D&D General Past Edition books in D&D5E

[Xeviat]

What D&D books from editions past do you still use, and what for? Do you use any books from other games?

For myself, I use the following books regularly still:

• 3.5 PHB: I use some of the skill DC tables still, nudged down to the shorter 5E scale.
• 3.5 DMG: Sometimes I use the magic items (enhancement bonuses divided by 2, rounded down if it has another function and rounded up if it has nothing else). I use the random settlement stuff a lot (just rolled up a whole village actually).
• 3.5 and 4E MMs: I often find myself looking at both 3.5 and 4E monster manuals for things to spice up my monsters. I make lots of custom monsters.
• Heroes of Battle/Heroes of Horror: these genre books help me with some things.
• 3E Manual of the Planes and Deities and Demigods: Lore, some mechanics, and some templates have proven useful to me.

Any books you're still referencing?

 

[Zardnaar]

Right now Drow stuff and 3.5 Underdark.

And rereading WotSQ.

 

[TheAlkaizer]

I still use most of my 4E books for inspiration on creatures, abilities, magic items, etc.

I often go back to 3E books for lore as 4E is often incompatible with stuff from 5E, or at the very least confusing.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I use my 3rd edition Forgotten Realms book.

 

[R_J_K75]

I currently play 5E. I use all the core books (PHB, DMG, & MM) from 1E, 2E, 3.5. I still have a good portion of the hardbacks for 3.x too. I use the campaign settings for the Forgotten Realms (all except 4E), Dark Sun 2E revised and Eberron 3E. The only campaign supplements I kept were a good portion of my FR collection. I kept my Encyclopedia of Magica from 2E as well. I got rid of everything else at various points, mostly for reasons other than them no longer being useful. When I say I use them it means I reference them from time to time. If its a creature, spell or magical item for instance I like to see its lineage from edition to edition. Same with rules, I like to see how they have evolved or look up the ones that aren't in the current edition. Except for a few FR ones, I didn't keep 99% of my adventures, I don't convert ones from older editions. Maps of course just because they are cool.

 

[Shiroiken]

Setting - Greyhawk Boxed Set and Folio from 1E, plus Living Greyhawk Gazeteer from 3E.
1E - DMG, MM, FF, MM2, UA
2E - various race/class splatbooks and DM references

 

[Helldritch]

Greyhawk. Need I say more?

 

[jasper]

I used the Dungeoneer Survival Guide from 1E for Icewind Dale..

 

[tetrasodium]

Mostly just 3.5mm &dig for monsters and sometimes magic items

 

[Marc_C]

Bits and parts of Mystara and old basic modules recombined for use in my home-brew 5e campaign which is almost finished. (on hold because of Covid. We want to play this one face to face.)