d20/D&D books you own: likes, dislikes, actually uses

[Turanil]

Just to know who has the biggest collection!

- How many d20 / D&D books do you own?
- The ones you like, and the ones you dislike?
- The ones that gather dust on the shelf, and the ones you really use?
- A (very) short review of your favorite or hated, among that collection?

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I will begin:

- I own 41 d20/D&D books. Among which the three core D&D 3.0, OA, UA, MoP, BoED, BoVD, Dragonlance, Nyambe, and others. I aso have CoC, d20 modern, SW, T20, Bulldogs!, Dragonstar, Grim Tales, Slaine, and others.

- I really like Player's Medieval Manual, Monte's AU, and Grim Tales. Menace Manual is a very cool monsters book (especially as you can get it for 13$ on amazon). I much like Traveller 20, which is strange since I wouldn't like to play with it, considering its rules somewhat not well thought out.

- I really regret having bought "Common Grounds" 1 and 2. These small d20 supplements are about randomly creating temples, taverns, thieves guild, etc., plus the relevant npcs. The idea is good, but the books are useless, badly done. I regret having bought Relic and Rituals: I find the grand majority of its spells lame, and have no use for new magical items. I regret having bought Dragonlance CS (for reason it was sold at 16$ on amazon), mainly because I will never run a campaign in it. However, if a DM does it, I will be happy to have it.

- Most of these books are condemned to gather dust forever on my rpg shelf. I have been considering selling some of them, since I have only place left for 3 more books (already ordered and waited). However, which ones to sell, is the question!

- Finally, mostly the core D&D rulebooks are used regularly, and a couple others occasionally. For the most part, most of them will never be used.

I have not counted the pdf among these. I don't know how many commercial pdf (maybe 6 or 7), but all in all: over 450 mb of amateur d20 work gathered over the years on the internet.

 

[Crothian]

Just to know who has the biggest collection!

- How many d20 / D&D books do you own?
- The ones you like, and the ones you dislike?
- The ones that gather dust on the shelf, and the ones you really use?
- A (very) short review of your favorite or hated, among that collection?

How many do I have? roughly 350 print books and another 200 in pdf. That's a rough estimate. And there will be peiople who probably double this.

There are a lot that I like for different reasons. And dislike for different reasons. It would be too hard and take a long time to post a list of what I liked and disliked. Especially if I try to say why.

Most gather dust on my self. Not because they aren't good but because it's hard to use more then 20 books in a given week without really pushing it. My collection is just too big to use.

My favorite is Slaine. Its a great setting, the rules changes really fit it, its like the changed everything they needed to and left everything the same that they needed to for the setting and rules to mesh perfectly. I've really enjoyed the suppliments for it and hopefully one day I'll find them all. Its no longer in print as it was just not popular.

My least favorite is MM2. I just really don't like it as a monster book. Even at the time there were better books like the Creature collections that gave flare and had interesting creatures. The MM2 failed on many levels for me.

THere are of course other books like Dragon Lords of Melinborne and many of the early modules that really weren't good. But its harder to remeber the bad stuff, as it just sits and never gets used.

 

[kitsune9]

Just to know who has the biggest collection!

- How many d20 / D&D books do you own?
- The ones you like, and the ones you dislike?
- The ones that gather dust on the shelf, and the ones you really use?
- A (very) short review of your favorite or hated, among that collection?

--------------------------------------------------
I will begin:

- I own 41 d20/D&D books. Among which the three core D&D 3.0, OA, UA, MoP, BoED, BoVD, Dragonlance, Nyambe, and others. I aso have CoC, d20 modern, SW, T20, Bulldogs!, Dragonstar, Grim Tales, Slaine, and others.

- I really like Player's Medieval Manual, Monte's AU, and Grim Tales. Menace Manual is a very cool monsters book (especially as you can get it for 13$ on amazon). I much like Traveller 20, which is strange since I wouldn't like to play with it, considering its rules somewhat not well thought out.

- I really regret having bought "Common Grounds" 1 and 2. These small d20 supplements are about randomly creating temples, taverns, thieves guild, etc., plus the relevant npcs. The idea is good, but the books are useless, badly done. I regret having bought Relic and Rituals: I find the grand majority of its spells lame, and have no use for new magical items. I regret having bought Dragonlance CS (for reason it was sold at 16$ on amazon), mainly because I will never run a campaign in it. However, if a DM does it, I will be happy to have it.

- Most of these books are condemned to gather dust forever on my rpg shelf. I have been considering selling some of them, since I have only place left for 3 more books (already ordered and waited). However, which ones to sell, is the question!

- Finally, mostly the core D&D rulebooks are used regularly, and a couple others occasionally. For the most part, most of them will never be used.

I have not counted the pdf among these. I don't know how many commercial pdf (maybe 6 or 7), but all in all: over 450 mb of amateur d20 work gathered over the years on the internet.

I think I have a little over 100 d20/D&D books alone, not to mention a lot of adventures. I own stuff for d20 Modern, Traveller T20, Gamma World, Fading Suns d20, OA, Monte Cook's AU, Blood and Guts: Space (as a pdf),

Putting aside WotC and focusing just on the independents, my favorites are--Fantasy Flight Games, SSS, AEG (though some of their stuff is really broken), Malhavoc, and Green Ronin (I love Green Ronin stuff). My major dislikes is Fast Forward Games (stuff is broken, kind of not very entertaining, overall uninspiring).

For adventures by far my favorite is Necro Games though I like Kingdoms of Kalamar, Fiery Dragon Productions (before they quit),and some of Monkey God stuff was interesting (before they quit too--adventures that is).

My favorite kind of d20 book is monster books and I think the Monsternomicon, Tome of Horrors, and Fiend Folio are my favorites, and the one I regret buying are the ones from Fast Forward (Demons and Devils I and Deadliest Creatures) and the Fantasy Bestiary.

I used to own a boatload of different rpg systems, but I threw most of them away as I know my FLGS would not give me store credit, and it would be a waste of time trying to dump them on eBay. I have so much 1e and 2e stuff and a lot of other rpg systems that I have to get rid of it real soon as I'm running out of space too for my 3.5 books (I just got Eberron, which is interesting). I think that stuff will be worth my time dumping on eBay.

 

[haiiro]

I've never actually counted before: 101 altogether, including a handful of screens and non-D&D d20 books, but not counting PDFs (that'd make it 104).

Apart from the core 3, at present I get the most use out of:

- The Complete Book of Eldritch Might (Malhavoc)
- Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting, and Underdark (WotC)
- Pocket Grimoire Arcane (Green Ronin)
- The Monsters Handbook (Fantasy Flight)
- MMII and the Fiend Folio (WotC)

In the fairly recent past, I also got a lot of mileage out of Oriental Adventures and Rokugan (WotC & AEG, respectively).

In the gathering dust category:

- Epic Level Handbook (WotC)
- Deities & Demigods (WotC)
- Creature Collection I & II (Sword & Sorcery)

I've got others I've never really used, but expect to find handy one day (like Green Ronin's Book of the Righteous), or just enjoyed reading. I find Deities & Demigods and the ELH particularly blah -- everything I've liked less, I've sold (Dragon Lords of Melnibone, Diomin, Hero Builder's Guidebook, Evil...).

Overall favorites include:

- Complete Book of Eldritch Might
- Fiend Folio
- Complete Warrior (WotC)
- Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting
- Underdark
- Mindscapes (Malhavoc)
- Thieves' Quarter (Green Ronin/Game Mechanics)
- Legacy of the Dragons (Malhavoc)
- Cityworks (Fantasy Flight)

I haven't quite finished it yet, but the Eberron CS is going to be right up there in the favorites category (we'll see how much use I get out of it ). The titles I like most tend to be a) very evocative and full of ideas, b) very useful, or c) both (IMO, of course).

 

[DragonLancer]

I've got about 40 books, mostly monster books rather than sourcebooks.

The few that I have not liked, I have sold via EBay. They include Underdark, and the original 3.0 splatbooks. Otherwise I've been pleased with what I have bought.

 

[Pants]

- How many d20 / D&D books do you own?

Not many. Here are the ones I own:
WotC - PHB3.5, DMG3.5, MM3.5, MMII, Fiend Folio, Savage Species, Unearthed Arcana, Draconomicon, Book of Vile Darkness, Book of Exalted Deeds, Manual of the Planes, Epic Level Handbook, Tome and Blood, Masters of the Wild, Deities and Demigods, Book of Challenges, FRCS, Races of Faerun
3rd Party - Book of Fiends (Green Ronin), Ravenloft CS (S&SS), Creature Collection II (S&SS), Tome of Horrors (Necromancer Games), Path of the Sword (Fantasy Flight Games).
Non-D&D: Call of Cthulhu d20

23 books in total.

- The ones you like, and the ones you dislike?

Like:
3.5 Core Books, Draconomicon, Book of Exalted Deeds, Unearthed Arcana, Fiend Folio, Tome of Horrors, Book of Vile Darkness, Tome and Blood, FRCS, Manual of the Planes, Call of Cthulhu d20
Indifferent:
MMII, Ravenloft CS, Creature Collection II, Savage Species, Masters of the Wild, Book of Fiends, Races of Faerun, Book of Challenges
Dislike:
Epic Level Handbook, Deities and Demigods, Path of the Sword.

- The ones that gather dust on the shelf, and the ones you really use?

Put this way, my 3.5 Core Books, Unearthed Arcana, and Draconomicon see an amazing amount of use. I occasionally use the Monster Manual II (for the Nimblewrights, the demons, the deathknight, and the spellstiched) and the Book of Exalted Deeds.
I rarely use any of my other books. They only get used when I feel like reading them.

- A (very) short review of your favorite or hated, among that collection?

My most hated.
The Epic Level Handbook.
Thankfully, I recieved it as a Christmas Present as I never would have spent my own money on it. I find that the most enjoyable parts of it is the Monsters chapter, which can really get my creative juices flowing, but the rest of the book is just IMO poor. The spell-system has its heart in the right place, but it doesn't mesh well with the prepare-and-blast mechanic of lower level spellcasters. It is also prone to abuse and a pain to use.
Half of the feats aren't really very 'Epic' at all. Union sucks and the included adventure is a good example of how NOT to design an adventure.

All in all, it has its uses, but I'm glad I didn't buy it.

My most conflicted.
The Book of Fiends.
I really wanted to like this book. It had gotten rave reviews nearly everywhere, so I wanted to like it. Alas, twas not so. First of all, as a stylistic difference, I dislike the daemons and the role they fill. Nothing mechanically wrong with them at all. Secondly, all of the fiends use 3.0 powerlevels and as such have (really) innaccurate CR's. Thirdly, the book is riddled with small design and editing gaffes. I'm used to those, since I have many WotC books, but it is important to note. I'm also not really a fan of CR 13 Dukes of Hell. Now, Pit Fiends are CR 20 (CR 16 in 3.0), so it makes some sense that most of these guys should be on a similar power level, if not stronger but they aren't.
Aside from all that stuff, the Legions of Hell section has some great monsters. Armies of the Abyss is pretty weak, but it still as some good ones. The Unholy Warrior is a little too close to the original paladin. IMO they should have scrapped the paladin design and gone with something new. The Thaumaturge is pretty cool and the new domains and the abyssal lords are awesome as well.
Still, I have a tough time rating it.

 

[PJ-Mason]

I HATE all my books with prestige classes!

Just kidding.

I have about, oh, about 200 D20 books right now. Half of them are slated to get sold or dumped. I have about 30 pdf's. The pdf's are catching up to my print total. Although my D20 consumption has slowed down in general.

My Favorite? hmm...thats not easy. Manual of the Planes or M&M. Hard to answer that one.

My most Hated? I don't know if i hate any of them. The ones i don't like the most are Spycraft (and accessories) and Diamond Throne/Ebon Ring keep. Mostly because of expectations and disappointment.

Comparitively, i have about 400 non-d20 books that i own. Been gaming a lot of years. Like Crothian, thats small potatoes compared to some.

 

[Psion]

- How many d20 / D&D books do you own?

I have just over 300 reviews, and probably have about that much again that I have purchased or acquired through other means, so probably about 600.

The ones you like, and the ones you dislike?

See my reviews.

I generally like Malhavoc stuff, Green Ronin stuff, RPGObjects stuff, Spycraft, T20 stuff, and some others. I generally don't like a variety of stuff. Fluff heavy (but not well written) books, unbalanced books, books with uninspired or poorly presented or statted info.

The ones that gather dust on the shelf, and the ones you really use?

Use: See the thread quoted in the sig for things I use a lot. More generally:

- The core books
- Expanded psionics handbook
- Relics & Rituals
- Creature Collection I-III
- Specialized creature books such as GR's Book of Fiends, FFG's "Lore" creature books and Paradigm's mind flayers book.
- Toolkit style books - AEG toolbox, FFG Monster's Handbook, and the PDF Book of Templates
- Malhavoc's magic and event books (Book of Eldritch Might, Chaositech, etc.)
- Second World Simulaitons' settings (Second World Sourcebook) and Supplements.
- some Green Ronin class books (shaman) and Race books (plot & poison, bow & blade, etc.)
- Idea laden but not fluff heavy books (Manual of the Planes, Draconomicon, Book of Dragons, Portals & Planes, Book of Taverns.)

Collect Dust:
- Many smaller and less seasoned publishers.
- Many settings. How many settings can you actually run?
- Many adventures. Have difficulty working most of them into my games.
- Some books that are great collect dust. Book of the Righteous is a great example. It's a great book with lots of neat ideas and good writing, but I have no use for a ground-up campaign in either of the last two campaigns I have run.

A (very) short review of your favorite or hated, among that collection?

Again, favorite, see reviews and look for 5's and 1's, respectively.

 

[Chupacabra]

I probably have about 30 d20 rulebooks -- mostly for D&D, but a few for other systems sprinkled about. (They are just a small slice of a much, much larger gamebook pie, but were not talking about entire collections here).

My favorite would probably have to the d20 Call of Cthulhu core rulebook. As a longtime fan of the Chaosium BRP version, I was estatic to see that they were able to "port" CoC over into D20 and maintian its flavor and playability. Good art, neat page layout, many, many tips for plot hooks and story ideas, advice for both new and experienced GM's regarding campaign design, etc.

My biggest disappointment by far and away is the d20 Gamma World players handbook, for the exact opposite reason that I am so praisworthy about d20 CoC -- the new version isn't even close to being "as good as" the old rules, it just flat out stinks. I don't know why, but d20 GW as written just felt soulless and empty. Nothing grabbed my attention. The artwork was ho-hum. The layout was boring. They gave short shrift to many of the most fun things in the older versions of GW: example, cryptic alliances were woefully underdeveloped in this version. It felt like they took twice the number of pages to describe a world and a game system that was only half (or less) as interesting. I would just as soon play 5th or 4th edition GW -- or hell, even 1st edition, than the d20 GW as presented.

 

[jgbrowning]

Before I started selling most of my stuff I had over 200 d20 books. Most of them I never used while gaming, but I liked reading them. A few I decided not to sell, most notably, Grim Tales by Bad Axe. Great book.

joe b.