Ten D&D Books to Survive the Apocalypse

[Corathon]

Just 10 is hard, but here goes...
1E DMG
1E PHB
!E Unearthed Arcana
1E MM
1E MM2
1E Fiend Folio
1E Deities and Demigods (with Cthulhu)
Arduin Grimoires 1-3

 

[Mark Hope]

1. Wilderlands of High Fantasy
2. Ptolus
3. Rappan Athuk
4. Beyond Countless Doorways
5. Pathfinder Core
6. Pathfinder Bestiary
7. Tome of Horrors
8. Ultimate Toolbox
9. Tome of Artifacts
10. Unearthed Arcana 3e

 

[Stoat]

1. 2E PHB
2. 1E DMG
3. 2E Monstrous Manual
4. Ultimate Toolbox
5. 1E Manual of the Planes
6. AC9 - Creature Catalog
7. D&D Rules Cyclopedia
8. 4E Rules Compendium
9. 4E PHB1
10. 4E MM2

The $64,000 question for me is whether to go with 4E or 3.5 for the last three books. I like 4E a little better, the content is spread out over a bunch of books, and the Compendium has spoiled me. On the other hand, I figure it's easier to homebrew 4E monsters than 3.X monsters, and monsters are really what I need for the long haul.

 

[TerraDave]

Tough....may need to bend the rules a little

1. OD&D boxed set (1 item)
2. 1E DMG
3. Moldvay/Cook expert set with isle of dread (1 item)
4. T1 Village of Hommlet
5. S1 Tomb of Horrors
6. G1-3 Against the Giants
7. D1-3 Drow
8. 4E Rules Compendium
9. 4E Heroes of the Fallen Lands
10. 4E Monster Vault (all contents)

 

[scruffygrognard]

1. World of Greyhawk Boxed Set
2. Planescape boxed set
3. AD&D Dungeon Master's Guide
4. G1-3: Against the Giants
5. D1-2: Descent in the Depths of the Earth
6. D3: Vault of the Drow
7. AD&D Monstrous Manual
8. My D&D rules (AD&D meets 3rd edition, with a good dose of Castles & Crusades thrown in)
9. S4: The Lost Caverns of Tsocanth
10. S2: White Plume Mountain

If I could bundle them together, I would have included A1-3: The Slavelord series (not the later compilation).

 

[The Human Target]

4E PHB 1
4E PHB 2
4E PHB 3
4E Rules Compendium
4E Monster Manual 1
4E Monster Manual 2
4E Monster Manual 3
The Plane Above
The Plane Below
Underdark

Enough for players and for me.

 

[Stormonu]

1. Moldvay Basic D&D (and Cook Expert, if I could put it in the same box)
2. Pathfinder Core
3. Pathfinder Bestiary
4. Pathfinder Advanced Player's Guide
5. Pathfinder Gamemastery Guide
6. Forgotten Realms 1E gray box set OR the 1983 World of Greyhawk box set
7. Fiend Folio 3E
8. Tome of Horrors Revised
9. Savage Worlds Explorer Edition
10. West End Games Star Wars Revised and Expanded 2E Rulebook

 

[Greg K]

1. 3.0 DMG
2. 3.0 PHB
3. 3.0 MM
4. 3e Unearthed Arcana
5. 3.0 Book of Vile Darkness
6. Shaman's Handbook (Green Ronin)
7. Witch's Handbook (Green Ronin)
8. Psychic's Handbook (Green Ronin)
9. Book of Iron Might (Malhavoc)
10. Advanced Bestiary (Green Ronin) or Revised Book of Templates Deluxe (Silverthorne/Goodman Games)

Honorable mentions: Artificer's Handbook (Mystic Eye Games), Poisoncraft (Blue Devil Games), From Stone to Steel (Monkey God/Highmoon)

 

[Whisper72]

I would stick with this collection:

1. 1e DMG
2. 2e PHB
3. 1e UA
4. 1e MMI
5. 1e MMII
6. 1e FF
7. Spelljammer Boxed Set
8. Planescape Boxed Set
9. Ravenloft Boxed Set
10. Ultimate Toolbox

That would prolly provide enough inspiration for a lifetime...

 

[olshanski]

1) Rules Cyclopedia OR Dark Dungeons
2) Planescape boxed set
3) Wilderlands of High Fantasy boxed set
4) Ptolus Boxed Set
5) Return to the Tomb of Horrors Boxed set
6) Castle Whiterock
7) Rapan Athuk reloaded
8) Dead Gods
9) Caverns of Thracia
10) War of the Burning Sky.