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Five (or so) favorite RPG books for lore/reading pleasure
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<blockquote data-quote="Alzrius" data-source="post: 8640919" data-attributes="member: 8461"><p>Narrowing it down to just five is hard, but here we go:</p><ol> <li data-xf-list-type="ol"><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/51255/Eclipse-The-Codex-Persona-Shareware?affiliate-id=820" target="_blank"><em><strong>Eclipse: The Codex Persona</strong></em></a> has no lore or setting information whatsoever. Rather, it's a point-buy character-builder for d20 System Games. It's more flexible than any such sourcebook (there were a few), and every time I open it, I find something inspiration; for me, this is the book that makes the "options, not restrictions" credo of D&D 3rd Edition come true.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol"><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/28729/Forgotten-Realms-Campaign-Setting-3e?affiliate_id=820" target="_blank"><em><strong>The Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting 3E</strong></em></a> was the book that made me a fan of the Realms. I'd picked up plenty of supplements for the setting before (though not the 1E or 2E boxed sets), but this was something else again. Jam-packed full of lore galore and quite a few new developments such as the return of Bane, the appearance of the Shade Enclave, or the rise of Deep Imaskar, which made it really seem like the world needed heroes beyond Elminster and the Seven Sisters. This remains an impressive presentation of what's arguably the most famous tabletop RPG setting.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol"><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/63126/HarnManor?affiliate_id=820" target="_blank"><em><strong>HârnManor</strong></em></a> is a product I'm picking to represent the entire Hârn line from Columbia Games. That's because, while their native RPG system is HârnMaster, a <em>lot</em> of their supplements are system-neutral, and provide great overviews of various aspects of running a medieval fantasy world, such as <strong><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/84574/Heraldry?affiliate_id=820" target="_blank"><em>Heraldry</em></a> </strong>or managing <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/83513/Real-Estate?affiliate_id=820" target="_blank"><em><strong>Real Estate</strong></em></a>. In the case of <em>HârnManor</em>, it covers an aspect of medieval life that's all too often misunderstood or overlooked completely, and makes for some <a href="https://www.tribality.com/2017/01/05/domain-rulership-part-thirteen/" target="_blank">great reading</a>. This setting always makes me so hârny.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">An even split here between the AD&D 2E <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17525/Ravenloft-Domains-of-Dread-2e?affiliate_id=820" target="_blank"><em><strong>Domains of Dread</strong></em></a> and <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/2478/Ravenloft-30?affiliate_id=820" target="_blank"><em><strong>Ravenloft 3rd Edition</strong></em></a>. This setting has always been, for me, the most evocative of the classic D&D settings, and while I'm not sure which take impressed me more, the collective whole is one that I don't think has ever been surpassed (including by its 5E counterpart).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">For my last entry I'm going to cheat, and put this one down to a three-way tie between <strong><em><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/464/Dragonstar-Starfarers-Handbook?affiliate_id=820" target="_blank">Dragonstar</a></em></strong>, <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/474/Dawnforge-Core-Rulebook?affiliate_id=820" target="_blank"><em><strong>Dawnforge</strong></em></a>, and <strong><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/2718/Midnight-2nd-Edition-Core-Rulebook?affiliate_id=820" target="_blank"><em>Midnight</em></a></strong>. I don't know what Fantasy Flight Games had going on back in the early days of 3rd Edition era, but they consistently cranked out imaginative setting after imaginative setting. A dragon empire that ruled the galaxy, and had just found your campaign world? A young world where the legends that would echo throughout history were just now happening? A world where <s>Sauron</s> the god of evil won? Each and every one of these still has a fan community today, and it's not hard to see why!</li> </ol><p><em>Please note my use of affiliate links in this post.</em></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Alzrius, post: 8640919, member: 8461"] Narrowing it down to just five is hard, but here we go: [LIST=1] [*][URL='https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/51255/Eclipse-The-Codex-Persona-Shareware?affiliate-id=820'][I][B]Eclipse: The Codex Persona[/B][/I][/URL] has no lore or setting information whatsoever. Rather, it's a point-buy character-builder for d20 System Games. It's more flexible than any such sourcebook (there were a few), and every time I open it, I find something inspiration; for me, this is the book that makes the "options, not restrictions" credo of D&D 3rd Edition come true. [*][URL='https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/28729/Forgotten-Realms-Campaign-Setting-3e?affiliate_id=820'][I][B]The Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting 3E[/B][/I][/URL] was the book that made me a fan of the Realms. I'd picked up plenty of supplements for the setting before (though not the 1E or 2E boxed sets), but this was something else again. Jam-packed full of lore galore and quite a few new developments such as the return of Bane, the appearance of the Shade Enclave, or the rise of Deep Imaskar, which made it really seem like the world needed heroes beyond Elminster and the Seven Sisters. This remains an impressive presentation of what's arguably the most famous tabletop RPG setting. [*][URL='https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/63126/HarnManor?affiliate_id=820'][I][B]HârnManor[/B][/I][/URL][B] [/B]is a product I'm picking to represent the entire Hârn line from Columbia Games. That's because, while their native RPG system is HârnMaster, a [I]lot[/I] of their supplements are system-neutral, and provide great overviews of various aspects of running a medieval fantasy world, such as [B][URL='https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/84574/Heraldry?affiliate_id=820'][I]Heraldry[/I][/URL] [/B]or managing [URL='https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/83513/Real-Estate?affiliate_id=820'][I][B]Real Estate[/B][/I][/URL]. In the case of [I]HârnManor[/I], it covers an aspect of medieval life that's all too often misunderstood or overlooked completely, and makes for some [URL='https://www.tribality.com/2017/01/05/domain-rulership-part-thirteen/']great reading[/URL]. This setting always makes me so hârny. [*]An even split here between the AD&D 2E [URL='https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17525/Ravenloft-Domains-of-Dread-2e?affiliate_id=820'][I][B]Domains of Dread[/B][/I][/URL] and [URL='https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/2478/Ravenloft-30?affiliate_id=820'][I][B]Ravenloft 3rd Edition[/B][/I][/URL]. This setting has always been, for me, the most evocative of the classic D&D settings, and while I'm not sure which take impressed me more, the collective whole is one that I don't think has ever been surpassed (including by its 5E counterpart). [*]For my last entry I'm going to cheat, and put this one down to a three-way tie between [B][I][URL='https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/464/Dragonstar-Starfarers-Handbook?affiliate_id=820']Dragonstar[/URL][/I][/B], [URL='https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/474/Dawnforge-Core-Rulebook?affiliate_id=820'][I][B]Dawnforge[/B][/I][/URL], and [B][URL='https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/2718/Midnight-2nd-Edition-Core-Rulebook?affiliate_id=820'][I]Midnight[/I][/URL][/B]. I don't know what Fantasy Flight Games had going on back in the early days of 3rd Edition era, but they consistently cranked out imaginative setting after imaginative setting. A dragon empire that ruled the galaxy, and had just found your campaign world? A young world where the legends that would echo throughout history were just now happening? A world where [S]Sauron[/S] the god of evil won? Each and every one of these still has a fan community today, and it's not hard to see why! [/LIST] [I]Please note my use of affiliate links in this post.[/I] [/QUOTE]
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