Non-Wizards Products

[johnsemlak]

Hmmm

THis is really difficult to answer because it obviously depends on what products you have actually needed to use, and what you have purchased.

One's I've used...

Hammer and Helm (I must admit I played a dwarf)
Relics and Rituals I & II
Quintessenial Wizard

these do look really good, though I haven't used them as yet:
Tome of Horrors
Monsternomicon
Spells and Spellcraft
Some of the various Encyclopedia Arcane series.

 

[Asmo]

Relics and rituals 1 & 2 gets my vote to.
Exellent stuff!!

Asmo

 

[TheAuldGrump]

Hmmm, best by 'What I Liked the Best':
Book of the Righteous, really deserves a game world to go with it's great pantheon.
Hollowfaust: City of the Necromancers. A really fun idea. (Sword & Sorcery Studios)
Skull & Bones. What can I say I just like it. Then again, the 16th and 17th centuries are my favorite period for RPGs.(Green Ronin)
Monsternomicon, a monster book that exists both as a game tool and in the game world. (Privateer Press)
All the King's Men. I just loved reading this quirky, funny, yet very well written mystery adventure. Edge of Dreams by the same company is also very, very, good. Too bad they have stopped writing adventures. (Monkey God Enterprises.)

Best by 'What I Use the Most':
Seas of Blood. Very simple sea battle system. (Mongoose)
Sorcery & Steam. I just plain like steam age stuff! And I run Iron Kingdoms... (Fantasy Flight)
Strongholds & Dynasties. Awesome. And it works with Seas of Blood. Makes me want to dust off Birthright again. (Mongoose)
Powerclass: Hedge Wizard. Cheap and useful, Hedge Wizards have pretty much replaced adepts in my games. (Mongoose)
Powerclass: Noble. Again great for NPCs.(Mongoose)
Common Grounds 2. Something to pull out when I am rushed.(As I too often am these past few months) (Bard's Productions)

'Most Used Pieces of a Larger Work':
Libraries in Quintessential Wizard.(Mongoose)
Open Mass Combat System in Quintessential Fighter (With the OMCS 2 in Strongholds & Dynasties this is likely to change.)(Mongoose)
Called Shots (I first encountered these rules in Swashbuckling Adventures, but I don't think they started there.) (AEG)

Best PDFs:
A Magical Medieval Society: Western Europe. Now available bound. This is a great book for setting up a more closely medieval campaign. And it has a test... (Expeditious Retreat Press )
Campaign Planner. Not much to look at, but very handy. (Ronin Arts)
Book of Templates. More, i WANT MORE! (Which is about the nicest thing you can say about a book like this...) (Silverthorne Games.

The Auld Grump, hmm, much of this appears to be by Mongoose...

*EDIT* And 'Most Likely to be Swiped from for My Own Stuff': The format used in the Creature Collections, the best laid out books in 2e were the Monstrous Compendiums, and this is as close as you can come in 3e.

 

[John Crichton]

What products NOT by WotC are simply the best? Which ones are the best balanced, most original, and you just keep bringing them up to the game table? Not counters or miniatures, though those are great, but actual texts.

To the game table?

AEG's Toolbox. I use it for almost every game these days.

Other great books include A Magical Medieval Society: Western Europe and The Book of the Righteous. Monte Cook's Eldritch Might books are good, too.

 

[NiTessine]

Malhavoc's Books of Eldritch Might I-III and Necromancer's Tome of Horrors.

 

[Ron]

There are a lot of good d20 material being published. Which ones are the best will depend greatly of where your interest lies. As a rule of thumb, I usually appreciate books from Atlas and Green Ronin. Other publishers also offer good stuff, but I think that these two companies are really much above the average.

 

[Tsyr]

Some off the top of my head:

Arcana Unearthed by Malhavoc
Midnight by FFG
Tome of Horrors by Necromancer
Occult Lore by Atlas Games
The entire "Path of the Splat" books by FFG
Encyclopedia Arcane: Demonology, Fey Magic, Constructs, and Crossbreeding by Mongoose
Encyclopedia Divine: Shamans by Mongoose
Traps and Treachery by FFG
Book of Eldrich Might (All) by Malhavoc
Spycraft and Shadowforce Archer by AEG
Book of the Riteous by Green Ronin
Witches Handbook by Green Ronin
Airships by Bastion Press
Spells and Magic by Bastion Press
Slaine (And all it's supplements) by Mongoose

 

[Breakdaddy]

I would say that AEGs Toolbox is my #1 pick for most useful product for a DM on a regular basis. I also vote for Magica Medeival Society as a wonderful read/great game aid.

 

[CCamfield]

I think quite a few of them have been mentioned already, but you could do worse than to look at the top 20 rated d20 products here at ENWorld.

http://www.enworld.org/reviews/top20.php?p=1&c=print

I have to qualify my recommendations with not having actually used them, but to my mind the best books Atlas has released (although Touched by the Gods and the Fantasy Bestiary are both really good) are Dynasties & Demagogues, which covers a lot of ground for political adventures, and Crime and Punishment, which addresses possible campaigns and issues in law enforcement, dealing and running from the law, bounty hunting and the like.

 

[CRGreathouse]

Malhavoc's Books of Eldritch Might -- especially #3; GR's Legions of Hell; Malhavoc's Cry Havoc.