D&D 5E Book (printed) Recommendations?

[plisnithus8]

What books can you recommend for 5e from 3rd parties?

I can recommend Ulraunt's Guide to the Planes: Acheron; it's a massive hardbound beauty with over 300 pages of lore, beautiful art, and plenty of crunch for players (subclasses) and DMs (monsters) alike. I have been doing Roll20 with my son and his friends twice a week lately -- they are wanting to get to get past 20th level characters from the Epic Legacy Core Rule Book. It's slimmer (not quite 200 page hardbound), but has features for most major classes from 21-30th level and adds in feats, spells, DM tips, magic items, and epic monsters. Acheron has gods such as Bane and Gruumsh stetted out, even at different levels (avatars, etc.).
I wish Quill & Cauldron would also do a print-on-demand for their Ulranut's Guide to the Planes: Shadowfell.
Another is The Comendium of Forgotten Secrets: Awakening. It has over a dozen new warlock patrons, but also adds in some subclasses from other classes that connect to the patrons. It has new familiars and eldritch magic. You can even play as an awakened gun.

I can't wait to read other recommendations.

 

[Guest 6801328]

I just got my kickstarter PDF for "The Runewild". They say they expect to have POD available soon. It's a really creative open-sandbox campaign setting. In general I don't love sandboxes, but I'm having a blast just reading through the locations and NPCs.

 

[atanakar]

The Creature Codex by Kobold Press is great. I love the fact that the players are not familiar with them. Puts the tension back into the game, as in no meta-gaming:

Creature Codex for 5th Edition - Kobold Press Store

A Rampage of New 5th Edition Monsters! DM: “A mysterious figure in a cloak approaches you in the tavern…” PALADIN: “Aha! This must be a wizard with a map to a dungeon!” DM: “…and he’s ticking.” ROGUE: “RUN!” Whether you need scuttling dungeon denizens, alien horrors, or sentient avatars of the...

koboldpress.com

 

[plisnithus8]

The Creature Codex by Kobold Press is great. I love the fact that the players are not familiar with them. Puts the tension back into the game, as in no meta-gaming:

Creature Codex for 5th Edition - Kobold Press Store

A Rampage of New 5th Edition Monsters! DM: “A mysterious figure in a cloak approaches you in the tavern…” PALADIN: “Aha! This must be a wizard with a map to a dungeon!” DM: “…and he’s ticking.” ROGUE: “RUN!” Whether you need scuttling dungeon denizens, alien horrors, or sentient avatars of the...

koboldpress.com

Yes, I like those too. My Fractal Golem made it in.

 

[plisnithus8]

I just got my kickstarter PDF for "The Runewild". They say they expect to have POD available soon. It's a really creative open-sandbox campaign setting. In general I don't love sandboxes, but I'm having a blast just reading through the locations and NPCs.

Cool, I'll check that out.

 

[Fenris-77]

Ulraunt's Guide to the Planes: Acheron is indeed a fine book, as indeed is Ulraunt's Guide to the Planes: Shadowfell. I can also heartily recommend Here's to Crime, which is a great hack of some of the Blades in the Dark mechanics, including flashbacks, for 5e play. Something I grabbed to support a darker Shadowfell campaign that I liked was 5th Edition Horror, by Fat Goblin Games, it's got some good suggestions for running a little horror in your 5e game.

 

[Tyler Do'Urden]

The Total Party Kill handbooks and bestiary. You want lots of challenging encounter ideas? These are a must, and can keep your parties on their toes for a long time.

Matt Colville's Strongholds and Followers. If your players have ambition of doing any kind of world-building, from a tavern or guild to a pirate ship to a barbarian tribe to a kingdom - you need this. Also includes a great bestiary of monsters in the CR 5-12 range, most of which are summonable as companions per the rules in the book.

Every 5e product I've seen from Kobold Press has been great. I'll particularly point out the Warlock Compendium (a set of articles and tools on many subjects - geared towards the Midgard setting but adaptable to any "dark fantasy" campaign), the Tome of Beasts, Creature Codex, and their many short adventure and encounter anthologies. As well as the Warlock Lairs series - 48 (and counting) Dungeon-magazine sized adventure modules by great designers.

Finally, if you like the Cthulhu Mythos - and who doesn't? - Sandy Peterson's Cthulhu Mythos 5e is a book that you NEED to have. It's a massive book of pure, undistilled NOPE for taunting your players into madness.

 

[Morrus]

I can't not recommend our gorgeous The Masterclass Codex! 16 full new classes for your 5E games!

The Masterclass Codex

ALCHEMISTS, SAVANTS, MONSTER TAMERS, NOBLES, GUNFIGHTERS, TINKERERS AND MORE!This compilation of the books A TOUCH OF CLASS and A TOUCH MORE CLASS contains 16 full character classes for your 5E games! These new classes are fully detailed with exciting class-themed abilities! Each of these...

enpublishingrpg.com

 

[Tyler Do'Urden]

Oh, and while it isn't a rules supplement as such, every 5e DM should get their hands on a copy of The Monsters Know What They're Doing: Combat Tactics for Dungeon Masters.

It's exactly what it sounds like - a guide to how to use just about everything in the core MM to optimal effectiveness. Get this, and none of your players will EVER complain about 5e being too easy...

 

[Rellott]

Mage Hand Press’s Dark Matter book is an excellent sci-fantasy add-on to 5e, with a few new races, archetypes, a new class, archetypes for other classes they’ve published, and a bunch of great sci-fi items, space ships, monsters, etc. It’s completely compatible with regular 5e, only adding 3 skills not in regular 5e (data, technology, and piloting).