Top 3 All-Time RPG Supplements

[Committed Hero]

Not sure about all three - but this one has to be among them. It was a sourcebook for Champions, that from a gameplay side had a huge number of characters heroes and villains for a GM to use. But it is also one of the greatest game authors chronicling his campaign. It is also one of the best GM advice books ever written - there are a lot of thing in there that are standard now, but when this was published it was groundbreaking - I'm speaking of course of Aaron Allston's Strike Force (the original)

This is one of mine, along with the original Delta Green sourcebook (for Call of Cthulhu) and Bookhounds of London (for Trail of Cthulhu).

 

[jdrakeh]

I'd say for D&D it would be

Fiend Folio

The original Fiend Folio remains my favorite D&D monster manual. It has so much character and I can just sit down and enjoy it as a good read.

 

[jdrakeh]

1. Pellinore from Imagine magazine.

Pelinore remains my favorite D&D setting. It has a kind of low fantasy grit that I think Greyhawk aspired to but never quite nailed.

 

[jdrakeh]

My Top 3:

1. Module X1, "The Isle of Dread."

Isle of Dread is the first D&D module that I used outside of D&D and, indeed, outside of the fantasy genre. It served as a mysterious "lost world" setting for my Risus campaign in the late 90s and, later, for my Justice Inc. campaign. What a great choice!

 

[jdrakeh]

Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master, by Mike Shea aka Sly Flourish.

All of Sly Flourish's stuff is solid gold, really. Great, solid, advice for beginners and veterans alike.

 

[jdrakeh]

The d6 Star Wars Gamemaster Handbook - The only GM book that teaches how you run games.

The mail carrier just dropped off some WEG Star Wars stuff at my house this afternoon, as it turns out.

 

[Wicht]

Firstly, I would say that the newest Masks of Nyarlathotep has proven to be fantastic. Two hardback books of adventure and a whole "book" of handouts. As a campaign module, it is everything one could ask for: well organized, full of helpful stat blocks, and even side-adventures. Honorable mentions in the same vein go to the Paizo Adventure Paths, especially Rise of the Runelords - which I have used several times now.

Secondly, Green Ronin's Advanced Bestiary, in both its iterations. I love monster books, and a book of monster templates proves incredibly useful in writing adventures. Honorable mention in the same category goes to the old AD&D Monster Manual, and the first Pathfinder Bestiary.

Finally, the adventure module I have used more than any other, the classic B2 Keep on the Borderlands, even though its been some years since I have run basic D&D. Honorable mention goes here also to Sunless Citadel, and Burnt Offerings, both of which saw multiple uses for much the same reason.

 

[jdrakeh]

Secondly, Green Ronin's Advanced Bestiary, in both its iterations. I love monster books, and a book of monster templates proves incredibly useful in writing adventures. Honorable mention in the same category goes to the old AD&D Monster Manuel, and the first Pathfinder Bestiary.

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The Advanced Bestiary for 3.5 was one of my most treasured books of that era and I've always been puzzled as to why either Green Ronin or another publisher didn't revisit a big 'ol book of templates for D&D 5e.

 

[Reynard]

Not sure about all three - but this one has to be among them. It was a sourcebook for Champions, that from a gameplay side had a huge number of characters heroes and villains for a GM to use. But it is also one of the greatest game authors chronicling his campaign. It is also one of the best GM advice books ever written - there are a lot of thing in there that are standard now, but when this was published it was groundbreaking - I'm speaking of course of Aaron Allston's Strike Force (the original)

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This is absolutely number 1 for me. it completely changed the way I looked at campaign management and super hero adventures. It is a work of art.

The BECMI Companion set for the combination of The War Machine and Domain Management redefined what D&D heroes were supposed to become and were supposed to do. I am still mad official D&D has completely jettisoned this mode of play in favor of Even Bigger Bags Of Hit Points.

I think #3 would be Parlainth for Earthdawn. Again, it redefined something for me, in this case what an actual "megadungeon" is and can be in a setting (in this case it was a ruined city).

Honorable mentions: Campaign Sourcebook and Catacomb Guide for 2E, as well as a the 2E MM (which is cheating as it is a core rule book, but I can do what i want, you ain't the boss of me).

 

[kigmatzomat]

Mine would be the RPG books I find myself reading whenever I need an idea.

• The Primal Order -the first book to define "epic" in a way that was applicable (The Primal Order - Hostile Work Environment | DriveThruRPG.com)
• A Magical Medieval Society: Western Europe -Probably the best tool for developing power structures and sparking ideas around governments small to large. The exact authority and responsibility of positions changes in cultures but to a large extent the needs described are universal.
• (https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/192370/A-Magical-Medieval-Society-Western-Europe-Third-Edition)
• Magical Medieval Society:Silk Road - A companion to MMSWE, it covers trade at a level that can be applied to any game, medieval to sci fi. (E.g. Dune is essentially a story driven by trade) (A Magical Society: Silk Road - Expeditious Retreat Press | A Magical Society | DriveThruRPG.com)