What are the better 3rd-party D&D supplements?

[Kaji]

I've enjoyed Everyone Else, Book of Eldritch Might I, II, II and Book of Hallowed Might II, all .pdf. Someone else mentioned DarkFuries maps series, and I have to second that. Good maps you can use at the drop of a hat.

I also just spent a lot of time with Crimson Contacts, which I thought was kinda 'eh'. The flavor text was decent, but I threw out most of the spells and items, and I threw out almost all of the feats.

One book not mentioned that I also just spent some time going through was Compleat Librum. Pretty cool dark necromatic ideas here, if that's your bag. I did not think it was going to be very useful at first, but I'm liking it more and more.

Also, the 101 series of pdf is pretty cool , especially the spellbooks. I can't wait to place these in my campaign, and if I was playing a mage, I would make sure my DM had a copy to use

 

[Nightfall]

Elton,

Yeah well you've yet to run Scarred Lands the way I run it. Believe me, the shift is there.

 

[Sir Elton]

Elton,

Yeah well you've yet to run Scarred Lands the way I run it. Believe me, the shift is there.

Ah well.

 

[Desdichado]

I have to say that the Book of the Righteous is one of the most overhyped books I've yet seen.

I'll buy it from you!

 

[diaglo]

you can't go wrong with the ENWorld Player's Journal

 

[pdkoning]

Really good publishers (in my opionion):

Monte Cook / Malhavoc Press.
Green Ronin.
Bastion Press.

I recently bought the medieval player's guide from Green Ronin, and I must say it is a top quality book, it brings the 'real' medieval feeling to D20.

Books of Eldritch Might are also really good in my opinion, the bard from BOEM 2, is realy a must have, if you want to play a different bard.

 

[Mark Plemmons]

Ah, you knew it was coming... shameless plug time...

Aside from the Kingdoms of Kalamar campaign setting itself, I want to mention what I think are some of our better supplements. Though the flavor text is focused on the world of Tellene, they should be easily adaptable to another setting. Check out the ENWorld reviews of each for more info.

Dangerous Denizens: the Monsters of Tellene
Fury in the Wastelands: the Orcs of Tellene
Salt and Sea Dogs: the Pirates of Tellene
Stealth and Style: A Guidebook to Infiltrators and Basiran Dancers
Strength and Honor: the Mighty Hobgoblins of Tellene

You could also use the Atlas, but that would be tough unless you're looking for some detailed maps to base some homebrew regions on. Still, it's so cool I had to mention it...

 

[DaveMage]

I think if I had to pick one product to buy that's a 3rd party product it would be the Tome of Horrors by Necromancer Games.

However, since finding that one might be a bit of a challenge, try these:

If you are only a player (not a DM): The Complete Book of Eldritch Might (Malhavoc Press/Sword & Sorcery Studios).

If you DM (and can't find the Tome of Horrors): Oathbound: Domains of the Forge campaign setting (Bastion Press). If you played 2nd edition Planescape, there are similarities in style and feel (though not in location). There are so many built-in options for whatever type of campaign you run (high adventure, political intrigue, whatever) that you can't go wrong. Not to mention the fact that the concept of prestige races is introduced in the setting. This one really inspired me as a DM as no other setting (except Planescape) has.

 

[Falkayn]

Dynasties & Demagogues and Fields of Blood are my favourites because they add to the basic d20/D&D rules in a way that allows me to run a different style of campaign. This stuff really transforms what you can do with your game, which is GREAT.

I find that most campaign/background material is OK, but it really only works if you can get your players to buy the books and read it for themselves. Rules supplments that add gratuitous feats/prestige classes/spells/skills don't so it for me either - especially as a lot of them appeal to players by being slightly more powerful than they should be (which leads to an arms race mentality with publishers tryng to outdo each other).

Material that focuses on a particular style of gameplay (e.g. pirates, or psionics, or underground) is also useful if you want to run a campaign solely in that arena, but again it sometimes requires the players to invest in the material themselves.

 

[Wombat]

Hard to draw the dividing line between D&D and D20 supplements, so please bear with me if I cross that line.

Books of Eldritch Might and the Book of the Righteous get a large workout in my group. For an upcoming campaign I am using Arcana Unearthed and Skull & Bones as a basis. Overall, I trust Malhavoc and Green Ronin to give me good material for my money.

I have enjoyed much of the material from Nyambe, albeit with some hesitation.

Hollowfaust is probably the only campaign setting (okay, just a city) that I would be willing to drop nearly wholesale into one of my campaigns -- it is fully fleshed out (hmmm...), finely detailed, and exceptionally imaginative. I just have yet to have a campaign where it would be appropriate to place it; Scarred Lands as a whole is not really to my taste, but I love this book.

Well, those are the cream-o-th-crop to my eyes. YMMV, of course.

And given my rep on the boards, you mileage will probably vary widely