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Kiyona
2007-07-23, 06:43 AM
So, I've been thinking...

Im gonna start buying my own books and stop leeching from my DM. ^^

So, what books do you think is a good start. (except players guide) And do you have any tips where I can get them for a moderatly low price? ^^

I will only be using them to create characters, and maybe to study the different cultures. I have a long way to go before I can DM. :smallbiggrin:

Swooper
2007-07-23, 06:46 AM
Apart from Core, get some of the Completes first, depending on what you like to play.

Quirinus_Obsidian
2007-07-23, 06:50 AM
A good start beyond the "core" books is the "Complete" series and the ToB-Bo9S. That gives you and your players the most "flexibility" at the lowest cost (relatively speaking). If you find yourself running out of monsters, or are looking for something very specifc, than I would go to the continuations of the monster manual series (2-5) and the Draconomicon. That is also assuming you have 400-500 American bucks to spend. :smallamused:

nerulean
2007-07-23, 06:54 AM
I would definitely recommend the completes too. They're conveniently named to let you know what's in each one, so picking shouldn't be too hard, but it's worth having a look through a book before you buy it. If your DM's got some, ask if you can borrow a couple overnight and flick through.

Jimbob
2007-07-23, 07:32 AM
in my eyes, spell comdendium, every spell you will ever need. Complete mage and complete warrior, every thing you need for spell casters and warrior types. And then if your still going for even more books, complete scroundrel and complete divine.

Stareyes
2007-07-23, 07:50 AM
I would say look at the books you borrow from the DM. Most people seem to have a favorite set of races/classes, and getting books focused on those would save in lookup time.

I got most of my books from a used bookstore back in my hometown, which occasionally got D&D books. Now that I'm away at grad school, I keep meaning to check the gaming store here for bargains. Of course, that's very 'luck of the draw'. Failing that, I buy a lot of PDFs, since, for some companies, that saves something like 50% or more on the cover price, and if only I am using it, it doesn't matter if I can bring the entire book to table (I make printouts of all my favorite spells if I'm playing a caster, so I can loan my PHB out to someone else if I have to). Of course, I think WotC's PDFs are usually pretty expensive -- at that price, a used print copy may be cheaper.

Iku Rex
2007-07-23, 07:54 AM
http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=48200

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=51272

Zim
2007-07-23, 07:56 AM
I suggest the following: PHB 1&2, Complete Series, Spell & Magic Item Compendiums, and the DMG. Avoid the Races of X series; they're largely trash and are littered with broken rules. If you're playing in FR or EB, get their respective players guides if you want, but they should be way down the list of priorities.

Also having a laptop or web capable device to access the SRD will reduce the number of books you have to carry to game night. Your back with thank you! :smallsmile:

Kiyona
2007-07-23, 08:22 AM
Failing that, I buy a lot of PDFs, since, for some companies, that saves something like 50% or more on the cover price, and if only I am using it, it doesn't matter if I can bring the entire book to table (I make printouts of all my favorite spells if I'm playing a caster, so I can loan my PHB out to someone else if I have to).

So, I can by PDFs?? Thats awesome. ^^ Wizards webpage huh...

I will check that out when I go home today. :smallsmile:

CASTLEMIKE
2007-07-23, 09:59 AM
It depends if you have a favorite class you normally play.

Unearthed Arcana is nice for lots of options and variants despite a lot of it being in the D20 SRD.

The Expanded Psionics Handbook was done well if you want to introduce it into your game but a lot made it to the SRD.

The Book of Nine Swords was nice for beefing up fighter types.

Complete Divine was nice for beefing up cleric types.

Complete Arcane and Complete Magus were nice for beefing up arcane spellcasters.

The Spell Compendium is nice for extra spells in one source book.

Complete adventurer is nice for rogues primarily although other classes benefit.

Amazon and Ebay are good for hard copies. Amazon is probably the best for new source books. PDFs are nice for less perused source books depending on the price. If I can get a hard copy for 60% of retail or less versus a PDF for 50% or more of retail I buy the hardcopy. Just do a Dungeons and Dragons PDF web search.

valadil
2007-07-23, 10:33 AM
I try to pick up a book each time I join a new game. In theory it should be related to what I'm playing, but that doesn't always work out. I'll buy more if I'm DMing.

Everyone at the table should own a PHB. MM and DMG are great when they're relevant, but not necessary for players unless you're summoning or crafting. The complete books seem pretty decent too, though I wish they'd put more effort into them. They're riddled with typos and bad editing (which I see as evidence that there wasn't much playtesting) and the font/linespacing is ridiculous compared to core material.