for ten years in ...

, Vincent Dutrait, Steve Ellis,

Wayne England Wayne England (d. 9 February 2016) was an English artist whose work regularly appeared in role-playing games, wargaming rulebooks and magazines and was used on cards for collectible card games such as '' Magic: The Gathering''. He died on 9 Feb ...

Howard Lyon Howard Lyon is an American fantasy artist whose work has appeared in role-playing games and '' Magic: the Gathering''. Early life and education Howard Lyon was born in Mesa, Arizona and studied illustration at Brigham Young University (BYU) work ...

, Mike May,

Raven Mimura Raven Mimura is an artist whose work has appeared in role-playing games. Early life and education Raven received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration from Rhode Island School of Design. He spent a year teaching art and building his portfolio ...

, William O'Connor, Hector Ortiz,

Wayne Reynolds Wayne Reynolds is a People of the United Kingdom, British artist whose work has appeared in comics and role-playing games. Early life and education Wayne Reynolds was born in Leeds, UK. He attended art college in Dewsbury and Middlesbrough. Gam ...

, Chris Seaman,

John Stanko John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second Ep ...

Matias Tapia Matías is the Portuguese version of Matthias. Matías is very popular in Latin America especially in Argentina. In German-speaking Europe it is most often written as Matthias. It appears in this form in Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland. Alterna ...

Franz Vohwinkel Franz Vohwinkel (born 1964 in Munich, West Germany) is a German artist and illustrator whose artwork has been featured in role-playing games. Works Vohwinkel drew the cover art for the book ''Dataware'' (1998) for TSR's ''Alternity'' game, and ...

Eva Widermann Eva Widermann (born June 6, 1978) is an illustrator and concept artist whose work appears in role-playing games. Education She went to the Scholastic of Graphic & Design, Munich. Career Widermann started her graphic design career in 1998 and wo ...

, and

James Zhang James Zhang is an artist whose work has appeared in role-playing games. Career Zhang has contributed interior illustrations to numerous ''Dungeons & Dragons'' supplements for Wizards of the Coast, such as '' Sharn: City of Towers'' (2004), ''Ebe ...

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commented that with Fourth Edition ''Dungeons & Dragons'', Wizards intended to publish only three books for each setting, beginning with the poorly-received ''

Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide The ''Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide'' is a supplement to the Editions of Dungeons & Dragons#Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition, 4th edition of the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' role-playing game. Contents The ''Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide'' includes ...

'', ''

Forgotten Realms Player's Guide The ''Forgotten Realms Player's Guide'' is a supplement to the Editions of Dungeons & Dragons#Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition, 4th edition of the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' role-playing game. Contents The ''Forgotten Realms Player's Guide'' presents ...

'' and ''

Scepter Tower of Spellgard ''Scepter Tower of Spellgard'' is an adventure module for the 4th edition of the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role-playing game. Plot summary In ''Scepter Tower of Spellgard'', a mysterious presence has taken up residence in one of the tower ...

'' in 2008, and "The next year saw the clockwork production of '' Dungeon Master's Guide 2'' (2009), '' Monster Manual 2'' (2009) and ''Player's Handbook 2'' (2009), as well as the reappearance of Eberron through the typical two books and an adventure – the latter released as part of Free RPG Day. These setting books were much better accepted, perhaps because the 4e nay-sayers had now moved on to other games."

Reception

The book reached No. 28 on ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

''s bestseller list the week of March 26, 2009 and No. 14 on the ''

Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

''s non-fiction bestseller list a week later.

References

{{D&D topics Dungeons & Dragons sourcebooks Role-playing game supplements introduced in 2009