Best WotC Books of 3.0/3.5?

[Ogrork the Mighty]

Okay, so with 4E on the horizon, we can look back and judge what books were the best of 3.0/3.5. So let's confine ourselves to WotC products and for convenience let's also leave out the three core books (PH, DMG, MM).

What are your top 3?

Mine are:

1) Draconomicon. Winner, hands down. When this book gets complaints, it's usually b/c the reviewer isn't fond of dragons. This book has some of the best artwork out there and is the definitive book on dragons. Perfect mixture of fluff and crunch. Lots of useful stuff (loved the hoard generator and use it all the time for treasure generation).

2) Drow of the Underdark. I just picked this one up and it's a real gem. One of the rare books that I'm reading cover to cover. Again, like the Draconomicon, this book is the definitive book on drow.

3) Complete Champion. By far, my favourite of the entire Complete series. I just wish it had come out sooner than it did. This book is everything that Complete Divine should have been.

Honourable mentions go to Heroes of Battle, Stormwrack, and the Book of Vile Darkness. Oh yeah, and all of the Dragonlance hard covers!

Edit: D'OH! I forgot Frostburn! The artwork is amazing and it's chock full of interesting and useful info. I'd probably put it up there at #3 since I used it so much in our arctic themed campaign.

 

[Masquerade]

Ohh, I like this thread. Difficult question, though. I guess my top three would be...

1) Unearthed Arcana. Almost goes without saying. It's one of the few RPG books I own that I've read cover to cover more than once. I especially like the class variants, but I've probably pulled rules from every chapter in one campaign or another.

2) Tome of Battle. The Book of Nine Swords. Balance issues? Yeah, probably, but it doesn't lessen my appreciation or the usefulness of this book. The mechanics are inventive, the flavor is fresh, and the classes are fun to play as well as versatile. Even the often-overlooked monsters in the back are interesting. Still, I'm biased; I'm one of those kids who like anime influences in their D&D.

3) Tome of Magic. It followed the tradition of the complete series by introducing three new core classes plus a handful of prestige classes, and yet it did this in a way that was revolutionary. The physical design of the book is fantastic with the unique cover and individualized sections. Rules-wise, the three new systems may not be as well polished as, say, psionics, but they're fresh and original and can really have their own feel. I give WotC points for taking a risk with this book. I hope that 4e power sources are presented in a similar way to the forms of magic in this book.

I'll second the honorable mention of Heroes of Battle and give a quick, well-deserved mention to the Spell Compendium.

 

[jdrakeh]

1. Unearthed Arcana
2. Heroes of Horror
3. Spell Compendium

I have based my response on the books that I have actually gotten the most use out of.

 

[Arashi Ravenblade]

Magic of Incarnum
Book of Nine Swords
Tome of magic

 

[Yalius]

Draconomicon
FC1: Hordes of the Abyss
Lords of Madness

 

[Moon-Lancer]

Draconimicon

bo9s

unearthed arcana

 

[The_Gunslinger658]

Great thread!

My choices are:

Players Hand Book II
This book has some awesome classes such as the Beguiller, the Knight. Some really nifty Feats, Intimadating Strike being a personal fav. How to play your character along with pointers on building the character you are intending to play. Plus ya gotta love the cover!
A great D&D supplement indded.

Lords of Madness:
Now heres a book that really puts the cosmic horror into horror! Plus, if you are an HPL fan, this book is for you. Gotta love those Mindflayers and perhaps one of the best things about this book is how it really goes indepth on these evil creatures. Another very cool book from those boys at WoTC.

The Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting:
Honorable mention goes to this book. Even though it is 3.0, it is still a fantastic resource for those who are DM'ing the Realms.

As a side note; Perhaps its great books like these that will delay my entry into 4E, there is just still such great D&D 3.5 books out there that still need to be explored.


Scott

 

[Psion]

1. Expanded Psionics Handbook
2. Unearthed Arcana
3. Draconomicon

 

[Ogrork the Mighty]

I contemplated adding Spell Compendium too because I've gotten a lot of use out of it but I don't think I'd rank in as high as the others simply because it's a one-trick pony whereas the others had multiple facets that impressed me. The Spell Compendium deals with spells and spells only, but it does so really well. It just doesn't have the breadth of material to put it at the top of my list.

 

[WarlockLord]

Book of Nine Swords

Tome of Magic

Libris Mortis