Best Five RPG Books You Own

[YourSwordIsMine]

GURPS 4th Edition (both core books)

Mutants & Masterminds

M&M Ultimate Power

Space 1889

Hollow Earth Expedition

Honorable Mentions

Aria: Canticle of the Monomyth (not for the rules per se, but rather inspirational)

 

[Erstwhile]

As always, a tough question. And this will absolutely show my age.

In no particular order:

1) Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 1stEd. Were I to run WFRP today it'd be a hybrid of 1st and 2nd Ed, but 1stEd is still one of my favourite books ever.

2) D&D Rules Cyclopedia.

3) Fading Suns 2ndEd. The system's a bit wonky, but, again, one of my favourite gamebooks.

4) Mutants & Masterminds 2ndEd.

5) Game of Thrones. Fantastic implementation of the OGL, in my opinion.

It's funny that when I actually thought about it, neither AD&D 1st or 2nd, nor 3.x, made it into my "top 5" list. Most of my D&D nostalgia is around Rules Cyclopedia, and 3.x, while I like the system, just didn't/doesn't "wow" me; so it's a staple in my roster of books, but not in the top 5.

 

[DM_Jeff]

Wizards of the Coast D&D:
Besides the three core, the ones I find myself reaching for all the time in prepping and running my games?

Complete Arcane
Tome of Battle
Tome of Magic
Weapons of Legacy
DMG2

Outside that arena:
d20 Modern (I can do anything with this rules set)
D&D Rules Cyclopedia (the jist of my yesteryears)
Star Trek GMG from Decipher (awesome, frank advice on running games)
Hackmaster PHB (would never play it but it's such a great read)
Toolbox by AEG ('cause I wrote it, eh)

-DM Jeff

 

[NiTessine]

In no particular order...

Godlike: Superhero Roleplaying in a World on Fire 1936-1946 by Hobgoblynn Press
The best superhero RPG I have ever played. It eschews the most grievous clichés of the genre and interprets it in a realistic manner. The mechanics are quick and innovative, and the alternative history is the coolest ever. If they'd sent the X-Men to save Private Ryan, it would've looked like this.

Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting by Wizards of the Coast
This is a textbook example of how you make a setting book. 320 pages of dense text, and full-colour illustrations in hard covers, complete with a poster map. The setting retains the spirit and atmosphere of the old editions while updating it to the new system and strikes a good balance between setting material and rules items. It's well written, and there's an adventure hook or five on every page.

Paranoia XP by Mongoose Publishing
The Mongoose guys did what I didn't think was possible. They updated a dated product of the Cold War into the 21st century, while retaining the atmosphere and charm of the old editions. It seamlessly ties the old jokes with the new ones. Humour is a very difficult genre to work with, especially in RPGs, but Mongoose did it.

Call of Cthulhu D20 by Wizards of the Coast
I far prefer this version of the classic over Chaosium's edition. Production values are WotC's usual fare, and the rules adapt D20 system very competently to handle low-powered horror gaming instead of dungeon crawling. The book offers a great deal to game masters and players alike and is also a very good source for stuff to use in a D&D campaign.

Demihuman Deities by TSR Inc
A prime example of how to make a sourcebook about deities. I still use this and its companion volumes, Faiths & Avatars and Powers & Pantheons, frequently. Densely packed text that tells both about the deity in question and far more importantly, about the deity's church and the roles it plays in the world, which is what people are really interested in.

Honourable Mentions go to...
Uncaged: Faces of Sigil by TSR. If I actually owned this book, it'd have replaced CoCD20 on the list above. This is how you make an NPC sourcebook.

Dragon Magic by WotC. A very good accessory that is generic and very flexible in its use while still focusing on a specific theme and supporting a wide range of other products. A lot of good content in here.

I6 Ravenloft by TSR, as well as its later incarnations House of Strahd, Robinloft and Expedition to Castle Ravenloft. A most excellent adventure. It can be cheesy as all hell the way it plays off horror clichés, but Strahd is a truly terrifying and memorable villain when played right.

 

[Treebore]

How about we list books that we are glad to have on our shelves and why we love them and will never get rid of them?

Also, those of you have posted non-WOTC stuff, could you go back and edit your posts with links to the cool stuff? I hate having to google all of that stuff. Especially if they don't have a web presence.

 

[KaosDevice]

Wow, fun topic, I might as well weigh in.


Delta Green: One of the best game supplements ever created by humans for other humans.

Delta Green-Countdown: An amazing follow up to an amazing book.


Anniversary Edition Leather Bound Call of Cthulhu Rulebook: Squamous green leather with a red elder sign. I want to be buried with this book.

Cities: I have caused more havok with this old book of encounter tables then can be humanly imagined. link (scroll 2/3rds of the way down)

Fading Suns 2nd ed. : I fell in love with this book and game and played it for years. I'd play it now if I had half a chance.


Runners up:

Mage: A book that made me re-think how magic systems are supposed to work.

HoL: What can I say...it was a fun read.

Beasts, Men and Gods: I'll be amazed if anyone aside from me remembers this one.

 

[EyeontheMountain]

Well, I'll jump in with my favorite 5.

And it'll be obvious I only buy WOTC books.

Psionics Handbook. A great system, and would probably be more accepted if it did not have the word psionic in it. The real sorcerer, in my opinion.

Spell Compendium: A great resource for DMs and players Overall well balanced, and really a nice collection of spells that beefed up a couple of schools that were weak in the PHB (necromancy)

Complete Adventurer: In my opinion, the best of the whole series. Something for every single class in the game. Nice prestige classes also.

Player's Handbook II: Awesome classes, good feats, nice alternative class features. Well done all around. Again, something for everyone.

MMIII: The best of all five. Yes, MMI is iconic and you really cannot do without it, but for monsters that give inspiration, and you can base whole campaigns around, MMIII has all the others beat.

Honorable mentions:
Book of Nine Swords. Too good, or very good. Still not sure.
Complete Mage: Excellent book, but only for casters.
Unearthed Arcana: Lots of good ideas, lots of junk.

 

[Treebore]

Thanks for the link Chaosdevice!

 

[Garet Jax]

1. Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting 3.0--beautiful lavishly produced book brimming with ideas and hooks, the only WOTC book I paid full retail for, and worth every penny.

2. Game of Thrones Deluxe--gritty low magic d20 (with 3ed BESM rules to boot) with everything you need to run a Westeros campaign.

3. Angel Core RPG--first venture into Unisystem for me and IMO a perfect fit for the genre, one of the more enjoyable reading rpg books I own

4. Wheel of Time d20--kept reading it during my several trips into B&N and finally bought it after finishing half the book, it's an awesome setting and the book doesn't go on forever, unlike the novels

5. MERP--first rpg I GM'd, it was so different from D&D at the time with it's critical hit tables, spell lists, and orcs that could really kill you with one hit, and how can a kid say no to roleplaying in Middle Earth.

 

[ivocaliban]

How about we list books that we are glad to have on our shelves and why we love them and will never get rid of them?

Also, those of you have posted non-WOTC stuff, could you go back and edit your posts with links to the cool stuff? I hate having to google all of that stuff. Especially if they don't have a web presence.

Done and done.