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Dhomal
Senior Scribe
USA
565 Posts |
 Posted - 28 Apr 2006 : 06:49:50
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Hello-
Much like Sage asked recently - I am looking for opinions as to stuff to get - as I have an opportunity to get some stuff at a pretty good price! :)
The following are the books (3.0/3.5) taht I don't have that I am considering. About the only thing I don't have on the list, that I don't have is Magic of Incarnum - which I looked through - and was not terribly interested in.
The list is sorted roughly by the order that *I* think they may be of use. I am looking for opinions and comments however - and am not adverse to finding I am quite wrong. 
I am looking for information on Realms-relavency (not necessarilly sidebar items - but meshing with a Realms campaign) - as well as general ease of use / usefulness of these books.
Savage Species (This is basically a definate)
Book of Challenges
Draconomicon
Arms & Equipment Guide
Heroes of Horror
Tome of Magic: P/S/TN
Epic Level Handbook
Races of Stone
Races of Wild
Races of Destiny (I have previously owned these 3 - but sold them to a friend when I was in a pinch - as I was figuring on picking up the gift set. However - I have as yet not bought it...)
Planar Handbook
Races of the Dragon
Complete Psionic
Deities & Demigods (Is this necessary at all?)
Defenders of the Faith
Tome of Blood
Sword & Fist (Are these three outdated and unnecessary?)
I also would not be opposed to hearing people plug 3rd party resources that they particularly enjoyed too.
Thanks for any assistance anyone can provide.
Dhomal
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I am collecting the D&D Minis. I would be more than willing to trade with people. You can send me a PM here with your email listed - and I can send you my minis list. Thanks!
Successfully traded with Xysma! |
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KnightErrantJR
Great Reader
USA
5402 Posts |
Posted - 28 Apr 2006 : 11:19:55
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| Book of Challenges I'd drop from the list, unless you are really stalling out for coming up with encounters. The Races of books don't do much for me, and have only nominal support in the Realms, if that is any influence on your decicion. Races of the Dragon is likely the worst of the lot in my mind. Planar Handbook is interesting, but how much you integrate it into the Realms depends on if you still use the Great Wheel. Deities and Demigods I would vote as being nearly worthless, except perhaps for the Berserk. The 3.0 splatbooks I wouldn't worry about, except that Sword and Fist still has the only stats for Ghostwalkers, which have been represented in Realmslore and apparently will be again. |
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Mace Hammerhand
Great Reader
Germany
2296 Posts |
Posted - 28 Apr 2006 : 11:47:56
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Considering there are other equipment guides out there from other companies I'd look at them all and then decide.
Heroes of Horror, you wanna play horror? If the answer is no, why bother?
Basically that is the key question to each and every supplement on that list, with Epic maybe the only exception. Do you need it? Do you plan on using it? Is there something that is more useful out there?
Bastion Press has released a great critical hit book, and warfare was covered in a book by Malhavoc. You should look at them in you FLGS and see if you need them because our replies will always be 'tainted' by personal preference.
For example, should I ever want to DM a Ravenloft campaign with 3.5 I would most definitely buy Heroes of Horror as White Wolf lost the license and I don't really want to trace down those sourcebooks since I own enough 2nd edition Ravenloft material.
Psionics...do you use psionicists in your campaign? *sigh* here I go again lol
you get my point |
Mace's not so gentle gamer's journal My rants were harmless compared to this, beware! |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36906 Posts |
Posted - 28 Apr 2006 : 15:10:12
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I recently picked up Toolbox, by AEG. It's a big book full of random tables for just about everything. If you, as a DM, need something quick, you just find the right table and roll on it. I don't DM right now, but I can see it being insanely useful to a DM.
It's available as a hardcopy, and DriveThruPRG has the pdf for a really good price. |
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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 28 Apr 2006 : 17:56:52
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
I recently picked up Toolbox, by AEG. It's a big book full of random tables for just about everything. If you, as a DM, need something quick, you just find the right table and roll on it. I don't DM right now, but I can see it being insanely useful to a DM.
It's available as a hardcopy, and DriveThruPRG has the pdf for a really good price.
Toolbox rocks. I've used it for years and I'm still finding things in it that help when I need to make up things on the fly. :) |
For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet and excite you... Books are full of the things that you don't get in real life - wonderful, lyrical language, for instance, right off the bat. - Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium |
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Mace Hammerhand
Great Reader
Germany
2296 Posts |
Posted - 28 Apr 2006 : 17:59:49
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| Oh, if you want a USEFUL supplement get Fiery Dragon's Battle Box! |
Mace's not so gentle gamer's journal My rants were harmless compared to this, beware! |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31799 Posts |
Posted - 28 Apr 2006 : 18:14:22
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quote:
Originally posted by Mace Hammerhand
Heroes of Horror, you wanna play horror? If the answer is no, why bother?
I wouldn't say that's entirely true. Some of the rules and materials provided within the tome itself would work just as well for the standard dungeon crawl and/or exploration of a lich's bastion.
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Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium -- Volume IX now available (Oct 2007)
"So Saith Ed" -- the collected Candlekeep replies of Ed Greenwood
Zhoth'ilam Folio -- The Electronic Misadventures of a Rambling Sage |
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Dhomal
Senior Scribe
USA
565 Posts |
Posted - 28 Apr 2006 : 18:40:01
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Hello-
Thanks for the replies - as always - I can count on some feedback! 
OK - I figured that much of the responces were going to be of the 'do you need this' type. Good question! I am not quite a completist when it comes to WOTC supplements - but some would say its close!
That being said - I guess an unspoken aspect of my question is if there is anyting within the book(s) that would be good to pull out even if I was not planning on using the book as is. As an example - the note of the ghostwalkers being only in Sword & Fist at the moment. That could sway me, depending on the situation.
OK - looking through the replies....
- If the book of challenges is lots of adventure ideas - that might not be a bad thing for me. [Tangent Alert] -*sigh*- I have a campaign poised to start - but I just can't seem to get the beginning figured out in my head. I have an idea for the main bad-guy behind the scenes - and some hooks to involve the PC's directly and such - but I'm having some issues 'getting started' as they say. I'm kinda rusty I guess. Its probably been 15 years since I DM'd anything - and probably more like 20 since I did any appreciable amount of DMing.
- KEJR - I will likely pick up the race books again - but it may not be terribly soon, since I technically have access to them via a friend. ANd yes - I feel the same about Races of the Dragon - which I did not own - but am holding final judgement for when I see Dragons of Faerun....
- Planar Hdbk - Well - I must admit - I get somewhat befuddled when trying to figure out what the 'big difference' is between Wheel and Tree. They basically seem to just be different ways of looking at or interpreting the same information. I guess I am just confused. As for the Deities book - is the Berserk listed a PrC? Since I havemost of the other Deity works from 2nd/3.0/3.5 editions (I think I'm missing Monster Mythology - I know - get it! LOL) As long as there is nothing of value - I will likely ignore that one.
- Horror/Epic/Psionic - As far as these books go - whether or not I'm using them - Hmm. Not planning on it - but who knows? Mainly - with the Psionic - since I have the 2 previous books - would they be enough to adequitely run psi-stuff? Horror (*Whoa! I see The Sage has replied in the time after I looked at the replies and started typing MY reply! hehe*) - well - there might be some useful bits. I'll consider it. Epic - well - I dont know what to expect - can anyone give me a brief synopsis of whats in Epic?
- Mace - yuo mention several other weapons books put out by others - I am not opposed to non-WOTC material - nay - sometimes I gravitate towards it - although with the deluge after OGL - it was difficult for me....But - are there any you would recoment specifically? And - are they designed to seamlessly fit in - basically - does all the 'standard' weapons have the same damages listed in the 3rd party books as they do in the PH?
- Wooly - Toolbox sounded familiar - and lo and behold - its on my shelf! :) I'll pull it down and move it to my 'currently being used and perused' section. Thanks!
- Mace - what is "Fiery Dragon's Battle Box" - sounds interesting! 
- I'm somewhat surprised that nobody mentioned Tome of Magic P/S/TN - possibly because it is too new? Also - Draconomicon was not listed - any thoughts?
And lastly - I MUST be some sort of 'newb' or somesuch - but I've seen "FLGS" for a while on the forums here. At first I thought it was a hobby store cahin 'down under' - as I saw The Sage and others from there mention it - so I just kinda accepted it as-is. More recently I've started to notice its use my some americans and now wonder what exactly it stands for. I kinda guess 'GS' stands for Game Store - but the 'FL' is escaping me ATM. 
Again - as always - thanks for the input!
Dhomal |
I am collecting the D&D Minis. I would be more than willing to trade with people. You can send me a PM here with your email listed - and I can send you my minis list. Thanks!
Successfully traded with Xysma! |
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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 28 Apr 2006 : 19:10:04
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| FLGS = Friendly Local Gaming Store. :) |
For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet and excite you... Books are full of the things that you don't get in real life - wonderful, lyrical language, for instance, right off the bat. - Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium |
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Mace Hammerhand
Great Reader
Germany
2296 Posts |
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KnightErrantJR
Great Reader
USA
5402 Posts |
Posted - 29 Apr 2006 : 01:00:48
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| I absolutely love the Tome of Magic. I think its probably one of the best put together "core" books since . . . well, the Draconomicon. So yes, I would definately recommend both of these. Tome of Magic has a lot of neat new ideas that aren't so alien as to be impossible to fit into a current campaign (yes Magic of Incarnum, I am looking at your obtuse hide when I say this). Draconomicon is a very well done, if expensive, book, and if you are a fan of Richard Lee Byers Year of Rogue Dragons books at all, this book will be a good one to have, since he draws a lot of information from it. |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31799 Posts |
Posted - 29 Apr 2006 : 01:14:16
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quote:
Originally posted by Dhomal
- Planar Hdbk - Well - I must admit - I get somewhat befuddled when trying to figure out what the 'big difference' is between Wheel and Tree. They basically seem to just be different ways of looking at or interpreting the same information. I guess I am just confused.
Well remember... on the planes... belief determines your reality. Faraer, and a few others in a recent discussion, provided some intriguing insights into merged or combined Great Tree/Great Wheel cosmologies for their own FR campaigns. It's entirely possible to employ elements from both and use them to forge a new conception of the planes for FR... just so long as you tinker with the changes in planar relationship rules apparent in 3e (both the MotP and the cosmology sections in the FRCS and PGtF should be enough to guide you through that) and the fact that deities no longer have the "shared body aspect of 2e".
I would suggest you also read through my "Planar Changes from 2e-to-3e" in the Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct (the URL is in my sig) to help assist you with understanding the changes made to the planes from 2e to 3e.
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Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium -- Volume IX now available (Oct 2007)
"So Saith Ed" -- the collected Candlekeep replies of Ed Greenwood
Zhoth'ilam Folio -- The Electronic Misadventures of a Rambling Sage |
Edited by - The Sage on 29 Apr 2006 01:18:08 |
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Useful vs. Not-so-Useful Supplements
