Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Danni 02-29-04, 06:15 AM	Hello, I am a new Dungeons and Dragons player, and i own the 3.5 Corerulebooks and some dice :) ! Now I wanted to know what Books to buy to play the game for a long time without getting bored. I imagine for example the Full Warrior or some other Class Books. Thanks
Cog 02-29-04, 06:34 AM	There aren't a huge amount of books available for 3.5 yet. It also depends on whether you want to try out another Campaign setting, yet. If you do, I'd suggest getting the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting (although there are people who don't like it - it's a very high magic setting). It is 3.0, but there is the Players Guide to Faerun which has either just come out or is coming out, which gives you the tools to upgrade it to 3.5. I found the Draconomicon pretty cool, but I wouldn't recommend it as a purchase to a newbie looking for which books to get. There are other books which should be higher.
Danni 02-29-04, 06:44 AM	And what do you think about full warrior and the other class books are they usefull?
Cog 02-29-04, 06:55 AM	I think the complete warrior is pretty good - useful for DM's and great for players. :) Although the PrC's seem to be more high-powered than 3.0. Some good new PrC's and they revamped the old ones well. I don't know about the other 3.5 class books. They haven't been released yet.
Danni 02-29-04, 07:35 AM	Originally posted by Cog I think the complete warrior is pretty good - useful for DM's and great for players. :) Although the PrC's seem to be more high-powered than 3.0. Some good new PrC's and they revamped the old ones well. I don't know about the other 3.5 class books. They haven't been released yet. Ok, then we got one book for long playing! :) Thank you! What do you think is another Monster Book like Fiend Folio or Monster Manual 2 useful? THe Epic Level Handbook is later on useful I think. And the Arms and Equipment Guide, do you think this is useful for playing?
Cog 02-29-04, 07:55 AM	Both the MM2 and Fiend Folio are good, but I'm sure if they are 3.5. One monster book I will always recommend, is the Tome of Horrors, by Necromancer Games, but that is definitely 3.0. Don't get the ELH until you are almost there. I like the A&EG, but there are a fair few people who don't. I suggest flicking through it at your gaming store, first. :)
Escef 02-29-04, 08:25 AM	I will tell you exactly how many more books you have to buy to get years of enjoyment from the game. Zero. You already have all you need. If you want to buy the "Book of Bells & Whistles" then I suggest you page through it in a bookstore and then ask yourself if you need it. If you think it will enhance your game then go for it. Otherwise, save your money for something else (I recommend more dice, you can never have too many dice :D ).
Danni 02-29-04, 08:49 AM	Ok I will flick throght it and see. :) An what do you think about the Book of exalted deeds and violent darkness?
Cog 02-29-04, 08:58 AM	I haven't got or read the book of exalted deeds, but I have been told it is good. I do have the book of vile darkness, and it's okay, but not great. Some of the CR's of the monsters are a little out, IMHO.
TheRedRobedWizard 02-29-04, 09:20 AM	My suggestion is this: For the first month or two of gaming, just play with the core books until you and your players are familiar enough with the rules to start adding in new things. -Book of Exalted Deeds/Book of Vile Darkness: These books could have been great, but as printed, they are just "ok". -Complete Warrior: Mostly just a reprint of Prestige Classes from lots of sources in 3.0, so if you're new, it's good because all those PrCs are in one place. Other than that, it's above average, but not great. -Monster Manual 2/Fiend Folio: Again, these books are good, lots of fun monsters and all, but they are a LOT of higher level stuff, so you won't need them for quite a while. Stick with the basic Monster Manual for a few months. If you really MUST buy a book, I suggest getting Complete Warrior out of the ones that have been suggested. -TRRW
Danni 02-29-04, 09:30 AM	Originally posted by TheRedRobedWizard My suggestion is this: For the first month or two of gaming, just play with the core books until you and your players are familiar enough with the rules to start adding in new things. -Book of Exalted Deeds/Book of Vile Darkness: These books could have been great, but as printed, they are just "ok". -Complete Warrior: Mostly just a reprint of Prestige Classes from lots of sources in 3.0, so if you're new, it's good because all those PrCs are in one place. Other than that, it's above average, but not great. -Monster Manual 2/Fiend Folio: Again, these books are good, lots of fun monsters and all, but they are a LOT of higher level stuff, so you won't need them for quite a while. Stick with the basic Monster Manual for a few months. If you really MUST buy a book, I suggest getting Complete Warrior out of the ones that have been suggested. -TRRW # I am am not SO new at playing D and D my Group and me were playing for more than 2 month! (nearly one month with the starting package :D) I think I will buy the Complete Warrior. But 2 of my Players are playing with non fighting classes, is a new Class-Book for them planned in 3.5 or shall they buy the old ones from 3.0?
TheRedRobedWizard 02-29-04, 09:46 AM	Depends on your definition of new; to me, you're VERY new. I've been playing for 13 years, and I barely consider myself a veteran. Some of my players have been playing for 5 months, they're still very new. A few of my players have been playing for 2 years, they're still relatively new. Don't worry about the splatbooks and other class-crap until you've been playing for at least 6 months. -TRRW
Danni 02-29-04, 10:49 AM	Yes, I think so, too. My replay depends on this: Originally posted by TheRedRobedWizard My suggestion is this: For the first month or two of gaming, just play with the core books until you and your players are familiar enough with the rules to start adding in new things.
Cog 02-29-04, 12:37 PM	I'd wait until the rest of the splatbooks come out for 3.5. I wouldn't get the 3.0 splatbooks. There are some PrC's and abilities in the Complete Warrior that are useful for other classes, like the cleric. :)
NestroEmichae 02-29-04, 12:47 PM	The following 3.0 books have been adapted to 3.5 by a document available on the website: Manual of the Planes Deities and Demigods Epic Level Handbook Fiend Folio Monster Manual 2 From what I've heard, the Book of Vile Darkness can be adapted with ease. Also, the Ghostwalk campaign setting has a download in the Web Enhancements section that updates it to 3.5. I'll leave it to someone else to list the 3.5 books already out, but I can tell you the selection is not exactly small.
VirgilCaine 02-29-04, 01:56 PM	-Monster Manual 2/Fiend Folio: Again, these books are good, lots of fun monsters and all, but they are a LOT of higher level stuff, so you won't need them for quite a while. Stick with the basic Monster Manual for a few months. There's 500 some odd monsters in the MM, there really are enough to provide a lot of variety. You can also find lots of free conversions of old monsters from 2e at the Creature Catalog ( http://www.enworld.org/cc/index.php ).
arcady 02-29-04, 06:01 PM	Investing in a campaign setting, if you plan to run the game, is a good idea. Pick with care, to match your tastes. In this area the best work is generally on the d20 end. A subscription to Dragon is handy, in particular you want the issues going back to #310 - where the 3.5 material begins. Dungeon magazine is useful for adventures and ideas. For campaign design you'd want a couple of key d20 books: Cityworks, Dungeoncraft, and Wildscape from FFG are all very well done. Every DM should also own Magical Medieval Society from Expeditious retreat.
Alisair Longreach II 03-01-04, 02:43 PM	You have the three core rulebooks, that is enough to get a campaign started with. 3.5 rulebooks I can recommend: Complete Warrior, it has a lot of new Feats and Prestige Classes and will probably see a lot of use from the players with fighting characters. Complete Divine, will be out in June, will have Feats, Prestige Classes and Spells for the Divine Spellcasters. Unearthed Arcana, it is a book with "official" House Rules. Worth getting if you love to tweak your game. Expanded Psionics Handbook, will be out in May, this book updates Psionics to 3.5 rules. Worth getting if you and your players like to experiment with alternative magic systems. Book to avoid: Sword and Fist, Defenders of the Faith, Tome and Blood, Song and Silence, Masters of the Wild. These are the 3.0 "splatbooks" from which a lot material is going to be updated to 3.5 rules in the Complete books series. Psionics Handbook, the material from this book will be updated in the Expanded Psionics Handbook. Manual of the Planes, it is a pretty book, but the essential information from this book has been included in 3.5 Dungeon Masters Guide. Epic Level Handbook, it is another pretty but heavy and expensive book and the essential information from this book has also been included in the 3.5 Dungeon Masters Guide. Deities & Demigods, it is also a pretty book but do you really need stats for Godly NPCs? Book of Vile Darkness, do you really, desperately need to ickyfy your villains? The warning sticker on the cover is not for show. Book of Exalted Deeds, beware, this book introduces serious power creep to your Good characters, the contents of this book requires serious DM supervision when in play. Miniatures Handbook, do you play the D&D Miniatures game? If not, then only 40% of this book might be useful. Savage Species, do you want a party composed of weakling Monsters? Are you prepared to deal with Mind Flayers and Undead as player characters? Draconomicon, are you obessed with Dragons? If not then it is just another pretty book. Monster Manual II, do you need more monsters? Fiend Folio, do tou need even more monsters. Edited to include Draconomicon, Monster Manual II and Fiend Folio.
Rian Lightblade 03-02-04, 01:55 PM	I've been playing for a very long time and I have, literally, thousands of dollars worth of books, Campaign settings, adventures, multiple edition sets, box sets, campaign expansion books, and so on, and so on. A lot of these I have only used once and some I have never used. I can honestly say you don't need a huge library to enjoy D&D but you will need more the just the core books, I recommend the following. Unearthed Arcana. A great book to mix things up a little. MM II ( Monster Manual II. It's not 3.5 but it can be with just a little work.) FF (Fiend Folio. It's not 3.5 but it can be with just a little work.) The 3.0 class splat books (all of them). They easily convert to 3.5 and provide a wealth of class expansion for both PCs and NPCs. Plus you could probably pick them up used, for cheep. A campaign setting. If you're new to RPGs building your own CS is an almost impossible task. Flip through the CS books at your FLGS (favorite local game store) and pick the one that inspires you the most. I usually recommend Forgotten Realms, since FR had the largest number of 3.0 books published. With minor changes to NPCs, magic and feats, you have a 3.5 FR ready to go. Also since they are 3.0 and have been out for a few years you can also find them used. I'd ignore the Epic Hand Book, Savage Species, Book of Exalted Deeds, and Book of Vile Darkness. They are optional books and contain nothing that one can not create on their own. I also saw no reason to pick up the 3.5 splat books. IMO Complete Warrior was way over priced for the pittance of new material you got.
Rian Lightblade 03-02-04, 05:32 PM	That's odd! This thread did not show my post for today.