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

[Alhazred]

I own approximately 35 d20 books - small potatoes. When I was younger, I purchased anything and everything, especially 1/2AD&D. Now older and with bills to pay, I research potential purchases (relying heavily on Enworld's review section) beforehand. GeneI'm fortunate in that I enjoy most of what I've purchased, and use much of it.

The core 3.0 books and corresponding splatbooks see little use these days, and I'll probably get rid of them in order to clear up space on the bookshelf.

I get the most mileage out of the 3.5 core books, CD and CW, BoVD, MMII and Fiend Folio. I love d20 Cthulhu (and pretty much anything else written by Monte Cook). SSS, Necromancer Games and AEG products round out the rest of my favourites (especially AEGs Secrets and Undead, SSS Ravenloft line, and Necromancer's game modules).

I am somewhat disappointed with Relics and Rituals, and Creature Collections I-II. The latter two are gathering dust. I use R&R's magic items sparingly, utilising them as adventure hooks and uniques items (I like the history which introduces each item, and incorporate the history into my homebrew world).

The worst products is secrets of the Dread Realms (SSS, and now defunct due to the arrival of the gazetteer series).

 

[DonaldRumsfeldsTofu]

My book collection is utterly massive, and since I don't have it with me, I can't list it, but the books that usually get the most use are the class books and the extra monster manuals (MM2, FF, ect.)

 

[Krieg]

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.

If you have such an urge again...please post the items you want to get rid of here, on RPGnet or somewhere similar. I guarantee you'll find someone willing to take them off your hands...and give you money to do so!

 

[trancejeremy]

Hmmm, I have about 125 d20 books or so. About 90% were bought or traded for.

I actually have more reviews here, but I traded away or sold some things.

Actually, since I reviewed just about everything I own, you can just look at my list. But a few things I really didn't like or hate enough to review, or were released so long ago that it's mostly a moot point. And I hate reviewing monster books.

Ones I use the most:

For my D&D game: The 3 core books (obviously), Deadlands d20 (really! I used some of the classes from it, and the gun stats), Dragonstar Starfarer's Guide, Legions of Hell, Encyclopedia of Angels, Call of Cthulhu d20, Fading Suns d20, Quintessential Witch, and Blood & Space. Also Airships. And Dweomercraft: Familiars from Dark Quest Games have been very useful.

My setting is sort of a SF/Fantasy hybrid, set on a world (Carcosa) that is a prison for a really bad monster (Hastur) that was accidently unleashed during a war between angels and demons. The latter two sort of made peace when Hastur was let loose, as the Cthulhu sort of evil is a danger to both. So anyway, I found all the above books to be useful for stats for the various things, or alternate classes.

I've incorporated a number of fantasy location sourcebooks/modules into. Thumble & Oester; Rehurst; 7 Cities; Morrick Mansion, Grey Citadel, Book of Taverns (some of it), Aberations, and a couple other Necromancer modules I have fogotten about.


Books I really dislike enough to want to rant about, even though I probably have written a review: Most of the one word titles from AEG - especially War, Gods, Dragons, Undead, and Good. Why I keep buying them, I don't know (I did like Relics and Mercenaries, and parts of evil were a decent read); Freeport: City of Campiness; The Assassin's Handbook (half the book is some dorky organization, and the class introduced just isn't very good); Sundered Reaches (Lamest fantasy Mars ever); most of the d20 Deadlands splatbooks are terrible; Traveller d20 - I liked it originally, but like it less and less the more I tried to use it - did they even try to playtest this?; Most of the Dragonstar books after the first are pretty bad (I did like Raw Recruits); Dungeonworld - neat concept, lousy execution

Books gathering dust: Xcrawl, Second World Sourcebook, the stuff I have for Gothos, my Slaine stuff (neat, but won't play it), SG-1 (neat, but can't afford to buy the new books in the series); Conan (didn't find it complete enough to run it, can't afford the Road of Kings and Scrolls of Skelos); Nyambe - neat, but not sure I know enough to run a campaign.

 

[AFGNCAAP]

Well, regarding the main topic:

• I have a set of the PHB, DMG, & MM books for both 3.0 & 3.5 (actually have 2 copies of the PHB for reference during games). The 3.5 ones are used more often, though I do crack open the 3.0 stuff when working on ideas for Neverwinter Nights modules.
• Most of the 3.0/3.5 supplements: Complete Warrior, Complete Divine, the softback class splatbooks, Expanded PsiHB, Oriental Adventures, Arms & Equipment Guide, Epic Level Handbook, Savage Species, Manual of the Planes, Deities & Demigods, MM2, Fiend Folio, Draconomicon, BoVD, BoED, and my most prized tome, Unearthed Arcana.
• Have a few of the FR main books as well--mainly the 3.0 core setting book, plus Races of Faerun, MM: MoF, & Underdark.
• Have a few earlier 3.0 3rd party supplements: Seafarer's Guide, Traps & Treachery, Dungeons, & the module "Maiden Voyage."
• Also have the Stronghold Builder's Guidebook, Book of Challenges, & Hero Builder's Guidebook.

Of these, I really like a fair amount of the 3.5 stuff, esp. Unearthed Arcana (I'm very tempted to get another copy to have at hand). XPsiHB is up there as well, since psionics has a role in my current tabletop setting (mainly dealing with the Blues). Lot of pick-&-choose from the other materials.

As for stuff & don't like, well what I used to have I got rid of, mainly because it wasn't being used at all: Kalamar setting book, Faiths & Pantheons, Enemies & Allies, many of the softback FR supplements like Magic of Faerun & Lords of Darkness, Mythic Races, & a few other books. Eventually, I may get rid of all of my FR stuff overall (though I'll jot down info I want to keep--which isn't that much), once again through lack of use.

What I like & dislike with all of the stuff I kept varies. I like the psychic rules & classes for XPsiHB, but I could do without most of the new races. I like the basic rulesets for OA, but could do without the Rogukan-specific stuff. If Complete Divine was a bit more polished, I think I'd like it better overall--as it is, I like some of the concepts, but I'm a bit unsure about implementing them. To a certain degree, I will like some books more than others, but there always will be a degree of usable/unusable content for me with each book.

As for what I use: all of `em, though the core books are used most frequently. UA comes a very close second due to many of the optional rules within it. Least frequest is the 3.0 core books, plus the FR stuff, 3rd-party publisher 3.0 stuff, & the class-based splatbooks for 3.0.

The only other thing which sees considerable use are issues of Dragon & Dungeon, mainly for adventures & info.

 

[AFGNCAAP]

*Shakes fist in anger*

Accursed double-post!

 

[Evilhalfling]

Nothing like a thread with people who own 100-200 books to inspire me to buy more.
I own only 15 books, 2 PDFs - not including 3.0 core, I am incredibly picky and my gaming budget is small. I have an unbelievable library system here, and for instance have Arms and Equip and Complete Warrior checked out now. I have checked out and returned all the 3.0 splatt books, and a few others.
moduals, OA etc.

What gets the most use core 3.5 of course, XPH, FF, Tome and Blood

ocasional use - Magic and medieval socitey, Creature Collection I, Warrens of Ratmen (they replaced orcs in my world), 1st ed DMG, Stuff stolen from EnWorld (kaalis' sorcerer fix, etc,) dragon magazines 5 year subscription ran out in 2000, 1-2 issues a year since,

virtually no use, but insperation- BoED, Wheel of Time, Manual of Planes, Mastercraft anthology, RttToEE, PDF -Eldrich might, KoDT articals

2nd ed thieves handbook, castle guide, monster mythology (great write ups of demihuman and monster gods)

lots 2nd and 1st ed stuff not listed gathers dust and is never used

 

[Thanee]

Got most of the important WotC books, together with my friends we should have pretty much all of them (except for a few and really crappy stuff like the Hero Builder's Guidebook and Enemies and Allies).

Best books are PHB 3.5 and MM 3.5, plus the FRCS.
These would also be the most used ones (plus the PGtF and DMG 3.5).

Worst book by far is the Psionics Handbook (it's even worse than the XPH ).

Altho it's not as bad as some of the books I do not have (like the Hero Builder's Guidebook or Enemies and Allies).

Bye
Thanee

 

[MonsterMash]

Another one with a deliberately small collection of D20 stuff. I make it that I only own 9 D20 books: 3.5 PHB, DMG, MM, Pocket Players Handbook, Seas of Blood, Morrick Mansion, Grey Citadel, Players Guide to the Wilderlands and Tome of Horrors II. I also use some of my old Judges Guild stuff from the OD&D days.

What I use: the three core books, Wilderlands of High Fantasy, City State of the Invincible Overlord, Village Book I, PgttW, and some monsters from ToHII. The two adventures will be used when my players characters are high enough level and at some point there will be some sea travel so Seas of Blood will be used.

One real favourite is the Grey Citadel as its a well written adventure.

 

[Inconsequenti-AL]

I've got about 40-50 print books. Recently started collecting PDF stuff - have 5 of them so far.

Favorites - the Wotc core books - sensibly laid out, well written stuff!

Outside of that - I'm writing a Dark Sun campaign - The www.Athas.org stuff is really good - conversions of Darksun to 3.5. Needs the old 2nd ed material to work with, as it's just rules. However, it's very good - especially for free - my favorite price! The XPH is being used with that and has also impressed me so far in theory - although it hasn't been used for real.

I really like a lot of Green Ronin's stuff. Freeport was cool. Their monster books were fun - liked the ideas they had very much, although some of the stats needed tweaking to use.

AEG's Spycraft is cool - only played it briefly, but it was lots of fun and all of the expansions I've seen have been well written with nicely working mechanics.

Necromancer games wrote some stuff I've found inspiring - used some if it outright, some with a few tweaks.


On the dislike side, I've got a few modules that I really didn't like, but the names slipped my mind. It was generally unimaginative stuff. I've got a few books I like the ideas from, but some/most of the mechanics are too broken to let the players use them unsupervised.


The most frustrating book was the OGL Cybernet from Mongoose. What annoyed me was that the ideas were appealing - read kind of like Cyberpunk updated with the Matrix in mind. However, the rules were completely shot to hell - problems throughout the book.

In fact, it put me right off Mongoose - but if their change in procedures means some of their excellent ideas get the rules they deserve, then I'd start buying from them again. Wating for new products and reviews!