"Complete"-ly necessary? [Archive] - Wizards Community

"Complete"-ly necessary? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Johnny_Chronic
04-26-06, 05:22 PM Hi,

Longtime D&D dabbler here, just about to get into the game in a significant way (y'know, actually buying product and such).

Question: Have the "Complete..." line of books, er, completely replaced the Guidebooks that came before?

Snooping around, it looks like a lot of the prestige classes and feats from, say, Sword and Fist were ported into Complete Warrior (likewise with Silence and Song to Complete Adventurer and so on). But I did notice the absence of a few prestige classes I found intriguing when I first saw them (e.g.: Lasher, Master of Chains).

So, are the Complete books basically 3.5 do-overs of the Guidebooks? Much more? A little less? I welcome your input.
Ranger REG
04-26-06, 05:26 PM Question: Have the "Complete..." line of books, er, completely replaced the Guidebooks that came before?
Completely? Nope, which is ironic because the Complete series is not yet complete (Complete Mage is planned for release soon). :P
Zherog
04-26-06, 05:40 PM Completely? Nope, which is ironic because the Complete series is not yet complete (Complete Mage is planned for release soon). :P

And Complete Scoundrel comes out in January. ;)
Bruunwald
04-26-06, 05:45 PM You're right: much of what was in those previous supplements is now in the Complete series, updated for 3.5 and some of them a little bit tooled. They have many new offerings in those books, as well.

Personally, I like Complete Adventurer, Arcane, Divine, and Warrior very much and am glad I got them. I've got a good deal of mileage out of each.

I have drawn the line there, though. There's only so much supplemental material I want in the game, and it just gets too expensive.
purpledragon
04-26-06, 08:24 PM The only books that are completely necessary are the player's handbook and the dmg. It's nice to have the monster manual. Anything else either helps the GM be prepared or gives the players more options to choose from. What you have to do is decide how much you're willing or able to spend on books and go from there.

Personally, when I have a little extra money, I will continue growing my library of 3.5 books. I'm finding that many of the players who are able to spend their money a little more freely than I will replace their books and give me the old ones. That's a little help, too. I have the old 3.0 versions and I use those PrCs with very little adjusting. I also like the character classes that are in the Complete Adventurers book.

I try to get all of the campaign guides I think I might run at some point or another as well because I tend to run plane-hopping games.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Johnny_Chronic 04-26-06, 05:22 PM	Hi, Longtime D&D dabbler here, just about to get into the game in a significant way (y'know, actually buying product and such). Question: Have the "Complete..." line of books, er, completely replaced the Guidebooks that came before? Snooping around, it looks like a lot of the prestige classes and feats from, say, Sword and Fist were ported into Complete Warrior (likewise with Silence and Song to Complete Adventurer and so on). But I did notice the absence of a few prestige classes I found intriguing when I first saw them (e.g.: Lasher, Master of Chains). So, are the Complete books basically 3.5 do-overs of the Guidebooks? Much more? A little less? I welcome your input.
Ranger REG 04-26-06, 05:26 PM	Question: Have the "Complete..." line of books, er, completely replaced the Guidebooks that came before? Completely? Nope, which is ironic because the Complete series is not yet complete (Complete Mage is planned for release soon). :P
Zherog 04-26-06, 05:40 PM	Completely? Nope, which is ironic because the Complete series is not yet complete (Complete Mage is planned for release soon). :P And Complete Scoundrel comes out in January. ;)
Bruunwald 04-26-06, 05:45 PM	You're right: much of what was in those previous supplements is now in the Complete series, updated for 3.5 and some of them a little bit tooled. They have many new offerings in those books, as well. Personally, I like Complete Adventurer, Arcane, Divine, and Warrior very much and am glad I got them. I've got a good deal of mileage out of each. I have drawn the line there, though. There's only so much supplemental material I want in the game, and it just gets too expensive.
purpledragon 04-26-06, 08:24 PM	The only books that are completely necessary are the player's handbook and the dmg. It's nice to have the monster manual. Anything else either helps the GM be prepared or gives the players more options to choose from. What you have to do is decide how much you're willing or able to spend on books and go from there. Personally, when I have a little extra money, I will continue growing my library of 3.5 books. I'm finding that many of the players who are able to spend their money a little more freely than I will replace their books and give me the old ones. That's a little help, too. I have the old 3.0 versions and I use those PrCs with very little adjusting. I also like the character classes that are in the Complete Adventurers book. I try to get all of the campaign guides I think I might run at some point or another as well because I tend to run plane-hopping games.