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big teej
2011-01-10, 12:49 PM
greetings playgrounders, it is my hope to some day own EVERY 3.x book published by WOTC

I feel I'm off to a good start having collected the following over the past 6 months

DMG 3.0
DMG 3.5
DMG II
MM I
PHB
BOED
BOVD
A&EG
Dieties and Demigods
Cityscape
Masters of the wild
Races of Stone

that should be everything

anyways
my question is simple
what do you recommend on getting next?

I want to pick up the PHB II so I can stop using a PDF for my favorite class (the knight)

but after that I'm sorta stuck on what to expand to next

my group is past expanding via necessity (we have all the core books)
so at this point we're expanding based on interest.

but I don't know what's in each book so I don't know what interestes me.....


...
help?

suggestions?

/ramble

EDIT: please include why you suggest that book(s) as my next purchase
EDIT2: I forgot to list dieties and demigods, I have that book already

Tyndmyr
2011-01-10, 01:02 PM
Completes. Complete Psionic is skippable.

Also, MiC and SpC.

ShaggyMarco
2011-01-10, 01:02 PM
Some of my favorites:

Spell Compendium
Rules Compendium
Magic Item Compendium
Epic Level Handbook
Deities and Demigods

Cirrhosis
2011-01-10, 01:03 PM
the Complete series is a good place to start. the other Races of X books aren't terrible either. both are good on player resources.

if you want more material to forge your campaigns and adventures out of, Libris Mortis, Lords of Madness, the Fiend Folio, and other books like these would be useful.

edit: and what the two ninjas above me said. the expanded psionics handbook could be useful as well.

Kylarra
2011-01-10, 01:05 PM
Really odd that ToB hasn't been mentioned yet, so I'll throw that one out. Additionally seconding completes and Mi/Sp compendiums. Also nominations for HoH, Dragon Magic and Dungeonscape for additional useful base classes.

Eldan
2011-01-10, 01:07 PM
Depends on what you want. Most of what other people have named so far are books more heavy on the rules. I prefer fluff-heavier books.

Lords of Madness and Draconomicon are probably some of the best around, even if they are still about 70% rules.

Curmudgeon
2011-01-10, 01:16 PM
Books with stuff that's good for Rogues:

Expedition to Castle Ravenloft: Lightbringer Rogue Penetrating Strike ACF
Champions of Ruin: Craven feat, Splitting ranged weapon enhancement
Lords of Madness: Darkstalker feat
(In a FR-specific campaign) Cormyr: The Tearing Of The Weave: FR-only version of Dark Creature template
Complete Adventurer: multiclassing feats (with Monk), other good stuff
Complete Scoundrel: multiclassing feats (with Swashbuckler & Scout), skill tricks, Savvy Rogue feat, other good stuff
Spell Compendium: nifty spells you can get in a wand to trigger with Use Magic Device, like Grave Strike, Golem Strike, and Vine Strike
Rules Compendium: updates for timing on magic device activation
Magic of Faerūn: Bracers of Striking, granting Improved Unarmed Strike feat
Magic Item Compendium: rule for common item enhancements including adding armor bonuses to robes (body slot) as well as bracers (arms slot), Mobility as an armor enhancement
Dragon Magic: Fanged Ring, granting Improved Unarmed Strike and Improved Natural Attack (unarmed strike) feats
Draconomicon: Gemstone of Fortification, so you can get fortification without armor
Tome of Battle: Snap Kick feat
Complete Mage: various ACFs
Eberron Campaign Setting: Education feat
Complete Champion: Knowledge Devotion feat, various ACFs
Drow of the Underdark: Poison Use ACF

Mordokai
2011-01-10, 01:20 PM
Fiendish Codex I and II
Heroes of Horror
Lords of Madness
Libris Mortis

Asides from last one, I have all of them and I consider them well worth the money spent. And I intend to purchase Libris Mortis sometime soon as well.

Keld Denar
2011-01-10, 01:21 PM
3 books every group should have:

Magic Item Compendium - something for everyone
Spell Compendium - something for almost everyone
Tome of Battle - something for everyone else not covered by the one above

Telonius
2011-01-10, 01:23 PM
My favorites that aren't on your list already:

Complete Scoundrel, for skill tricks and help for Rogue-ish classes
Tome of Battle, for "melee as it should have been from the start"
Eberron Campaign Setting, for Artificer, Warforged, and the image of dinosaur-riding halflings
PHB2, for base classes, class options, and "Druid as it should have been from the start"

Spell Compendium and Magic Item Compendium are good choices as well, both for economy and convenience. If all you're looking for is spells or items, they supersede a lot of the stuff that's scattered across several books.

EDIT: If you're specifically looking for stuff for Knight, Complete Warrior might be worth getting. Lots of options for melee, including one feat (Shock Trooper) that's almost-universally recognized as crucial to a charging build.

Tyndmyr
2011-01-10, 01:33 PM
ToB is excellent.

I would like to suggest that RC be postponed. It's not bad, but you have most of the material already. Therefore, it's generally superior to pick up a book stuffed with new stuff than a book that is mostly unchanged. It's a handy reference, but I'd put it lower than many other texts in priority.

mootoall
2011-01-10, 01:39 PM
+1,000,000 to ToB. If you like the knight, you'll love the Crusader, and the Unarmed Swordsage is the best monk fix around. Not to mention it's got great fluff, and it's really the best thing to happen to Melee since bonus feats.

herrhauptmann
2011-01-10, 01:48 PM
Highly recommend getting Complete Scoundrel before even the rest of the Completes. All are good for one character idea or another, but Scoundrel is the one that probably helps the most for characters that fit outside the intended theme. (Warrior types can usually ignore Arcane/Mage, Casters can skip C.War, etc) But the skill tricks section I think really provides a lot of options to non-sneak types.

Tome of Magic is also good (well 1/3 is outstanding, 1/3 is good, and 1/3 is great fluff with terrible execution)
I'd suggest avoiding Magic of Incarnum for as long as possible.

The Rose Dragon
2011-01-10, 01:49 PM
Ghostscape. It's a 3rd Edition book, but even if you never play D&D (like me), you will get some use out of the awesome setting included within.

I wish it had more support as a setting, really.

The-Mage-King
2011-01-10, 01:58 PM
As many have said, ToB. No questions.


Toss in the Spell Compendium, Magic Item Compendium, Dungeonscape (factotum and the Acidborn template), Complete Arcane (for the most debated of early entry tricks), and Lords of Madness and you should have a good supply of stuff to draw from.

DementedFellow
2011-01-10, 02:00 PM
Sandstorm is one of the best splat books I've ever seen. Lots of goodies inside for PCs and several campaign ideas for DMs. Sometimes the writers phone in the material in book, however this book is one they sat down and worked hard at.

IcarusWings
2011-01-10, 02:02 PM
My three personal favourites that I would recommend to anyone are Magic of Incarnum, Tome of Battle, and Tome of Magic. All present really interesting, unique, fun, and balanced subsystems (just don't touch the Truenamer with a 10 ft. pole), and give options to a lot of build if you can get the Martial Study or Shape Soulmeld feats.

Hazzardevil
2011-01-10, 02:11 PM
{Scrubbed} Drow of the underdark has a lot of useful things and with a bit of refluffing you have access to a dozen new ways to build a charector.

The-Mage-King
2011-01-10, 02:14 PM
My three personal favourites that I would recommend to anyone are Magic of Incarnum, Tome of Battle, and Tome of Magic. All present really interesting, unique, fun, and balanced subsystems (just don't touch the Truenamer with a 10 ft. pole), and give options to a lot of build if you can get the Martial Study or Shape Soulmeld feats.

Oh, and toss the XPH in there with those- you now have five (six, if you count that which cannot name things) alternate "magic" systems to play with.

Dr.Epic
2011-01-10, 02:39 PM
I'd go with the Completes or Monster Manuals.

hamishspence
2011-01-10, 02:46 PM
Ghostscape. It's a 3rd Edition book, but even if you never play D&D (like me), you will get some use out of the awesome setting included within.

I wish it had more support as a setting, really.


Ghostwalk is indeed an interesting setting.

While 3.0, there is a free online 3.5 update for it on the WOTC site (several 3.0 books have online 3.5 updates).

The Rose Dragon
2011-01-10, 02:50 PM
Ghostwalk, right. I knew I had the name wrong, I just didn't remember the right one.

Tvtyrant
2011-01-10, 03:20 PM
My favorites are the Fiendish Codex's and Lords of Madness. Together you get Devils, Demons, and Aberrations. I don't think there is a book of Yugoloths or Sladdi, much less Demodands unfortunately :( Fiends are the best!

Anyway, I vote Tome of Magic for books that introduce new base classes, as it has two of my favorite (Binder and Shadowcaster). Truenamer sucks though.

molten_dragon
2011-01-10, 03:30 PM
3 books every group should have:

Magic Item Compendium - something for everyone
Spell Compendium - something for almost everyone
Tome of Battle - something for everyone else not covered by the one above

Buy these first. Not only are they some of the best, most versatile books published for 3.5, but the prices for them keep going up, so it's better to get them soon.

IcarusWings
2011-01-10, 03:31 PM
Oh, and toss the XPH in there with those- you now have five (six, if you count that which cannot name things) alternate "magic" systems to play with.

AAARGH! How did I forget Psionics!?! I no longer have any respect for myself :smallyuk:

nedz
2011-01-10, 03:38 PM
Spell Compendium, Spell Compendium, Spell Compendium

then, if you intend DMing,
Fiend Folio, MM2, MM3, MM4, MM5 (in that order)

Otherwise the Completes.

AslanCross
2011-01-10, 06:53 PM
Tome of Battle
PHB II
MIC
XPH
Spell Compendium

If you intend to DM: MM3, MM5, MM4, MM2 (in that order).

big teej
2011-01-10, 06:56 PM
thanks everybody

it seems that after the Players Handbook II it'll be TOB followed by the books mentioned above that keep going up in price.

also, for those that posted earlier, I'm afraid I snuck in two edits on you

my bad :smallredface:

Keld Denar
2011-01-10, 06:59 PM
Yea, I've heard that hardcovers of Spell Compendium are like, almost $75 on ebay.

Innis Cabal
2011-01-10, 07:08 PM
Ghostscape. It's a 3rd Edition book, but even if you never play D&D (like me), you will get some use out of the awesome setting included within.

I wish it had more support as a setting, really.

Ghostwalk. Not Ghostscape.

hamishspence
2011-01-10, 07:12 PM
Ghostwalk. Not Ghostscape.

Knows that:


Ghostwalk, right. I knew I had the name wrong, I just didn't remember the right one.

woodenbandman
2011-01-10, 09:09 PM
Why on earth does nobody on this forum ever mention Dungeonscape?

Rich Burlew, the creator of this website, wrote like half that book.

Kylarra
2011-01-10, 09:13 PM
Why on earth does nobody on this forum ever mention Dungeonscape?

Rich Burlew, the creator of this website, wrote like half that book.
Post #5? :smalltongue:


Really odd that ToB hasn't been mentioned yet, so I'll throw that one out. Additionally seconding completes and Mi/Sp compendiums. Also nominations for HoH, Dragon Magic and Dungeonscape for additional useful base classes.

Dead_Jester
2011-01-10, 09:20 PM
I'd have to recommend the 3 environment books, ToB (never recommend it enough), Tome of Magic (LOVE the Binder, the rest is meh) and Unhearthed Arcana (I don't remember if the srd contains all of it) for starters.

After that, you can go insane like me and get all the campaign setting with all their splats (who ever heard of Kingdoms of Kalamar?), and get all the other things like MoI (actually decent), Heroes of Horror and of Battle, all the Monster Manuals, all the specific monster splats (LM, LoM, Drac, FF, FC, SS)

Scorpions__
2011-01-10, 09:26 PM
Books with stuff that's good for Rogues:

Expedition to Castle Ravenloft: Lightbringer Rogue Penetrating Strike ACF
Champions of Ruin: Craven feat, Splitting ranged weapon enhancement
Lords of Madness: Darkstalker feat
(In a FR-specific campaign) Cormyr: The Tearing Of The Weave: FR-only version of Dark Creature template
Complete Adventurer: multiclassing feats (with Monk), other good stuff
Complete Scoundrel: multiclassing feats (with Swashbuckler & Scout), skill tricks, Savvy Rogue feat, other good stuff
Spell Compendium: nifty spells you can get in a wand to trigger with Use Magic Device, like Grave Strike, Golem Strike, and Vine Strike
Rules Compendium: updates for timing on magic device activation
Magic of Faerūn: Bracers of Striking, granting Improved Unarmed Strike feat
Magic Item Compendium: rule for common item enhancements including adding armor bonuses to robes (body slot) as well as bracers (arms slot), Mobility as an armor enhancement
Dragon Magic: Fanged Ring, granting Improved Unarmed Strike and Improved Natural Attack (unarmed strike) feats
Draconomicon: Gemstone of Fortification, so you can get fortification without armor
Tome of Battle: Snap Kick feat
Tome of Magic: various ACFs
Eberron Campaign Setting: Education feat
Complete Champion: Knowledge Devotion feat, various ACFs
Drow of the Underdark: Poison Use ACF


There are alternate class features in Tome of Magic?





DM[F]R

Curmudgeon
2011-01-10, 09:46 PM
There are alternate class features in Tome of Magic?
I'm sorry; that should be Complete Mage. Wrong sort of magic entirely. :smallsigh:

herrhauptmann
2011-01-10, 11:13 PM
After that, you can go insane like me and get all the campaign setting with all their splats (who ever heard of Kingdoms of Kalamar?), and get all the other things like MoI (actually decent), Heroes of Horror and of Battle, all the Monster Manuals, all the specific monster splats (LM, LoM, Drac, FF, FC, SS)

How about Arcanus/Arcanis? That one's even less common than Kalamar I think, but it still had a "Living" campaign attached to it, similar to the living Greyhawk of 3.X.