So, you love D&D but you're tired of Elven wizards, Dwarvish fighters and Halfling rogues? You have fallen into the rut of always casting magic missiles and fireballs when you play an arcane caster, and your fellow players are always asking you for CLWs when you play a cleric? Arcana Unearthed might just be the solution to your problems. A complete 'alternate' Players Handbook, it offers you 7 new races (2 Faen races: quickling and loresong, giants, litorians (a lion-like humanoid), mojhs ( a dragon-like humanoid), sibeccais ( a dog-like humanoid) and verriks (an 'almost human' with psionic abilities and a different outlook on life) to choose from at first level, in addition to humans, sprites (A faen race that the loresongs and quicklings can evolve into) and runechildren (a racial template members of any race can possibly add later in their career).

The book continues to add more goodies, as it offers 11 new classes (Akashic, Champions, Greenbonds, Mage Blades, Magisters, Oathsworn, Runethanes, Totem Warriors, Unfettereds, Warmains and Witches). As if that wasn't enough, three of those (the Champions, Totem Warriors and Witches) use different foci, thus making them extremely different from another member of the same class.

The chapter which discusses skills doesn't offer that much new material, as is to be expected. A few new knowledge skills, a Sneak skill (which combines Move Silently and Hide into one skill) are pretty much what one will find. But then again, there isn't that much one can add to the list found in the original PHB, and the workings of a few "old" skills are re-done, tweaking the system a bit, mostly in the form of an expanded description, which goes into more details as to what exactly a character can expect to accomplish with a particular skill.

Many feats from the PHB can be found in Arcana Unearthed, although there are also plenty of brand new ones. Feats are also separated into three categories: General Feats, Talents (feats that can only be taken at 1st level. Not really a new concept, but here it is formalized), and Ceremonial Feats (requiring the character to have a Truename, and there is a cost involved).The most original of the new feats are probably those geared towards spellcastersf, which allow them to greatly modify and enhance the spells that they cast, as well as giving them access to new spells.

A surprisingly large number of changes can be found in the equipment section. Sure, the longsword and plate armor are still around, but there are also several new weapons and types of armor. There are also two new templates, Dire and Devonian, which can be applied to any weapons, modifying them further and adding many new options. Also, obviously, the new lists had to include gear for tiny and large characters in greater number, since those are now relatively common playing options.

The chapter entitled "Playing the Game," includes everything from movement to combat and the varying explanations for the actions a character might want to take during a given round. Not much new material can be found in this chapter, but a few differences bear noting. A character with the proper feats, for example, can fight with two weapons with no penalty at all, and Arcana Unearthed uses the variant rule for dying characters, based on the character's constitution. All in all, however, I must say that the format used tends to make it harder to find the relevant information one is looking as opposed to the same information in the PHB.

Finally, we reach the last chapter, Magic. Here, to me at least, comes what makes the book truly unique, even more so than the new races and classes. Although the system still uses the familiar nine levels of spells, most of the similarities end there. There are three spell types for each level (simple, complex and exotic), and the spells that a magic-using character can access are based on his class, and the various feats he might have, since theoretically in Arcana Unearthed, all spellcasters use the same list.

Furthermore, virtually each and every spell has a diminished and heightened effect, which can be cast at either one level lower or higher. And to add to -that-, every spellcaster basically casts as a sorcerer, but with the possibility of changing the list of spells known every day, each time choosing from the list of spells to which he has access. Yes indeed, the possibilities can quickly become mind-boggling, especially as one rises in level. The end result, however, is very much worth it. The permutations are so vast, that each and every encounter with a spell-caster should be truly unique, and it becomes much more difficult for characters and their foes alike to guess and prepare for what their opponents might do.

Content: 5
Surprisingly, due to the nature of the book, the amount of reprinted material is pretty low. And what more can one ask of a variant player's handbook other than new races, classes, feats and spells?

Originality: 5
Yes, another perfect score. While there have been many campaign settings, books with new races, classes, feats or spells, none that have been published before have gone quite so far. Replacing all of them instead of simply adding to them might have been a gamble, but in this case, it paid off.

Simplicity/Clarity: 3
In its defense, Arcana Unearthed doesn't claim to be for beginning players. It bills itself as a book for experienced players, and it shows. With the plethora of options (a good thing, for sure!) it can take quite a few readings to truly grasp all of its content.

Layout/Presentation: 3
Unlike the previous point, there is quite a decent reason for the score in this area. The layout of Chapter Seven: Playing the Game is particularly bad, making it truly a chore to find the information one is looking for. The list of feats could also have used a brief description of the effect of each, and although it might have taken too much space, a list of spells grouped by their descriptors would have been invaluable, due to their importance.

Value: 5
Whether you want to create or play in a campaign in the implied setting or only desire to cannibalize the book for it's new content, it's easy to find plenty good things for $29.95. All in all, everybody who gets the book should easily be able to find enough content to justify the purchase.

Overall: 4
This product is almost worth a 5, in my opinion. Sadly the layout problems lower it's grade to a 4, but once you get past that, there is indeed very little wrong with Arcana Unearthed, and it truly deserves a place in my book collection. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a campaign to go prepare...