Best 5 books for True20?

[Angellis_ater]

So, my gaming group has some money dedicated to buying books each year and this year we're spending some of it on True20. What would be the top 5 books that give us the most "bang for the buck" for True20? We will be using True20 for everything from horror to fantasy, so keep that in mind. The more "general" stuff is, the better.

Thanks for the help!

 

[ephealy]

I was asked a similar question on my blog recently. This is how I responded:
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Sci-fi: Honestly, there isn't anything worth getting right now. Some of the modern stuff touches on sci-fi themes, and would be useful in a sci-fi game, but you're going to have to wait for your fix if you want something with meat.

You won't have to wait long, though. Reign of Discordia is coming out in about a week. It was written by Darrin "Book of Exalted Deeds" Drader, and is very 1970s sci-fi a la BSG, Star Trek and Star Wars.

http://realitydeviants.net/blog/category/reign-of-discordia/


Superheroes: Just stick to M&M.


Contemporary Sci-Fi: RDP put out two books you might like this year: Technothrillers and Heroic Toolkits: Vehicles.

If you like steampunk, Reality Blurs just released Gearcraft.

Big Finger Games has Mecha vs. Kaiju.

http://www.mechavskaiju.com/

If you're looking for cyberpunk? Interface-Zero is coming out soon. I've seen the book and it's... sexy.

http://realitydeviants.net/blog/category/interface-zero/


For Fantasy, you have more choices than you can shake a stick at. I've worked on a couple Blood Throne products for RDP, so I'm obviously partial to that line. However, there are others.

If you'd like Roman-esque play, check out Roma Imperious from HinterWelt:

http://roma.hinterwelt.com/True20-ref.html

Tales of the Caliphate Nights is too sexy to pass up:

http://paradigmconcepts.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=5&products_id=15


And keep your eye out for Shadows of Cthulhu...

http://realitydeviants.net/blog/category/shadows-of-cthulhu/

 

[ValhallaGH]

True20 Adventure Roleplaying - Revised edition. Two great books in one package.

True20 Bestiary. Great critters and semi-human monsters throughout, for space, fantasy, historical gaming, horror, or whatever.

True20 Adept's Handbook. Cool stuff with powers for any and every genre.

This is where it gets tougher. From here, it's really a question of what do you really want to do with the system and what do you need books for.
If you want settings, my personal recommendation is Blood Throne. Legends of Exalibur is fantastic for any Arthurian gaming you want to do, but not really necessary, if you understand. The same is true for True20 Wild West; fantastic book but not necessary to play a western with True20. A lot of people love Caliphate Nights, but it just never really appealed to me (I still don't know why, it's very good). I really like Lux Aeternum but many don't; more importantly, the company behind it has ceased supporting the setting, so there won't be any further (almost necessary) exploration of the setting or clarification of its rules. Reign of Discordia looks great but until it comes out no one can be sure. I'm also a big fan of Worlds of Adventure, as it contains a nice selection of settings (though several of them still haven't been further developed).
Nevermore is a freaky little setting that lets you do anything and everything you've ever wanted all at the same time. Crazy dream worlds.

If you wanted tools to use in your own settings then I'd recommend the Vehicles book by the folks that brought us Technothrillers. It's a bit dull to read but it has some great tools for vehicle oriented scenes, adventures, and campaigns.
Blood and Fists True20 is the book for hand to hand combat. It has a wealth of mechanics, concepts, descriptions and advice that are perfect for any character or campaign that emphasizes marital arts (especially the weaponless kind).
I can't comment on a lot of the more recent products, as support for True20 has increased while my personal time and resources available for it have decreased. My loss.

Good luck and I hope some of this was helpful.

 

[Aus_Snow]

True20 Adventure Roleplaying
True20 Companion
True20 Bestiary
Blood Throne: Survivor's Guide to the Age of Blood
Interface Zero (sight mostly unseen)

Personally, that is. I have the first four, and am getting the fifth, ASAP.

If you were getting the revised corebook, well, the list would have to change in more ways than one. Not sure exactly what I'd put there.

But to limit it to three, I would say the 'ABC' works: Adventure Roelplaying, Bestiary, and Companion. The Companion (or revised corebook, alternatively) is the best thing to happen, so far, to True20, IMO. Mind you, I haven't actually seen the whole book for Interface Zero. . .

From what I've heard, the Adept's Handbook is very good. And if the Blood & Fists version is as good as the d20 Modern one, then sure, that'd be a good buy, too.

 

[Kichwas]

Don't get True20 Adventure Roleplaying or True20 Companion. Get True20 Revised instead. It's the above two books combined and edited for a lower price than the original rulebook.

 

[Aus_Snow]

It's the above two books combined and edited for a lower price than the original rulebook.

Yes, and also no. Revised doesn't include the settings that the original does.

Oops, and I just remembered. . . the first Blood Throne material is found in Worlds of Adventure, not the corebook.

My 'revised' list would be:

True20 Adventure Roleplaying, revised edition
True20 Bestiary
True20 Worlds of Adventure
Blood Throne: Survivor's Guide to the Age of Blood
Adept's Handbook(?) or Interface Zero(?)

Fifth place, I'm not so sure of. Not yet.

 

[Angellis_ater]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions - I am primarily NOT looking for Setting Material, unless it has a crapload of genre specific stuff that can be used in other games. If at all possible, stuff that is usable in "most genres" is preferable to us.

Right now the list says:
- True20 Adventure Roleplaying Revised
- True20 Beastiary
- True20 Adepts Handbook (although a quick check tells me it is out of print, well, everywhere)

So, with this in mind (and considering the Handbook suggestions), are the Warriors / Experts Handbook any useful?

 

[ValhallaGH]

The Warrior's Handbook hasn't come out yet. Not even in .pdf form.

The Expert's Handbook has a lot of good ideas but bad mechanics, I only recommend it as a number 8 to 10 on the list.

The Adept's Handbook is good for any and all genres, which is why I recommended it. Though if it's out of print then too many people have thought the same.

Most of the True20 settings (Caliphate Nights is an exception, which may be why I didn't like it much) give tools and ideas for multiple genres.
For example, Blood Throne is post apocalyptic fantasy, useful for any campaign that deals with fantasy, post apocalypse (any variety), or super-science-that-feels-like-magic. Plus, the Barter system it introduces is pretty danged good, especially for those that don't like Wealth (or don't want it to always be available).
Lux Aeternum is a mix of pulp, Bradbury, Star Wars, Star Trek and Cyberpunk in one surprisingly coherent and fun setting. Great for all kinds of games.
Agents of Oblivion is good for spies, modern action-adventure, horror, mystery, and similar genres. Et cetera.

Aus_Snow, if anything, I find the True20 Blood and Fists to be better than its d20 Modern predecessor. But opinions vary. It is nearly the same book, but with a simpler design philosophy for a simply feeling system.

 

[bento]

The Revised Edition + 4 copies of the pocket book for your players!

Beyond this, I'd suggest the Bestiary. Otherwise everything is subjective to personal taste.

 

[Angellis_ater]

Ok, so so far we have

Revised, Bestiary, Adepts Handbook - 2 more choices to fill (I am leaning towards Blood Throne + Interface Zero right now)

Some of these suggestions (like Interface Zero and Blood Throne) - are they available in print? Because the gaming group only wants print products for the gaming table.