are the D&D Map folios any good?

[saethone]

i've got a wal mart gift card burning my wallet and wanted to get rid of it...have some questions though

which of these do you think would be a better buy?


Vile Darkness (I already have exalted deeds)
monster manual 2 or 3
Map folio 3-D AND map folio 2
ghost walk
libris mortis
oriental adventures
epic level handbook (i'll have to get this anyway, but not any time soon..party is just gonna be level 6 this session probably)
complete adventurer
stronghold builders

or races of (x) ? (i have none yet)


i'm leaning towards vile darkness or the maps, personally...vile darkness to get started on the BBEG and the maps to make session planning easier

(Note: myplayers are cheap, i gaurentee they will have never seen these maps )

 

[fanboy2000]

If you DM, I'd go with MMII or MMIII, or posible Libris Mortis

If your a player, I'd go with Oriental Adventres, or an appropriate races book. I have Races of Stone and it's well written.

I didn't care for Map Folio 2 because all the maps were realated to some ruins that didn't realy inspire me.

If you like undead, Libris Mortis is great.

 

[saethone]

i am a dm

what kind of monsters do the mm 2 and 3 have? which of the two is better?

 

[Keeper of Secrets]

I was really impessed with Libris Mortis. I bought it thinking it would be kinda cool but was blown away about how cool it actually was.

 

[diaglo]

don't get the folios.

of your choices listed i'd say vile darkness.

 

[amethal]

i am a dm

what kind of monsters do the mm 2 and 3 have? which of the two is better?

MM3 is 3.5 whereas MM2 is 3.0 (ok, you can get the 3.5 conversion off the WotC website, but its extra hassle).

Most of the monsters in both are new (at least they were to me, and I had plenty of AD&D monster books) and seemed strange because of it. Now I've got used to them, I think MM3 has better monsters in it, and is more fun to flick through. (And i just love Living Spells for some reason!)

MM3 would be my recommendation. However, it has a number of Eberron creatures in there, and information on using monsters in Eberron and the Forgotten Realms. If you have a strong dislike for these settings this will probably irritate you, but I found it an interesting "teaser".

Otehrwsie, Libris Mortis would be my second choice. Some great spells and feats in it, plenty of sample vampires and liches to keep the DM going, and a plethora of nasties for when the DM wants to scare the players - the Entropic Reaper, for instance, uses an oversized scythe so a x 4 critical can be fatal by itself, nevermind having to save against the scythe's extremely unpleasant magical ability.

I wasn't keen on Map Folio I or II (haven't got 3D); Folio II in particular is all for the same location, so is either very useful (at last, a set of maps for the ancient ruins the PCs have been preparing to explore) or pointless.

I wouldn't get Epic Level Handbook yet (and maybe not at all). Among other things, it seems to me its ripe for a re-write so if you buy it now you might regret it later.

I love Oriental Adventures, but most comments I have seen about it are along the lines of "Bring back Kara-Tur, Death to Rokugan". However, some of the stuff in Oriental Adventures was then done better (in my opinion, obviously) in Rokugan Campaign Setting so you might be looking at 2 books .....

 

[DaveMage]

don't get the folios.

of your choices listed i'd say vile darkness.

Ditto.

 

[Romnipotent]

Draconomicon, fork out the extra cash

 

[MonkeyDragon]

Of your list, probably Comeplete Adventurer. It's a terribly nifty book. I will, though, stick up for the map folios. I like them. When it's time to brew up a dungeon, I flip through it, find a complex that I like, then use my computer to copy the map and change any bits I need to. It saves me a lot of time from coming up with every room and twist and turn myself. I've never seen the 3d, one, though. Vile darkness is kinda cool. One of the best five bucks in the discount rpg bin at the comiccon I've ever spent. I don't get into it much for the Supreme Evil, but I like the drugs and poisons, and the torture info will be useful someday...oh, yes...

 

[Mark Hope]

BoVD is great for the portayal of evil, although it is quite focussed on demons & devils. If, for some reason, your game doesn't feature those, you might find it to of less use.

Libris Mortis is a great book - I'd probably go for this one. It will completely revitalise your undead (excuse the pun). As well as having lots of cool new undead, it features heaps of rules and tweaks to enhance those from earlier books.

I really enjoyed Ghostwalk, as I was in the process of designing a new campaign when I bought it and was able to incorporate its elements from the ground up. It would be harder to use in an established gameworld, but it's a fine product, and there is a free 3.5 conversion web enhancement over at the WotC site.