Your favorite handbooks

[JadePhoenix]

So, 3.5 has been around for a while. What are your favorite handbooks?
I'd have to say the melee warlock handbook (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=159708), the LogicNinja's Guide to Wizards (http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=9749.0), Eldariel's Guide to Barbarians (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=105525) and Solo's Sorcerer Stratagems (http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=2180.0).
They are fun to read while providing information you need.

[Essence_of_War]

Saemon's New and Virtually No-Nonsense Guide to Psions (http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=10238.0) is almost preposterously well organized, very thoughtful, and exceedingly useful.

A MUST READ if you're thinking about playing a psion.

[JadePhoenix]

Saemon's New and Virtually No-Nonsense Guide to Psions (http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=10238.0) is almost preposterously well organized, very thoughtful, and exceedingly useful.

A MUST READ if you're thinking about playing a psion.

It lost me in the first paragraph :smallbiggrin:
"you won't find useless stuff, like references to comic book characters in here"
Boooo-ring

[Essence_of_War]

I mean, it's certainly no "A guide to cracking small men (http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=8753.0)" :smalltongue:

Edit:

This has got me thinking, has anyone written up an index to the 3.X handbooks? I have a ton of them bookmarked, but it might be nice to have one thread that tracked them all.

[grarrrg]

This has got me thinking, has anyone written up an index to the 3.X handbooks? I have a ton of them bookmarked, but it might be nice to have one thread that tracked them all.

3.X? Don't know.
PF? Yes (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=233029), it's a 'Handbook Handbook'.

[Morph Bark]

I mean, it's certainly no "A guide to cracking small men (http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=8753.0)" :smalltongue:

Edit:

This has got me thinking, has anyone written up an index to the 3.X handbooks? I have a ton of them bookmarked, but it might be nice to have one thread that tracked them all.

Yes (http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=12678.0). Dunno how complete it is though, or if it has been carried over to the new boards.

[Cor1]

Saemon's New and Virtually No-Nonsense Guide to Psions (http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=10238.0) is almost preposterously well organized, very thoughtful, and exceedingly useful.

A MUST READ if you're thinking about playing a psion.

Seconded. I made my best character EVER based on that one.
I also used the Psion Buildguide and Compendium by Archmage Joda, and elements from the Psion Handook : Being Nightwing by Suglir, both from Brilliant Gameologists.

But the best tricks come from this forum's Psionics Combos thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=177889).


One handbook I love, and I'll play at least one build from that one, is the War Weaver Handbook. One of the Sublime Chords / Arcane Archers, maybe; they're not the most optimized, but they 're using weird side-effects of some rules, that make me feel more "playing with reality" than traditional cannon wizards.

[eggs]

I like the handbooks that I need most more than the other ones, no matter how entertainingly written. They're just more useful for the things I use a handbook for - looking for filler feats or spells, seeing if I overlooked obvious combos, saving me some legwork dumpsterdiving splatbooks to get the nitty-gritty on various abilities, etc.

In that respect, the most useful handbooks for me have been:
Mastering the Malconvoker (http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=289.0) (I'm not even a fan of the class, but it's an invaluable reference for all summon monster and planar binding users), the Master of Many Forms Bible (http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/19528526/updated_Master_of_Many_Forms_Bible__official_wild_ shape_rules) (useful for all shapeshifters), DM's Fighter's Handbook (http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/19870606/The_Fighters_Handbook_--_2007) (useful for filling in melee class feat chains and combos), and the Prerequisite and Early Entry Handbook (http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=7061.0) (plenty of semi-cheesy workarounds).