D&D 5E Classic Products from the Last 17 Years

[Jester David]

It has been ten years since the last 3rd Edition product and almost five since the last 4th Edition product. That's enough time to have a retrospective view on the material. To think about what books stood out and are still usable and interesting. To know what products are still worth having on the shelves as material to read and reference vs material to store away in a box. What is still of interest and serves as a good read or as a source of inspiration and what is useful solely to completists.

What are the generic and setting neutral books that a new collector should seek out?
What books would you direct someone who is returning to the hobbey after 20 or 30 years away?
What are the best campaign setting books?
What are the best adventures?

In short, what are the modern classics?

 

[Sacrosanct]

This is my weak area, since I pretty much stuck with AD&D when 3e and 4e came out, but I did play Sunless Citadel, and have heard it as one of the most iconic 3e adventures out there

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

Hrm…From 3e, the Forgotten Realms campaign sourcebook is one I still use. As for 4e, the DMG 2 has some great DMing advice and inspiration.

Module-wise, I really dug a lot of Necromancer Games work, like Crucible of Freya and Rappan Athuk.

 

[KirayaTiDrekan]

The Sunless Citadel is my personal favorite adventure.

Draconomicon (3.5) is a beautiful book and universally useful.

 

[Luz]

My modern classic adventures:
Age of Worms (the entire campaign)
Maure Castle (Dungeon Mag #112)
The Lich Queen's Beloved (Dungeon #100)
Slumbering Tsar (Frog God Games)

I didn't play a lot of 4e, but I read a fair amount of it. I really liked Keep on the Shadowfell and Thunderspire Labyrinth.

 

[pkt77242]

2 adventures
Red Hand of Doom
Madness at Gardmore Abbey

I also really enjoyed the Freeport setting book for PF/3.5.

 

[Parmandur]

I got the FRCS guide for 3.x to use with Tyranny of Dragons; it holds up, despite the worthless crunch.

 

[discosoc]

The 3e Forgotten Realms campaign book is still the most accurate one for the setting. The 4e version is only useful if you're running spellplague adventures. But since they've kind of retcon'd or reversed some of the more divisive changes from that era, 3e is surprisingly still useful.

The Dragonlance source book from 3e is very good, assuming you are interested in that setting.

The 4e Monster Manual is still a great purchase. The rules don't exactly work for 5th, but the monsters had much more interesting abilities that you can easily add into 5e encounters.

The 3e Epic Level Handbook is a useful tool for GM's looking for advice on running high level stuff. A lot of what's discussed actually becomes relevant by about Tier 3 in 5e.

Hammerfast, a 4E book about a dwarven outpost, is pretty awesome as inspiration for a "home base." It can easily be reskinned for humans.

 

[Sacrosanct]

I've heard a lot of good things about 4e Reavers of Harkenwold, although I've never played it myself.

 

[Kobold Stew]

I'd single out Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil (2001), and Savage Species (2003). Both helped me think of D&D in new ways.