3.5 books [Archive] - Wizards Community - Pages Merged by Solauren

3.5 books [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Falln
01-04-07, 03:12 PM A friend of mine gave me 3 books for AD&D version 3.5

Players handbook, core rulebook 1 v3.5
Dungeon Master Guide, core rulebook 2 v3.5
Monster Manual, core rulebook 3 v3.5

I've allready played v3.5 Adnd, but I know lots more about v2.

My main concern is what other books should I use / allow players to use, what should be the first new books I buy/ask.
Azezel
01-04-07, 03:26 PM Okie dokie - first off - we lost the 'A' back on odd-zero. The game you own is just called D&D/dnd.

As to what books you allow, that is very much up to you. The PHB II is a very groovy book, it has a few new base classes, a few new spells and a few new feats, but the thing you want it for are the class variants - each base class in the PHB has a variant in the PHB II - for instance a Cleric who does not casr Cure spells spontaniously, but can cast Domain spells spontaniously insted.

The DMG II is a hotly debated book - one either loves or hates it. I love it. You should look through it before you buy it though, because you might be one of the other sort of people.

The Spell Compendium is a book every DM and almost every player should own. It contains no new things, but it does contain over 1'000 spells from other books and from Dragon magazine. It condensed two dozen books into a single volume full of spells for near any occasion. Buy Borrow or Steal it now!

The is a serrios of books - originally four, now six and counting called the Complete Serries (Complete Arcane/Divine/Adventurer/Warrior/Mage/Scoundrel).

The first four are very good, and have lots of options for players and DM's and are mostly ballanced (although a feat from the Complete Divine called 'Divine Metamagic is highly iffy).

The Complete Mage is simply WotC gift to twinks and I want nothing to do with it. I know nothing abou the Complete Scoundrel.

There are a wealth of what I like to call 'variant' books, books which fundamentally alter the way things work in the game, Tome of Magic, Magic of Incarnum, the Expanded Psionics Handbook, Tome of Battle and the like.

Think carefully before allowing any of these books into a game you run - they are not actually broken, for the most part, but they play by their own rules.
OravennasBrother
01-04-07, 03:34 PM My main concern is what other books should I use / allow players to use, what should be the first new books I buy/ask.
All you NEED is Core.
Personally I find using only Core is superior to using everything under the sun. There are several advantages to sticking with core
1 - Once you identify a problem in the Rules (Supernatural abilities with Shapechange for example) you don't have to worry that your Fix will invalidate something from the book released next month.
2 - Pretty much everyone has access to the Core books, so there is no problem with someone saying "I never heard of X"
3- A LOT of the Non-Core material is poorly playtested (NOt saying Core is WELL playtested, rather that non-coer is FAR worse)
4 - With Multiclassing, Feats, etc, just about any concept can be realized. With a Cosmetic Change a sorcerer can even substitute for a "Psionic" concept, though a lot of people will disagree on that.
Falln
01-04-07, 03:36 PM Thanks for the information.

My main concern is is allowing to much books at once. We had that problem in 2nd edition. We bought 20 books after the 3 corebooks. Suddenly strange things happened like players who wanted to take kits for player option guides, new types of wizards, new types of spellcasters. Social backgrounds, point buy systems, ... Some books used different system then other books and they couldn't be used together.

But I'll go to the bookstore to check some of the books you mentioned befor buying them.
Kursk
01-04-07, 03:58 PM Just start with the core books until you get a feel for the system. After that you will be in a better position to judge what is balanced or unbalanced for your campaign. Some of the non-core stuff wasn't playtested that well against a standard core campaign.
trapspringer
01-04-07, 04:26 PM I agree with the above poster. Run a short campaign using core and really explore what that has to offer before you start shelling out cash for something that will at this point just bog you down in a quagmire of rules minutia.

Afterwards, I suggest PHB II and Unearthed Arcana. These two books will give you and the players the most bang for the buck, plus you have explicit veto power over anything in UA (as opposed to your implicit veto power over everything else).
Burgundy Lotus
01-04-07, 05:45 PM Using just the core three books for now will also help you figure out where you and your players want to go, it'd suck to buy book A right now then find out book B would have been more useful/fun.
drake_vampiel_d
01-04-07, 07:34 PM start out with just those and then move on to the expanded psionics handbook and I personally like Magic of incarnum
DarkRhystar
01-04-07, 07:42 PM My main concern is what other books should I use / allow players to use,

Do not allow a book until you've read it.

After you've read it, you'll be in a better position to make that judgment call.
Mock26
01-04-07, 07:49 PM A friend of mine gave me 3 books for AD&D version 3.5

Players handbook, core rulebook 1 v3.5
Dungeon Master Guide, core rulebook 2 v3.5
Monster Manual, core rulebook 3 v3.5

I've allready played v3.5 Adnd, but I know lots more about v2.

My main concern is what other books should I use / allow players to use, what should be the first new books I buy/ask.

Contrary to what some people might say, play 2nd Edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons if you want to. There is no law that says you can't play or that you have to play version 3.5. I would suggest that you play at least 5-10 sessions of 3.5 and then make your decision. Use just the three core books that you were given. That is all you need to play D&D.

Both systems have their strengths and weaknesses and it is up to you to decide which version you like best. As far as I'm concerned it is all about playing Dungeons & Dragons, not about which version is better.

Take care and have a great day....

ciao,
john.
Sanmateo
01-04-07, 07:55 PM I recommend caution to anyone before buying a new book. I'm assuming, of course, you're poor as dirt like I am and can't afford a small library of books. At present we've more or less sworn off buying new game material, almost making a house rule about it. This because we turned around a few weekends ago and realized that we had something like twenty different books and materials (Unearthed Arcana, Races of Stone, Complete Adventurer - you name it, we probably got it). Out of all that material we're only allowing maybe one or two things out of each of them at most. Some are disallowed completely.
You'd think we'd have learned our lesson from our AD&D days.

Ah, well. We're getting PHB2 this weekend and then that's it.
Seriously.

I really mean it.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Falln 01-04-07, 03:12 PM	A friend of mine gave me 3 books for AD&D version 3.5 Players handbook, core rulebook 1 v3.5 Dungeon Master Guide, core rulebook 2 v3.5 Monster Manual, core rulebook 3 v3.5 I've allready played v3.5 Adnd, but I know lots more about v2. My main concern is what other books should I use / allow players to use, what should be the first new books I buy/ask.
Azezel 01-04-07, 03:26 PM	Okie dokie - first off - we lost the 'A' back on odd-zero. The game you own is just called D&D/dnd. As to what books you allow, that is very much up to you. The PHB II is a very groovy book, it has a few new base classes, a few new spells and a few new feats, but the thing you want it for are the class variants - each base class in the PHB has a variant in the PHB II - for instance a Cleric who does not casr Cure spells spontaniously, but can cast Domain spells spontaniously insted. The DMG II is a hotly debated book - one either loves or hates it. I love it. You should look through it before you buy it though, because you might be one of the other sort of people. The Spell Compendium is a book every DM and almost every player should own. It contains no new things, but it does contain over 1'000 spells from other books and from Dragon magazine. It condensed two dozen books into a single volume full of spells for near any occasion. Buy Borrow or Steal it now! The is a serrios of books - originally four, now six and counting called the Complete Serries (Complete Arcane/Divine/Adventurer/Warrior/Mage/Scoundrel). The first four are very good, and have lots of options for players and DM's and are mostly ballanced (although a feat from the Complete Divine called 'Divine Metamagic is highly iffy). The Complete Mage is simply WotC gift to twinks and I want nothing to do with it. I know nothing abou the Complete Scoundrel. There are a wealth of what I like to call 'variant' books, books which fundamentally alter the way things work in the game, Tome of Magic, Magic of Incarnum, the Expanded Psionics Handbook, Tome of Battle and the like. Think carefully before allowing any of these books into a game you run - they are not actually broken, for the most part, but they play by their own rules.
OravennasBrother 01-04-07, 03:34 PM	My main concern is what other books should I use / allow players to use, what should be the first new books I buy/ask. All you NEED is Core. Personally I find using only Core is superior to using everything under the sun. There are several advantages to sticking with core 1 - Once you identify a problem in the Rules (Supernatural abilities with Shapechange for example) you don't have to worry that your Fix will invalidate something from the book released next month. 2 - Pretty much everyone has access to the Core books, so there is no problem with someone saying "I never heard of X" 3- A LOT of the Non-Core material is poorly playtested (NOt saying Core is WELL playtested, rather that non-coer is FAR worse) 4 - With Multiclassing, Feats, etc, just about any concept can be realized. With a Cosmetic Change a sorcerer can even substitute for a "Psionic" concept, though a lot of people will disagree on that.
Falln 01-04-07, 03:36 PM	Thanks for the information. My main concern is is allowing to much books at once. We had that problem in 2nd edition. We bought 20 books after the 3 corebooks. Suddenly strange things happened like players who wanted to take kits for player option guides, new types of wizards, new types of spellcasters. Social backgrounds, point buy systems, ... Some books used different system then other books and they couldn't be used together. But I'll go to the bookstore to check some of the books you mentioned befor buying them.
Kursk 01-04-07, 03:58 PM	Just start with the core books until you get a feel for the system. After that you will be in a better position to judge what is balanced or unbalanced for your campaign. Some of the non-core stuff wasn't playtested that well against a standard core campaign.
trapspringer 01-04-07, 04:26 PM	I agree with the above poster. Run a short campaign using core and really explore what that has to offer before you start shelling out cash for something that will at this point just bog you down in a quagmire of rules minutia. Afterwards, I suggest PHB II and Unearthed Arcana. These two books will give you and the players the most bang for the buck, plus you have explicit veto power over anything in UA (as opposed to your implicit veto power over everything else).
Burgundy Lotus 01-04-07, 05:45 PM	Using just the core three books for now will also help you figure out where you and your players want to go, it'd suck to buy book A right now then find out book B would have been more useful/fun.
drake_vampiel_d 01-04-07, 07:34 PM	start out with just those and then move on to the expanded psionics handbook and I personally like Magic of incarnum
DarkRhystar 01-04-07, 07:42 PM	My main concern is what other books should I use / allow players to use, Do not allow a book until you've read it. After you've read it, you'll be in a better position to make that judgment call.
Mock26 01-04-07, 07:49 PM	A friend of mine gave me 3 books for AD&D version 3.5 Players handbook, core rulebook 1 v3.5 Dungeon Master Guide, core rulebook 2 v3.5 Monster Manual, core rulebook 3 v3.5 I've allready played v3.5 Adnd, but I know lots more about v2. My main concern is what other books should I use / allow players to use, what should be the first new books I buy/ask. Contrary to what some people might say, play 2nd Edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons if you want to. There is no law that says you can't play or that you have to play version 3.5. I would suggest that you play at least 5-10 sessions of 3.5 and then make your decision. Use just the three core books that you were given. That is all you need to play D&D. Both systems have their strengths and weaknesses and it is up to you to decide which version you like best. As far as I'm concerned it is all about playing Dungeons & Dragons, not about which version is better. Take care and have a great day.... ciao, john.
Sanmateo 01-04-07, 07:55 PM	I recommend caution to anyone before buying a new book. I'm assuming, of course, you're poor as dirt like I am and can't afford a small library of books. At present we've more or less sworn off buying new game material, almost making a house rule about it. This because we turned around a few weekends ago and realized that we had something like twenty different books and materials (Unearthed Arcana, Races of Stone, Complete Adventurer - you name it, we probably got it). Out of all that material we're only allowing maybe one or two things out of each of them at most. Some are disallowed completely. You'd think we'd have learned our lesson from our AD&D days. Ah, well. We're getting PHB2 this weekend and then that's it. Seriously. I really mean it.