so, I'm buying every book and....

[big teej]

greetings playgrounders, it is my hope to some day own EVERY 3.x book published by WOTC

I feel I'm off to a good start having collected the following over the past 6 months

DMG 3.0
DMG 3.5
DMG II
MM I
PHB
BOED
BOVD
A&EG
Dieties and Demigods
Cityscape
Masters of the wild
Races of Stone

that should be everything

anyways
my question is simple
what do you recommend on getting next?

I want to pick up the PHB II so I can stop using a PDF for my favorite class (the knight)

but after that I'm sorta stuck on what to expand to next

my group is past expanding via necessity (we have all the core books)
so at this point we're expanding based on interest.

but I don't know what's in each book so I don't know what interestes me.....


...
help?

suggestions?

/ramble

EDIT: please include why you suggest that book(s) as my next purchase
EDIT2: I forgot to list dieties and demigods, I have that book already

[Tyndmyr]

Completes. Complete Psionic is skippable.

Also, MiC and SpC.

[ShaggyMarco]

Some of my favorites:

Spell Compendium
Rules Compendium
Magic Item Compendium
Epic Level Handbook
Deities and Demigods

[Cirrhosis]

the Complete series is a good place to start. the other Races of X books aren't terrible either. both are good on player resources.

if you want more material to forge your campaigns and adventures out of, Libris Mortis, Lords of Madness, the Fiend Folio, and other books like these would be useful.

edit: and what the two ninjas above me said. the expanded psionics handbook could be useful as well.

[Kylarra]

Really odd that ToB hasn't been mentioned yet, so I'll throw that one out. Additionally seconding completes and Mi/Sp compendiums. Also nominations for HoH, Dragon Magic and Dungeonscape for additional useful base classes.

[Eldan]

Depends on what you want. Most of what other people have named so far are books more heavy on the rules. I prefer fluff-heavier books.

Lords of Madness and Draconomicon are probably some of the best around, even if they are still about 70% rules.

[Curmudgeon]

Books with stuff that's good for Rogues:

• Expedition to Castle Ravenloft: Lightbringer Rogue Penetrating Strike ACF
• Champions of Ruin: Craven feat, Splitting ranged weapon enhancement
• Lords of Madness: Darkstalker feat
• (In a FR-specific campaign) Cormyr: The Tearing Of The Weave: FR-only version of Dark Creature template
• Complete Adventurer: multiclassing feats (with Monk), other good stuff
• Complete Scoundrel: multiclassing feats (with Swashbuckler & Scout), skill tricks, Savvy Rogue feat, other good stuff
• Spell Compendium: nifty spells you can get in a wand to trigger with Use Magic Device, like Grave Strike, Golem Strike, and Vine Strike
• Rules Compendium: updates for timing on magic device activation
• Magic of Faerûn: Bracers of Striking, granting Improved Unarmed Strike feat
• Magic Item Compendium: rule for common item enhancements including adding armor bonuses to robes (body slot) as well as bracers (arms slot), Mobility as an armor enhancement
• Dragon Magic: Fanged Ring, granting Improved Unarmed Strike and Improved Natural Attack (unarmed strike) feats
• Draconomicon: Gemstone of Fortification, so you can get fortification without armor
• Tome of Battle: Snap Kick feat
• Complete Mage: various ACFs
• Eberron Campaign Setting: Education feat
• Complete Champion: Knowledge Devotion feat, various ACFs
• Drow of the Underdark: Poison Use ACF

[Mordokai]

Fiendish Codex I and II
Heroes of Horror
Lords of Madness
Libris Mortis

Asides from last one, I have all of them and I consider them well worth the money spent. And I intend to purchase Libris Mortis sometime soon as well.

[Keld Denar]

3 books every group should have:

Magic Item Compendium - something for everyone
Spell Compendium - something for almost everyone
Tome of Battle - something for everyone else not covered by the one above

[Telonius]

My favorites that aren't on your list already:

Complete Scoundrel, for skill tricks and help for Rogue-ish classes
Tome of Battle, for "melee as it should have been from the start"
Eberron Campaign Setting, for Artificer, Warforged, and the image of dinosaur-riding halflings
PHB2, for base classes, class options, and "Druid as it should have been from the start"

Spell Compendium and Magic Item Compendium are good choices as well, both for economy and convenience. If all you're looking for is spells or items, they supersede a lot of the stuff that's scattered across several books.

EDIT: If you're specifically looking for stuff for Knight, Complete Warrior might be worth getting. Lots of options for melee, including one feat (Shock Trooper) that's almost-universally recognized as crucial to a charging build.

[Tyndmyr]

ToB is excellent.

I would like to suggest that RC be postponed. It's not bad, but you have most of the material already. Therefore, it's generally superior to pick up a book stuffed with new stuff than a book that is mostly unchanged. It's a handy reference, but I'd put it lower than many other texts in priority.

[mootoall]

+1,000,000 to ToB. If you like the knight, you'll love the Crusader, and the Unarmed Swordsage is the best monk fix around. Not to mention it's got great fluff, and it's really the best thing to happen to Melee since bonus feats.

[herrhauptmann]

Highly recommend getting Complete Scoundrel before even the rest of the Completes. All are good for one character idea or another, but Scoundrel is the one that probably helps the most for characters that fit outside the intended theme. (Warrior types can usually ignore Arcane/Mage, Casters can skip C.War, etc) But the skill tricks section I think really provides a lot of options to non-sneak types.

Tome of Magic is also good (well 1/3 is outstanding, 1/3 is good, and 1/3 is great fluff with terrible execution)
I'd suggest avoiding Magic of Incarnum for as long as possible.

[The Rose Dragon]

Ghostscape. It's a 3rd Edition book, but even if you never play D&D (like me), you will get some use out of the awesome setting included within.

I wish it had more support as a setting, really.

[The-Mage-King]

As many have said, ToB. No questions.


Toss in the Spell Compendium, Magic Item Compendium, Dungeonscape (factotum and the Acidborn template), Complete Arcane (for the most debated of early entry tricks), and Lords of Madness and you should have a good supply of stuff to draw from.

[DementedFellow]

Sandstorm is one of the best splat books I've ever seen. Lots of goodies inside for PCs and several campaign ideas for DMs. Sometimes the writers phone in the material in book, however this book is one they sat down and worked hard at.

[IcarusWings]

My three personal favourites that I would recommend to anyone are Magic of Incarnum, Tome of Battle, and Tome of Magic. All present really interesting, unique, fun, and balanced subsystems (just don't touch the Truenamer with a 10 ft. pole), and give options to a lot of build if you can get the Martial Study or Shape Soulmeld feats.

[Hazzardevil]

{Scrubbed} Drow of the underdark has a lot of useful things and with a bit of refluffing you have access to a dozen new ways to build a charector.

[The-Mage-King]

My three personal favourites that I would recommend to anyone are Magic of Incarnum, Tome of Battle, and Tome of Magic. All present really interesting, unique, fun, and balanced subsystems (just don't touch the Truenamer with a 10 ft. pole), and give options to a lot of build if you can get the Martial Study or Shape Soulmeld feats.

Oh, and toss the XPH in there with those- you now have five (six, if you count that which cannot name things) alternate "magic" systems to play with.

[Dr.Epic]

I'd go with the Completes or Monster Manuals.

[hamishspence]

Ghostscape. It's a 3rd Edition book, but even if you never play D&D (like me), you will get some use out of the awesome setting included within.

I wish it had more support as a setting, really.

Ghostwalk is indeed an interesting setting.

While 3.0, there is a free online 3.5 update for it on the WOTC site (several 3.0 books have online 3.5 updates).

[The Rose Dragon]

Ghostwalk, right. I knew I had the name wrong, I just didn't remember the right one.

[Tvtyrant]

My favorites are the Fiendish Codex's and Lords of Madness. Together you get Devils, Demons, and Aberrations. I don't think there is a book of Yugoloths or Sladdi, much less Demodands unfortunately :( Fiends are the best!

Anyway, I vote Tome of Magic for books that introduce new base classes, as it has two of my favorite (Binder and Shadowcaster). Truenamer sucks though.

[molten_dragon]

3 books every group should have:

Magic Item Compendium - something for everyone
Spell Compendium - something for almost everyone
Tome of Battle - something for everyone else not covered by the one above

Buy these first. Not only are they some of the best, most versatile books published for 3.5, but the prices for them keep going up, so it's better to get them soon.

[IcarusWings]

Oh, and toss the XPH in there with those- you now have five (six, if you count that which cannot name things) alternate "magic" systems to play with.

AAARGH! How did I forget Psionics!?! I no longer have any respect for myself

[nedz]

Spell Compendium, Spell Compendium, Spell Compendium

then, if you intend DMing,
Fiend Folio, MM2, MM3, MM4, MM5 (in that order)

Otherwise the Completes.

[AslanCross]

Tome of Battle
PHB II
MIC
XPH
Spell Compendium

If you intend to DM: MM3, MM5, MM4, MM2 (in that order).

[big teej]

thanks everybody

it seems that after the Players Handbook II it'll be TOB followed by the books mentioned above that keep going up in price.

also, for those that posted earlier, I'm afraid I snuck in two edits on you

my bad

[Keld Denar]

Yea, I've heard that hardcovers of Spell Compendium are like, almost $75 on ebay.

[Innis Cabal]

Ghostscape. It's a 3rd Edition book, but even if you never play D&D (like me), you will get some use out of the awesome setting included within.

I wish it had more support as a setting, really.

Ghostwalk. Not Ghostscape.