What is your favorite RPG book of all time?

[Theory of Games]

There will never be another rpg as magnificent as this:

Just kiddin'

The undisputed greatest edition of Dungeons & Dragons, the Rules Cyclopedia offers features no other edition can touch: advanced weapon proficiency for ALL classes, long-term campaign-based guidelines for PC-established strongholds, THIRTY-SIX delicious levels of dungeon-crawling monster-smashing goodness AND Immortal rules for when the PCs ascend beyond the mortal realm and become new deities! When you're craving a long-term investment in character advancement and transformation, the RC delivers everything you need for as long as you can stand it.

 

[eyeheartawk]

The sword and sorcery thing is revisionist history by people wanting to carve out a niche for the setting so that WotC will want to reprint it. Which is a noble goal, but the idea that the Great Kingdom or the Shield Lands -- both core parts of the setting, which was even originally referred to as "The Great Kingdom" -- are sword and sorcery is definitely ahistorical.

That said, cool stuff like the Rain of Colorless Fire and the Invoked Devastation are 100% sword and sorcery awesomeness. The setting is basically a gumbo.

I said the sword and sorcery was in the background, and then you say stuff in the background of Greyhawk is sword and sorcery, so I guess I'm confused.

A country run by a cambion sorcerer king, nations overrun by goblinoids and the Scarlet Brotherhood are all pretty sword and sorcery to me.

Also, what Greyhawk fan wants WotC to publish Greyhawk again? Everyone I know wants them to stay well away. At most they would like them to open it up on DMs Guild, but that's about it.

 

[Reynard]

Also, what Greyhawk fan wants WotC to publish Greyhawk again? Everyone I know wants them to stay well away. At most they would like them to open it up on DMs Guild, but that's about it.

As far as I have been able to tell, people here at least have been CLAMORING for Greyhawk to be the DMG2025 setting.

 

[Ulfgeir]

There will never be another rpg as magnificent as this:

Just kiddin'

I have the 2e of it, along with Sea elves expansion and the adventure. Never played it though.

 

[Wofano Wotanto]

I have the 2e of it, along with Sea elves expansion and the adventure. Never played it though.

It's as playable as most early Chaosium, but it probably doesn't have much draw for folks who weren't fans of the comics - which I'd assume makes up a very large percentage of the people who bought the RPG in the first place, much less the miniatures that got made for it. The trick's probably finding a table full of other fans who are also invested in playing. I managed a half-dozen sessions of homebrew stuff back in high school, but it petered out thereafter in favor of other things - Car Wars and Starfire, IIRC.

Certainly not the greatest RPG "book" of all time, but I'd actually rate it as better written and edited than Superworld was if we're comparing Chaosium games from the time period. Then again, I'm biased, having enjoyed the original run of the comic quite a bit as a teen - and just possibly Wendy's Red Sonja cosplay as well.

 

[Theory of Games]

I have the 2e of it, along with Sea elves expansion and the adventure. Never played it though.

TBH I really like Elfquest. It was one of the first storygames I ran into but it has such a strong Meta. The struggle for survival and how their relationships merged and changed. I look at Elfquest and can see how it may have inspired the Vampire rpg very directly. Thanks Wendy and Dick!

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I said the sword and sorcery was in the background, and then you say stuff in the background of Greyhawk is sword and sorcery, so I guess I'm confused.

My comment wasn't a reaction to anything you'd said, but a general statement.

There are sword and sorcery elements in Greyhawk, but there are also spaceships. Oerth is no more a sword and sorcery setting than it is a setting about spaceships. It's all part of the gumbo that is the setting, where EGG threw in anything that sounded good at a given moment. But the primary flavor is not -- and never has been -- sword and sorcery.

Also, what Greyhawk fan wants WotC to publish Greyhawk again?

You know, I cannot fault you for skipping all the ENWorld threads about what old settings people would like to see republished, because they're typically pretty much the same people yelling the same settings over and over again, punctuated by me yelling out "Jakandor" to confuse the issue, but I assure you, all of those threads have people jonesing for some sweet, sweet Free City of Greyhawk in 5E action.

 

[Cadence]

My comment wasn't a reaction to anything you'd said, but a general statement.

There are sword and sorcery elements in Greyhawk, but there are also spaceships. Oerth is no more a sword and sorcery setting than it is a setting about spaceships. It's all part of the gumbo that is the setting, where EGG threw in anything that sounded good at a given moment. But the primary flavor is not -- and never has been -- sword and sorcery.

Are space ships and related things semi-common in Sword and Sorcery? (Karl Treuherz in Fafhrd and Mouser, Yag-Kosha in Conan). I was going to mention Jon Carter, but I guess Sword and Planet is a different thing.

Is there anything in Appendix N that didn't make it to at least some part of Greyhawk?

 

[Thomas Shey]

TBH I really like Elfquest. It was one of the first storygames I ran into but it has such a strong Meta. The struggle for survival and how their relationships merged and changed. I look at Elfquest and can see how it may have inspired the Vampire rpg very directly. Thanks Wendy and Dick!

If you're referring to the RPG, don't forget to thank Steve Perrin.

 

[cbwjm]

The BECMI rules cyclopedia is my all time favourite RPG book.

The 3e forgotten realms book is also awesome as a campaign setting so it's up close to the rules cyclopedia.

The core 3 2e books are also rated highly by me.

The Titan book for fighting fantasy was one of my favourite books as well. Not sure if it counts as an RPG book but it was part of the line and described the setting so I'm including it. Actually the various AFF blacksand book was also cool.