D&D 5E Do you ACTUALLY use 3rd Party Books?

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Yeah, MMS:WE was the book I used to build the starting area for my campaign, which I think lent a lot of authenticity to it, but I never returned to it, since I didn't see the value of ever again knowing just how big the agricultural area should be around any fantasy town (huge, it turns out).

I would love to see them hired to help craft a world-building chapter in someone else's fantasy RPG, though.

 

[gamerprinter]

Well considering I don't play 5e, rather PF/SF, my vote doesn't really count, but because I am 3PP, I almost exclusively use 3PP in all my games, often as a means of play-testing my content before publication, but other 3PP products too. I don't allow games I run to be without 3PP content in play...

 

[Ruin Explorer]

MMS:WE is one of the greatest third party books of the 3E era. It makes me sad how few people remember it now. (To be fair, the company that publishes it has since gone all-in on 1E stuff, so that limits how well known they are outside those circles now.)

Huh. That title would 100% have stopped me even looking at it, but it does sound pretty interesting looking at it now. Of course I might just have disagreed with one of their conclusions and got really mad with it lol.

 

[OakenHart]

I've used LevelUp content in our 5e games. Mostly the monsters (the LevelUp monster book is fantastic, by the way).

A lot of people who typically don't get 3P stuff but like Eberron have gotten the Keith Baker Eberron books from DM's Guild. I also picked those up print-on-demand, myself. Obviously the DM's Guild stuff is not OGL but a different agreement, which is what I'm sure this thread is more based around due to the recent stuff, but it's still 3rd party.

Other people who've DMed in my group have used 3rd party setting books, and other lore material.

 

[Nebulous]

I've used LevelUp content in our 5e games. Mostly the monsters (the LevelUp monster book is fantastic, by the way).

The LU MM is just FUN to read! I don't think I have enjoyed reading a monster manual that much in many, many years. I hope any new 3PP manual moving forward uses a similar format. It adds in encounter size, treasure, combat strategy, morale parameters and more, plus really interesting lore.

 

[Parmandur]

Huh. That title would 100% have stopped me even looking at it, but it does sound pretty interesting looking at it now. Of course I might just have disagreed with one of their conclusions and got really mad with it lol.

For world building, it is really a cut above. Helps with a lot of the finer details, like "how many cobblers would this city of 100,000 have? How many farmingnvillahes are necessary for there to be a city of 100,000?"

 

[Hexmage-EN]

The only time I use unofficial content is when I homebrew it myself, usually inspired by 4E design sensibilities.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Huh. That title would 100% have stopped me even looking at it, but it does sound pretty interesting looking at it now. Of course I might just have disagreed with one of their conclusions and got really mad with it lol.

Their conclusions were derived from 3E DMG world creation math, which even at the time, people raised their eyebrows at a bit. But their explicit intention in the book -- which they talk about within the book -- is to try and make it all make sense with actual medieval economics and political and religious institutions.

Ironically, even though it was for 3E, its vibe is very OSR, so I guess it's no surprise that they went back to 1E once that was an option for publishers.

 

[Parmandur]

Their conclusions were derived from 3E DMG world creation math, which even at the time, people raised their eyebrows at a bit. But their explicit intention in the book -- which they talk about within the book -- is to try and make it all make sense with actual medieval economics and political and religious institutions.

Ironically, even though it was for 3E, its vibe is very OSR, so I guess it's no surprise that they went back to 1E once that was an option for publishers.

And the 5E DMG actually puts it int eh bibliography for anyone who wants to go into independence worldbuildijg, rather than replicate the 3E assumptions again.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

And the 5E DMG actually puts it int eh bibliography for anyone who wants to go into independence worldbuildijg, rather than replicate the 3E assumptions again.

I missed that. That's awesome. I remember back in the day, Monte Cook said he viewed it as deserving to sit alongside the 3E DMG.