What kind of RPG books/manuals do you like?

[Djeta Thernadier]

I like to come up with a lot of the flavor stuff on my own. My PC is from Sembia in the FR, and I made up a lot of Sembian shops, NPCs etc. But I like to read about the various monsters/ items/ spells. So I guess I like the technical stuff.

 

[Cthulhu's Librarian]

Monster books and adventures, especially those that remind me of the old 1st edition adventures. Necromacer Games is by far my favorite adventure publisher.

 

[Tharkun]

I like generic books like the fighters handbook or the wizards handbook, those kinds of things. Or even the books that talk about how to roleplay better.

 

[Trickstergod]

Considering that I don't use a good chunk of what I run across in a book, be it a class book, a monster book, or just about any other (and not being the type to usually run published adventures), I'd have to say I dig the setting books. Even if I don't use the book, they generally make for a more interesting read than any other type of gaming book, as they're mostly fluff.

 

[yennico]

My favorite books are always setting books.
I also love adventures that are not dungeon crawls.
Monster collections are always handy

Just my 2 cents
yennico

 

[roytheodd]

Or maybe something else??

My favorite is one that I still haven't found yet. I want a book that for players only. I don't want it to be the core rules for the system, but ONLY for the players. Why? Because my players expect me to own all the books and to lug them to every game. On account of this, they don't buy them or own them. Thus, when it's time to create characters they're all trying to share my lone copy. This happens with every game system we try. I own my one copy of the book and the five of them all try to get equal time at ruining and bending it. *sigh* If there was a book ONLY for the players that would be such a huge convenience for me (and it would enable me to finally get the goons to buy something from the store where we game).

 

[Ashrem Bayle]

Lately, I want hesitate to grab anything with the word MIDNIGHT on the cover.

So, I guess I have to say settting books. MIDNIGHT for example really makes me want to DM. Thats something I haven't felt in a while.

 

[Praeco]

I'm a big fan of settings books, because even if don't plan to use them in a game, they are usually entertaining reads.
I also have to tear myself away from buying game systems that I will likely never use.

 

[der_kluge]

My favorite is the book that contains everything I need to run a D&D game, that doesn't weigh 4 pounds.

Or, idea-generators. I used to sit and read through the Book of Artifacts because it gave me ideas. The ecology stuff in the monster books was good for that, too.

Anything with snippets of ideas I can take and run with. Someone write a book like that for me.

 

[Voadam]

Magic books

Then probably character option books

Then well described monster books

Then DM tools

Then settings

Then adventures, preferably mega campaigns or collections of drop in scenarios to pick and choose from.