What is your favorite RPG book of all time?

[Reynard]

It can be a core rule book, an adventure, a setting guide, a splat book, or even a tie in novel or comic book. What book directly related to TTRPGs is your favorite of all time.

You can use whatever definition of favorite you want, and of course your criteria are your own, but let us know the details!

I am going to pick Aaron Allston's Strike Force. That book was not just fun to read and about/a supplement for a game I love (Champions) it literally opened my mind about what a RPG campaign could be. I love that book so much I refused to buy the update because I didn't want to mar my memories or experience with a bunch of after-the-fact essays and such. (One day I will probably pick it up, tho.)

 

[Andvari]

Probably the Mentzer Basic red box for the incredible Elmore art and smooth introduction to the game, or the 3E PHB for the evocative layout design, Da Vinci style sketches and bold approach to a new edition.

 

[TwoSix]

Mage: The Ascension 2nd edition (1995). I was 19 at the time, mind blown.

 

[billd91]

Tough question. It's hard to pick between a number of options.

Among my favorites is Masks of Nyarlathotep. Specifically, the 3rd edition of it billed as The Complete Masks of Nyarlathotep in 2001. The newer 2018 version is HUGE, expensive, and while it adds a lot of cool stuff, can really draw out the length of parts of the campaign in ways that I think distract from the core. Plus, it's so HUGE that I find it's organization not as tight as the 2001 version.
But anyway, it's a major campaign for Call of Cthulhu that is well written with a compelling mystery/conspiracy driving the investigation forward. And it's full of clues (and red herrings) that offer multiple routes for investigators to take. If they miss something at Site A directing them to Site B, they will likely get redirected back to Site B by clues at Sites C, E, and F. It does that really well.

 

[Richards]

The AD&D 2nd Edition Monstrous Manual.

Johnathan

 

[jdrakeh]

The Palladium RPG Book II: Old Ones. It has tons of maps for forts, villages, towns, and cities that can be used with pretty much any fantasy RPG. It's a great resource.

 

[schneeland]

If we're talking strictly RPG products, then the Shadowrun 2 (or more specifically 2.01D) core rules win because that was the thing that really drew me into RPGs. If we allow RPG-adjacent books, then Peterson's The Elusive Shift because that's the one book I would recommend to everyone who's into RPGs irrespective of their preferred system (if only to realize how old some of the debates that still continue nowadays are).

 

[overgeeked]

Star Wars WEG 1E core book 1987. Hands down my favorite RPG of all time. One of the best systems and it still holds up today, as evidenced by just how many people rip it off to this day. Played the absolute hell out of it with my friends back in the day. Still has some revolutionary GM advice, some good and some bad.

 

[CleverNickName]

My favorite:

Second-favorite:

Third-favorite:

 

[Wolfpack48]

Tough question. It's hard to pick between a number of options.

Among my favorites is Masks of Nyarlathotep. Specifically, the 3rd edition of it billed as The Complete Masks of Nyarlathotep in 2001. The newer 2018 version is HUGE, expensive, and while it adds a lot of cool stuff, can really draw out the length of parts of the campaign in ways that I think distract from the core. Plus, it's so HUGE that I find it's organization not as tight as the 2001 version.
But anyway, it's a major campaign for Call of Cthulhu that is well written with a compelling mystery/conspiracy driving the investigation forward. And it's full of clues (and red herrings) that offer multiple routes for investigators to take. If they miss something at Site A directing them to Site B, they will likely get redirected back to Site B by clues at Sites C, E, and F. It does that really well.

This. I would love to see a miniseries based on Masks.

Runner up for me is the Slaver series for AD&D. We had so much fun with that one.

Pavis/Big Rubble for RuneQuest also very high on my list.