So....books by Alderac, Green Ronin, Goodman Games, Bastion, FFG, The Game Mechanics, Ronin Arts, etc, etc, etc....which d20 (Fantasy, not Modern) books have been most useful to you?
For me, I found FFG's Legends & Lairs series to have some really nice bits. Seafarer's Handbook has seen a lot of use, as has Wildscape and Traps n' Treachery. Plus, I picked some of the series up for $5 each about two years ago when FFG ran this crazy sale.
For me, I guess that AEG's Toolbox has been the one that I have used the most.
Last D&D campaign I ran saw a lot of use of:
Hyperconscious (Malhavoc Press)
Beyond Countless Doorways (Malhavoc)
Classic Play: Book of the Planes (Mongoose)
Portals & Planes (FFG)
Seas of Blood (Mongoose)
Ultimate NPCs (Mongoose)
Book of the Righteous (Green Ronin)
Advanced GMs Guide (Green Ronin)
Advanced Bestiary (Green Ronin)
Book of Templates: Deluxe Edition (Goodman Games/Silverthorne Games)
Toolbox (AEG)
Feats (AEG)
Relics & Rituals (Sword & Sorcery)
Creature Collection II (Sword & Sorcery)
Requiem for a God (Malhavoc)
Tome of Horrors (Necromancer)
Tome of Horrors II (Necromancer)
Eldritch Sorcery (Necromancer)
Ultimate Divine Spellbook (Mongoose)
Spells & Magic (Bastion)
Monster's Handbook (written by Mike Mearls, published by FFG) is my number one non-Wizard book. It's written for 3.0 but I still find it very handy for making or modifying critters. I often use it in tandem with Tome of Horrors.
Back when I did 3.0 (I'm doing 3.5 now) we used the two Green Ronin demon and devil books (Hordes of the Abyss and Legions of Hell), as well as the Monsters Handbook and a couple of others. I still use some systems and templates from Monsters Handbook. Although I'm a bit better at hacking monsters on my own now.
I seem to recall having some kind of nautical or seafaring supplement I used a lot too.
Far and away, Arcana Evolved since I've been running a campaign with it for a year and a half.
-O
I liked the FFG tool books, some were written by Mike Mearls IIRC.
Most of the Green Ronin books are real good, really liked the Advanced series.
A friend of mine gave me some D20 books last winter and they made the best possible kindling you could imagine! The burned evenly and hot, igniting the wood in the fireplace just splendidly! :)
Aside from that, I've had very little use for OGL, SRD, D20 or actual D&D material.
This was posted in gest. I would never burn a book that I could sell on eBay. :D
Quote from: Caesar SlaadLast D&D campaign I ran saw a lot of use of:
Hyperconscious (Malhavoc Press)
Classic Play: Book of the Planes (Mongoose)
Portals & Planes (FFG)
Seas of Blood (Mongoose)
Ultimate NPCs (Mongoose)
Book of the Righteous (Green Ronin)
Advanced GMs Guide (Green Ronin)
Advanced Bestiary (Green Ronin)
Book of Templates: Deluxe Edition (Goodman Games/Silverthorne Games)
Toolbox (AEG)
Feats (AEG)
Relics & Rituals (Sword & Sorcery)
Creature Collection II (Sword & Sorcery)
Requiem for a God (Malhavoc)
Tome of Horrors (Necromancer)
Tome of Horrors II (Necromancer)
Eldritch Sorcery (Necromancer)
Ultimate Divine Spellbook (Mongoose)
Spells & Magic (Bastion)
Holy crap! That's a lot of books for a campaign! But hey, so long as you got what you wanted out of it...
I haven't run much d20. Were I to I would look for the name Mearls on the cover and go by that. He knows his stuff d20 wise and I have considerable trust in his ability to get it right.
Quote from: Zachary The FirstHoly crap! That's a lot of books for a campaign! But hey, so long as you got what you wanted out of it...
Heh... if you could see the bookshelves that sit next to my gaming table. ;)
I was only mentioning things that I know to have used in multiple sessions. I use lots of smaller supplements like Ronin Arts planar supplements (I run a planar/seafaring game) as need suits from session to session. I might draw from 4 or so resources for a session. Things like Book of the Righteous contributes sort of continually across the campaign. (Cause the deities are always there as background details, right?)
Aren't you a palladium fan? You can't tell me you didn't tap that many RIFTS books over a campaign?
Quote from: BalbinusI haven't run much d20. Were I to I would look for the name Mearls on the cover and go by that. He knows his stuff d20 wise and I have considerable trust in his ability to get it right.
I have a few other trusty names, like Gareth Hanrahan (rpgnet's mytholder), Robert Schwalb, and Patrick Younts.
Quote from: Caesar SlaadAren't you a palladium fan? You can't tell me you didn't tap that many RIFTS books over a campaign?
Ouch.
Guilty. :bow:
Quote from: Caesar SlaadI have a few other trusty names, like Gareth Hanrahan (rpgnet's mytholder), Robert Schwalb, and Patrick Younts.
Gareth knows his stuff, I wasn't wholly taken by his OGL Horror book but it definitely had some great ideas. The whole ties thing or whatever it was called.
Who are the other two? I don't know them.
Also, if Spycraft 2 with the errata fixed ever gets published in dead tree I plan to buy that. You can get the revised version in pdf, but that book is way too big to make a pdf practical IMO.
Iron Kingdoms.
Quote from: BalbinusGareth knows his stuff, I wasn't wholly taken by his OGL Horror book but it definitely had some great ideas. The whole ties thing or whatever it was called.
Heh... well, I don't have that, so can't comment. The first thing I read by Gareth that drew my attention was Steam and Sorcery by FFG. The book was honestly a bit of a mess, but I remember commenting that the campaign ideas in the beginning were brilliant. Gareth let me know those were his. I also dug his material in the Classic Play: Book of the Planes and Book of Dragons. Really imaginiative stuff, lots of neat campaign ideas.
QuoteWho are the other two? I don't know them.
Robert Schwalb has been on Green Ronin's payroll for a while now. Though I don't like everything he's done (Cavaliers handbook), he's pretty handy with system work.
Patrick Younts is another RPGnetter and has done a few titles (list (http://www.pen-paper.net/rpgdb.php?op=showcreator&creatorid=1815)), mainly by mongoose. Between him and Mearls, you'll find the Mongoose Quintessential books worth buying (Younts did the Quintessential Sorcerer and Monk book. He also did books like barbarian II, but I think the format mongoose was requiring for the book sort of hamstrung his efforts.)
Quote from: Caesar SlaadBetween him and Mearls, you'll find the Mongoose Quintessential books worth buying (Younts did the Quintessential Sorcerer and Monk book. He also did books like barbarian II, but I think the format mongoose was requiring for the book sort of hamstrung his efforts.)
Good as they often are, I avoid books like those so as to avoid book inflation. The other night I had to carry about eight books to the game because I hadn't had time to copy the few pages I actually wanted and it killed me. I tend to prefer not to have too many books to refer to when running stuff.
For me, the most useful non-Wizards general (non-setting) D20 books have been:
AEG's Toolbox. This is a MUST-buy for any fantasy campaign!
Dynasties & Demagogues: again, a MUST for anyone who wants to run a political campiagn.
Portals & Planes: a VERY useful companion to the Manual of the Planes (speaking of which, I must get it back from who I lent it to)
Cityworks: a good general sourcebook for urban play.
RPGPundit
It pleases me tremendously that people still find the FFG books I wrote useful. They were easily amongst my best works. In almost every case, I was basically taking a month to write the city or dungeon book that I wanted to use in my own campaigns. I'm glad people found them useful.
For my own uses, I think I've run John Tynes' Three Days to Kill three or four times. It was handy not only as an adventure, but also as a good source for campaign ideas and stories.