So Many to Choose From

[Phoenix_Knightwind]

As an avid reader with few budget constraints, I've managed to pick up just about every d20 fantasy source book in print. I must give kudos to everyone who has had the wherewithal to jump into the market. Over all, you guys have done a spectacular job. After playing D&D for over 20 years, I am finally all the resources I ever wanted.

Which brings me to the reason for this post. With so many options, most good, some not so, how does someone choose what to use. With four books on Dwarves, at least nine books on arcane magic and over seven different types of Shaman class, how do I decide what to use from my glutted library?

Below is my top 10 list of non-core d20 supplements. I'd love to hear comments on my opinions, but what I'm really hoping for is advice from players on how they use the sources and input from publishers on their favorite pieces of "plug-n-play" material from their books. Thank you in advance for your posts.

10. Traps and Treachery from FFG.
9. Mythic Races from FFG.
8. The Book of Eldritch Might from Malhavok.
7. Spells and Magic by Bastion Press.
6. Kalamar Players Handbook

5. Mercenaries from AEG. This is the best non-Rokugan book these guys have done, period.

4. Alchemy and Herbalist from Bastion. The book is a little deep and detailed for some, but I love the ideas presented and am already using them in my campaign to great affect.

3. Quintessential Cleric from Mongoose. I'll admit I'm not a huge fan of this series, but the ideas in this book really take clerics to the next level. No other source to date does a better job of making clerics fun again.

2. The Secret College of Necromancy from Green Ronin. This is the best take on the class and school of magic I've seen. It is strictly for DMs, but it corrects everything I thought was wrong about Necromancy in the game.

1. Relics and Rituals from SSS. This book is just too easy to incorporate not to use it.

I wanted to add one more thing: My five favorite plug-n-play pieces:

1. Familiar rules from Spells and Spellcraft (FFG)
2. New races from Monsters (AEG)
3. Psion revision from ITCK (Malhavok)
4. Rules for magical books from Ink and Quill (Bastion)
5. Select (non-magic) classes from Soveriegn Stone.

 

[Nightfall]

Well for me, I just add stuff I think would have add to the already existing flavor of my campaign. Thus something like the Servants of Decay in in GR Arcana: Societies of Magic would probably get a lot of play for me.

 

[Crothian]

I like to give players options. I think they should have as much material to draw on so they can build a character that perfectly suites their character concept.

 

[Furn_Darkside]

how do I decide what to use from my glutted library?

Since most of my players are too causal to buy the books (or generally read mine), I often have tons of great surprises to use against the them.

Whenever I am making a dwarven fighter npc, then I will flip through all the books I own that involve dwarves and/or fighters.

I am going to love the looks on their faces when they find the dwarven fighters in the upcoming city have a fighting style based off of big metal gauntlets. (Thank you- swashbuckling adventures)

FD

 

[BigFreekinGoblinoid]

I wanted to add one more thing: My five favorite plug-n-play pieces:

1. Familiar rules from Spells and Spellcraft (FFG)
2. New races from Monsters (AEG)
3. Psion revision from ITCK (Malhavok)
4. Rules for magical books from Ink and Quill (Bastion)
5. Select (non-magic) classes from Soveriegn Stone.

Hello Phoenix Knightwind, and welcome to the EN boards - may you waste less time than I here...

I find it interesting that your 5 favorite plug-n-play list above does not have ONE of your top Ten books listed...

The REAL answer to your question is that I too have WAY more source material than I really need. At least most of them make interesting reading. Ironically I bought a used book entitled "536 Puzzles & Curious Problems" pub. 1967 recently in a used book store, and I have drawn more immediately useful ideas from that one than most of the $18-$40 d20 supplements I have purchased. WoTC's book of Challenges is helping me use this book to full effect. That being said:

Mythic Races by FFL has been very useful for helping me create balanced new races for my own homebrew

M Cooks BoEM II will definitely helps to deliver a more realistic Bard

come to mind immediately...