PHATsakk43
Last Authlim of the True Lord of Tyranny
Volo's Guide to Monsters is probably the best or second best 5E non-core book. I probably use Xanathar's a bit more though. VGtM has a very old-school 2E feel to it I'll have to admit.
D&D General Best D&D product of any edition (non-core book)
- Thread starter Sacrosanct
- Start date
Dragonhelm
Knight of Solamnia
Here are a few of my faves, in no particular order.
DMGR3 Arms and Equipment Guide (2e) - Quite simply, one of the most comprehensive sourcebooks ever on equipment. Tons of pictures and descriptions.
Draconomicon 3e. I love the 2e and 3e versions, but the 3e version has a lot on anatomy. Plus that Todd Lockwood cover is amazing. Quite honestly, one of the best resources for dragons.
Legends & Lore - A great resource for mythology in D&D. I like both 1st and 2nd editions.
NOTE: These links are DMs Guild affiliate links.
DMGR3 Arms and Equipment Guide (2e) - Quite simply, one of the most comprehensive sourcebooks ever on equipment. Tons of pictures and descriptions.
Draconomicon 3e. I love the 2e and 3e versions, but the 3e version has a lot on anatomy. Plus that Todd Lockwood cover is amazing. Quite honestly, one of the best resources for dragons.
Legends & Lore - A great resource for mythology in D&D. I like both 1st and 2nd editions.
NOTE: These links are DMs Guild affiliate links.
kigmatzomat
Legend
For pure game world versimiltude, Expeditious Retreat Press's Mgical Medieval Society Western Europe. Part major factions, part village-level politics, mix in a stronghold builder system and some core economic concepts that help a GM have a more complete world.
The Dragonlance Atlas was an excellent set of maps, imo. Love it. Mmmmm, maps.....
And Book of the Nine Swords was my favorite mechanical expansion. I'm good with the "wire-fu" version of fighter next to a fireball-throwing wizard and clerics ringing doom bells.
The Dragonlance Atlas was an excellent set of maps, imo. Love it. Mmmmm, maps.....
And Book of the Nine Swords was my favorite mechanical expansion. I'm good with the "wire-fu" version of fighter next to a fireball-throwing wizard and clerics ringing doom bells.
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Micah Sweet
Level Up & OSR Enthusiast
Probably my favorite 5e book, and that includes the core.
Complete Fighter's Handbook. I really liked how it presented a new approach to weapon proficiencies. It put fighters on par with rangers and paladins (in my games I allowed only fighters to use the weapon proficiency rules from that book).
I also liked the concept of kits. While they eventually became bloated and wildly unbalanced, the ones in the Fighter's book felt like flavorful, thematic tools to make your fighter stand out. Back in '89, they were a nice way to make the vanilla fighter feel interesting and distinct alongside rangers and paladins.
I also liked the concept of kits. While they eventually became bloated and wildly unbalanced, the ones in the Fighter's book felt like flavorful, thematic tools to make your fighter stand out. Back in '89, they were a nice way to make the vanilla fighter feel interesting and distinct alongside rangers and paladins.
Azzy
ᚳᚣᚾᛖᚹᚢᛚᚠ (He/Him)
Well, 2e has the distinction of having the most products of any edition and introduced the most settings, so it's kind of cheating.
Gradine
🏳️⚧️ (she/her) 🇵🇸
2e: Tome of Magic. My first introduction to Wild Magic and Elementalists. I thought it was so cool and really sparked my imagination
3e: Heroes of Horror. Some really good books from 3rd (just a lot in general). I could make a whole list of runners up; City/Dungeonscape, Eberron Campaign Setting, Magic of Incarnum, PHB 2; but page for page Heroes of Horror was the one that inspired me the most and that I got the most use out of.
4e: Monster Manual 3. They were always on the right track and they finally fixed the math. This is how you design interesting enemies in D&D. Dark Sun and the addition of Themes takes a close second; oh how I wish they could've gotten more time to develop that idea.
5e: Eberron: Rising From the Last War. Had to go with Eberron somewhere on this list. Though if Psion comes through somewhere and sticks the landing I might have to update this.
3e: Heroes of Horror. Some really good books from 3rd (just a lot in general). I could make a whole list of runners up; City/Dungeonscape, Eberron Campaign Setting, Magic of Incarnum, PHB 2; but page for page Heroes of Horror was the one that inspired me the most and that I got the most use out of.
4e: Monster Manual 3. They were always on the right track and they finally fixed the math. This is how you design interesting enemies in D&D. Dark Sun and the addition of Themes takes a close second; oh how I wish they could've gotten more time to develop that idea.
5e: Eberron: Rising From the Last War. Had to go with Eberron somewhere on this list. Though if Psion comes through somewhere and sticks the landing I might have to update this.
Edgar Ironpelt
Adventurer
GAZ 1: The Grand Duchy of Karameikos, for B/X. Honorable mentions to GAZ 5: The Elves of Alfheim and GAZ 6: The Dwarves of Rockhome. Also an honorable mention to Aurora's Whole Realms Catalogue for 2e.
hawkeyefan
Legend
Uncaged: Faces of Sigil
Just a great example of how to provide an entire campaign worth of material using nothing more than NPCs. This book has a bunch of rich NPCs, with different connections to one another, which can draw PCs into their situations.
It also provides relationship maps and other organizational tools that make it very usable at the table.
Master class stuff.
roger semerad
Explorer
I was only active during 3.5 and 4th, so all my picks are from there.
3.5 Player's Handbook 2 and Book of Nine Swords - This was the peak of class design in 3rd edition. There was a lot of good experiementation at the end of this edition, but these are the ones that stand out to me.
3.5 Heroes of Horror - Really did a good job of explaining how to make a D&D adventure feel different, and was dripping with style.
3.5 Ebberon Campaign Setting - My favorite campaign setting and one that was overflowing with new ideas. I particuliarly liked that they didn't explain everything and left a lot of mysteries that DMs could fill in themselves.
4 Preview Wizards Present Worlds and Monsters - You don't often hear designers talk about why they chose to make the worldbuilding choices that they did. This book is entirely about that, and the Nentir Vale setting is just really interesting as well.
4 Player's Handbook 2 and 3 - Really showed what this system could do with class design. It's a shame the system couldn't live longer to see what else the designers could come up with. Also loved the PH3 multi-class rules.
4 Monster Manual 3 - fixed lingering problems with the original monster designs and started a series of books with the best monsters D&D has ever had.
4 Essentials Dungeon Master's Kit - An amazing all in one resource that had a great Dungeon Master's Guide, introductory adventure, and tones of maps and tokens.
4 Essentials Monster Vault: Threats to the Nentir Vale - Took the already great monster standard that started with MM3 and really went all out with the lore and creativity behind all these monsters.
4 Madness at Gardmore Abby - The best adventure for my favorite system. Also comes with a deck of many things.
4 Essentials Player's Option: Heroes of the Feywild - Although it's primarily a class option splat, it contains some of the best lore building, atmosphere, and short stories in a D&D book. A lot like Heroes of Horror now that I think about it.
3.5 Player's Handbook 2 and Book of Nine Swords - This was the peak of class design in 3rd edition. There was a lot of good experiementation at the end of this edition, but these are the ones that stand out to me.
3.5 Heroes of Horror - Really did a good job of explaining how to make a D&D adventure feel different, and was dripping with style.
3.5 Ebberon Campaign Setting - My favorite campaign setting and one that was overflowing with new ideas. I particuliarly liked that they didn't explain everything and left a lot of mysteries that DMs could fill in themselves.
4 Preview Wizards Present Worlds and Monsters - You don't often hear designers talk about why they chose to make the worldbuilding choices that they did. This book is entirely about that, and the Nentir Vale setting is just really interesting as well.
4 Player's Handbook 2 and 3 - Really showed what this system could do with class design. It's a shame the system couldn't live longer to see what else the designers could come up with. Also loved the PH3 multi-class rules.
4 Monster Manual 3 - fixed lingering problems with the original monster designs and started a series of books with the best monsters D&D has ever had.
4 Essentials Dungeon Master's Kit - An amazing all in one resource that had a great Dungeon Master's Guide, introductory adventure, and tones of maps and tokens.
4 Essentials Monster Vault: Threats to the Nentir Vale - Took the already great monster standard that started with MM3 and really went all out with the lore and creativity behind all these monsters.
4 Madness at Gardmore Abby - The best adventure for my favorite system. Also comes with a deck of many things.
4 Essentials Player's Option: Heroes of the Feywild - Although it's primarily a class option splat, it contains some of the best lore building, atmosphere, and short stories in a D&D book. A lot like Heroes of Horror now that I think about it.
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