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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Alzrius" data-source="post: 8687371" data-attributes="member: 8461">For me, it's the following:<a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/51255/Eclipse-The-Codex-Persona-Shareware?affiliate-id=820" target="_blank"><img src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41RoC80kohL.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" /></a>Eclipse: The Codex Persona is a d20 supplement that, to me, epitomizes the mantra of "options, not restrictions" that characterized D&D Third Edition. It presents a point-buy (rather than character class-based) system for building not only characters, as well as races, and is remarkable for the sheer amount of options it allowed for. What makes it different from other point-buy systems is that if offers guidelines wherein weaknesses can be introduced to abilities in exchange for either a cost reduction or a power-up in another aspect. Of course, all of this requires adjudication by the GM, as well as players who don't want to be disruptive, power-game, or otherwise hog the spotlight (instead of everyone adhering to a "Rules As Written" paradigm), but a glance at what the author's done on <a href="https://ruscumag.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">his blog</a> should make it clear how impressive this is.<a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/118293/The-Primal-Order?affiliate_id=820" target="_blank"><img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/5e/Primal_Order_First_Edition_Cover.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" /></a>The Primal Order is, for me, the last word in deities and religions in tabletop RPGs. I've seen a lot of supplements that de-emphasize the presence of gods in favor of their terrestrial institutions, but this one puts the focus squarely on the deities in a way that makes it clear that they're the movers and shakers of the multiverse, and what that means in the scope of your game! Not a bestiary of cosmic beings, it instead outlines what gods are, what they can do, and what takes up their time and effort every day. The "capstone" appendices of how this works for various RPGs are the cherry on the sundae here (even if they did <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Primal_Order" target="_blank">bring legal trouble</a>), and I still refer to this book and its supplements today.<a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17171/DD-Rules-Cyclopedia-Basic?affiliate_id=820" target="_blank"><img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1528818499l/40517394._SX318_.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" /></a>I'm not sure if there's every been a more elegant D&D product than the Rules Cyclopedia. Compressing the first four entries of the BECMI line, along with some salient parts of the D&D Gazetteers, and even giving a quick conversion guide for AD&D 2E, this was the all-in-one package. Not a starter set, it presented literally everything you needed to play D&D from levels 1 to 36, including campaign setting information, a collection of monsters, spells and magic items, and how to quest for immortality (even if playing an Immortal wasn't to be found here). There's a reason why this book has the acclaim that it does among those who remember it.Please note my use of affiliate links in this post.</blockquote>

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