What's your core?

[Betote]

Now that 3.5 is officially dead (at least as "D&D 3.5"), we have the opportunity to fix a core set of books to use in our campaigns. So, which books are you using to play 3.5?

I find myself quite comfortable with PHB/DMG/MM alongside with Tome of Horrors, Spell Compendium and Book of Iron Might. That's the core of D&D 3.5 to me.

When Pathfinder RPG comes in Aug' 09... We'll see

 

[thecasualoblivion]

Now that 3.5 is officially dead (at least as "D&D 3.5"), we have the opportunity to fix a core set of books to use in our campaigns. So, which books are you using to play 3.5?

I find myself quite comfortable with PHB/DMG/MM alongside with Tome of Horrors, Spell Compendium and Book of Iron Might. That's the core of D&D 3.5 to me.

When Pathfinder RPG comes in Aug' 09... We'll see

I don't have any intention of running 3E ever again. If for some reason I was bullied or bribed into doing it again, I would use the same books I used previously:

PHB
DMG
Expanded Psionics handbook
PHB II
Tome of Battle: Book of 9 Swords
Complete Arcane, Adeventuer, Warrior, Divine, Mage, Champion and Psionics
Magic Item Compendium
Spell Compendium
...and a few odds and ends with DM approval, like the Swiftblade PrC, Eberron races, Tome of Magic, and some other things I can't think of.

 

[The One Ring]

1E PHB
1E DMG
1E Monster Manual

 

[Greg K]

Actual Core: PHB, DMG, MM

The core for my own games also includes the following:

Rules changes/additions/variants
- Unearthed Arcana
- Fewer Absolutes (Sean K Reynolds): still waiting for the last portion
- Artificer's Handbook (Mystic Eye Games)
- Book of Iron Might (Malhavoc)
- Elements of Magic: Revised (EN Publishing) (Note: This is planned for my next campaign)
- Hot Pursuit (Adamant)

Character Creation/New Classes (in addition to some UA variants)
- Fantasy Occupations (Adamant)
- Cavalier's Handbook (Green Ronin)
- Psychic's Handbook (Green Ronin)
- Shaman's Handbook (Green Ronin)
- Witch's Handbook (Green Ronin)

Monsters
- MM2
- Fiend Folio
- Advanced Bestiary (Green Ronin)
- Book of Templates, Deluxe (Silverthorne)

 

[Darrin Drader]

I guess I would have to come back with "define core."

If you mean the books I accept as integral to the game, right now its Pathfinder RPG, MM 1 - 3, DMG 1 & 2, PHB 2, Fiend Folio, Expanded Psionics Handbook, Tome of Horrors Revised edition, Tome of Horrors II - III, Book of Fiends, and Advanced Bestiary.

Other books that I like to include are Weapons of Legacy, Heroes of Battle, Lords of Madness, Fiendish Codex I and II, Frostburn, Cityscape, Sandstorm, and Stormwrack.

 

[Fifth Element]

Other than the actual core three, I think the only other book I think of as core is PHB2. I'll use stuff from the Complete books and the Spell Compendium on an ad hoc basis, but I wouldn't consider them core.

I'd also use whatever crazy house rules I dreamed up in last week, which will likely only last a session or two. It's a bad habit, and I'm trying to break it.

 

[der_kluge]

So, in terms of rules, it would be these:

3.5 PHB, MM, DMG
Artificer's Handbook (Mystic Eye Games)
2nd edition Faiths and Avatars (for gods, since I use FR gods)
Complete Divine, Arcane, Warrior, Adventurer
Unearthed Arcana

 

[joethelawyer]

3.0 PHB, 3.0 MM, 3.0 DMG plus the attached file...

 

[Shemeska]

3.x PHB, MM, MotP
2e Planewalkers' Handbook, PSMC I, II, III

I'd include the 3.x DMG, except I haven't actually used mine in years. I run so rules light as it is, it's not too terribly useful to me (though when I was just starting out running a game, it was very useful then).

And all the various 2e planar fluff books, like the entire Planescape publication run, but that's more setting expansion material I suppose than "core", which is just the basics I'm assuming for my list above.

 

[StreamOfTheSky]

For me, what I allow the players tends to always include the following (with more possibly available and any book open for me as DM):

Core 3
Most of UA
All "Races of" Books (Except setting specific ones. And RotDragon has some really broken stuff...)
Tome of Battle
Spell Compendium
Magic Item Compendium
Books of lame Darkness and Exalted cheese
Dragon Compendium v.1
PH2 (considering bans/nerfs on beguiler and duskblade)
All "Complete" books
Heroes of Battle
Dragon Magic
Dungeonscape
Fiend Folio
Frostburn, Sandstorm, and Stormwrack
Expanded Psionics Handbook

The only books to be entirely banned:
Savage Species
Serpent Kingdom (all hail Pun-Pun)
Setting-specific books