Need a good suggestion for a book?

[Squnk]

I recently started DMing for the first time and looking for a couple good books for the campaign, preferably I would like to get one book with more of a focus for the players and another ment more for myself as a DM. I'm only looking at getting two books right now, I know I can always download the PDFs but I am more of a fan of having the physical book and due to some bad situations in the past we don't allow laptops at the game table anymore except for character building. Thanks so much in advance.

Here is a little information about our campaign if it helps your suggestions. The setting is a continent with three major kingdoms. One of the kingdoms was recently overthrown by a mysterious figure. The characters are a halfelf rogue who disguises himself as a bard, a half-dragon human fighter who's back story hasn't been unravelled just yet, a half-orc fighter who was an escaped slave that knows little to nothing of the free world, and a gnome sorcerer who is the former price of the recently fallen kingdom trying to get revenge for the murder of his father. All the characters are neutrally aligned. We have had only one short session so far which just introduced all the characters to one another and ended with a tavern fight and fire. Thanks for your help and look forward

 

[Rakusia]

id suggest deities and demigods and magic item compendium. the latter more for yourself for magic item placement and the latter for players if they want clerics or just help picking a patron god. but both books can be a help to u as the dm and the players

though you can never go wrong with dmg 2 and phb 2

 

[Dandu]

Tome of Battle is nice.

 

[Rakusia]

must admit i like the "complete" set of books but more for equipment than anythign else

 

[rgard]

Unearthed Arcana for both you and the players. Good stuff all around in that one.

 

[Rakusia]

draconomicon and fiend folio are pretty cool too lets u learn about dragons in great detail. and throw more demonic creatures at ur players

 

[Fallenibilis]

As a fan of most of the books i can say that outside of core the most usefull will probably be the magic item compendium, and one or two of the completes (Complete Mage and Complete Arcana are my two favorites though Complete adventure has scout which is one of my favorite classes). Player handbook 2 offers some interesting stuff and Unearthed Arcana is simply brimming with fun interesting alternate options but as your just begining im not sure you want to immerse your self with all of that extra stuff, another reason im not bring up what i feel are the more abstract books (tome of battle, tome of magic, magic of the incarnum).

 

[Rakusia]

drow of the underdark and orental adventure would gve you all kinds of new options and theyre pretty easy to grasp

 

[Mark CMG]

Unearthed Arcana for both you and the players. Good stuff all around in that one.

Yup and add in the DMG II as my additional choice. Give the players plenty to explore and the focus can shift away from their character sheets and just what the next PC upgrade will be. I like games where, if someone should ask one of the players what the game is like, the player is more prone to describe the world, what is happening in that world, and how their group fits into that scheme than to launch into a PC description, what gear he has and what sort of things he could do in combat (regardless of if it has ever come up in-game).

 

[Noctos]

i will quote the first thing i read when i first touched a dnd book

"thios book is merly a suggestion and had no real facts the DM has the power and wiill to alter and change everything

i have a huge collection of books but i rarly touch them