Ten D&D Books to Survive the Apocalypse

[Mercurius]

This is a variant on "Desert Island Discs" (which has been made irrelevant by mp3s, but I digress). If some situation arose in which you could never purchase or find another D&D book but you have a lot of time to play D&D for years upon years; let's say the apocalypse--in whatever variant--occurs and you can grab 10 D&D books from your shelves. Which ones do you take?

Some guidelines:

• No DDI, no computer, no PDF folders, etc. Paper versions only.
• Stick to D&D - any edition, any version (including Pathfinder, retro-clones, etc). However, you can pick system neutral books (e.g. Ultimate Toolbox).
• Monetary value is meaningless - the value is for play and reading enjoyment only.
• I don't mean just books but products as well - as long as they are "meatspace" and were actually sold as a single product.
• Please list 10. In case you're wondering, I chose 10 and not, say, 5 to avoid boring lists that include only the core books of your favored edition and the required classic 1E DMG and one other book. I want something a bit deeper - and I want to know what you cherish among your collection, and what you find to be the most useful for extended game play.
• Yes, you do have dice.

Speaking for myself, I'd start with a group of 4E core books, maybe PHB 1 and 2, MM 1-3, and the Rules Compendium - that would give me a nice selection of character options, a ton of monsters, and the core rules, and leaves me with four slots left, probably fluff-oriented. I have to go with the 1E DMG - how could I not include it? That leaves me with three - and beyond that it gets dicey.

Do I need 4E DMG? Probably not. What about something for the planes, either the Planescape box or the 4E Manual of the Planes? If so, that leaves me with two. A Pathfinder book? Core Rulebook or Gamemastery Guide? Hard to say. If so, I'd have one "fluff" book left, maybe a campaign setting for inspiration - the 3E Forgotten Realms Setting book or 1E gray box? Monte Cook's Arcana Evolved (or Ptolus?) A Scarred Lands book? One of the 4E campaign settings? Wilderlands of High Fantasy box set? I'd be tempted to include Deities & Demigods for reading sake. Maybe a 4E DMG? Doesn't seem necessary.

Hmm...I can't really definitively answer this question beyond the first seven or eight products. I'll have to come back to it after some thought, but I'd love to see some lists - maybe they will help me with my own!

My Tentative List

1. 4E Player's Handbook
2. 4E Player's Handbook 2
3. 4E Monster Manual
4. 4E Monster Manual 2
5. 4E Monster Manual 3
6. Essentials Rules Compendium
7. 1E Dungeon Master's Guide
8. One of: 2E Planescape box set or 4E Manual of the Planes
9. - 10. Two of: Deities & Demigods, Wilderlands of High Fantasy, 3E Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting, 1E Forgotten Realms gray box, Arcana Evolved, Ptolus, 4E Eberron Campaign Guide, 4E Dark Sun Campaign Guide, Pathfinder Core Rulebook, Pathfinder Gamemastery Guide, Ultimate Toolbox, 4E Dungeon Master's Guide 1 or 2, Scarred Lands Ghelspad, etc...

 

[GreyLord]

My first choice would absolutely be

BECM Rules Cyclopedia. The best complete RPG in one book ever made.

Second to fourth would be

My three 3.5 Special Edition Core rulebooks. Complete RPG in one set.

Fifth would be Warhammer RPG 2e. Another complete RPG in one book

Sixth would be Dragon Warriors...yet another complete RPG in one book (notice a trend here?)

Seventh would be Merps 2e core book, which can be a complete RPG...yes you got the rest...

Eighth and Ninth would probably be Castles and Crusades PHB and M&T (probably me leatherette editions of these)

And the tenth and final spot...I'd like to say Star Frontiers Boxed set...but that's several books...

Mongoose's OGL version of the Lone Wolf RPG (finally, a complete...you know the drill).

Much as I love 4e...If you stick me in a situation like that...I'll go for my 3.5 special editions because I'll be hoping that they'll be able to take the wear and tear over the rest of eternity...and the others because I like variety...and so I'll pack as much into my ten books I can keep as possible.

PS: Just to give you the grand total, that's 7 RPG's to keep me busy for a lifetime.

PPS: Yes I noticed that you said D&D, but you also said extensions...and by default I went for RPG's in general. If only D&D, you can toss in the 3Core books for 1e along with the PHB from 2e, and Unearthed Arcana, then the PHB and MM from 4e (no room in the top 10 for the DMG). However...I took it to say any RPG...not just D&D...as why would someone restrict me to just the D&D books?

 

[Sorrowdusk]

1- Spell Compendium
2- Magic Item Compendium
3- Complete Arcane
4- Complete Mage
5- Fiendish Codex I
6- MM I
7- MM II
8- PHB
9- DMG
10- Epic Level Handbook

 

[TarionzCousin]

How about something actually useful, like this one:

The Complete Guide to Cockroaches (Including Recipes)

 

[megamania]

1
3.5 DMG
2
3.5 PHB
3
3.5 M M
4
3.5 Creature Collection
5
Book of Templates
6
Eberron Campaign Book
7
World's Biggest Dungeon
8
Epic level Book
9
Tomb of Horrors
10
magic Item Comp.

 

[Jacob Marley]

1. 1st Edition Player's Handbook
2. 1st Edition Dungeon Master's Guide
3. 1st Edition Monster Manual I
4. 1st Edition Monster Manual II
5. World of Greyhawk Boxed Set
6. T1 The Village of Hommlet
7. I6 Ravenloft
8. 3.5 Edition Player's Handbook
9. 3.5 Edition Dungeon Master's Guide
10. 3.5 Edition Monster Manual I

 

[Aus_Snow]

If it absolutely has to be D&D (or "D&D"), then...

1. Pathfinder RPG
2. Pathfinder Bestiary
3. Ultimate Toolbox

And, yeah, seven other things.


Cruel and unusual! Because, as it happens, I'd rather not be stuck with only D&D (and/or "D&D") for eternity. Or what's left of it, for me.

 

[DaveMage]

1. Wilderlands Box Set
2. Rappan Athuk Reloaded
3. Ptolus
4. Pathfinder Core Rulebook
5. Fiendish Codex I
6. Fiendish Codex II
7. Planescape Box Set
8. 3.5 Monster Manual (Special Edition)
9. Ruins of Undermountain Box Set
10. 3.5 Manual of the Planes

 

[rogueattorney]

1. AD&D 1e DMG
2. AD&D 1e PHB
3. AD&D 1e MM
4. Moldvay Basic boxed set w/ B2 Keep on the Borderlands
5. Cook/Marsh Expert boxed set w/ X1 Isle of Dread
6. JG102 Caverns of Thracia
7. JG62 Revised City State of the Invincible Overlord
8. 1983 World of Greyhawk boxed set
9. B4 The Lost City
10. Deities & Demigods (w/ Cthulhu and Elric)

That should keep me busy for a while. I have to admit to being on the fence re: CSotIO. I might rather have X2 Castle Amber.

 

[Wik]

Geez, D&D only? And we're talking there are no more D&D books ever? Were that the case, I'd look at it as a pretty good excuse to start heavily house-ruling - to hell with editions, let's find a core system and then start modifying to see fit.

I'm also assuming that I might not have the same play group I have now, so I want something relatively easy to run - maybe I'm not just playing with normal P&P gamers.

Finally, since part of the game for me is tinkering with the setting and changing things around, I'd want there to be gaps that I would have to fill myself - so I don't even think I'd need a full set of "Core" books.

1. BECMI Rules Compendium
2. 1E DMG
3. 2e Monstrous Manual
4. 2e Player's Handbook
5. 3e Unearthed Arcana
6. Pathfinder Core Rulebook
7. 3e Spell Compendium
8. A Pathfinder/Third Party Bestiary (basically, one non-"core" Monster book, for the weird critters)
9. Boxed Adventure Set (Night Below?)
10. 3e Magic Item Compendium

***

Note that, if this were a true "post-apoc" situation, and it wasn't just limited to D&D, my list would be almost completely different. Something like 1. BECMI RC 2. Savage World's Explorer's Guide 3. d6 Fantasy 4. 1e DMG 5. 3e Unearthed Arcana 6. Earthdawn 3rd Edition PHB 7. Earthdawn 3e DMG 8. Pathfinder Core Rulebook (I could use it to bust open cans) 9. d20 Apocalypse (natch) and 10. Pathfinder Bestiary.