Post/Author/DateTime	Post
ArchonJohn 04-12-07, 01:44 AM	Post your favorite six books that no player should be without Mine... 1) PHB (And read it too, please) 2) DMG 3) Ultimate Spell Compendium 4) Champions of Ruin 5) Unapproachable East 6) Complete Divine
The Jake 04-12-07, 02:06 AM	PLAYERS: PHB, PHB2, SC, ToB, <insert 2 others of their fav class -- mine would be Complete Mage and Complete Arcane> DMs: PHB, PHB2, DMG, DMG2, SC, MM (could swap out PHB2, DMG2 for more MMs I guess).
TheChilliGod 04-12-07, 02:06 AM	Players, in order, from most wanted... 1) Player's Handbook. Duh. 2) Player's Handbook 2. Despite much bashing, I still think that it provides invaluable material (fluff+crunch) for players. 3) Complete Warrior. I've used more stuff from this book than any other noncore book. 4) Complete Adventurer. ...And this would be a close second. 5) Spell Compendium. The book is useful if you don't feel like looking through loads of other books for your spell. 6) Tome of Magic. No other noncore book is more talked about among my gaming group. Edit; fine. If you want DM's as well... DM's, in order, from most wanted... 1) Player's Handbook. Duh. 2) Dungeon Masters Guide. Double duh. 3) Monster Manual. Well, not quite as necessary, but it is needed a lot of the time. 4) Heroes of Horror. ...What?! DM's need to be scary! 5) Draconomicon. Because if you don't have enough dragons, you're obviously not awesome. 6) Fiendish Codex. Any one of the two, they're both great for your typical fiendish BBEG's. (Might change to Dungeonscape if I get around to reading it)
Sphyre 04-12-07, 02:20 AM	Being restricted to 6, I find this the bare minimum to have as a player... although I enjoy the Complete series and Races of Series in addition to these: PhB - Everything you need to make a character PhB II - I just overall like it. Spell Compendium - Spells spells spells! If I could only add spells from one additional book other than the PhB I'd choose this. Tome of Battle - Melee that I actually enjoy. Expanded Psionics Handbook - While I don't play with psionics much, they are in my settings. Monster Manual - Summon Monster, Summon Nature's Ally, etc - required to make use of summoning spells.
claypigeons 04-12-07, 02:29 AM	As a player (barring the obvious Core Trio), the six books I wouldn't want to give up are as follows, from first favorite, to sixth favorite... Tome of Battle Expanded Psionics Handbook Libris Mortis Complete Arcane (yeah, surprised me too) Player's Handbook II Complete Divine (though, honestly, DMM could be removed and I'd still love it) From my standpoint as a DM (barring again the Core3)... Unearthed Arcana Expanded Psionics Handbook Monster Manual III Lords of Madness Libris Mortis Draconomicon I left out the Core3 because, well, just about everyone is going to list them. So it ends up a list of your three favorite books that aren't core... Which isn't really what was asked. Having the three core books (or, at minimum for a player, the PHB) is almost a given.
DarkRhystar 04-12-07, 02:51 AM	Not including the Core 3... Tome of Battle: This book wins at D&D. Tome of Magic: Shadowcasters and Truenamers could have used better mechanics, but Binders are awesome. Eberron Campaign Setting: Faerun, Greyhawk, and Dragonlance are okay, but Eberron did too many things right to pass up. Unearthed Arcana: Lots of ideas and variants, some good, some bad... all interesting. Spell Compendium: Mages don't leave home without it. Player's Handbook II: Nice, solid book. It has a few goodies for everyone. If I had one more, I'd probably add the Expanded Psionics Handbook to that list.
drake_vampiel_d 04-12-07, 09:32 AM	if I was limited to 6 books.....Hmmm... 1) PHB (for obvious reasons) 2) DMG (Even players should own it so they know most of the rules and mechanics plus cool PrCs) 3)MM (know your enemies plus you might want to play a Kobald some time) 4) Expanded psionic handbook (I think it's a cool variant from the basic stuff) 5) Magic of Incarnum (same as above) 6) BOVD (just some really nasty stuff for evil characters)
Steely_Dan 04-12-07, 09:42 AM	1.) Player's Handbook 2.) Player's Handbook II 3.) Expanded Psionics Handbook 4.) Magic of Incarnum 5.) Tome of Magic 6.) Tome of Battle …I want as many options/systems as possible.
Solian 04-12-07, 10:26 AM	hmmm, hard choose, but, barring the core 3, i'd have to choose (not in any specific order): 1) Players Handbook 2 - Fantastic for creating a characters personality and such if your no good at it 2) Draconomicon - Comes in very useful for dragon encounters, and PC's who would like to be Dragon slayers or such 3) Complete Adventurer - Some very Cool feats and skills and such, Plus i'm usually playing a rogue(ish) type character. 4) Complete Scoundrel - Same reason as above, plus Skill Tricks, which rock 5) Complete Warrior - For the Inner Fighter in every character 6) Finally Expanded Psionics Handbook - Psionics are very cool, though maybe a tad underrated by alot of people
Archangel62 04-12-07, 10:32 AM	Players...hrm: PHB PH2 ToB ToM Spell Compendium Unearthed arcana
Lanky Ogre Baggy Pants 04-12-07, 10:38 AM	Out of curiosity, why do so many players need the DMG or MM? Aren't those specifically sort of DM books. I also think a lot of the books can be very setting/class specific. my list PHB PHB II Tome of Blades Spell Compendium The other two depends on the setting/DM. Either race/class book or setting book.
skywyze 04-12-07, 11:03 AM	Tome of Battle Tome of Battle Tome of Battle Tome of Battle Tome of Battle Tome of Battle
Steely_Dan 04-12-07, 11:10 AM	Tome of Battle Tome of Battle Tome of Battle Tome of Battle Tome of Battle Tome of Battle ...So, Tome of Magic?
skywyze 04-12-07, 11:11 AM	...So, Tome of Magic? Me + ToB->:cloud9:
Mc_Bane 04-12-07, 11:33 AM	Hmmm, not that hard really PHB PHB II Tome of Battle Magic of Incarnum Expanded Psionics Handbook A complete pertaining to their preffered class/archetype. if indifferent, I think Complete Arcane is one of the best.
Steely_Dan 04-12-07, 11:44 AM	Me + ToB->:cloud9: It is a sweet book; I wish the whole game/all the classes were designed around "per encounter" instead of the assumed 4 encounters a day shenanigans.
BlueFlames 04-12-07, 11:44 AM	1) Player's Handbook 2) Complete Adventurer 3) Player's Handbook II Beyond those three, I don't think anything is essential for a player to own. Really, the Player's Handbook is sufficient, but when I get to sit on the players' side of the table, I always get a lot more use and inspiration from Complete Adventurer and Player's Handbook II than anything else. Now, there are features in other books that I like. There are some wonderful core and prestige classes in Complete Arcane and fun races to use in the Races of series and Planar Handbook, but as a player, if I'm not using one of those races or classes, the book is just going to gather dust for the duration of that campaign. Planar material and relevant campaign setting source books can be of particular use, but only if that's where your campaign is taking place. Complete Adventurer and Player's Handbook II have a great deal of general appeal. Every character is going to have skill points and gear, so Complete Adventurer can always be of some kind of use, even if you're not heavily investing in the classes or feats. Every character* is going to have some sort of background as well, and there's a pretty solid section in Player's Handbook II that can provide wonderful inspiration, if you're facing a bit of writer's block. The organizations section of Complete Adventurer can also be of great use to help integrate the character into the world. This is where the relevant campaign setting source book could be of use as well, but I leave that off of my list, since unless your DM has a really heavy preference to one setting, it is unlikely that you will make extensive use of such a book in every game you play. Incidentally, if you're not DM'ing on the side, I'd stay away from books like the DM's Guide, adventure modules, or any of the monster books. The closer your knowledge base is to your character's, the less difficulty you will have accidentally intermingling the two. If you are a DM, then it's a necessary evil, but I found my experiences as a player were much more satisfying before I started investing in DM material, as I geared up to run my first campaign. Besides, there's plenty of material in the Complete series, Races of series, and the various alternate casting/combat systems that's worth the money. * -- ...except possibly those meant for one-off arena combat sessions, but those are boring anyway...
Mookie37 04-12-07, 11:47 AM	PHB PHB II ToB Complete pertaining to their favorite character archetype Secondary Complete (either a repeat for their favorite or one for their next in line) The campaign setting for the world they play in the most. Barring the last one, for those who play in lots of worlds or home brewed, add the Spell Compendium or a races book covering their favorite race.
Elendur 04-12-07, 11:47 AM	Player's Handbook Living Greyhawk Gazetteer Lord of the Rings Conan of Cimmeria Swords against Deviltry Elric of Melnibone 2-6 optional. But know the first backwards and forwards!
crinos43 04-12-07, 11:48 AM	Well since we are limited to six...here are mine. Players: PHB, PHB2, DMG, MM, XPH, random class book DMs: PHB, PHB2, DMG, MM 1-3
_Jayne_Cobb_ 04-12-07, 12:00 PM	I think a solid grounding in the rules, plus a lot of options to tweak the game and all PCs to taste, is preferable to lots of fluff or options that are only useful to a certain range of classes or characters. Thus, if I were constrained to just 6 books, I'd probably go with (in no particular order): Player's Handbook Player's Handbook II Dungeon Masters Guide Dungeon Masters Guide II Monster Manual Unearthed Arcana
_Jayne_Cobb_ 04-12-07, 12:02 PM	Out of curiosity, why do so many players need the DMG or MM? Aren't those specifically sort of DM books. I assumed he meant player (one who plays D&D in general) rather than Player (one who does not DM but instead plays a PC in a game).
Greg K 04-12-07, 12:15 PM	Barring the core 3: 1) Unearthed Arcana: for the environmental race variants, class variants, spontanteous divine magic, spell points with vitalizing. 2) Book of Iron Might (Malhavoc): A book for making the melee types cool using a maneuver system that doesn't add mystical elements. Written by Mike Mearls, the author of Tome of Battle. 3) Psychic's Handbook (Green Ronin):an alternate system for doing powers of the mind 4) Shaman's Handbook (Green Ronin) 5) Witch's Handbook (Green Ronin) 6) Elements of Magic:Revised (E.N. Publishing): (http://www.enworld.org/reviews.php?do=product&productid=119280): for those looking for a new magic system this one allows you to create spells on the the fly. Okay, I can't limit my choice to six: 7) Elements of Magic:Lyceian Arcana (E.N. Publishing): (http://www.enworld.org/reviews.php?do=product&productid=119743) : an expansion for Elements of Magic:Revised that allows you to use Elements of Magic:revised to create your vision of how magic works in the world. Honorable Mention: PHB2: simply for the druid shapeshift variant, the variant cleric ability, the fighter variant abilities, some of the feats, and a few of the spells.
Xaxor 04-12-07, 12:53 PM	If the players are limited to just six books including the core three: Tome of Battle Expanded Psionics Handbook Player's Handbook II Spell Compendium Complete Warrior (Everyone likes Improved Toughness, right?) Complete Adventurer
MasterOfPsychic 04-12-07, 01:07 PM	PHB DMG MM If you got those books, things are pretty much balanced, and you can still be everythingh, as long as your imagination is put correctly in your brain. Our gaming group agrees on that, despite giving new options, the new books only give problems to everyone. With those books, the DM have to be a lot more accepting when it comes to the PC's crazy ideas, which tends to screw up the campaign, and the DM would have more problems saying that: "Well, ninjas in MY campaign is like this: *this*"...
RobbyPants 04-12-07, 01:08 PM	DM's, in order, from most wanted... 1) Player's Handbook. Duh. 2) Dungeon Masters Guide. Double duh. 3) Monster Manual. Well, not quite as necessary, but it is needed a lot of the time. 4) Heroes of Horror. ...What?! DM's need to be scary! 5) Draconomicon. Because if you don't have enough dragons, you're obviously not awesome. 6) Fiendish Codex. Any one of the two, they're both great for your typical fiendish BBEG's. (Might change to Dungeonscape if I get around to reading it) I agree 100% with putting Heroes of Horror right after the core three. This has been by far my favorite splat book thus far.
Dei 04-12-07, 01:36 PM	These are in no particular order but are all ones that I could not do without. 1) PHB 2) DMG 3) Complete Warrior 4) Complete Adventurer 5) Magic Item Compendium 6) Miniature's Handbook
Tembo 04-12-07, 01:45 PM	If, as a DM, your PLAYERS need six books, you are in for a he!! of a difficult campaign. Players ONLY need a PHB (whichever version being played) and if you have six players, then each should have his/her own PHB... and then you have your six books players should own.
polt 04-12-07, 01:51 PM	Well, for players: 1) PHB 2) The book about the setting you're playing in, if you play homebrew, you don't need this one. Aaaand, that's all folks. I really don't think you should own anymore books. If you put a gun to my head, I'd say Complete Warrior or another setting book. DMs: 1) PHB 2) DMG 3) MM 4) Setting book 5) I don't know, an extra PHB for the player who forgot his.
Pyke_Moonshadow 04-12-07, 01:54 PM	PHB PHB II XPH TOM Fav 2 completes I would list TOB but I hate one of the classes way to much for that.
Mookie37 04-12-07, 02:07 PM	Since other people are listing DM books I'll list mine too. PHB (DUH) DMG (Again, DUH) MM (Seriously) Heroes of Battle (Every high fantasy game needs a big war. Or at least a besieged castle) Heroes of Horror (Yes, every DM must be a scary bastard) Campaign Setting Again, barring a written campaign setting either the Spell Compendium, more MM's or the DMG/PHB II or one of the Fiendish Codex's/Draconoicons (every high fantasy game needs the three D's: Demons, Devils, and Dragons.
drake_vampiel_d 04-12-07, 02:15 PM	Lanky ogre baggy pants, if you look at my post I have in it why I feel players should have those 2 books Out of curiosity, why do so many players need the DMG or MM? Aren't those specifically sort of DM books. I also think a lot of the books can be very setting/class specific. my list PHB PHB II Tome of Blades Spell Compendium The other two depends on the setting/DM. Either race/class book or setting book.
GrimshofHighSorcery 04-12-07, 02:29 PM	For a player to own... 1) PHB 2) Campaign Setting (if any), if not HoH 3) Complete___________ (whatever suits class) 4) Spell Compendium 5) PHB II 6) Any book they feel they need For a DM... 1)PHB 2)DMG 3)MM 4)MIC 5)HoH 6)SpC
olshanski_home 04-12-07, 02:51 PM	PHB DMG MM [nothing else]
glacialcat 04-12-07, 03:00 PM	1. Players Handbook. 2. Expanded Psionics Handbook 3. Tome of Battle 4. Spell Compendium 5. Player's Handbook II 6. Complete for the class they're playing. Don't really see the need for a player to have a DMG or MM, especially since they can use the SRD (http://www.d20srd.org/). If we go out of just WotC published books... Untapped Potential is definitely #6. Most of the completes are honestly kinda crap..
Cartigan 04-12-07, 03:25 PM	1) Player's Handbook 2) Player's Handbook II 3) Complete Warrior 4) Complete Adventurer 5) Dungeon Master's Guide 6) Random book
skywyze 04-12-07, 07:20 PM	I would list TOB but I hate one of the classes way to much for that. Just curious, which class?
SokenzanMarauder 04-12-07, 07:29 PM	For a player: 1 - PHB 2 - PHB II 3 - Spell Compendium 4 - Heroes of Horror 5 - Complete for my Class 6 - Complete for my Class or Tome of Battle As a DM: 1 - DMG 2 - PHB 3 - PHB 2 4 - Monster Manual I 5 - Libris Mortis 6 - Monster Manual III I find it kinda odd that so many players have the DMG on their PC list. -Gene
Sockslayer 04-12-07, 07:57 PM	For players: 1-PHB 2-PHB2 3-Expanded Psionics Handbook, because I really like psionics 4-Forgotton Realms, gives a good start for a character background/region/religion and we usually play in forgotten realms. 5-Complete Warrior, most used splatbook here. 6-DMG, nice prestige classes and some helpful rules. For DM's 1-PHB 2-Libris Mortis, great book and it's all about the Undead. 3-Fiendish Codex I, if you can't have undead... 4-Magic Item Compendium, sometimes you have to reward your players, most of the time it helps you to trick out the NPC's 5-Forgotten Realms 6-DMG, it's low on the list because I don't like reading it, but it's almost mandatory for a DM.