What 5th edition books should I be buying?

der_kluge · Jun 3, 2019

I own the 3 core rulebooks, and I picked up Volo's Guide, which I really, really like, and I have Xanathar's, which I also really like.

I tried to like TotYP, but I hated it. I kind of like Mordenkainen's Guide, but I failed to see why I needed the stats for over a dozen demon and devil lords. So that was a huge waste of space. But I might pick it up eventually since there was some value in there.

And that's about it. I don't use WoTC's modules, as I have my own campaign, set in the Wilderlands of High Fantasy. So, I don't need any world books. My 2nd edition resources for the Forgotten Realms pantheon (which I use) are truly amazing, and I can't see WoTC redoing that any time soon for 5th edition. So, I'm pretty set for all the books I'll ever really need.

But I'm left wondering if there are any really good 5e books from 3pp that I should be really checking out - PDF or book form. What am I missing?

Zardnaar · Jun 3, 2019

Campaign setting and player spalt. Midgard World book and the players guide are worth getting.

S'mon · Jun 3, 2019

Sounds to me like you have plenty!

I think for running Wilderlands (which I do), it's great to have the XGTE encounter tables for when the PCs do the hexploration for which Wilderlands is renowned. I had a level 19 PC fly from the Ghinarian Hills to Viridistan and back recently, and being able to roll on the Tier IV encounter tables for content along with the set hex encounters worked really well. The XGTE tables only use the MM, and I've had little use for Volo's really. I get more use from Kobold Press's Tome of Beasts, which has a lot of distinctive and high-threat monsters that work well as 'specials'.

Azzy · Jun 3, 2019

Yeah, you're pretty much set. If you decide to go nautical, Ghost of Saltmarsh has ship rules and related crunch. If not, skip it. Tome of Beast, as S'mon mentioned, is a great monster resource. For more monsters, Fifth Edition Foes by Necromancer Games is hit or miss, but has some neat stuff. Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes, which you're hesitant about, I should point out has new character races, and plenty of high-level monsters should your campaign reach the upper levels. But all in all, there really isn't anything you need.

Paul Farquhar · Jun 3, 2019

You already have more than enough.

robus · Jun 3, 2019

der_kluge said:
But I'm left wondering if there are any really good 5e books from 3pp that I should be really checking out - PDF or book form. What am I missing?

Instead of asking for what you're missing, perhaps tell us what you're looking for?

More monsters? Tomb of Beasts and Creature Codex add a bunch of variety.

More treasure? Arcanis: Forged in Magic has some fun options.

Shiroiken · Jun 3, 2019

Depends on what you're looking for. Tome of Beasts is you best choice for monsters (it's pretty amazing). Sword Coast Adventuring Guide adds some player crunch, plus some setting information for the Forgotten Realms. If you're looking for a setting, you've got Ravnica, Eberron on DMsGuild, and I'd recommend Thule and Midguard for 3PP.

Al2O3 · Jun 3, 2019

If you can get access to (e.g. borrow or look through at LFGS) a copy of Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide I would suggest checking out the subclasses and the lore about gods. You might already have everything that would potentially be interesting (e.g. swashbuckler subclass), but it's the only thing I could possibly recommend considering in addition to what you have and what others have suggested.

MrDM69 · Jun 3, 2019

der_kluge said:
I kind of like Mordenkainen's Guide, but I failed to see why I needed the stats for over a dozen demon and devil lords. So that was a huge waste of space. But I might pick it up eventually since there was some value in there.?

I have to disagree with you. I found the stats for the Demons and Devils quite useful, as I enjoy doing adventurers including those monsters. And the information in it was extremely helpful, especially the history of the different playable races(Dwarfs, Gith, Elfs, etc.). But I believe a good book would be either Guildmaster's Guide to Ravnica (D&D meets Magic the Gathering) or Waterdeep Dragon Heist.

aco175 · Jun 3, 2019

Depends on your play and how high in level the PCs get. I would get LMoP boxed set and the new boxed set coming out about icespire peak. both of these can provide a couple campaigns and a couple years worth of gaming. I'm looking at the Elemental Evil book for a new campaign instead of writing one now that there is so much supplemental guides to make it better.