So, we often hear gamers complain that "product (line) X is too expensive!", almost as often as we hear publishers or game designers complain that RPG-gamers are too cheap.

But are there certain books that you think are a crazy value for the money? Where either because of sheer amount of content, or quality of content, their sale price is insanely good?

Which books are those, and why do you think they're such a good value?

Can't get any better value wise than the Basic Fantasy RPG, IMO.  Open source, every digital file is free, and printed books are available on Amazon for $5 - $10.

Creature Compendium. Originally $2, now PWYW.  200 or so monsters, illustrated and stated up for both 1e/0e and B/X.
http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/147588/CC1-Creature-Compendium

And despite this, a surprising amount of bitching on the product page.

Stonehell Dungeon 1 and 2.  Under $20 (each book) for a megadungeon in print. Granted, it's a slim format, that one page (albeit expanded a bit), but still, it's a massive place well designed for very little.

And Dwimmermount. For $50, I got (albeit a couple years later) a huge hardback book, two little books, and a PDF. Had it come from Frog God Games, the same product would likely have cost well over $200.

Night's Dark Terror is a terrific 64 pg module that can take characters from low to mid level and its available in pdf for $5 USD? I love the B/X and BECMI modules but this one has the most meat of any of them, it is pretty much a full campaign.

Similarly the RC for $10 and the Known World gazeteers for $5 each is great value, particularly the Karameikos, Glantri and Shadow Elves gazeteers.

In terms of hardcopy my edition of 5e CoC is still one of the most prized books in my collection that has given me years and years of great gaming. My copies of The City of Greyhawk and the terrific Night Howlers supplement have also provided a lot of fun over the years.

These days I'd say the 5e DMG is full of great content and considering the quality and quanity of material in CoS and Out of the Abyss I don't understand the complaints about the cost of those beatifully put together hardcovers (and at the same time people complain that they're not putting out enough material!?!?).

Quote from: Celestial;972624Can't get any better value wise than the Basic Fantasy RPG, IMO.  Open source, every digital file is free, and printed books are available on Amazon for $5 - $10.

I think being able to get great printed BFRPG adventures on amazon (!!) for the cost of print & delivery has to count as 'ridiculously cheap', yes.
Likewise White Star & White Star Companion on rpgnow are currently on print & deliver at-cost (+PWYW), though RPGnow's production costs are a lot higher than amazon's.

Looking at regular for-profit stuff, it's striking how you get some great 300-page full colour hardbacks for the cost of two 32 page efforts... things I've bought that seemed particularly good value include

5e Primeval Thule Campaign Setting - Sasquatch
Rise of the Runelords Hardback - Paizo
The Inner Sea World Guide Hardback - Paizo

Second Basic Fantasy. The print versions are also cheap, and you can get a lay-flat (coil bound) version for under $10 on Lulu (and some of the modules are even cheaper on Amazon). Also on Lulu, all the issues of Fight On! and NOD are amazing deals with all kinds of weirdness and hex crawl stuff. And that's just scratching the surface.

Mazes & Minotaurs is good, free, and with an amazing amount of supporting material for the (ahem) first RPG ever published. Another free product worth looking around for are the Santicore compilations. They're just packed with crazy ideas.

PDFs of the AADA Road Atlases are $3/ea at W23. They're a fun, quirky alt-future (of the past), Mad Max-style.

Not the biggest fan of Savage Worlds, but a full color core book for $10 is great. Castles & Crusades is another one that's not really to my taste, but is still a great value if you like it.

Creature Compendium is cheap, not good.

Eclipse Phase -- the publisher seed their own torrents, so the PDFs are free and legal. And you can also pay for PDFs and hardcopies.

You have to watch for things you're interested in, but the Bundle of Holding and the RPG-related Humble Bundles are great ways to huge piles of PDFs for 80% off or more.

As Pat said, the bundle of holding deals are insane and they help a good cause.

D6 - Free!!
The Void - One of my all-time favorite sci-fi games - Free!
Savage Worlds - A pretty complete ruleset for 10e.
OpenQuest 2 - I think it's 8e and is a super slick version of the RQ system (I prefer it to Mythras  - but then I'm a rules light guy).
Fantastic Heros and Witchery - So much packed into that book and it's a mere 7e.
LoTFP - is pretty cheap for the full version.
Talislanta - Free (but I've not played it though).
Stars Without Number - Free version.

Anyone that offers a full RPG game for under 13e is doing us all a favor in my opinion.

Goblinoid Games offers Labyrint Lord, Apes Victorious, and Mutant Future in free pdf versions.

Going by in print only- Basic Fantasy hands down.  Everything is at cost on Amazon or Lulu.  After that, Savage Worlds Deluxe is very complete for $10.

For Gold & Glory--a complete 2E 'Rules Cyclopedia' for $7.29 for the B&W softcover.

The offset print Black Blade Publishing OSRIC book - 370+ pages full of original artwork that gives you most of 1E core 3 (DMG, PHB, MM) for $26 or so.  I don't think you can beat it for its combination of print quality, art quality, and game quality.

All the hard copies of games that FUG still sells on their web site seem to have the same prices they had in 1983.

All of the 'classic' Traveller CD collections.

Quote from: Dumarest;972677All the hard copies of games that FUG still sells on their web site seem to have the same prices they had in 1983.

He means FGU.

Quote from: Black Vulmea;972693All of the 'classic' Traveller CD collections.


He means FGU.

Yeah, FGU...the Fugs are altogether different from Fantasy Games Unlimited.

It's interesting that in the answers so far there's a huge variation of price-points and page-counts.