[3.0/3.5] Fluff Only WotC Books

[Thurbane]

Aside from modules/adventures, which 3.0/3.5 official WotC D&D published books had no new crunch content, only fluff? Also not counting map folios, fantastic locations, tile sets etc.

i.e. Which (non-adventure) books had no new races, classes, feats, skills, spells, equipment, monsters, magic items etc. in them?

An Adventurer's Guide to Eberron
Book of Challenges
Dungeon Survival Guide
Gazetteer
Grand History of the Realms
Hero Builder's Guidebook
Living Greyhawk Gazetteer

...are these correct? Are there others?

Cheers - T

[Venger]

That's quite the ask. There is no content I'm aware of in the books you've listed. I was about to suggest eberron explorer's handbook until I remembered thunder guide was in it. I feel dimly like one of the 3.0 books about one of the hyperspecific cities didn't have any content in it. I checked my copy of waterdeep city of splendors and found a couple of prcs, so that wasn't it. I'll let you know if I find anything else.

[Particle_Man]

Wasn't there one about alignments, and how to determine your character's alignment? Or even how to determine your alignment as a player, through a series of questions?


Edit: Wait, got it: Hero Builder's Guidebook. In addition to alignments it is about character background, how to choose a class, etc.

Still for sale if you want it in pdf form:

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/153641/Hero-Builders-Guidebook-3e

[Endarire]

Enemies and Allies comes close, but has the Wrathful Healing (+3) weapon mod which heals you for half the damage you deal with it per hit.

[Kaleph]

The grand history of the realms

[Troacctid]

Mysteries of the Moonsea is very close. It only has a couple of magical locations and bad magic items.

[Buufreak]

I have an offshoot book called dragon magic(?) that simply details learning magic and making various pacts with dragons. Got things like chores for keeping your dragon's keep clean and organized, tasks they may assign like guarding a clutch of eggs, and some details about a specifically named dragon mage academy. It is, I believe, all fluff, no rules. I'll get back to you on exact name.


Enemies and Allies comes close, but has the Wrathful Healing (+3) weapon mod which heals you for half the damage you deal with it per hit.

*spits soda everywhere* Do what now?

[Tvtyrant]

Enemies and Allies comes close, but has the Wrathful Healing (+3) weapon mod which heals you for half the damage you deal with it per hit.

Frenzied Berserker entered the chat.

[lylsyly]

Enemies and Allies comes close, but has the Wrathful Healing (+3) weapon mod which heals you for half the damage you deal with it per hit.


*spits soda everywhere* Do what now?

It's true, I use it all the time for Tank builds ;-) BTW it's on page 20

[DarkSoul]

Ah yes, wrathful healing. One of the better kept secrets of 3.0.

I don't think Elminster's Forgotten Realms has any crunch in it.

[Thurbane]

It's true, I use it all the time for Tank builds ;-) BTW it's on page 20

Enemies and Allies comes close, but has the Wrathful Healing (+3) weapon mod which heals you for half the damage you deal with it per hit.

Ah yes, wrathful healing. One of the better kept secrets of 3.0.

Along with Wrathful Healing, there's also a magical sailing ship (Kanto’s Lament, p.10).

I think it was also the first printing of the Reckless Offense (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/psionicFeats.htm#recklessOffense) feat (p.41), which later appeared in the Expanded Psionics Handbook, and Races of Faerûn.


I don't think Elminster's Forgotten Realms has any crunch in it.

Not familiar with that book, was it 3.0 or 3.5?

[DarkSoul]

Not familiar with that book, was it 3.0 or 3.5?3.5-4e: https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Ed_Greenwood_Presents_Elminster%27s_Forgotten_Real ms

Released 2012.

[Ignimortis]

*spits soda everywhere* Do what now?

One of the better enchantments, if your DM is still relying on HP damage to keep you down. Gave one to a warblade in my campaign, and he was basically unkillable without tons of CC (to break through both Moment of Perfect Mind, normal saves, and then fixed Iron Heart Surge).

[Thurbane]

3.5-4e: https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Ed_Greenwood_Presents_Elminster%27s_Forgotten_Real ms

Released 2012.

That looks like it's 4E, on the cusp of 5E, judging by the release date?

[Palanan]

From the Amazon description:

"The book is aimed at all Forgotten Realms enthusiasts, including players of every edition of the DUNGEONS & DRAGONS game."

It looks like it's edition-agnostic, and seems to be more of a making-of book, since apparently it includes design notes and other unpublished material. Since it isn't tied to any one edition, I'm guessing it's crunch-free and entirely focused on story and background. Essentially new Realmslore and how Ed Greenwood developed the setting.

.

[Thurbane]

From the Amazon description:

"The book is aimed at all Forgotten Realms enthusiasts, including players of every edition of the DUNGEONS & DRAGONS game."

It looks like it's edition-agnostic, and seems to be more of a making-of book, since apparently it includes design notes and other unpublished material. Since it isn't tied to any one edition, I'm guessing it's crunch-free and entirely focused on story and background. Essentially new Realmslore and how Ed Greenwood developed the setting.

.

Fair enough - then it's not really what I'm looking for here. Thanks.

[Venger]

That looks like it's 4E, on the cusp of 5E, judging by the release date?


Fair enough - then it's not really what I'm looking for here. Thanks.
If there aren't any rules in it, it's not really any edition, is it?

Ok, so like the 30th anniversary thing with celebrity interviews about dnd wouldn't count?

What is it you're looking for? Only stuff with setting/dungeon info, and not metatextual stuff?

[Troacctid]

If there aren't any rules in it, it's not really any edition, is it?
Yeah, I mean, at that point, how about the Young Adventurer's Guide Series?

[DarkSoul]

Elminster's Forgotten Realms is a lot more than a making of the Realms book. It's Ed Greenwood's personal version of the world, and includes everything from common terms of the language to what gods are worshipped and how, to descriptions of the ten festivals held in Silverymoon every year in the week before Midsummer. For fluff information about a world, I'd easily rank it at the top of that list you've got. It's probably most similar to the Adventurer's Guide to Eberron, but is literally three times bigger.

[Thurbane]

Sorry if the OP was poorly defined.

I guess what I was looking for was books (other than adventures) released during the time-span of the 3.0/3.5 run, by WotC, that followed the same basic format as most splatbooks, but didn't contain new crunch...

It was just for my own curiosity, so anything you want to suggest is fine.

[137beth]

From the Amazon description:

"The book is aimed at all Forgotten Realms enthusiasts, including players of every edition of the DUNGEONS & DRAGONS game."

It looks like it's edition-agnostic, and seems to be more of a making-of book, since apparently it includes design notes and other unpublished material. Since it isn't tied to any one edition, I'm guessing it's crunch-free and entirely focused on story and background. Essentially new Realmslore and how Ed Greenwood developed the setting.

.

Any book without crunch is presumably edition-agnostic. I am guessing the OP meant books released during 2000-2008.
EDIT: And I didn't see Thurbane's most recent post that yes, the intent was books released during the time of 3.0 and 3.5.

[Troacctid]

Sorry if the OP was poorly defined.

I guess what I was looking for was books (other than adventures) released during the time-span of the 3.0/3.5 run, by WotC, that followed the same basic format as most splatbooks, but didn't contain new crunch...

It was just for my own curiosity, so anything you want to suggest is fine.
In that case, Adventurer's Guide to Eberron doesn't count; it's not in the normal splatbook format.