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Jimbob
2007-06-20, 07:28 AM
As you can tell by the title I can looking to buy some more 3.5 dnd books. I have the normal, PHB, DMG and MM but i want 4 or 5 splat books such as complete arcane, complete warrior. But I can make my mind up. So im looking for your top 5 books.

Thanks for the help!

squidthingy
2007-06-20, 07:32 AM
complete warrior, try the player's handbook 2 (http://www.amazon.com/Players-Handbook-Dungeons-Dragons-Roleplaying/dp/0786939184/ref=pd_sim_b_2/002-8339204-4317662) and probaly complete adventurer. Also depending on where your campaign is try either the Faiths and Pantheons(forgotten realms) or the magic of ebberon(ebberon)

Edit: also try the book of vile darkness

Kurald Galain
2007-06-20, 07:37 AM
Perhaps surprisingly, my suggestion would be not to buy any, considering the plethora of D&D-related information available for download on the web. Rather, you could broaden your knowledge of roleplaying in general, and buy the core book of a few settings that aren't medieval high fantasy. Because variation is fun.

Suggestions include
*Any world of darkness book (Vampire, Werewolf, etc), I'd suggest taking a setting-specific book prior to the main book. WOD is probably the most atmospherical RPG setting ever.
*Paranoia, which is and remains one of the most hilarious games ever written
*Space: 1889, the victorian age steam-powered rocketship setting
*Cyberpunk: 2020, the dark dystopian future setting with corruption, streetfights and drugs galore
*and Call of Ctulhu, because you're not a full roleplayer until you've run in gibbering panic from a Shoggie.

Just my two copper pieces.

doliemaster
2007-06-20, 07:37 AM
I would buy song&silence the bard and rogue handbook, as it rocks.

Swooper
2007-06-20, 07:49 AM
I can help, I think, because a while ago I was in your position.

The four basic completes (Warrior, Arcane, Divine, Adventurer) are good. More feats, PrCs and stuff for your basic classes, as well as 3 new base classes per book. You might or might not want them all depending on what you like to play, but you'll definitely want some of them. Save getting the sequel completes for later though.
Expanded Psionics Handbook is good, if you like it's flavour (not all players like psionics. Mine don't, sadly, which made this a poor investment for now).
Player's Handbook II is pretty good too. It introduces new classes, alternate class features for base classes and new feats, but imho too much of it goes into trying to tell you how to roleplay. I don't need that, but hey, if you do, more power to you.
Tome of Battle is a very interesting supplement that introduces a new system of melee combat, a bit strong in the early game but helps balance casters vs. noncasters in the higher levels. I haven't heard many people complain about it, most seem to love it.
I can't say about the 'Races of X' books because I haven't got any yet and haven't heard all that much about them. I suppose if you like playing dwarves or gnomes, Races of Stone might be a good idea and so on for other races, though.
If you DM you might want any or all of the environment books (Sandstorm, Stormwrack, Frostburn). Helps with the verisimilitude for things like desert travel, ship combat and such.
I hear Unearthed Arcane is nice, it's really a book full of different variant rules. Not needed, but nice.

I hope that helped you make up your mind - I can't list 'top 5 books' for you because I don't know what you are most interested in

Leon
2007-06-20, 07:50 AM
Tome of Battle, Spellcompendium and Monsternomicon

Swooper
2007-06-20, 07:50 AM
I would buy song&silence the bard and rogue handbook, as it rocks.
That's a 3.0 book, not compatible with what he has. He specifically requested 3.5 books :smalltongue:

doliemaster
2007-06-20, 07:52 AM
oops sorry, well it is mostly compatible as most things weren't changed to an extreme, besides none of the prestige classes have changed as far as I know.

Tyger
2007-06-20, 08:00 AM
My two favorites lately are the Spell Compendium and the Magic Item Compendium.

Other than those two, yes, the Tome of Battle and the Complete series are great additions to any game.

Jimbob
2007-06-20, 08:00 AM
Thanks swooper that was a really big help. So the 4 complete books, so that just leaves one more. And If not much has changed I use a 3.0 book, was thinking of the masters of the wild book. What do you all think?

Thanks once again.

doliemaster
2007-06-20, 08:02 AM
I had the option of buying masters once and it looked good but song was the same price, but had bard extras and bards are my favorite class and my friend who uses my books loves rogues so it really looked very useful to me.

Spiryt
2007-06-20, 08:05 AM
Thanks swooper that was a really big help. So the 4 complete books, so that just leaves one more. And If not much has changed I use a 3.0 book, was thinking of the masters of the wild book. What do you all think?

Thanks once again.

There are some incompatibilities beacuse of different Ranger favored enemy rules in 3.0 and 3.5, but nothing that can't be overcome.

Swooper
2007-06-20, 08:07 AM
If you get all the four basic completes you don't have much use for the 3.0 class books (masters of the wild, song and silence, tome and blood, sword and fist, defenders of the faith)- they're essentially older versions of the completes. With the four completes you have most of the feats, PrCs and stuff included in the older books. For a fifth book I'd recommend PH2.

Iku Rex
2007-06-20, 08:28 AM
I'd consider:

1. Item Compendium. I can pretty much guarantee that this will see a lot of use in your gaming group. Has errata on items from several other books.

2. Spell Compendium. Will be popular among spellcasting classes. Also has lots of errata for previously published spells.

(I don't like recommending the compendium books because I dislike the sneaky "buy this for errata" approach. But other than that thye're worth having when all you own is the core books.)

3. Complete books. If you buy the Spell Compendium casters will have something to play around with, so I'd go with Complete Warrior first.

4. Campaign book. Obviously this depends on what kind of campaign you play in or want to run. The Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting book is 3.0 but there's no 3.5 version and the campaign world information isn't version specific. The Player's Guide to Faerun has 3.5 updates for all FR supplements and a lot of useful crunch. I like the Eberron setting myself, and the book has a good amount of crunch in addition to the campaign world specific stuff.

5. Player's Handbook II. It has some IMO less useful fluff, but it also has alternate class features, feats and spells. Has a number of mid-to-high level feats that help melee types.

6. Tome of Battle. It has a unique flavor, with flashy, supernatural fighting styles. If that's fine by you it's a solid supplement.

squidthingy
2007-06-20, 08:32 AM
Thanks swooper that was a really big help. So the 4 complete books, so that just leaves one more. And If not much has changed I use a 3.0 book, was thinking of the masters of the wild book. What do you all think?

Thanks once again.

masters of the wild if really only helpful if you are a ranger, barbarian, or druid

I would suggest the Player Handbook 2 as your 5th book

Spiryt
2007-06-20, 08:41 AM
masters of the wild if really only helpful if you are a ranger, barbarian, or druid



What help do you need when you are druid :smallwink: ?

And seriously, Masters of the Wild is interesting book.

Bow2Gaijin
2007-06-20, 09:38 AM
I've always been a fan of both the expanded psionics handbook, and magic of incarnum. Both add something different to the game.

brian c
2007-06-20, 09:44 AM
If you ever play melee characters, Tome of Battle will change your (D&D) life.

Other than that, the completes are good, especially the first set (Warrior, Adventurer, Arcane).

If you're a DM, Dungeonscape and Cityscape are both very interesting books that can add a lot to your campaigns. Similarly, the environment books (Frostburn, Stormwrack, Sandstorm) are great if you want a campaign in that setting, even for a short amount of time.

Of course, if you're interested in playing with Psionics then the XPH is a must, though Complete Psion is generally not a very well respected book.

Shiny, Bearer of the Pokystick
2007-06-20, 09:50 AM
The 'alternatives' I'd reccomend are as follows:
-Magic of Incarnum
-Expanded Psionics Handbook
-Tome of Battle
-Tome of Magic

In, yes, that order. The above books mostly provide you with alternative options, rather than enhancements to the options you already have in Core. I'm a fan of this, so I own all of the above.

The 'informers' I'd reccomend are as follows:
-Player's Handbook II
-Magic Item Compendium
-DM's Guide II
-Frostburn/Stormwrack/Sandstorm
-Dungeonscape

Not necessarily in the above order. These books provide a few alternatives, but mostly consist of useful rules to adjudicate common situations- such as magic item pricing/creation, character retraining, and combat in specialized settings.

The 'enhancers' I'd reccomend are as follows:
-Complete Warrior
-Complete Arcane
-Complete Scoundrel
-Complete Adventurer
-Complete Mage
-Complete Psionic

In that order. These present primarily feats, class features, and prestige classes to enhance existing options (though a few present interesting alternatives).

The 'monster books' I'd reccomend are as follows:
-Fiend Folio
-Lords of Madness
-MMII
-MMIII

In that order. Fiend Folio is right on the cusp of the 3.5 update, so you should have no trouble, and it contains a lot of very, very nice monstrosities.
Lords of Madness is a great example of in-depth monster material, and a great DM tool.
MMII and MMIII are straightforward books o' monsters, some of which may make player race choices. MMIII is lower down the list due to its use of the new statistics block format.

LotharBot
2007-06-20, 01:55 PM
Recommendations:

1) Spell Compendium - variety for all of the classes that can cast, including Paladins, Rangers, Assassins, and so on
2) Tome of Battle - melee classes that are as interesting as casters.
3) Fiend Folio - lots of cool bad guys
4) use the internet. Between the Netbook of Feats (http://datadeco.com/nbofeats/) and Forgotten Realms Helps (http://realmshelps.dandello.net/index.shtml), there's plenty of material available.

Citizen Joe
2007-06-20, 01:57 PM
Has anyone rated these books on how 'cheesy' they are? I'd like to see a review site that rates them using cheese units.

skywalker
2007-06-20, 02:06 PM
1. Spell Compendium
2. Player's Handbook 2
3. Pick from Complete (Warrior, Adventurer)
4. Magic Item Compendium
5. Tome Of Battle


These are the better books. Arcane and Divine are slightly less useful compared to Adventurer and Warrior, IMHO.

Spell and Magic Item Compendium are both full of options.

Tome of Battle will change your life.

PHB2 is also full of good stuff, and if you're new to the game, the role-play advice might be handy.

Vaniel
2007-06-20, 02:23 PM
Buying... books... really? :smallbiggrin:

If you must, these are some of my good books

- Complete Warrior
- Complete Adventurer
- Player's Handbook II
- A specific book to your liking (like environments, or monsters specific like undead, etc)
- A campaign setting book (Eberron, Forgotten Realms, etc...)

/Vaniel

Zel
2007-06-20, 02:31 PM
1. Tome of Battle. Can't say enough about how much more interesting this makes melee classes.
2. Complete Arcane/Divine/Adventurer. I think complete warrior is dumb and underpowered compared to the coolness in Tome of Battle.
3. Spell Compendium/Item Compendium. Not necessary, but gives some variety to the game.

And my two favorite internet resource sites:
http://www.systemreferencedocuments.org/35/sovelior_sage/home.html
http://www.crystalkeep.com/d20/index.php

PlatinumJester
2007-06-20, 03:44 PM
1 - Book of Vile Darkness - much better than Book Of Exalted Deeds.
2 - PHB 2 - new classes etc etc
3 - Complete Arcane/Divine/Mage/Adventurer/Warrior - whatever suits you class the best. Arcane is better than Mage by the way
4 - Arms and Equipment Guide - it's 3.0 but still decent.
5 - MM2/3 - both are good but 4 is a bit crap.

I would also recomend - spell compendium, tome of magic/battle and Magic of Incarnum.