Must have book per edition

[Nellisir]

Basic: Dunno. Rules Cyclopedia seems the obvious choice.
1e: DMG
2e: Monstrous Manual. Good call on that one.
3e: Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide
Pathfinder: Core Rulebook
4e: Hrm...Heroes of the Feywild?

 

[tvknight415]

Basic D&D: Rules Cyclopedia - most complete set of rules under one cover. Period. I'd rather have both the Moldvay Basic/Cook & Marsh expert books, but with only 1 book per edition, have to go RC.

AD&D 1E: S1 Tomb of Horrors - if I ever have to sell all my 1E stuff, this would be the last to go. Ultimate challenge to players (at least, the first time through.. unless the DM makes some changes). Honorable mention to Expedition to the Barrier Peaks (I have a soft spot, as this was the first module I ever adventured in).

AD&D 2E: Ravenloft Campaign Setting - My favorite setting to DM. Better maps and a tarokka deck. If it has to be a single book (as opposed to box set), Domains of Dread.

D&D 3/3.5E: Pathfinder Core Rulebook. Yes, I know it's not D&D per se, but I think it's the best version of the 3rd Edition rules. For an actual WotC product, I'd probably have to go with the 3.5 PHB.

D&D 4E: Skipped. No recommendation.

But, that more or less sums up what I would ever want to see in my 'perfect' version of D&D: the simplicity of the basic rules with a unified (3E) mechanic, and earlier 1E styled adventures set in 2E quality settings.

 

[Quickleaf]

[*]oD&D/BECMI: Rules Cyclopedia -- Kind of a cheat as a compilation, but still a very nice repackaging of this edition.

[*]AD&D1: Wilderness Survival Guide -- For showing me how to approach sandbox-style worldbuilding.

You've got a great list, but I would change some things. The 1e DMG probably trumps WSG, but it's definitely the closest second I can think of.

[*]AD&D2: Vikings Campaign Sourcebook -- Before I discovered GURPS, this (and AD&D1's Oriental Adventures) showed how to adapt real-world historical settings to fantasy and began opening the door to cross-genre role-playing that D20 would develop.

My best book of AD&D2 would be a tie between the MM and Planescape Campaign Boxed Set.

[*]D&D3.x: Cityscape -- This showed the versatility of D20/OGL for more specific campaign building and complemented third-party sourcebooks, of which there are too many to mention here.

Totally with you on that one.

[*]D&D4e: Underdark -- More bang for the D.M.'s buck.

I'm actually hard pressed to think of a "must buy" book from 4e. There's good material, but not much strikes me as having the same timeless quality like, say, the 2e MM or 1e DMG.

 

[Greg K]

Basic: Either GAZ13: Shadow Elves or GAZ14: Atruaghin Clans

1e: DMG

2e: Tough call between the Complete Thief's Handbook, PO: Combat and Tactics, PO: Spells and Magic, the green historical books, Faiths and Avatars

3e: PHB and MM aside, its is a toss-up between Unearthed Arcana, Fiendish
Codex 1, Shaman's Handbook (Green Ronin), Witches Handbook (Green Ronin), and Book of Iron Might (Malhavoc).

4e: skipped it so not familiar with all of the books.

 

[pemerton]

For Basic, the Moldvay rulebook. Clear rules, succinct but sensible GM advice.

For AD&D, I'm going to deviate a bit from the consensus. I refer to the DMG and PHB quite a bit, mostly got I get into arguments on these forums and use them as reference books! But when I was actually playing AD&D, it was Oriental Adventures that gave me the most pleasure, and that opened my eyes to what could be done with the game. I also like Manual of the Planes, but never successfully used it until about 20 years later in a Rolemaster campaign.

For 2nd ed, the City of Greyhawk boxed set: good setting, memorable NPCs (including the Circle of Eight), and a heap of 2-sided cards with mini-adventures on them.

I didn't play much 3E at all, but have quite a bit of stuff for it. I liked the 3E Manual of the Planes. And (if I can go 3rd party) I liked Arcana Unearthed - some nice setting ideas there.

For 4e, I think the closest book to a must-have - especially if you're not actually playing the edition - is Worlds & Monsters. As far as I know it's the only D&D book ever to discuss the story elements of D&D from the point of view of their metagame function (ie what sort of themes and play experience they are meant to evoke, and how a GM can use them to that end).

 

[dd.stevenson]

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[GreyICE]

I'm actually hard pressed to think of a "must buy" book from 4e. There's good material, but not much strikes me as having the same timeless quality like, say, the 2e MM or 1e DMG.

4E Dungeon Master's Guide 2.

The DMG2 is worth every penny if you never play a game of 4E.

 

[Quickleaf]

For 4e, I think the closest book to a must-have - especially if you're not actually playing the edition - is Worlds & Monsters. As far as I know it's the only D&D book ever to discuss the story elements of D&D from the point of view of their metagame function (ie what sort of themes and play experience they are meant to evoke, and how a GM can use them to that end).

That's interesting! I get the impression some of the stuff in W&M never made it into 4e.

4E Dungeon Master's Guide 2.

The DMG2 is worth every penny if you never play a game of 4E.

Yeah DMG2 is quite good. I'll have to look it over again and see what pops out to my jaded DM eyes.

 

[spudspotato]

I don't usually consult out of edition books when running a game, but when I do, I consult the AD&D Dungeon Master's Guide.

 

[NotZenon]

Rules cyclopedia....

1rst: unearthed arcana, dmg

2cnd: greyhawk boxset, darksun boxset, planescape box set. ruins of undermountain (nostalgia for me), psionics handbook

3rd: my favourite edition yet i can't think of one that really stands out? trailblazer, unearthed arcana, red hand of doom, hook mountain massacre.

4rth: played for about 6 months but not enough info to make a choice. darksun maybe.

annnd. Pathfinder core rulebook.