Best RPG Books

[Grytorm]

Lots of companies in the RPG business have published books. Some have even reached the bestsellers list. So what are the best of these, be they Drizzt or Dragonlance, Eberron or Greyhawk, White Wolf or Wizards of the Coast.

[Zaydos]

While I've enjoyed several D&D novels (the first Prism Pentad novels for example), the only ones I've read that I'd say are actually good enough to stand by their own merits (instead of I'm a D&D geek and they're a D&D novel) are the original Dragonlance novels (Dragons of Autumn Twilight, etc).

[warty goblin]

While I've enjoyed several D&D novels (the first Prism Pentad novels for example), the only ones I've read that I'd say are actually good enough to stand by their own merits (instead of I'm a D&D geek and they're a D&D novel) are the original Dragonlance novels (Dragons of Autumn Twilight, etc).

The Legends Trilogy is about as good as Chronicles, which is to say very enthusiastic pretty standard fantasy with slightly mediocre writing. Good for a nice quick read (that stands up to repeated rereads over the years quite well), but not a lot of major substance.

I found the Drizzt books OK for a while, then at some point I stopped having the taste of a fourteen year old. At this point they lost pretty much all of their charm. Early Dragonlance remained at least fun to read, Drizzt just got very, very tedious.

All the other FR/Dragonlance stuff I read was pretty horrible. Even when I was in my terrible fantasy period however I found most of the non Weiss-Hickman Dragonlance to be simply too horrible, and the FR stuff significantly worse than that.

[Kane]

I've heard Pathfinder has some setting novels. Are they any good?

[Malagony]

Well COC is directly inspired by a literary mythos that has been continuously expanded by hundreds of authors for decades. It takes itscampaigns directly from the fiction of numerous acclaimed SF and horror writers, and then in turn produces off-shoot novels based on their modified campaign universes.

Delta Green is probably the most notorious example, but most contemporary mythos stories tend to borrow loads of Plots and motifs which originated in the Chaosium game books.

[Serpentine]

I read - and enjoyed - a few Ravenloft books before I'd even heard of D&D.

[Gnoman]

It's backwards from normal (rpg followed books), but Salvatore's Demonwars books have all the good things about the Drizzit books without the TSR/WOTC meddling that really screwed up the Dragonlance setting and the later Drizzt books.

[Lord Loss]

I like the Ravenloft novels, myself. I've read one or two and they're the only D&D novels I enjoyed. Those books about the characters in the PHB can be enjoyable, but they're extremely short, the plot is very basic and bad, there's no character development...

I tried reading that Cleric series (Cleric Quintet? something like that) but didn't enjoy it, although I've heard good stuff about it.

[Psyren]

The Cleric Quintet is both my favorite Salvatore and favorite D&D set of books ever written.

I also love Elaine Cunningham's stuff, even if she does have to keep contriving ways to make Khelben Blackstaff useless. (That's more FR's fault than hers though.)

I haven't got around to any Eberron books. I dearly want to.

[Zen Monkey]

The first seven-book series of the Legend of the Five Rings was pretty good. The sequel five-book series wasn't as good, but still decent for the genre.

[Valaqil]

The Cleric Quintet is both my favorite Salvatore and favorite D&D set of books ever written.

Another vote for The Cleric Quintet. I thought it was a great series.

[Grytorm]

Anything good outside of D&D?

[Dristin]

Anything good outside of D&D?

If you like Weiss and Hickmann The Death Gate Cycle is not D&D related and is their own created universe. I think it is at least on par with their dragonlance stuff and at some points better.

[JDMSJR]

I can't belive no one has mentioned Joel Rosenburg's Guardians of the Flame series yet.

[Psyren]

Anything good outside of D&D?

Song of Ice and Fire, and Wheel of Time. Those aren't really "RPG" books though.

*studiously ignores d20 WoT adaptation*

[warty goblin]

Song of Ice and Fire, and Wheel of Time. Those aren't really "RPG" books though.

*studiously ignores d20 WoT adaptation*

Order of release is important here, if the book proceeded the RPG than it really can't be considered an book based on an RPG, anymore than Buffy the Vampire Slayer could be considered based on the RPG.

[Psyren]

Order of release is important here, if the book proceeded the RPG than it really can't be considered an book based on an RPG, anymore than Buffy the Vampire Slayer could be considered based on the RPG.

Which is why I said it didn't fit :smalltongue:

Well, that and being horrendous.