3.5 Book Read Priority/Order

[Curtisw2000]

So I'm still relatively new to actually playing D&D but quickly getting addicted. I'm trying to learn as fast as I can, but there are SO many books out there. I can easily find a list of books, but am having a hard time figuring out what ones are worth the time to look at. So far I've been picking and choosing based on title or a reference I saw in the forum or a website.

Are there books I need to read? Books that I should be avoiding? Are there books that aren't commonly accepted by DMs (yes I know, check with them before trying to use any of them)?

So I guess I'm looking for a rough priority type list to guide my reading. Or at least some advice on how to proceed.

[Lormador]

Read the core Player's Handbook and DMG, then check out some of the Monster Manual but don't read the whole thing: it's a reference book.

Read a splat book, like Complete Divine.

Read a campaign setting book, like Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting.

Then it's on to Tome of Battle! And from there you'll be able to make your own informed decisions.

[Zanos]

If you know anyone who plays, I think it's much easier to learn by doing than reading the thick tomes that are the 3.5 sourcebooks. The Player's Handbook is the only book you really need to understand how to play, but even I haven't actually read it page by page. I only reference the books when I forget a rule or there's a conflict.

[Kelb_Panthera]

If I had to start over again, I'd want somebody to suggest them to me in roughly this order:

The core 3 (obviously), though the monster manual is much less important than the others usually.

The spell and magic item compendiums

The original completes; arcane, divine, adventurer, and warrior.

Then either the expanded psionics handbook or tome of battle, depending if you prefer martials or casters.

Then the other 4 completes; champion, mage, psionic*, and scoundrel.

The races of X series add some fun new people to be, especially eberron.

Then the environment books; cityscape, dungeonscape, frostburn, sandstorm, and stormwrack

Player's handbook 2 belongs somewhere in the above but I'm not sure where.

After that it breaks down to individual taste and desires.

[Afgncaap5]

This question really depends on what you're looking for.

If you're looking for character thematics, the Complete books are really nice (Complete Arcane, Complete Scoundrel, Complete Divine, etc.)

If you're looking for how to run certain kinds of environments, books like Sandstorm, Frostburn, and Stormwrack can help with certain naturally-occurring environments, and Cityscape and Dungeonscape can help with more artificial ones.

If you're looking for information on certain kinds of villains or cultures, the "Races Of" books are excellent resources. You've also got a few things like Drow Of The Underdark.

If you're looking for lots and lots of lore, legends, and story seeds, there are many books related to just settings like the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting, Eberron Campaign Setting, arguably the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer (good luck finding that one in a store...), and things like Drow of the Underdark can be good here as well.

If you want suggestions on the nuts and bolts of the game, and ideas for ways to bend or break the rules to make your games be more fun, things like the Rules Compendium and Unearthed Arcana are handy (and sometimes just going back to the DMG is really useful here too.)

If you want player options, the Complete books are really nice, as are the Magic Item Compendium and Spell Compendium. (And sometimes Player's Handbook 2, depending on what you want.)

There's a lot of other ways you might categorize this book, and naturally a lot of these categories cross over. So... I guess, what are you trying to get out of the books? Really, all you need are the core 3 and your own limitless imagination, but having more books is always handy.

[Curtisw2000]

Thanks guys. This (by your powers combined) is exactly what I was looking for. I appreciate the help.

I never would have thought to even look at the DMG (as I'm not a DM).


... I think it's much easier to learn by doing than reading the ....
I would agree, however I'm frustrated with the relative infrequency I get to play (we're all adults so we don't get to meet as often as I would like). I am actively seeking another game, but am not having much luck.