Player's Handbook 2

Player's Handbook 2 is a core sourcebook for 4-edition Dungeons & Dragons published in 2009. It introduces the deva, gnome, goliath, half-orc, and shifter races and the avenger, barbarian, bard, druid, invoker, shaman, sorcerer, and warden classes, and additional options for these and other 4-edition player-characters.

"Heroes of Primal Might and Ancient Power

From the bright towns and darkened wilderness they come: mighty heroes intent on exploring dungeons, slaying monsters, and battling evil.

This companion to the Player's Handbook® core rulebook introduces the primal power source, which draws on the spirits that preserve and sustain the world. Player's Handbook 2 includes four classes tied to the primal power source: the barbarian, the druid, the shaman, and the warden. It also presents four new arcane and divine classes: the avenger, the bard, the invoker, and the sorcerer.

This essential book for D&D® players contains other exciting options, including new races, powers, feats, paragon paths (including racial paragon paths), epic destinies, magic items (including totems), rituals, and a background section designed to help you develop your character’s history and personality."

- Back-cover text

Contents
The fourth core rulebook in the 4-edition ruleset for the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game, the Player's Handbook 2, or PHB2, is meant to be used alongside the original 4-edition Player's Handbook by players for building their characters. The PHB2 includes, among other things, races and classes that were considered "core" in previous editions but were excluded in the initial release of 4 edition. It also adds a number of unique races and classes, as a well as several new paragon paths and epic destinies. The book also includes a number of new feats, powers, and rituals.

The book is slightly slimmer than the first Player's Handbook, as it lacks details on how to introduce new players to the game or an explanation of how the rules work.

The book is organized into four chapters, as follows:
 * 1) Introduction: This brief foreword, among other things, introduces players to the new primal power source with a basic explanation of its origins and nature.
 * 2) Races: This chapter introduces the new core races: devas, gnomes, goliaths, half-orcs, and shifters. The chapter also includes a new paragon path for each of the core races, including those from the previous Player's Handbook, such as adroit explorers for humans.
 * 3) Classes: Core classes from the arcane, divine, and primal power sources are presented here: avengers, barbarians, bards, druids, invokers, shamans, sorcerers, and wardens. New paragon paths and epic destinies are also presented, such as the blood moon stalker, the wild mage, or the lorekeeper.
 * 4) Character Options: This chapter includes new backgrounds based on societal status, circumstances of birth, or race for players to use, along with new feats, equipment, and rituals. An appendix at the end of the chapter also includes a brief explanation of how to read power cards as well as a revision of the stealth rules for the Dungeons & Dragons.

Magic

 * Items:
 * Instruments


 * Spells
 * bedeviling burst • chaos bolt • dancing lightning • dazzling ray • dragonfang bolt • dragonfrost • elemental shift • explosive pyre • poisonous exhalation • unseen aid


 * Weapons: •  •