Best Five RPG Books You Own

[Olaf the Stout]

I'm not 100% sure of all the books would make my top 5, but I know that the Feng Shui and Paranoia XP core rulebooks would definitely make it. Both games are great at what they do.

Feng Shui is perfect for an over the top action movie style of game. Any game where you perform outrageous death-defying stunts, duking it out with the kung-fu mooks whilst on top of a bus rigged with explosives and headed for a munitions plant gets my vote!

Paranoia turns traditional RPG's on it's head. Instead of working together with your fellow players to complete your goals, you scheme and plot to expose them as commie mutant traitors before they do the same to you. Add in a psychotic paranoid computer that watches everything that you do along with R&D weapons that malfunction twice as often as they work and you have a recipe for a fun and disastrous game. Luckily you have 6 clones per character!

I'll have to have a think about what my other 3 might be. I'm tempted to say the core 3 but I'm not sure that would be the case.

Olaf the Stout

 

[Teflon Billy]

• Denizens of Avadnu
• Mutants and Masterminds
• Dawnforge
• Spycraft 2.0
• M&M: Ultimate Power

That's a hard List to narrow down to five. :\

 

[Teflon Billy]

Honorable Mention to the ultimate monster trilogy:
Tome of Horrors (Necromancer)
Denizens of Avadnu (Inner Circle)
Monsternomicon 3.5 (Privateer Press)

Hey! That's my trifecta as well

 

[Doug McCrae]

1. D&D 3.5 Core Rules.
Best rpg evar.

2. Glorantha: Genertela, Crucible of the Hero Wars.
Best presentation of the best gaming universe evar.

3. Eberron Campaign Setting.
Perfectly presented gaming universe. Keith Baker's idea of adding pulp to D&D was genius.

4. Call of Cthulhu.
Simple, elegant system. Well researched. First investigative rpg.

5. GURPS Illuminati.
Best advice for running a conspiracy game.

 

[catsclaw227]

5. GURPS Illuminati.
Best advice for running a conspiracy game.

I loved this book! I need to find my old copy somewhere.

fnord.

 

[catsclaw227]

Hey! That's my trifecta as well

Great minds... (and all of that)

Hey, what did you like so much about Dawnforge? Give me a 5 sentence pitch.

 

[Shade]

My Top Five:

Fiend Folio - The best monster book for Third Edition. I've used nearly all the monsters within. Among the update classics are some new classics, like the kaorti, nerra, and chronotyryn. It has a good mix of types, CR, and included the most innovations of any of the 3E monster books from WotC (swarms, grafts, symbionts, sidebars mentioning using non-core material, etc.)

Fiendish Codex 1: Hordes of the Abyss - Possibly the best marriage of author and material of any product I've seen, this is the definitive word on demons, marrying information from every edition of the game. Simply flawless.

Lords of Madness - The one that most surprised me. I always liked mind flayers and aboleths, but didn't expect the sheer quality and inspiration of this book. All killer, no filler.

Manual of the Planes - It's not perfect, but it's like having the Planescape campaign setting condensed into a single book. As a huge fan of the Great Wheel, this is a must-have for me.

Dragon CD-ROM Archives - Chock full o' inspiration in those 250 issues. I only wish it were possible to release a sequel gathering up the remaining print run, and one for the entire Dungeon print run.


Honorable Mention:

Monster Manual V - Redeems the flagging series after the error-riddled MMIII and uninspiring MMIV. Many of the monsters are inspirational and groundbreaking, yet still true to the game's rich history. And even the "monsters with class levels" don't totally suck this time.

Epic Level Handbook - Sure, the system is flawed, the epic spellcasting terrible, and Union is laughable, but the monster chapter alone makes this one worth the price of admission. Just the fact that epic level gaming is recognized at all, and the game doesn't have to end at 20th level, makes this one OK in my book.

Expanded Psionics Handbook - This should have been the de facto spellcasting system for 3E.

Spell Compendium - Damn handy. This one takes about 10 pounds off the ol' backpack.

Tome of Horrors - The only place you're ever going to see some of the classic monsters of past editions in print in 3E. Also, some very cool new critters can be found within.

Denizens of Avadnu - A book of fun, odd critters to confuse even the most veteran gamers. Great artwork, too. And nice psionic support as well.

Legends of Avadnu - See points on Denizens of Avandu and Epic Level Handbook.

Creature Collection I-III, Strange Lands - Imagine if the 1E Fiend Folio went on for four volumes.

 

[GlassJaw]

Cool thread. Let me think...

The obvious choices:

Grim Tales
OGL Conan
Spycraft 2.0
Shadowrun Seattle Sourcebook
Monsternomicon

Honorable Mention:

Freeport
M&M 2ed
2ed FR City of Splendors boxed set
2ed Spelljammer boxed set

 

[Ourph]

Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 1st ed. rulebook: By far the best RPG flavor/setting material I've ever owned.

Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd ed. rulebook: By far the best RPG system/rules material I've ever owned.

AD&D Dungeon Masters Guide 1st ed.: By far the most useful/inspirational RPG book I've ever owned.

Basic/Expert D&D Rulebooks (1980 Moldvay/Cook versions): The simplest and most easy to learn fantasy RPG system/rules I've ever owned.

Original Star Frontiers SFRPG boxed set: The simplest and most easy to learn science fiction RPG system/rules I've ever owned.

 

[blargney the second]

PHB2
Magic Item Compendium
Book of Nine Swords

They're all ridiculously useful and cool books.
-blarg