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gareth
2007-08-18, 03:46 PM
I'm thinking of buying a D&D book, and I realise most game mechanics will be rendered obsolete when the 4th edition is released. So I'll just be buying it for setting information and character descriptions that can be adapted to 4th edition. Among books available now, which are the best for that purpose?

Attilargh
2007-08-18, 03:55 PM
Well, there's always the Iron Kingdoms World Guide, but you're really missing out if you don't get the Iron Kingdoms Character Guide as well. That, somewhat unfortunately, has a bunch o' crunch in it in addition to the great, great fluff.

Amiria
2007-08-18, 03:59 PM
Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting. Sure, it is 3.0, but that doesn't matter for fluff. Within its many pages is a host of information that can be plundered and adapted for your own campaign setting. Realms and places, a calendar and holidays, historic events, organizations, deities, allies and enemies, adventure hooks, etc.

Attilargh
2007-08-18, 04:36 PM
That reminds me, there's a fairly sizeable collection of old books (mainly FR) from the previous editions hidden away (http://wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/dnd/downloads) on the Wizards website. They might not blow your mind, but the price is certainly right!

Jimp
2007-08-18, 05:06 PM
Lords of Madness is my favourite fluff book. It's full of information on abberitions (sp?), their societies and their histories. There's a little crunch in there that you can use but most of the book is fluff.

Saph
2007-08-18, 05:20 PM
The "Races Of ____" series is great if you're a fan of a certain race. I love elven characters, so "Races of the Wild" was my favourite 3.5 fluff book.

- Saph

Sir Jason
2007-08-18, 05:28 PM
I personally like complete scoundrel for the non-rule aspect of its content; its archetype section has been very helpful for me.

Kultrum
2007-08-18, 07:15 PM
ghostwalk, I use it to explain death and ghosts and stuff

Djinn_in_Tonic
2007-08-19, 09:27 AM
For what it's worth, I found Heroes of Horror to be the best fluff and idea-wise, although it's of more use to DMs. Still an amazing book though...

Swooper
2007-08-19, 11:02 AM
The "Races Of ____" series is great if you're a fan of a certain race. I love elven characters, so "Races of the Wild" was my favourite 3.5 fluff book.

- Saph
I thought Races of the Wild was pretty bad, personally, and I like elves too. I dislike the 3E "halflings" though, and raptorans don't really strike me as interesting. The elf fluff is bland imo, the 2nd Edition Complete Elves' Handbook did it much, much better. I prefer Races of Stone.

Rayek
2007-08-19, 11:19 AM
DMG2 has plenty of fluff in it. Heroes of Battle is another one of my favorites. I also second buying Campaign Setting books. You can grab ones from any edition of the game and glean plenty of good material.

Saph
2007-08-19, 11:19 AM
I thought Races of the Wild was pretty bad, personally, and I like elves too. I dislike the 3E "halflings" though, and raptorans don't really strike me as interesting. The elf fluff is bland imo, the 2nd Edition Complete Elves' Handbook did it much, much better. I prefer Races of Stone.

Really? I didn't think the elf fluff was bland at all. There's a lot of lifestyle and racial info that explains all sorts of things (like the actual elven aging rate), a lot more information on the elven pantheon, and a mini-dictionary that lets you make elven names.

I don't really care about raptorans or halflings, so I didn't pay much attention to those sections.

- Saph

Morty
2007-08-19, 11:21 AM
If there was ever any goblinoid-centered book(or any book with anything on goblinoids), it would be it. Sadly, there isn't. Otherwise, Forgotten Realms Campaign setting looks good, even though I only skimmed through it(my DM runs FR without book for it...).

PaladinBoy
2007-08-19, 03:26 PM
Might not be the best, but I've always used the Book of Exalted Deeds pretty much solely for the section on the nature of good, while mostly ignoring the crunch.

I think that the good acts listed and defined are quite useful for really fleshing out good characters. And the stuff about moral dilemmas can be useful in moral debates. Meanwhile, the exalted feats and sanctified spells seem mostly worthless, and require you to play a character that is completely and utterly Good, which is difficult.

I'm probably in the minority, though. Most people I see on the forums seem to hate the BoED's definition of good.

Rayek
2007-08-20, 12:56 PM
From a devious DM standpoint, Exalted Deeds counterpart Book of Vile Darkness is also a solid bet. It's a nice book for giving your villains a new twist (quite literally). It has a fair amount of crunch, but the flavor text is good stuff.

ALOR
2007-08-20, 01:01 PM
Forgotten Realms campaign setting is one of my best purchases for 3.0 hands.
Full of info and history
The eberon setting books are pretty good as well.

Renx
2007-08-20, 02:41 PM
Frostburn is nice... all that stuff on freezing should be almost compatible with 4th ed anyway. Lots of fluff about ice caves etc.