Are Any Pre-4e Books Essential Reading?
- Thread starter Jools
- Start date
Haffrung Helleyes
First Post
Yes
This would be my list:
1E DMG and PHB - where it all began
Dark Tower or Caverns of Thracia - best 1E adventures
3.5 Player's Handbook - revitalized D&D
Ptolus - best city supplement ever written (by far)
Wilderlands of High Fantasy - best 'sandbox' campaign setting
Rappan Athuk Reloaded - best old school megadungeon
Savage Tide Adventure Path - Paizo's best pre-pathfinder adventure
Pathfinder - 3E with incremental changes
Ken
This would be my list:
1E DMG and PHB - where it all began
Dark Tower or Caverns of Thracia - best 1E adventures
3.5 Player's Handbook - revitalized D&D
Ptolus - best city supplement ever written (by far)
Wilderlands of High Fantasy - best 'sandbox' campaign setting
Rappan Athuk Reloaded - best old school megadungeon
Savage Tide Adventure Path - Paizo's best pre-pathfinder adventure
Pathfinder - 3E with incremental changes
Ken
Tav_Behemoth
First Post
Do you mostly play or DM? Are you more interested in rules or descriptions; rulebooks, settings, or adventures? Do you just want RPG books or are you also interested in novels that are part of D&D history?
Some general favorites:
- for roleplaying in general, Play Unsafe is about using improv techniques as a player or a GM; reviewed here
- for novels that shaped D&D, Jack Vance's [ame=http://www.amazon.com/Tales-Dying-Earth-Jack-Vance/dp/0312874561]The Dying Earth[/ame] is a good source for "Vancian spellcasting" and many other elements of the D&D worldview; his style is ornate (see examples [ame=http://muleabides.wordpress.com/2010/01/30/making-vancian-spellcasting-concrete/]here[/ame]) and not for everyone but I think this is essential reading (as are Leiber's Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser stories, Howard's Conan stories, Moorcock's Elric stories, and Anderson's The Broken Sword and Three Hearts and Three Lions).
- for game books, I'll ditto the AD&D Dungeon Masters Guide as a rich well of stuff to dip into and wonder at; reading it cover-to-cover would boggle my brain!
- for adventures, the Judges Guild module Caverns of Thracia is exceptionally great but not available in PDF; Modron is short and eye-opening in how little it presents but how useful it is. Much better known and equally full of goodness is the TSR module B2: Keep on the Borderlands, which has maps of a castle, wilderness, and cave complex as well as advice about playing D&D and a glossary of those terms most people see only in D&D like "brazier" and "portcullis".
DaveMage
Slumbering in Tsar
If you're having a blast with 4E, then no, there's nothing in the other editions you should read. Keep playing and having a blast.
If, however, you grow tired of it and start to look for a different experience, come back and ask again.
rogueattorney
Adventurer
Some good ol' Appendix N fantasy always helps to set the mood:
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Coming-Conan-Cimmerian-Original-Adventures/dp/0345461517/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1266257368&sr=8-1"]Robert Howard's Conan stories[/ame]
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Tales-Dying-Earth-Jack-Vance/dp/0312874561/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1266257418&sr=1-1"]Jack Vance's Dying Earth stories[/ame]
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Hobbit-70th-Anniversary-J-R-R-Tolkien/dp/0618968636/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_3"]The Hobbit[/ame]
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Princess-Mars-Penguin-Classics/dp/0143104888/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1266257554&sr=1-2"]Burrough's Mars series[/ame]
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Lankhmar-Book-1-Swords-Deviltry/dp/1595820795/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1266257624&sr=1-2"]Fafhrd & the Grey Mouser[/ame]
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Dreams-Terror-Death-Dream-Lovecraft/dp/0345384210/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1266257697&sr=1-9"]H.P. Lovecraft's fantasy[/ame]
Elric
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/High-Crusade-Poul-Anderson/dp/1439133778/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1266257832&sr=1-1"]Poul Anderson's fantasy[/ame]
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Compleat-Enchanter-Millennium-Fantasy-Masterworks/dp/1857987578/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1266257911&sr=1-1"]DeCamp & Pratt's Harold Shea stories[/ame]
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Face-Frost-John-Bellairs/dp/0441225284/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1266257984&sr=1-2"]Bellairs' Face in the Frost[/ame]
There's a good start.
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Coming-Conan-Cimmerian-Original-Adventures/dp/0345461517/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1266257368&sr=8-1"]Robert Howard's Conan stories[/ame]
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Tales-Dying-Earth-Jack-Vance/dp/0312874561/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1266257418&sr=1-1"]Jack Vance's Dying Earth stories[/ame]
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Hobbit-70th-Anniversary-J-R-R-Tolkien/dp/0618968636/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_3"]The Hobbit[/ame]
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Princess-Mars-Penguin-Classics/dp/0143104888/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1266257554&sr=1-2"]Burrough's Mars series[/ame]
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Lankhmar-Book-1-Swords-Deviltry/dp/1595820795/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1266257624&sr=1-2"]Fafhrd & the Grey Mouser[/ame]
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Dreams-Terror-Death-Dream-Lovecraft/dp/0345384210/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1266257697&sr=1-9"]H.P. Lovecraft's fantasy[/ame]
Elric
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/High-Crusade-Poul-Anderson/dp/1439133778/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1266257832&sr=1-1"]Poul Anderson's fantasy[/ame]
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Compleat-Enchanter-Millennium-Fantasy-Masterworks/dp/1857987578/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1266257911&sr=1-1"]DeCamp & Pratt's Harold Shea stories[/ame]
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Face-Frost-John-Bellairs/dp/0441225284/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1266257984&sr=1-2"]Bellairs' Face in the Frost[/ame]
There's a good start.
Joshua Randall
Legend
There's nothing you need to read as long as your game is fun and everyone's enjoying himself.
However... since you asked...
Robin's Laws of Good Gamemastering, Robin Laws. Short but sweet, and just what it says on the tin. Some of Laws' ideas were incorporated into the late-3e DMG2 and have showed up again in the 4e DMG and DMG2. But I still like the original.
3e Dungeon Master's Guide 2. Speaking of this book, I think it's fantastic. Like the 4e DMGs, it's less focused on giving you rules (crunch) and more focused on giving you advice on how to be a DM.
3e Manual of the Planes. The planes were very different in 3e, but you can ignore those differences and enjoy this book as a source of adventure ideas. It's a goldmine; literally every time I read it, I get an idea for an adventure -- or even an entire campaign.
3e Draconomicon. You know how the 4e Chromatic / Metallic Dragons books have sections on dragon physiology, personality, and so forth? This was the source and (IMO) superior version. You also get stat'd out dragons at every color and age category, and while the 3e stats won't be much use to you, the little plot hooks sprinkled into each dragon's writeup will be. There are also some Prestige Classes (3e version of Paragon Paths, sort of) that can be mined for ideas. Draconomicon is simply a great book.
3e era Dragon and Dungeon magazines. I will single out Dragon #309 (July 2003) / Dungeon #100 which feature the Githyanki Incursion articles, some of the finest ideas to come out of the 3e era. You could get an entire campaign, or certainly an entire 4e tier's worth (Paragon or Epic) of play from this. Note: if you've been reading the 4e Scales of War adventure path, it has a lot of echos from Incursion.
The Age of Worms adventure path, which ran in Dungeon, also deserves a mention. Although it bogs down in parts, and was a meatgrinder from the very beginning (fear the 3e swarm mechanics!), the ideas behind most of the adventures were great. To whet your appetite: there's an adventure that features a city ruled by giants that is under siege by something like 30 chromatic dragons; the PCs need something from within the city. Great fun. And the ending -- the PCs fight a nascent god -- is suitably Epic, and would translate well to that tier of 4e play.
3e adventure, Red Hand of Doom. Arguably the best WotC-published adventure from the 3e era, it's fantastic right up until the end when it turns into a dungeon crawl. But the idea, a goblinoid invasion of a human-dominated kingdom, presents a ton of fun adventuring. You could probably convert this to 4e simply by swapping out the 3e monsters for their 4e equivalent -- just watch out for anything that ends up being much higher or lower level (compare to 3e's "CR" (Challenge Rating)).
2e Complete Thieves Handbook. I'll second the recommendation for this. You can ignore all the 2e-specific stuff and dig into the kits (roughly analogous to Backgrounds in 4e) and the brilliant, brilliant chapter on how to set up a thieves guild -- complete with random tables, a staple of 1e and 2e (A)D&D. The example guild being set up would be fun to use right off the page.
2e Planescape. Well, it's a whole line of products, so just look for the original boxed set if you can somehow find it. The setting is a little too gonzo and wahoo for me, but it's like a mind expanding drug: you'll have some sweet visions after you read Planescape. I'd be interested to see how a pure 4e player reacts to Planescape's very different assumptions.
1e/2e Modules (Adventures). Too many to list, but I'll second the recommendations for B4: The Lost City, U1 / U2 / U3: Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh / etc., and D1 / D2 / D3: Descent into the Depths of the Earth / etc. Problem is, these will be hard to come by these days, but you might haunt used bookstores or find them on eBay.
Wow, listing all this stuff is making me nostalgic. *sniffle*
However... since you asked...
Robin's Laws of Good Gamemastering, Robin Laws. Short but sweet, and just what it says on the tin. Some of Laws' ideas were incorporated into the late-3e DMG2 and have showed up again in the 4e DMG and DMG2. But I still like the original.
3e Dungeon Master's Guide 2. Speaking of this book, I think it's fantastic. Like the 4e DMGs, it's less focused on giving you rules (crunch) and more focused on giving you advice on how to be a DM.
3e Manual of the Planes. The planes were very different in 3e, but you can ignore those differences and enjoy this book as a source of adventure ideas. It's a goldmine; literally every time I read it, I get an idea for an adventure -- or even an entire campaign.
3e Draconomicon. You know how the 4e Chromatic / Metallic Dragons books have sections on dragon physiology, personality, and so forth? This was the source and (IMO) superior version. You also get stat'd out dragons at every color and age category, and while the 3e stats won't be much use to you, the little plot hooks sprinkled into each dragon's writeup will be. There are also some Prestige Classes (3e version of Paragon Paths, sort of) that can be mined for ideas. Draconomicon is simply a great book.
3e era Dragon and Dungeon magazines. I will single out Dragon #309 (July 2003) / Dungeon #100 which feature the Githyanki Incursion articles, some of the finest ideas to come out of the 3e era. You could get an entire campaign, or certainly an entire 4e tier's worth (Paragon or Epic) of play from this. Note: if you've been reading the 4e Scales of War adventure path, it has a lot of echos from Incursion.
The Age of Worms adventure path, which ran in Dungeon, also deserves a mention. Although it bogs down in parts, and was a meatgrinder from the very beginning (fear the 3e swarm mechanics!), the ideas behind most of the adventures were great. To whet your appetite: there's an adventure that features a city ruled by giants that is under siege by something like 30 chromatic dragons; the PCs need something from within the city. Great fun. And the ending -- the PCs fight a nascent god -- is suitably Epic, and would translate well to that tier of 4e play.
3e adventure, Red Hand of Doom. Arguably the best WotC-published adventure from the 3e era, it's fantastic right up until the end when it turns into a dungeon crawl. But the idea, a goblinoid invasion of a human-dominated kingdom, presents a ton of fun adventuring. You could probably convert this to 4e simply by swapping out the 3e monsters for their 4e equivalent -- just watch out for anything that ends up being much higher or lower level (compare to 3e's "CR" (Challenge Rating)).
2e Complete Thieves Handbook. I'll second the recommendation for this. You can ignore all the 2e-specific stuff and dig into the kits (roughly analogous to Backgrounds in 4e) and the brilliant, brilliant chapter on how to set up a thieves guild -- complete with random tables, a staple of 1e and 2e (A)D&D. The example guild being set up would be fun to use right off the page.
2e Planescape. Well, it's a whole line of products, so just look for the original boxed set if you can somehow find it. The setting is a little too gonzo and wahoo for me, but it's like a mind expanding drug: you'll have some sweet visions after you read Planescape. I'd be interested to see how a pure 4e player reacts to Planescape's very different assumptions.
1e/2e Modules (Adventures). Too many to list, but I'll second the recommendations for B4: The Lost City, U1 / U2 / U3: Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh / etc., and D1 / D2 / D3: Descent into the Depths of the Earth / etc. Problem is, these will be hard to come by these days, but you might haunt used bookstores or find them on eBay.
Wow, listing all this stuff is making me nostalgic. *sniffle*
billd91
Not your screen monkey (he/him) 🇺🇦🇵🇸🏳️⚧️
The resource I go back to time and time again is the 1e Dungeon Master's Guide. Chock full of useful advice.
1e AD&D module I6-Ravenloft. A pretty standard dungeon crawl but with a lot of atmosphere. It raises the bar on what a traditional site-based adventure can feel like.
Like I6, there are other tidbits in different modules that I have found useful. If you managed to find a copy of RA1-Feast of Goblyns (the first of the modules for the Ravenloft demi-plane setting), there's a brief section early in the module about using a DM style that fits in with the Ravenloft setting. It's a fairly short section about promoting a sense of mystery and danger but it's excellent.
1e AD&D module I6-Ravenloft. A pretty standard dungeon crawl but with a lot of atmosphere. It raises the bar on what a traditional site-based adventure can feel like.
Like I6, there are other tidbits in different modules that I have found useful. If you managed to find a copy of RA1-Feast of Goblyns (the first of the modules for the Ravenloft demi-plane setting), there's a brief section early in the module about using a DM style that fits in with the Ravenloft setting. It's a fairly short section about promoting a sense of mystery and danger but it's excellent.
Cyronax
Explorer
I know a few have mentioned these already, but here are the minimal essentials that I'd give to a new D&D player, outside of main 4e books:
- Red hand of Doom (3.5) - It is a great module all around. Its also directly linked to 4e's own Scales of War adventure path. It has a lot of great subplots, monster ideas, and maps. It also is pretty easy to find and has an iconic feel in which the PCs really become the heroes of the setting.
- Night's Dark Terror (BECMI/Classic D&D module B10) - hands down the best written and one of the most engaging adventures in all of D&D history. Its available for purchase in pdf. Its also set up for low-level characters.
- D&D Rules Cyclopedia (BECMI/Classic D&D). As a previous poster mentioned, this book has so many portable ideas and awesome old school inspiration. I have the pdf of it, but recently ordered a hard copy because it is just that cool.
- Council of Wyrms (2e) - campaign setting that lets PCs play dragons. This setting would work really well with 4e, IMO, especially given the easy and balanced rules for creating monsters in 4e. Give each player a young dragon and the ability to level as a character class, and I think it'd be a memorable mini-campaign.
- Red hand of Doom (3.5) - It is a great module all around. Its also directly linked to 4e's own Scales of War adventure path. It has a lot of great subplots, monster ideas, and maps. It also is pretty easy to find and has an iconic feel in which the PCs really become the heroes of the setting.
- Night's Dark Terror (BECMI/Classic D&D module B10) - hands down the best written and one of the most engaging adventures in all of D&D history. Its available for purchase in pdf. Its also set up for low-level characters.
- D&D Rules Cyclopedia (BECMI/Classic D&D). As a previous poster mentioned, this book has so many portable ideas and awesome old school inspiration. I have the pdf of it, but recently ordered a hard copy because it is just that cool.
- Council of Wyrms (2e) - campaign setting that lets PCs play dragons. This setting would work really well with 4e, IMO, especially given the easy and balanced rules for creating monsters in 4e. Give each player a young dragon and the ability to level as a character class, and I think it'd be a memorable mini-campaign.
Festivus
First Post
The first thing that popped into my head was Whispering Cairn by Erik Mona, that was a classic to run... felt old school in a almost Hommlet-esque sort of way. A town filled with colorful NPCs, a nearby dungeon that ate characters and spit them back out, and some really great history from days of D&D yore located within. It's a great example of how to start a campaign in my opinion, and I'll probably recycle it again to use with my kids when they get older. But I too agree, there were some real dogs in that AP, but nothing that wasn't totally reworkable.
Tome of Horrors makes my list, good stuff for monsters, if nothing else, to reskin for 4E. Tome of Horrors Revised - Necromancer | RPGNow.com
Fiendish Codex I still creeps me out, excellent fluff within: [ame=http://www.amazon.com/Fiendish-Codex-Dungeons-Roleplaying-Supplement/dp/0786939192/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1266267033&sr=1-1]Amazon.com: Fiendish Codex I: Hordes of the Abyss (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.5 Fantasy Roleplaying Supplement) (pt. 1) (9780786939190): James Jacob, Erik Mona: Books[/ame]
GM Mastery Volume I [ame=http://www.amazon.com/GM-Mastery-Various/dp/0972482636/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1266266977&sr=8-1]Amazon.com: GM Mastery (9780972482639): Various: Books[/ame], by Johnn Four and others... great resource of tips for campaigns of any edition.
Similar Threads
