Just a couple notes on why this book is just as awesome and high quality as the Players Manual:\

Refereeing

• Greatest hits of refereeing advice, not just for this game or even just OSR games. I found this chapter to be one of the best versions of this type of GM advice and really recommend giving it a serious read no matter your experience level! I was impressed anyway.

Bestiary

• Given the Sword & Sorcery setting, this is comprehensive. Most old favorites are still here plus lots of new and unique monsters, and there is something like 20 pages of just demons, so. Old school stat blocks are very easy to read at a glance.

Treasure

• I am a huge fan of these treasure tables. Very detailed if desired, and I do not feel nervous about rolling random hoards. Items are awesome without being overpowered (or if they are it's for a limited time or at least a good purpose).

Gazetteer

• This is a dauntingly imaginative, vivid, complex, and somewhat challenging world. Certainly complex in that it is built from the flotsam of around 100 years of Sword & Sorcery fiction; this is a world to savor. Here is an example:

There is a particular section explaining a random location that is far from the beaten path. This section is three sentences long. The first sentence explains the location and where it is relative to the rest of the world. The second and third sentences detail an entire alien race, their physiology, where they come from, specifically what they are doing near this world, and how they might run afoul of the players. This is not a setting to try to drink in all at once, is what I am saying.

General

• Fantastic art throughout!

This is my absolute favorite OSR game, as well as a top game overall for me and I am happy to celebrate getting my physical copies of 3rd edition in the mail with a written review. 10/10 would get eaten by radioactive Viking zombies again.

Overall I love the clarity of the rules and thoughtfulness of their presentation, the newly added art is a huge upgrade, and the classes and setting are absolutely amazing. These are the rules I want to play classic modules with, and the experience at the table is simply perfect. The creator's depth of knowledge of Sword & Sorcery fiction, and its deep integration into the setting, is seriously impressive.

A few things that jump out to me from the chapters in this book:

Statistics

• I really like the little tweaks to smooth out character attributes. A high score still grants access to incredible capabilities, but players are not kneecapped by mediocre scores. The system of tests and extraordinary feats for covering action outside of combat is smooth and easy to learn. All the impacts attributes have on gameplay are meaningful and add the right level of detail for me.

Classes

• There are 26 classes in the game, and I want to try every class, which is really rare for me - even the Bard, probably. The overall approach to class design is just awesome and every class fills its own unique role with cool abilities. The power level of this game is really tightly lined up to its Sword & Sorcery ideals and every class gets to be powerful and badass without getting on the train to silly town.

Background

• I will say that I found the presentation here around race (and the related concepts like half-blood, etc.) to be a jarring vibe at first. Reading on though, this is one of the most imaginative, diverse, and complex settings that I for one have played with. Every culture bears spending a good amount of time reading up on here and maybe Wikipedia as well. In that sense, be aware that there is a lot of nuance and complexity here related to the setting and material in the Referee's book and it might be good to ease into the amount of information you are in for here. Also beware, this section is a gateway drug to get players hooked on mythology, medieval history, and Sword & Sorcery fiction.

Equipment

• Whoever decided to include all the drawings of the weapons is a genius. This section made me 8 years old again just for a moment and that was worth the price right there. An example of the small touches in this book that add up to one of my favorite experiences ever.

Sorcery

• I love the individual spell lists for the casting classes - they really give every class its own flavor and role. The spells themselves are selected with care and are awesome without being out of control for Referees and Players to handle.

Adventure

• I finally fully understand how to use hirelings and henchmen after reading these rules. The layout and presentation of the rules is crystal clear and delivers OSR concepts in a fresh and very easy to learn package. Absolute best rules presentation of any game that I have.

Combat

• The advanced combat options are all inspired and do just the right amount to create depth to combat and make martial classes interesting without bogging down the speed of the game or interfering with compatibility when playing old modules. The combat in this game is so, so good. I happen to really like the combat matrix and descending AC so I am somewhat biased there.

2nd Edition versus 3rd Edition

• I made the decision to upgrade from a physical copy of 2nd Edition to a physical + pdf set for 3rd Edition. The rewrite of the Monk class, plus the other more minor tweaks are certainly good, but the added art and update to the presentation by splitting to two books put it over the top for me. This feels like the final version of one of my favorite games of all time