Worst book WotC made for 3.0?

[JeffB]

I also thought BoC was a decent accessory.

That said, my votes went to D&DG, ELH, PsiHB, & SS for the books mentioned.

BUT, I think the HBG & the D&D Gaz (not the LGG) were exceptionally poor, as were the splats( S&F in particular) and all of the Adventure path mods after Forge of Fury.

The only consistency in (good) quality has been in the Forgotten Realms line really.

 

[Barendd Nobeard]

You know, it's amazing.

Book of Challenges has the highest number of votes... and yet not one person has bothered to explain what he or she felt was wrong with the book.

I didn't vote for it, because I have actually used *one* of the challenges in it.

But, overall, I don't think the challenges are very challenging. The people I play with, at least, would not have a major problem with most of them. Of course, we tend to play with "balanced" parties, so if the challenge is combat-based, illusion-based, puzzle-based, etc. it doesn't matter. One of the PCs will usually clue in to something and short-circuit the "tricky" part of the challenge.

 

[zoroaster100]

I add my vote to the Hero Builder's book which is not on the poll. That had to be the most useless product from Wotc ever, for sure.

 

[Haradim]

I really can't think of anything that was actually just plain bad.

My 'worst' would have to go to the Hero Builder's Guide, even though I do find it handy. It just doesn't have a huge amount of really useful material; the tables and name lists are okay, but nothing amazing. Still, it's handy for new people (or older players that are not very strong in establishing background), and the name lists are nice if you don't have access to a namegen or something similar.

 

[BLACKDIRGE]

Gotta go with the Book of Challenges. It was the only book released that I had absolutely no use for. I'm not saying it was bad or poorly written, it just was of no use to me.

I am surprised to see the BoVD on the poll. It was hands down my favorite book released for 3.0 (with the exception of the core books of course).

Dirge

 

[ColonelHardisson]

What do you think, Colonel? Do you think this is an issue of it being a limited resource? I honestly think that can be the only thing.

I mean, it offers not only great flavor, but it takes basic mechanics introduced in the three core rule books and transforms these into some of the most intense, interesting, and insideous encounters I've come across in years!

I have to agree. I'm sorry I don't have anything else to add; you summed up my own thoughts pretty succinctly.

 

[ColonelHardisson]

What, no Psionics Handbook? I thought it was a very poorly designed and play-tested product.

It's listed on the poll, and I mentioned it as getting my vote. Ever since I bought it, I've increasingly found it less and less inspiring. It's too specific in its treatment of psionics; I was looking for a system that would model the type of psychic abilities you read and see in popular culture and folklore, and this just didn't seem to do that.

 

[TalonComics]

On the list I'd say Deities and Demigods as all it was good for was the art. It didn't even have the obscure Greyhawk deities in it. Unfortunately, the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer which does have that info, is long out of print.

The Hero Builder's Guide is probably the most useless WotC book ever printed by far.

~D

 

[Dr. Strangemonkey]

another vote for heroes builder's guide.

Lawd, I had nearly succeeded in allowing myself to forget that waste of space.

 

[Scarbonac]

A lot of these I don't have; my vote had to go to the ELH. It was 20 lbs of crap in a 3-lb sack. I frankly don't get how at 21st level, you're suddenly having "epic" adventures; what were you having prior to that? Mundane excursions?


And a character who is a 10th level fighter and 11th level wizard is apparently just as "epic" as a 21st level fighter or wizard, when that's demonstrably not true; such a character is nowhere near either in scope, power or ability.


Feh. And it's full of gawdawful monstrosities which would decimate whole worlds (hell, whole pantheons, it would seem) that exist only to give "epic" characters something to fight.