An Excerpt From the Imaginary Type V Player's Handbook In My Head

indicates Classic Play Options.

Classic Play Options make the game work like the earliest versions of Dungeons and Dragons. These games are about players relying on luck and outside-the-box thinking to survive situations that range from challenging to downright unfair. The high possibility of character death and of the players coming up with unusual solutions to problems means the dungeon master has to be constantly prepared to improvise and can't be wedded to one

idea of how the story of the campaign will progress. These games emphasize randomness and require an experienced or fairly ambitious dungeon master. Since the rules are relatively simple, these options are preferred by dungeon masters who like to alter or "hack" the rules and by players who trust their DMs' judgment.

Classic play options are for players who are all right with the challenge of starting out playing (for example) a cleric with 4 hit points and only one spell or dying because a door opens in rather than out and for dungeon masters who are willing to improvise an entirely new scenario because the players cleverly used a magic item to tunnel their way out of a carefully-constructed pit trap.

indicates Tournament Play Options.

Tournament Play Options make the game work like the most recent versions of Dungeons and Dragons. These games are about fast-paced, cinematic action, tactical thinking, and teamwork. The wide variety of well-defined powers gives each player a "role" in the group, ensuring that no single player dominates combat and allows dungeon masters to tell exactly how they will measure up against prospective opponents. This reliability also gives the dungeon master the power to plan a story with specific events without the mechanics of the game getting in the way. As the name

implies,* the Tournament Play options are favored for RPGA competitions because it's fairly easy to measure how powerful a character is versus an opponent.

Tournament play options are for players who'd like to make a character capable of confidently doing a backflip over an opponent and stabbing him in the neck once a day and for dungeon masters who'll be disappointed if the game doesn't climax with that character fighting a stone golem on a tightrope over a pit of boiling lava.

indicates Heroic Play Options.

Heroic play options are based on the versions of Dungeons and Dragons published between 2000 and 2008. These games are about customization and rules clarity. They allow players to build any kind of character they want, regardless of dice rolls--while giving them a decent chance of surviving, too. Heroic rules emphasize modularity and flexibility for the DM, too, and allow a DM to define every

aspect of the game world using clear rules. If you're not wedded to the anything-goes possibilities of Classic play or the reliability of Tournament play--or if your group is just starting out and you're not sure which way they want go, Heroic play may be for you.

Heroic play options are for players who know they definitely want to play an elven druid with a raccoon animal companion who specializes in climbing trees and for DMs who would like time to find out what kind of adventure is best suited to an elven druid with a raccoon animal companion who specializes in climbing trees.

Example:

Classes

Fighter

Hit points
d10**

d10 + Con modifier

d10 + Con modifier

Pick two of the following to start plus two more per level thereafter:

(Note: All Tournament PCs Begin at level 3)

+1 missile to hit

+1 melee to hit (may be chosen twice at same level)
+1 melee/thrown damage

+1 to fortitude save/defense

(Tournament)(Optional for Heroic) Add a new Combat Ability (Classic PCs and Heroic PCs not using this option may attempt to imitate the effects of Combat Abilities--or may invent new ones. In this case, the DM should think of a suitably modified ability check to test whether the PC is able to do this--one that balances the risk of possibly losing an action with the reward of possibly being able to perform an action more powerful than an ordinary attack. Both PC native ability and experience level should be considered as factors.)***
(Classic & Heroic Option) +1 to know stuff about foe (ac, hp, damage/attack, etc.) (Obviously the company should find a more elegant way to say this than I just did)

Skills

Fighters are assumed to be capable and have +1 to checks involving activities typical of medieval military activity.

Heroic and Tournament DMs should note that these, specifically, are: Climb (Str), Craft weapon (Int), Handle Animal (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Ride (Dex), and Swim (Str)

Fighters may trade bonuses in any area for a bonus in another (i.e. +2 total to swim in exchange for +0 in jump)

At each level, fighters can:

-automatically gain +2 by specializing in a narrower subskill of any skill s/he already has. For example, s/he could have +2 to climbing rocks if s/he already has +1 to climb, or...

-a fighter may make an Int check****, success indicates s/he can add one new skill (that is, +1 to something new) of any kind

Combat abilities

(This would be a list of "powers"--some look like 3e feats (though only situational ones--not the ones that just buff an existing ability), some look like 4e powers. Some are marked (Tournament only)--and there will also be (Tournament only) abilities or versions of abilities marked in the monster manual under certain monsters. A scale that says things like "2 squares/20 feet" will be used.

EDIT:

I forgot Starting Money/Equipment:

Classic fighters get d6x10 gp

Tournament fighters get the standard dungeon gear plus a long range weapon of choice, a short range weapon of choice, and chainmail or leather armor plus d10 gp. (Remember they start at 3rd level anyway.)

Heroic fighters get a weapon of choice plus d6x10 gp

_____

Anyway, point is, this isn't that hard. Further reading.

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* being located entirely in my head, the new PHB naturally has a few weird misprints like this

**this may seem a little cruel to Classic PCs with a high Con (or a little kind to those with a low Con) but there's a hidden bonus: to turn a PC or monster into a Classic version of the same creature all you have to do is strip away the Con mod per level. And to do the opposite, vice versa. The module writers will thank this rule.

***Some may object that 4e-style combat is based on having a plethora of powers to choose from, not just one or 2--but remember, Tournament PCs start at 3rd level, so they've already got several powers from day one. (Trading the whole complement of powers out for new ones at a new level seems like an acceptable idea for Tournament PCs--depending on how the actual individual powers are written.)

****this preserves the 3.5e principle that higher int gives you more skill without having to count skill points each level.

(Oh and what kind of Int check? I suppose a DC 15 Int check since adding in roll-under mechanics would needlessly complicate things.)