D&D General 50 years, 50 publications - the poll

[JEB]

I remember during the 3E era, many people considered the 2E Monstrous Manual to be the best monster book TSR/WotC ever produced. People were really excited when the commemorative edition came out. It's interesting to see it doing fine, but not amazing, in the poll several decades later.

One possible issue: it kind of sits in the middle, both chronologically and nostalgically. It's not as representative of early D&D and AD&D, which might make it an automatic runner-up for the oldest players. But it may yet be too old-school to appeal to players who started with 3e, 4e, or 5e, which have very different styles.

There's three days left in the poll, though! Still time for it to make a comeback.

(Personally, as noted earlier, it's still in close competition with the 5e Monster Manual for my #1 D&D monster book. And easily beats it on quantity.)

 

[JEB]

Day 4 progress report...

Top 10 publications:
#1 (24 votes): DMG (1e)
#2 (23 votes): PHB (1e)
#3 (19 votes): B2 Keep (Basic), MM (1e), I6 Ravenloft (1e), PHB (5e 2014)
#4 (17 votes): X1 Isle (Basic)
#5 (16 votes): PHB (2e)
#6 (15 votes): Basic Rules (Mentzer), Planescape CS (2e)

Interesting, votes went up a little for all of them, but top 10 placements are exactly the same. Let's look at 11-25, then...

#7 (13 votes): Basic Set (Moldvay), Fiend Folio (1e), PHB 3.0, MM (5e), Starter Set (5e)
#8 (12 votes): B4 Lost (Basic), Dark Sun (2e)
#9 (11 votes): Rules Cyclopedia (Basic), Deities & Demigods (1e)
#10 (10 votes): Expert Set (Cook), Expert Rules (Mentzer), T1 Hommlet (1e), U1 Saltmarsh (1e), Monstrous Manual (2e), Xanathar's (5e)

#1 result for 4e is DMG, with 7 votes.
#1 result for OD&D is the original boxed set, with 7 votes.

Comments:

• 3e just needs a few more votes to get into the top 10!
• The 4e DMG also gained some ground (I have heard good things about it) but 4e is still in the bottom half of the 50. Hope to see that change!
• Dark Sun 2e is currently the second-ranked campaign setting product (after Planescape 2e). Very respectable. Interesting that neither Greyhawk nor the Realms is in the top 25...
• Still some 0 votes, but at least Gardmore Abbey got some love.

 

[pemerton]

Yeah, that was the Monstrous Manual, not the Monster Manual.

Edited to make that clearer in my post.

I was just wanting to confirm, because the proposition surprised me a bit.

 

[JEB]

d20 cheers for 3e!

Player's Handbook (3e, 3.0): The book that completely reinvented D&D and led the way for the d20 boom.
Player's Handbook (3e, 3.5): The refinement that planted the seeds of many OGL games.

Dungeon Master's Guide (3e, 3.0): A new DMG for a new century!
Dungeon Master's Guide (3e, 3.5): The revision of the above.

Monster Manual (3e, 3.0): Basic, Advanced, and brand-new monsters converge here.
Monster Manual (3e, 3.5): The upgrade of the above.

Arms and Equipment Guide (3e): Arm and equip your 3e character!
Defenders of the Faith (3e): Everything 3.0 players need for their divine characters.
Deities and Demigods (3e): D&D's last dedicated exploration of real-life mythology, and the Greyhawk pantheon.
Draconomicon (3e): The ultimate guide to D&D dragons!
Dragon Magic (3e): The ultimate guide to D&D dragons... magic.
Drow of the Underdark (3e): The ultimate guide to the drow!

Dungeon Master's Guide II (3e): More options for 3.5 DMs.
Epic Level Handbook (3e): Extending 3e play into the highest levels!
Expanded Psionics Handbook (3e): The final dedicated official psionics book for D&D.

Fiendish Codex I: Hordes of the Abyss (3e): A detailed exploration of demons and their home plane.
Fiendish Codex II: Tyrants of the Nine Hells (3e): A detailed exploration of devils and their home plane.

The Forge of Fury (3e): The second adventure for 3e, well-regarded enough to get updated for 5e!
Ghostwalk (3e): Play ghosts in this overlooked setting.
Hero Builder's Guidebook (3e): Walks you through every aspect of character creation for 3.0!
Libris Mortis: The Book of Undead (3e): A detailed exploration of undead.
Lords of Madness: The Book of Aberrations (3e): A detailed exploration of aberrations.
Magic Item Compendium (3e): Compiling many of 3e's magic items in one place!
Manual of the Planes (3e): 3.0's guide to the D&D planes, and cosmologies generally.
Masters of the Wild (3e): Everything 3.0 players need for their wilderness characters.

Monster Manual III (3e): The first new monster book for 3.5, integrating newcomers like Eberron.
Oriental Adventures (3e): Introducing Rokugan to D&D!

Player's Handbook II (3e): More options for 3.5 players.
Races of the Wild (3e): Everything 3.5 players need for wilderness species.
Red Hand of Doom (3e): Widely considered one of the best 3e adventures.
Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil (3e): The sequel to the classic megadungeon.

Rules Compendium (3e): A one-stop reference for 3.5 rules.
Sandstorm (3e): For adventures in the desert!
Savage Species (3e): How to play monster characters in 3.0.
Song and Silence (3e): Everything 3.0 players need for their roguish characters.
Stormwrack (3e): For adventures at sea!

The Sunless Citadel (3e): The original 3e introductory adventure. Also well-regarded, also in 5e!
Sword and Fist (3e): Everything 3.0 players need for their martial characters.
Tome and Blood (3e): Everything 3.0 players need for their arcane characters.
Tome of Battle: The Book of Nine Swords (3e): New options for martial characters, and an early step towards 4e!
Unearthed Arcana (3e): Many ways to customize your 3.5 game.

Eberron Campaign Setting (3e): 3e's first original setting, a magi-tech world that embraces D&D tropes.

Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting (3e): One of the best all-in-one sourcebooks for the Realms.
Forgotten Realms: City of the Spider Queen (3e): Another of 3e's best adventures, and one of the best for the Realms.

Living Greyhawk Gazetteer (3e): A detailed guide to Greyhawk for 3.0 players.

 

[JEB]

Just realized the 3e Spell Compendium didn't make it onto the list. Huh. Oh well.

 

[jmartkdr2]

Races of Stone isn't on the poll. It's my favorite individual book.

Entire poll is invalid

 

[JEB]

Day 5 progress report...

Top 20 publications:
#1 (24 votes): DMG (1e)
#2 (23 votes): PHB (1e)
#3 (20 votes): I6 Ravenloft (1e)
#4 (19 votes): B2 Keep (Basic), MM (1e), PHB (5e 2014)
#5 (17 votes): X1 Isle (Basic), PHB (2e)
#6 (16 votes): Basic Rules (Mentzer)
#7 (15 votes): Planescape CS (2e)
#8 (13 votes): Basic Set (Moldvay), Fiend Folio (1e), PHB 3.0, MM (5e), Starter Set (5e)
#9 (12 votes): Rules Cyclopedia (Basic), B4 Lost (Basic), Dark Sun (2e)
#10 (11 votes): Deities & Demigods (1e), Monstrous Manual (2e)

#1 result for 4e is DMG, with 7 votes.
#1 result for OD&D is the original boxed set, with 7 votes.

Some small shifts: I6 Ravenloft is now firmly #3; the red box pulled ahead of Planescape 2e; 11-20 clustered together more.

4e and OD&D remain absent from the top 25... but we still have two days left!

 

[Zardnaar]

Day 5 progress report...

Top 20 publications:
#1 (24 votes): DMG (1e)
#2 (23 votes): PHB (1e)
#3 (20 votes): I6 Ravenloft (1e)
#3 (19 votes): B2 Keep (Basic), MM (1e), PHB (5e 2014)
#4 (17 votes): X1 Isle (Basic), PHB (2e)
#5 (16 votes): Basic Rules (Mentzer)
#6 (15 votes): Planescape CS (2e)
#7 (13 votes): Basic Set (Moldvay), Fiend Folio (1e), PHB 3.0, MM (5e), Starter Set (5e)
#8 (12 votes): Rules Cyclopedia (Basic), B4 Lost (Basic), Dark Sun (2e)
#9 (11 votes): Deities & Demigods (1e), Monstrous Manual (2e)

#1 result for 4e is DMG, with 7 votes.
#1 result for OD&D is the original boxed set, with 7 votes.

Some small shifts: I6 Ravenloft is now firmly #3; the red box pulled ahead of Planescape 2e; 11-20 clustered together more.

4e and OD&D remain absent from the top 25... but we still have two days left!

Problem with these type of polls is the popular well known stuff keeps winning.

There's a lot better adventures than B2 for example in the B series. But because comparatively few people played them......

 

[JEB]

Time to give some likes to 4e!

Player's Handbook (4e): A daring reinvention of the game.
Player's Handbook 2 (4e): Bringing back some earlier edition favorites!

Dungeon Master's Guide (4e): The ultimate guide for running 4e games.
Dungeon Master's Guide 2 (4e): More masterful advice!

Monster Manual (4e): The ultimate collection of 4e foes to fight.
Monster Manual 3 (4e): Witness the glory of the new monster math!

Heroes of the Fallen Lands (4e, Essentials) and Heroes of the Forgotten Kingdoms (4e, Essentials): A more classically themed set of rules for players!
Dungeon Master's Kit (4e, Essentials): The essential toolkit for DMs.
Monster Vault (4e, Essentials): A fresh look at classic monsters for the Essentials era!
Rules Compendium (4e, Essentials): A convenient, condensed, all-in-one 4e rules reference.

HS1: The Slaying Stone (4e): One of 4e's best-regarded adventures.

Adventurer's Vault (4e): The practically required guide to 4e gear.
Adventurer's Vault 2 (4e): More gear to empower the players!

Draconomicon: Chromatic Dragons (4e): 4e's examination of the classic dragons!
Draconomicon: Metallic Dragons (4e): The metallic dragons return for 4e!

Madness at Gardmore Abbey (4e): 4e's best adventure, according to many.
Manual of the Planes (4e): An exploration of the new 4e cosmology!
Monster Vault: Threats to the Nentir Vale (4e): The most in-depth sourcebook for 4e's Nentir Vale setting.
Mordenkainen's Magnificent Emporium (4e): Updating and expanding 4e's equipment options, with a certain wizard as your host.
Open Grave: Secrets of the Undead (4e): An exploration of undead, 4e style.

The Plane Above: Secrets of the Astral Sea (4e): A further investigation of 4e's higher planes.
The Plane Below: Secrets of the Elemental Chaos (4e): A further investigation of 4e's lower planes.
The Shadowfell: Gloomwrought and Beyond (4e): Exploring the plane of shadow!

Dark Sun Campaign Setting (4e): A back-to-basics reintroduction of a classic setting.

 

[JEB]

Day 6 progress report...

Top 20 publications:
#1 (25 votes): DMG (1e)
#2 (24 votes): PHB (1e)
#3 (21 votes): I6 Ravenloft (1e), PHB (5e 2014)
#4 (20 votes): MM (1e)
#5 (19 votes): B2 Keep (Basic)
#6 (18 votes): PHB (2e)
#7 (17 votes): X1 Isle (Basic)
#8 (16 votes): Basic Rules (Mentzer), Planescape CS (2e)
#9 (15 votes): Rules Cyclopedia (Basic)
#10 (14 votes): MM (5e), Starter Set (5e)
#11 (13 votes): Basic Set (Moldvay), Fiend Folio (1e), PHB 3.0
#12 (12 votes): B4 Lost (Basic), Dark Sun (2e), Monstrous Manual (2e), Curse of Strahd (5e)

#1 result for 4e is DMG, with 7 votes.
#1 result for OD&D is the original boxed set, with 7 votes.

Some notable shifts this time! 5e gained ground overall, with the 2014 PHB now firmly in the top five ranks; Curse of Strahd rejoining the top 20 (displacing Deities & Demigods 1e); and the MM and Starter Set nudging up a rank. The Rules Cyclopedia also jumped to the 11th place slot - will it get into the top 10?

4e and OD&D didn't really move, but there's a day left for their fans to help them out!