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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Psion" data-source="post: 830076" data-attributes="member: 172">Obviously, the ones I gave 5's are the ones I think are the best. AFAIAC, Legions of Hell is my fave among their books (it's more than a monster book -- it's a potpourri of plot ideas), though BotR is right up there. My campaign is pretty well established, so I don't find BotR as useful as I might otherwise. But if your religions are in the stage of development, I consider it very worthwhile. It SOOOO outclasses D&DG on what a deities book should be.Other Green Ronin Books I Really Like: <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Plot & Poison Drow, de-FR-ized! Also has some great additions to the magic item creation rules if you don't like the existing crafting rules, and some nice power component rules.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Shaman's Handbook</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Hammer & Helm</li> </ul>Green Ronin books I that are pretty good/ I get some use out of: <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Armies of the Abyss: Not as good as legions of hell, but still pretty good. There are not as many plot ideas embedded in the creatures, and the thaumaturge is a waste of space, but the demon lords are a nice/inspirational touch.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Witch's Handbook: You might like this if you want to get away from blast-mages or otherwise have an appeal for witches, but otherwise I don't see a strong role for the witch in a campaign. However, I do like the flavor of this witch much better than the Mongoose one.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Mutants & Masterminds: Pretty book, and lots of people love it, but it's still not on the top of the list of games I would use for supers. Skills are too expensive, and there are a few other balance weaknesses.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Wrath & Rage: About par on the mechanical stuff; not as inspiring as Plot & Poison or Hammer & Helm. I did think the "monter gods" thing had a lot of possibilities though, and give orcs a fresh spin.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Avatar's Handbook: Good book, but much like the witch, I just don't see using the Avatar class in the campaign. However, much like Legions of Hell, the angelic creatures have a lot of plot ideas, which is something to be commended for a book of good creatures. Also, if you like Meyer's work in BotR, you should like the art in this book.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Jade Dragons & Hungry Ghosts: Worth it if you are running an OA game, otherwise probably not. It draws from a variety of authors, so the quality is a little uneven.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Arcana: Societies of Magic: I liked this book much better than the overpriced Touched by the Gods that everyone was raving about. If you need a few unusual villain (or not so villainous) groups in your game, with a few mechanical tidbits, this is a good book.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Freeport: Don't have the adventures/never played them. The hardback is pretty good, with a very nice map and a lot of hidden corruption in the city. That said, I personally prefer Bluffside, albeit that it's presentation is not as good.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Ultramodern Firearms Pretty book, but it seems like a lot of space is wasted. I'd probably like it more if I played d20 modern. If you don't, you can probably skip it (if you play spycraft, MAG is much better for your purposes.)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Pocket Grimoires: Very nice reference to have at the table.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Pocket Magica: Nice, but not as useful as the Grimoires.</li> </ul>Books that might have some use, but that I was not all that impressed with:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Assassin's Handbook: The organizations are decent if you need assassins guilds, and you can extract some feats and spells for use with standard assassins. But the assassin base class and prestige classes are poorly written.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Secret College of Necromancy: By the same authors as the Assassin's Handbook, SCON has some outstanding flavor and background text. But again, the mechanics are weak... or rather, strong. The classes and spells are WAY too powerful for the indicated levels. Some spells are pretty cool, but deserve toned down or limited.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Bastards & Bloodlines: Just got this; review pending. I normally like Owen KC Stephen's work. But so far, I just find this book conceptually weak. About 60% of this book is individual halfbreed races written up PHB-race style. That's nice if you happen to play one, but chances are you will only use a few of these if any. Some of the concepts are wacky and bizarre (like half-unicorns and half-mind flayer [yes I know that the FF has one too... ]). Worse, for a book so dedicated to the topic of crossbreeds, you would think that it might discuss ways half breeds arise without the classic "anything can breed" handwave. Give me some magic, folks!</li> </ul>In short, I wouldn't say you can't go wrong with Green Ronin... but I find that since they got their product schedule on track, they have a better track record for turning out quality and creativity than most of their competitors.</blockquote>

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