[d20/OGL] The Best Low to No Crunch d20/OGL Products... Ever

[Mulsiphix]

Long story short I watched 3.X/d20/OGL come and go without being personally involved. Life was too hectic and busy and now that I am sitting down with 4E I'm finding many low or no crunch d20/OGL content available on DriveThruRPG. I really want to make up for lost time. I am most interested in products that make the life of a GM easier but also really help the GM add depth, detail, and immersion into his adventures or campaign. Products that expand on common but usually shallowly presented topics topics (city building or romance for instance) available in one book or a book series. Above all else if you feel a fluffier product has really improved your games for whatever reason, I would love to hear about it.

The following is a list of products I have already purchased which I'm posting as an example of products that have fit this criteria in my eyes. For the sake of providing more examples I am including my recent DriveThruRPG purchases as well. I would love to receive any feedback or product suggestions for d20/OGL or Generic/System-Independent products. Any help would be most appreciated .

d20/OGL Products
DM Mastery: NPC Essentials
Dungeon
GM Mastery: Holiday Essentials
Kobold Ecologies
The Mother of All Treasure Tables
Toolbox
Toxicant

Older Editions of D&D
The Dungeon Alphabet
The Random Esoteric Creature Generator

Generic/System Independent
City Builder: A Guide to Designing Communities
KOBOLD Guide to Game Design, Vol. 1
KOBOLD Guide to Game Design, Vol. 2
KOBOLD Guide to Game Design, Vol. 3
Open Game Table Blog Anthology, Vol. 1
Open Game Table Blog Anthology, Vol. 2
Ultimate Toolbox

4E GSL Products
Castoffs and Crossbreeds
Hard Boiled Armies
Hard Boiled Cultures
Plague

RPG.net Member d20/OGL Suggestions I've Purchased
A Magical Medieval Society Western Europe
A Magical Society: Ecology and Culture
A Magical Society: Silk Road
Bits of the X series by Tabletop Adventures
Book of the Righteous
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Villains-Advanced-Dungeons-Dragons/dp/1560768371"]Complete Book of Villains[/ame] (AD&D 2E)
Complete Guide to X series from Goodman Games
Noble Steeds
Pirate's Guide to Freeport
Points of Light
Points of Light 2
Slayer's Guide to X series from Mongoose

Dragon Magazine Discovery!
Dragon Ecologies: I was disappointed that Kobold Ecologies was the only ecology content I could find. I visited DragonDex and found this article. Scrolled down a bit and found Ecology Articles. Talk about hitting the mother load!!

 

[haus48]

I think you have most of the books I would recommend already. The only one I would further suggest would be Skull and Bones by Green Ronin if you would like to look at a low magic pirate campaign and see some ship rules/fluff.

Also see if you can get a copy of the Dragon archives (out of print so use ebay), it compiles Dragon issues 1-250 and it would have more ecology and background ideas than I could ever list.

 

[Mulsiphix]

I think you have most of the books I would recommend already. The only one I would further suggest would be Skull and Bones by Green Ronin if you would like to look at a low magic pirate campaign and see some ship rules/fluff.

This is something I was really interested in exploring (nautical adventures) in 4E but hadn't see any real material for. I lack any real knowledge in this area but it is something I would like to learn more about. Preferably without hitting my local library and studying real world ship design. Do you think Scull and Bones would cover the subject completely, fluff wise, or should I check out some of the other d20 supplements as well. The only reason I ask is because I came across four to six different books on the subject during my DriveThruRPG d20 searches

 

[haus48]

Skull and bones adds a lot of flavor text but it focuses on the piracy era in the Caribbean. There are about a dozen 1/2 page summaries scattered throughout the book of famous pirates between 1690-1720 (with character class levels and hp being the only stats besides background info). It has many campaign specific character classes. Adds a system for parrying and one called rolling the bones to escape death (everyone gets multiple lives and lady luck can smile on you... or squash you like a bug). Its equipment section covers cannons, fire arms, various pirate weapons/equipment, and trade goods. It has a three page write up on the rules of the code duello, (the rules to honorable duels), a 1 page section on vices (Drinking, gambling, and ... other pursuits). It presents fame and sway rules so you can lead an infamous pirate crew (and keep them from having you walk the plank). It has a 17 page write up and rules for voodoo, the loa, and the djab. A 4 page write up of the various jobs and their roles (captian, warrant officer, cook, doctor, surgeon, ect). 20 pages on stats and rules for ships, naval combat, and weather. 4 pages discussing campaign ideas. 3 pages on types of plunder. Finally there are 10 pages for the different Caribbean islands with adventure hooks, who lives there, what they produce, and what the natives of the island import.

Read some reviews and look into it. It is very much designed for a low magic setting set in the historical Caribbean era, but I do not think you will be disappointed and the general rules can be extrapolated to other eras.