What are the most useful books you've ever used?

[johnsemlak]

The 1-250 Dragon Magazine Archive

 

[Jürgen Hubert]

Delta Green: Countdown

Really. The ideas in this book are amazing, and the stuff on the Hastur Mythos will [size=+3]W[/size][size=+2]a[/size][size=+1]r[/size]p [size=-3]y[/size][size=-2]o[/size][size=-1]u[/size]r M[size=+1]i[/size][size=+2]n[/size][size=+3]d[/size]...

 

[Elder-Basilisk]

The Bible (particularly Genesis, Exodus, Judges, I and II Kings, I and II Chronicles, Acts, Daniel, and Revelation)
Bullfinch's Mythology
Beowulf (translated by Seamus Heanie)
The Lord of the Rings

Why get your source material predigested?

 

[Herpes Cineplex]

Weirdly enough, the books I've gotten the most use out of for designing games have mostly been noir detective novels. Dashiell Hammett's The Maltese Falcon, Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep and The Simple Art of Murder, that kind of thing.

After those would come Thomas Pynchon's The Crying of Lot 49, then Sex and Zen & a Bullet in the Head (Stefan Hammond and Mike Wilkins on Hong Kong cinema), then Bruce Catton's Civil War histories.

...I guess I don't get much mileage out of "real" campaign setting material. Mostly I'm satisfied with what the core books provide, and just look for interesting story ideas to put in that setting; I do remember the Volo's Guides being pretty fun, I just never got around to really using them in a game.

Stuff from the Book of Erotic Fantasy (Valar) is also starting to make appearances and will be used regularly.

Holy crap, I never thought I'd ever hear someone say that.

--
i'm almost afraid to ask what stuff, and why
ryan

 

[Prismatic DM]

Most Use

For D&D games over the years, I'd say I've got the most use out of Best of Dragon Vol. III and Citybook I: Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker.

Prismatic DM

 

[Breakdaddy]

Chalk up another vote for "All of my GURPS books" here! Also AEG's Toolbox has turned more than one game night away from disaster.

 

[hong]

Roger that.

How rude!


Hong "would NEVER roger GURPS books, nosirree" Ooi

 

[hong]

--
i'm almost afraid to ask what stuff, and why
ryan

Ryan? Ryan Franklin, is that you?

 

[thundershot]

Aurora's Whole Realms Catalogue

Hands down.

I hope to have Kenzer's "Goods & Gear" book be my 3E version of it. Sounds like it so far...


Chris

 

[David Howery]

Hmmm.... well, back in the days when I was writing articles for Dragon and DA, I made good use of the Thesaurus. And, there was a collection of Conan stories (not by REH, and they were wretched) by Bantam books that had a glossary of every place and personal name used in all the Conan stories and the historical background of each name; I raided that glossary for appropriate sounding names over and over....