Essential Non-Essentials

[AtlanteanTroll]

What are your favourite Supplements? I have The Complete: Adventurer, Divine, and Warrior, along with Hordes of the Abyss, so they're my favourites by default. Feel free to post whatever product you want without Generation restrictions.

[Echoes]

I have a soft spot in my heart for the environment books (Frostburn, Stormwrack, and Sandstorm, and Dungeonscape/Cityscape on odd-numbered days). I feel like they really add depth to the campaigns where they can be applied, and make for character options that really fit with the setting. Where else would you be able to find a slew of feats with Profession(sailor) as a prereq? It saddens me though that there is no Forest-themed book, as that seems to be where 90% of campaigns take place, leaving these awesome, if niche, books often underused...

Besides that, Tome of Battle is indispensible for anyone who wants a melee character, in my opinion. Even if you don't go for a martial adept class, martial scripts and/or the martial study feat make for awesome flair on a standard fighter, and finally give the role more options than "I swing again, with the axe first this time".

[Salbazier]

I love most Races of Eberron and Underdark. Secrets of Sarlona and Faiths of Eberron is my favorite of Eberron books (after RoE). Since I usually play casters, Complete mage is favorite among complete series.

[The Glyphstone]

Tome of Battle, Tome of Magic, Spell Compendium. Complete Scoundrel if I'm in the mood.

[Flickerdart]

Magic of Incarnum is the best magic system that 3.5 was able to produce. Go buy it now.

[Esser-Z]

Tome of Battle. About a thousand times Tome of Battle. Best 3.5 splatbook by far.


Incarnum's cool, too, yeah.

[Remmirath]

Epic Level Handbook, Draconomicon and Expanded Psionics are really the only ones I use consistently (as well as sometimes things from additional Monster Manuals).

I'm not fond of most of the extra books, but Epic Level Handbook gives a good working point for above twentieth (needs lots of house rules, though), Expanded Psionics is good for whenever I want psionics, and Draconomicon... well, honestly, I just really like dragons. There are a few others I use occasional things from occasionally, but those are definitely the main ones.

[KillianHawkeye]

There are a few others I use occasional things from occasionally,

The Department of Redundancy Department called to tell you that they called you.

EDIT: On topic, my favorite books are the in-depth monster series (Draconomicon, Fiendish Codex I & II, Libris Mortis, and Lords of Madness). I also like Exemplars of Evil. These are the books that give me the evil ideas.

[Urpriest]

Draconomicon, the Codex Anathema, and the Fiendish Codexes. Less enthused about Libris Mortis, but they're all chock full of flavor, options, and pizzazz.

[Eldan]

Well, I tend to separate this by rules and fluff.

For rules: Tome of Battle. No contest. The completes are mixed. I love the binder, like the shadowcaster and detest the truenamer. Heroes of horror is quite nice.

For Fluff: Lords of Madness, probably, for 3rd edition. And the Fiendish codices. I still want an FC III. Also, the Draconomicon.

[Lev]

Central Books

Crystal Keep Compendiums
Tome of battle
Complete Psionic
Unearthed Arcana
Arms & Equipment

Books I happen to like

Sandstorm
Complete Scoundrel

[Zhalath]

I'll be original and say Tome of Battle. I also love the monster books, like Lords of Madness, Libris Mortis, Draconominominominomicon, and the Fiendish Codexes, just for the fluff.

Also, Player's Handbook II, because it was the first splatbook I got and it has everybody's favorite, the beguiler.

[Zaq]

Love for Tome of Battle, love for Magic of Incarnum, love for Magic Item Compendium. All of those are awesome.

I'm also quite fond of Frostburn (and the other environment books, to a lesser extent), Complete Scoundrel, Tome of Magic, Spell Compendium, PHB2 . . . there's plenty of others, but those are near the top of the list.

[RufusCorvus]

Tome of Necromancy, Tome of Fiends, Dungeonomicon, Races of War, Book of Gears...

But that's just me.

[John Doe]

Lord of Madness is my favorite as I'm a big user of aboleths and illithids. The Epic Level Handbook is useful to dealing with munchkins and minmaxers who forget about role playing.

[Godskook]

Let's see:

ToB, MoI, and Dragon Magic are doubleplusgood, if only cause they introduce new base classes that are essential options, imho. The rest, still ok, but the base classes are what shines out as "Grab me" in them.

The compendiums are spectacular and generic, so are awesome for almost everything.

Completes are far more situational to what I may or may not need at a given moment.

Races of Destiny and Races of the Wild stand out too for having singularly indispensable options in both. Able Learn ranks as one of the top 10 feats *EVER* in my opinion, while Arcane Heirophant finally makes a Mystic Theurge build viable without 'cheese'.

[arguskos]

Since this was mentioned to be edition-neutral, allow me to shed some old light into things.

My favorite 5 supplements for any game ever:
5. Toolbox, by AEG, for D&D 3.5. It's a book of tables. Tables for EVERY GOD DAMN THING THAT EVER WAS EVER. Holy freakin' hell, there's a lotta tables in here! I love it. "Oh, crap, I need the contents of that guy's pocket! *rolls a d12* Apparently, a piece of cheese!"

4. The Encyclopedia Magica, by TSR, for AD&D 2nd. There are four of these, each volume holding part of the sum total of published AD&D magical items. I have the first two. Included in these books are items from every setting ever made, a Tarot Deck of Many Things (a personal favorite), multiple artifacts, and more entries for magical eggs than you knew existed.

3. Into The Cage: A Guide to Sigil, by TSR, for AD&D 2nd, Planescape. This is pure fluff, and talks about the greatest city ever inhabited, The City of Doors, eternal Sigil. If you like the idea of Sigil, you'll LOVE this one.

2. Tome of Magic, by WotC, for D&D 3.5. We all know this one. I love it, pure and simple.

1. Volo's Guide to All Things Magical, by TSR, for AD&D 2nd, Forgotten Realms. The perfect blend of fluff and crunch, written in a delightfully witty manner, and with more little nuggets of gold than you can comprehend safely in a short span of time, this is book I've had for a year or two now, and I have yet to exhaust for ideas, despite coming back to it, over and over again. That makes it the perfect winner in my eyes, since I never tire of reading it either.