Good Third Party sourcebooks...

[atemu1234]

I'm looking for good third party sourcebooks I could use in my campaigns. My group tends to be pretty open to stuff like that, and I'm pretty sure there's awesome stuff out there, so any help tracking it down would be great.

[Amphetryon]

I rather like a third-party book called "Guildcraft," which does a very nice job detailing the creation of different guild types (obviously).

[Dusk Eclipse]

Hyperconcious is probably the best book for psionics and it was released by Dreamscarred press.

[HaikenEdge]

I like Hyperconscious, which is written by Bruce Cordell, the designer/writer behind the Expanded Psionics Handbook. Hyperconscious is actually published by Malhavoc Press, not Dreamscarred Presses.

Besides that, I'll occasionally allow Lost Tradition from Bastards & Bloodlines, but only for campaigns where humor and flavor is more important than crunch, because the Con-Only caster can get pretty insane.

[Rubik]

I like Hyperconscious, which is written by Bruce Cordell, the designer/writer behind the Expanded Psionics Handbook. Hyperconscious is actually published by Malhavoc Press, not Dreamscarred Presses.I third Hyperconscious. It's amazing, and the majority is nicely balanced (though avoid creating golems out of astral constructs and detonating your psicrystal -- they're horrible "options" and aren't worth bothering with).

Untapped Potential (this time really from Dreamscarred Press) and the other DsP supplements are excellent, as well. UtP assumes that Hyperconscious is in play, though it's usable without it.

[eastmabl]

I'm looking for good third party sourcebooks I could use in my campaigns. My group tends to be pretty open to stuff like that, and I'm pretty sure there's awesome stuff out there, so any help tracking it down would be great.

What are you looking for? Fluffy campaign details, or crunchy mechanics which are helpful?

[Mithril Leaf]

I third Hyperconscious. It's amazing, and the majority is nicely balanced (though avoid creating golems out of astral constructs and detonating your psicrystal -- they're horrible "options" and aren't worth bothering with).

Untapped Potential (this time really from Dreamscarred Press) and the other DsP supplements are excellent, as well. UtP assumes that Hyperconscious is in play, though it's usable without it.

Fourthing Hyperconscious, as well as seconding the entirety of DSP content.

Secrets and Villians of Pact Magic is pretty solid although their Pathfinder offering is notably better.

[Phelix-Mu]

Green Ronin often (and often rightfully) gets a bad rap, but I am a big fan of their Holy Warriors Handbook and Unholy Warriors Handbook. I believe the 3.5 version of the Unholy Warriors Handbook was included in the Encyclopaedia of Fiends, but its been a while since I've looked at that stuff. Basically, these books incorporate the existing Paladin and Blackguard concepts into a more broad concept of a warrior in the service of a god or divine cause. Basically, they allow for the creation of paladin-concepts from any alignment, with a sweet selection of Domain-type customizations that can give great flavor to, say, a holy warrior of Moradin, to distinguish it from a holy warrior of Torm or some such. Very cool, very versatile. Probably low on balance, the downfall of much Green Ronin stuff, but I've used it in a couple low-to-mid optimization campaigns and found them very nice additions to the official materials.

[gorfnab]

BoEF - Metaphysical Spellshaper prestige class is fairly decent, the rest of the book is hit or miss depending on the campaign.

[Rubik]

Does Lycanthromancer's psionic powers revision (https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7XkmnK-DY9YNGFFaGd1MEFRWkk/edit?usp=sharing) count?

[cosmonuts]

How is Dragonlance? What are people's thoughts on it.

[Ryu the Reptoid]

Well, depending on your tastes I know a few you -may- be interested in. Firstly, if you like Oriental Adventures, and Japanese Mythology in general, I highly recommend both the Rokugan D20 supplements and the 3rd party book Kitsunemori Campaign Setting. The former throws a bone to many of the OA base classes such as the Samurai and Shugenja in the form new toys to play with ranging from loads of new feats and spells to prestige classes with them in mind. In addition, it also creates a ninja that doesn't suck(Isn't GREAT, but at least is better then the one Wizards produced as it actually has sneak attack rather then "sudden strike") and introduces the fun, fun class known as the courtier, which is made to be the ultimate master of social interaction. Kitsunemori, meanwhile, is the single most accurate crunch and fluff portrayal I have seen for a Japanese-mythology inspired setting for 3.5e D&D(Kaidan, however, is just as good, but is exclusively Pathfinder.). It's crunch is pretty much THE BEST out there for running a purely Japanese-flavored oriental campaign due to it's accuracy and general awesomeness.

If your not much into OA, then I have some more -all purpose- recommendations that can be fit into any setting, too. If you are a fan of casters, the Mongoose's Encyclopedia Arcana series, while not always the most balanced, are dripping with flavor and much of the content in them is really cool and fun to use. Even some of the more "powerful" options in them are great for making flavorful BBEGs. The series covers most of the schools of magic(Necromancy, Enchantment, Demonology(conjuration) etc..), as well as lesser-explored areas of magic such as chronomancy and even magic related to dragons and draconic power. It's an excellent way to make specialist wizards feel less bland and generic, and is just oozing flavor. If you are a fan of spellcasters I wholeheartedly recommend this series, though be selective with what options you pull from them.

I also will echo the sentiments of others here about hyperconscious, and I am not even a big fan of psionics! Oh, and it's nice to see the holy/unholy warrior get a shout out. While they are certainly not the -strongest- classes, I own the unholy warrior's handbook and the class is...at the least...fun and a nice alternative to the blackguard and variant paladins. If the holy version is similar I wholeheartedly back the suggestion of both as well. Finally, if your really interested in Necromancy, like I am, I have a laundry list of good 3rd party books devoted to necromancy spells and options. However, I won't list them all here, for the sake of space and because I am lazy.

[Seer_of_Heart]

I like Hyperconscious, which is written by Bruce Cordell, the designer/writer behind the Expanded Psionics Handbook. Hyperconscious is actually published by Malhavoc Press, not Dreamscarred Presses.

Besides that, I'll occasionally allow Lost Tradition from Bastards & Bloodlines, but only for campaigns where humor and flavor is more important than crunch, because the Con-Only caster can get pretty insane.

What about muscle wizards?

http://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20090425013032/fma/images/b/b1/AlexLouisArmstrong!LookAtThoseGodlyMuscles!.jpg

[Phelix-Mu]

How is Dragonlance? What are people's thoughts on it.

In terms of the board generally, some stuff from it gets brought up with some consistency, including a few spells that I can't recall, Sacred Guardian template for constructs, and one or two PrC. I tend to think that that little list there means that most of the setting is take it or leave it, but because it is only semi-official, Dragonlance in 3e gets ignored in a lot of discussions simply because few of us have actually seen the books and taken the time to learn about it.

Which is, frankly, a crying shame. Dragonlance in 2e was pretty awesome. I know some people don't like worlds where characters from novels are so prominent, but the place was pretty cool. I like a world on the cusp of destruction, and before the late 2e and 3e developments of the setting, Dragonlance really fit the bill, as the War of the Lance really rent an already troubled world. Plus, draconians are pretty awesome, and I loved the fluff for them (way better than the Spawn of Tiamat fluff, imho).

Personally, I have resorted to homebrew for some elements of the 2e setting that I felt 3e didn't really deliver on, but my experience is still pretty cursory (as my personal setting ported in draconians, kender, kodragons, and a few of the cooler beasties from Krynn).

[HaikenEdge]

What about muscle wizards?

http://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20090425013032/fma/images/b/b1/AlexLouisArmstrong!LookAtThoseGodlyMuscles!.jpg

Still a two-attribute caster, so not that much different than a Int/Wis/Cha caster, but generally more for silly/flavor-oriented campaigns.

[Prime32]

Well, depending on your tastes I know a few you -may- be interested in. Firstly, if you like Oriental Adventures, and Japanese Mythology in general, I highly recommend both the Rokugan D20 supplements and the 3rd party book Kitsunemori Campaign Setting. [...] Kitsunemori, meanwhile, is the single most accurate crunch and fluff portrayal I have seen for a Japanese-mythology inspired setting for 3.5e D&D(Kaidan, however, is just as good, but is exclusively Pathfinder.). It's crunch is pretty much THE BEST out there for running a purely Japanese-flavored oriental campaign due to it's accuracy and general awesomeness.It was cool and everything, but I seem to remember kitsune having very high stats, a ton of ways to boost caster levels (EDIT: summoning a shikigami lets wizards get +6 to their spell DCs!), and weapon types that let you make ludicrous numbers of attacks per round. Even if you're not using the mechanics though, it's worth a look for the fluff.

[PraxisVetli]

I like Legends and Lairs; I refer to the Monster's andbook on occasion.
Also Green Ronin's Advanced Beastiary is great, Use it a lot.

[One Step Two]

How is Dragonlance? What are people's thoughts on it.

My current group is playing in a long-running Dragonlance game, and we've pretty much got open season on all the Dragonlance Books. They're generally very well made in terms of their editing, and you can find some semi-official errata out there if you look hard enough. The classes are fairly well balanced, and flavour packed. Fun fact: The Holy Order of the Stars splatbook has a Druid PRC that gives full spellcasting and wildshape, the only feature it doesn't advance specifically is the Animal companion.

Spells are a little hit and miss as some spells are saddled with XP costs, they're not unnecessary ones really, they're mostly to enforce rarity.

Feats vary, but they're often on the weak side in many cases such as adding +2 to two skills like self sufficient etc.

Overall, they're very cool books IMHO.

[atomicwaffle]

How is Dragonlance? What are people's thoughts on it.

WARNING: INCOMING RANT!

Dragonlance 3.5 sucks, hard. The enemies are cheap, draconians have trigger on death abilities that range from destroying your weapon to turning into pipebombs. The monetary system is confusing as hell. Copper, Gold, Steel, Platinum, 1 steel = 16 gold (WTH). The gods are lackluster and you lose any divine benefits if you plane shift. Max level is 18 and IF you make it the gods KICK YOU OUT (because Raistlin). Like 5 different ages to play in (and they all suck. And god help you if you choose the 5th age. No magic, at all, for anyone. Except mystics, which are like a tier 4 cleric). Magic is a pain in the ass, you need to metagame by deciding what inevitable robes you will take (red, white, or black) in advance by choosing specialty schools, feats, and alignments. If you don't take the test of high sorcery, you will be hunted down by other wizards. Specializing is bad enough, but you need to sacrifice a THIRD school of magic upon attaining your robes. During your test, you need to use every spell at least once. AND THEN THERE'S THE MOTHERHUMPING CURSE OF THE MAGI. Every spell you cast, every GODDAMN spell, you need to make a will save (DC 10 + spell level) or become fatigued, then exhausted, then unconscious. Since there's so much material already written on it, it's practically impossible to play in (especially with That Guy, who has read every Dragonlance book ever). And Kender exist. Someone will want to be a Kender. Slam their head repeatedly with a bus station toilet seat.

:smallfurious::smallfurious::smallfurious::smallfu rious::smallfurious::smallfurious::smallfurious:

[One Step Two]

WARNING: INCOMING RANT!

Dragonlance 3.5 sucks, hard. The enemies are cheap, draconians have trigger on death abilities that range from destroying your weapon to turning into pipebombs. The monetary system is confusing as hell. Copper, Gold, Steel, Platinum, 1 steel = 16 gold (WTH). The gods are lackluster and you lose any divine benefits if you plane shift. Max level is 18 and IF you make it the gods KICK YOU OUT (because Raistlin). Like 5 different ages to play in (and they all suck. And god help you if you choose the 5th age. No magic, at all, for anyone. Except mystics, which are like a tier 4 cleric). Magic is a pain in the ass, you need to metagame by deciding what inevitable robes you will take (red, white, or black) in advance by choosing specialty schools, feats, and alignments. If you don't take the test of high sorcery, you will be hunted down by other wizards. Specializing is bad enough, but you need to sacrifice a THIRD school of magic upon attaining your robes. During your test, you need to use every spell at least once. AND THEN THERE'S THE MOTHERHUMPING CURSE OF THE MAGI. Every spell you cast, every GODDAMN spell, you need to make a will save (DC 10 + spell level) or become fatigued, then exhausted, then unconscious. Since there's so much material already written on it, it's practically impossible to play in (especially with That Guy, who has read every Dragonlance book ever). And Kender exist. Someone will want to be a Kender. Slam their head repeatedly with a bus station toilet seat.

:smallfurious::smallfurious::smallfurious::smallfu rious::smallfurious::smallfurious::smallfurious:

Wow... okay.

Just to clear a few things up.

Yes, Draconians suck, Not even gonna argue that.

Money is simple when you remind yourself anything in the PHB or DMG that has a GP value is the equivalent of Steel. Any wealth you acquire other than steel is added up to sufficient value. My only sticking point is weight of object to value for some stuff, but it's mostly nitpicking.

Never heard of the thing where planeshifting makes you lose your divine magic, or the prevention of chracters reaching 18 or above. Sources please?

The issue with ages is usually the pre-destined choices of the plane, it's a hazard that the setting is so closely tied to the books. But that said, the Legends of the Twins sourcebook has some interesting ideas about the different Eras of play, and how you can interact with the story.

The Age of Mortals sourcebook (which I believe is official 3.5) has a sidebar on not needing to be a specialist wizard if you don't want to for the towers. And while yes, being a wizard can be dangerous if you aren't a member of the orders, that's part of the setting, and if your DM hides that from you, then he's being a jerk.

Curse of the Magi is a variant rule, again, a GM that spring that on you after character creation is being less than helpful.

As for the kender... I've made more than enough posts in regards to responsible players and good GMs in regards to them. Remember: Kender "handle" items due to interest, not GP value. Shiny and interesting rocks are more worthy of being borrowed than a dusty stick such as wands can be. If the player of a kender is using it to be a jerk, then the player is a Jerk, not the Kender.

[atomicwaffle]

Never heard of the thing where planeshifting makes you lose your divine magic, or the prevention of chracters reaching 18 or above. Sources please?


All magic in Dragonlance (arcane and divine) come from the gods. Once you leave Krynn you no longer have access to their magic. Maybe im thinking realms and not planes, but if you were a paladin of whatshispickle that went to say...Eberron. You would lose all god-bestowed class abilities and have to find a new god. I'm pretty sure it's in the book somewhere but if not, it's definitely implied flavour-wise.

The 18 level cap is clearly printed in the Dragonlance 3.5 sourcebook somewhere. I don't own it. I read it a coupla times.

[One Step Two]

All magic in Dragonlance (arcane and divine) come from the gods. Once you leave Krynn you no longer have access to their magic. Maybe im thinking realms and not planes, but if you were a paladin of whatshispickle that went to say...Eberron. You would lose all god-bestowed class abilities and have to find a new god. I'm pretty sure it's in the book somewhere but if not, it's definitely implied flavour-wise.

The 18 level cap is clearly printed in the Dragonlance 3.5 sourcebook somewhere. I don't own it. I read it a coupla times.

As of 3.5 there does not seem to be any predisposed level cap, and the only mention of removing 18+ level characters comes from an earlier edition, and was also optional, as far as a casual google search was concerned.

As for the gods and loss of magic... Hm, honestly, I'd say that would apply to most clerics if an incarnation of their god didn't exist in the new Realm they visited, but then it could also be argued that because you've arrived on that realm, you've created a link for your god to see it.

Also, I missed your above comment about Mystics, and strictly speaking, with casting like a favoured soul, and access to a domain, they're Tier 2.

[thorr-kan]

There's also this whole thread, which needs some love:
http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?320856-The-3rd-Party-Pathfinder-Thread-for-Good-Products