Your Favorite RPG Supplement, for any Game, Period

[Desdichado]

Yeah, d20 CoC would be my nomination.

Definately got my vote. I love that book with the fire of a thousand suns. And I too use it for all kinds of things; in D&D, in d20 Modern, etc. I used tons of mechanics from it in my homebrew d20 hodge-podge system, and I use CoC creatures all the time.

Not only that, it's a beautiful book, and the Gamemastering advice is some of the best ever written.

 

[Umbran]

I might have to go with The Ultimate Powers Book for the now out-of-print Marvel Superheroes game. It is an invaluable source of ideas for any supers game, whatever the system.

 

[Akrasia]

I'm torn between:
~ The Wilderlands of High Fantasy box set (current Necromancer Games/Judges Guild version);
~ The original Grand Duchy of Karameikos Gazetteer (for B/X/RC D&D); and
~ The Court of Ardor campaign setting (from ICE in 1982, for Rolemaster; nominally set in Middle-earth, but I love it as a self-contained setting, as it does not really fit well with Middle-earth).

 

[Byrons_Ghost]

The all-time number one would probably be The Principalities of Glantri, just for the sheer amount of use it's seen over the years. I got it at a time when I was only playing the boxed sets (never really did 1st ed AD&D), and it immediately sold me on Mystara. I've done three long term campaigns in the setting.

Other strong contenders:

Delta Green Countdown- already been mentioned.

Dark Champions- I don't even play Hero or Champions, but the original version of this book was probably the best street crime resource ever done. Haven't seen the new version.

Sharn- I'd always liked urban fantasy, but it was woefully unsupported until this came out.

Kult, 2nd ed (white cover)- 1st ed Kult felt too much like it was riding on the coattails of WoD, even if it was written largely outside of that game's influence. 2nd edition really amped up the disturbing weirdness and helped set the game apart.

Unknown Armies- I love Tim Powers, and this is as close as a game is going to get. I think modern occult magic should go along these lines- you can get the power, but you have to be willing to pay the cost. Also, the madness meter works much better than Cthulhu's sanity system, which is essentially just another version of hit points.

Castle Amber- Favorite module of all time. It's so utterly and bizarrely over the top that it could be renamed "Fear and Loathing in D&D". Also, much of it formed the basis for Glantri later down the road.

 

[Yellow Sign]

Delta Green Countdown

 

[The Shaman]

Green Ronin's Nocturnals: A Midnight Companion.

 

[jrients]

Strikeforce is my alltime favorite as well. Nice to see other folks remember it!

I'm also a huge fan of S. John Ross's Risus Companion. Best GMing advice for comedy games I've ever seen and a fun read to boot.

And Ron Edwards Sorcerer & Sword really opened up my eyes to a new way of running sword & sorcery games.

I recommend all three for folks interested in their respective genres, even if you don't plan on playing the specific games they're designed for.

 

[Shade]

All-time? I have no idea...it probably changes with every day.

Currently: Fiendish Codex I: Hordes of the Abyss.

 

[Wombat]

Trollpak is, by far, the best and most detailed race sourcebook for any RPG. It contains discussion on "scientific" discussion of their darksense while also containing the mythological history of the race. It has great sidebars, such as the list of things a troll ate while caged by a scholar. The adventures are excellent, with some interesting NPCs and novel encounters (starting off with a drinking contest).

I have to agree with you here. Trollpack reamins one of the greatest supplements of all time. The trolls here moved simply from being somewhat stupid and crude semi-monsters to a fully rounded society, with a true internal mythology and sense. If any other supplement could so fully explain a society, I would love to own it, system not a barrier.

This is the benchmark for great supplements.

 

[Emirikol]

Iuz the evil probably has gotten the most airtime of all the supplements I've ever owned..followed closely behind by the original Deities & Demigods (we play in Hyboria now so lots of earth gods).

I still think the best artwork award goes to the 3.0 Deities & Demigods book..it jsut has the absolute least amount of useful content (except for you .005% of the gamer world that actually plays epic-god-stat-needing-games) jib jab

jh