# Freaking Awesome 3rd Party Books That Don't Get Enough Praise



## I'm A Banana (Mar 24, 2007)

Got your tax return? Spend 'em on some of this GREAT stuff that kind of gets swept under the carpet. Things are pretty quiet now in Third Party Land, with most abandoning d20 or seriously scaling back. I'd like to see some of the more obscure d20 titles out there presented here, the things that people don't hear much about these days. Perhaps even some "older" stuff that not enough people bought when it originally came out. We all know how awesome the Tome of Horrors and the Dungeon Crawl Classics and Oathbound are (or we should). Here's some ground for some of those "others." 

*#1:Northern Crown*. AKA "Septrionalis." It's a mouthful, but the concept is a winner: take early North America, from about Columbus through to the 18th Century and make it Fantasy. A "New World" is a fertile ground for all sorts of mythos and conflict and drama, and NC rolls it all up pretty dang nicely. As a bonus, it's in the same world as Nyambe (which is also great), and makes me really sad that we'll probably never see a Southern Crown.

*#2:Denizens of Avadnu*. This is the best Monster Manual since the original. It beats the Fiend Folio. Even if you don't count it's absolutely beautiful presentation and art (because opinions on art vary pretty widely), it's hundreds of unique and usable monsters that have an added bonus of not seeming derivative at all. Get the orignal MM for the goblins and the dragons and all the classic beasties. Then get Denizens when you want to give them something they ain't never seen before.

So give me yours! Tell me what was glorious before and what deserves to do better than it did. PDF files included, you know there's some great stuff that didn't actually get a print run! 

If you at all can, try to provide a link to somewhere that these things can be bought at. Since the idea is to buzz these low-buzz items a bit, sending over some direct business is a good thing! And give us a bit on WHY it's cool and why WE should think it's cool. You're talkin' to those who haven't heard of this, tell us why it's great!


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## Ry (Mar 24, 2007)

I wish Denizens was available as a PDF...


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## Hairy Minotaur (Mar 24, 2007)

I really love _The lords of the Night: Vampires_ by Bottled Imp Games (no longer active, and no web presense) Your players not excited or afraid of vampires any longer? Throw an Ash Vampire at them and watch them flee in terror or stay for the TPK.


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## Kunimatyu (Mar 24, 2007)

SSethregore: In the Coils of the Serpent Empire, Paradigm Concepts.

Blows WotC's Serpent Kingdoms out of the water with an excellent evil reptilian culture, made extra believable by the addition of a herpetologist to the writing crew. For players interested in playing lizard races, the book has an excellent collection of feats, PrCs, and spells for them, too.


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## I'm A Banana (Mar 24, 2007)

*#3:Lords of the Night: Vampires*. Ooooh, that was hard to find. But from the RPGnet Review, it seems like a winner. There's a lot of vampire goodness....seems like you could almost have an entire Vamp-themed campaign with that book.


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## I'm A Banana (Mar 24, 2007)

*#4:Ssethregore: In the Coils of the Serpent Empire*http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=6456. Neat! That looks awesome for any reptilian-based society. So many superfluous "s"s.


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## Whizbang Dustyboots (Mar 24, 2007)

Redhurst, Academy of Magic. If this hadn't been released just as 3.5 dropped, I'm convinced this would be as popular as Freeport.

The Pumpkin Patch (PDF). Someone needs to find Patrick Younts and drag him back to his word processor and handcuff him there.


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## Edheldur (Mar 24, 2007)

Whizbang Dustyboots said:
			
		

> Someone needs to find Patrick Younts and drag him back to his word processor and handcuff him there.



Agreed entirely. 

And, my contribution for this thread is "Tombs!" by Dreaming Merchant Press (which you can actually get for free, legally). Great non-magical treasure generation tables.


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## Agent Oracle (Mar 24, 2007)

#5: Dragonstar. Dungeons, dragons, Deep space.  Why the heck not?  This is the campaign setting that gives you an excuse to use every OTHER campaign setting.  In some ways, it's the spiritual successor to _Spelljammer_. Only with elements of _Expedition to the Barrier Peaks_ included.  Oh, and tyrannical space dragons.

#6: Etherscope. More a setting for d20 modern, this is a world where the might of Victorian industry drove forward, breaking down the frontiers of technology. Steam engines became smaller, weapons became more powerful, and cybernaughtics replaced limbs lost in bloody imperial wars. Then mankind learned to step into Etherspace itself.  Completely solves the classic cyberpunk "Decker" problem by allowing EVERYONE to enter the Ether. It's steampunk, it's cyberpunk, it's modern, it's alternative history, it's pulp.  it rules on toast.


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## ColonelHardisson (Mar 24, 2007)

Kamikaze Midget said:
			
		

> *#1:Northern Crown*. AKA "Septrionalis." It's a mouthful, but the concept is a winner: take early North America, from about Columbus through to the 18th Century and make it Fantasy.




Oh lordy yes. I was hesitant about getting this, but once I got both books, I was enthralled. I'd love to run a campaign in it.

My pick: #7: The *City Quarters* series by Game Mechanics. Good, solid, useful.


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## Jaws (Mar 24, 2007)

It has to be Ptolus. What better way to blow your whole tax return on.

And Secrets of the Delver’s Guild just came out. PDF only.


Jaws


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## Nightfall (Mar 24, 2007)

The Divine and the Defeated: Best way to play around with Gods and Titans.


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## GAAAHHH (Mar 24, 2007)

I know Mongoose isn't that popular around here, but...

Ultimate Equipment Guide Volume 1.  (I wasn't that impressed with Volume 2)
Classic Play - Strongholds and Dynasties.

Necromancer Games:

The Book of Taverns.
Doom of Listonshire.

Green Ronin: 

Freeport. (of course)
The Witches Handbook.
The Shaman's Handbook.

Sword and Sorcery: 

Ravenloft: Dark Tales and Disturbing Legends.


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## Nightfall (Mar 24, 2007)

Yeah that was one the better Ravenloft books before Arthaus cancelled/sold the line back to WotC. 

Ari did a great job with that book. 

Book of Taverns = awesome taverns that deserve to be in...everywhere!  

Dunno about Freeport. It gets love when people talk about great cities.


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## I'm A Banana (Mar 24, 2007)

Here are links for some suggestions upthread:

*#8: Redhurst, Academy of Magic*. I think about this product whenever a "harry potter D&D" thread pops up (there will be a new one this summer, just wait for it). This does the concept in sterling form, but I understand it does MORE than that concept, too. 

*#9:Visions 1: The Pumpkin Patch*. Dude, this is a stellar idea, even out of season. A bunch of things with a Jack O Lantern theme...so much good mythic/horror stuff!

*#10:"Tombs!" by Dreaming Merchant Press*. This one, I couldn't find anyplace to actually buy it.  If you've got the link for the free pdf, care to post it? I didn't see it on DMP's website, either, but part of the purpose of the thread is to help promote the stuff that people didn't see, so if it's out there, bring it here!



			
				ColonelHardisson said:
			
		

> My pick: #7: The City Quarters series by Game Mechanics. Good, solid, useful.




Describe that a bit more. What is it? What does it do so well? 



			
				Jaws said:
			
		

> It has to be Ptolus. What better way to blow your whole tax return on.




I dunno if Ptolus counts as "under the radar," seeing as it was made by the author of the DMG and all.


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## Nightfall (Mar 24, 2007)

Kami,

Eh well it's "under" for some that only buy "WotC" products. I mean that's not us right?


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## Bayushi Seikuro (Mar 24, 2007)

For third-party, I love and recommend Black Company Campaign Setting.

Yes, as a campaign book, it'll be quite a bit more, especially considering how much they fit in their -- the license was only good for one book.

Things I enjoy:
Mass combat -- on the company scale, where each squad is detailed/statted out like a PC, making it almost like PC on monster combats; or army scale, where it's basically a contested roll, and then you determine the percentage of the casaulties.

The magic system - You choose an effect, and other modifies, such as number of targets, number of damage dice, etc, and then you have a Magic skill DC to beat; then you take drain damage.

The lethality - natural 20s (not all crits, just nat-20s) have permanent effects on your PCs/NPCs, loss of limbs, fingers, etc.  Little healing magic -- best use of Heal skill is to convert lethal damage to nonlethal.

The masterwork items -- awesome rules.  When's the last time you've seen an item in a game that gave +16 to a Diplomacy check when given as a gift?  Or a masterwork mace that does an additional two points of subdual damage since it's so brutal?

Sleepy and rambly.  A big fat book for a reasonable price, I think; plenty to use for anything


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## Nightfall (Mar 24, 2007)

Black Company CS is alright. But I prefer Thieves World more.


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## Deekin (Mar 24, 2007)

Untapped Potential: New Horizons in Psionics by  Dreamscarred Press . It is like complete psionic, only full of psionic goodness instead of suck.


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## Nightfall (Mar 24, 2007)

Deekin,

2000 XP for you! Yes, if you want GOOD psionics, this is the place to look it. It comes right after Hyperconscious and before the XPH.


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## Sigurd (Mar 24, 2007)

Darkwalkers The Evil Within by Dragonwing

http://enworld.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=7598&

I have not read another source that put evil into a framework that lets evil have a goal\strategy. It keeps everyone from killing each other just to prove how evil they are and has a lot of crunch!



Unorthodox Witches by The Le Games

http://enworld.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=4567&

Very tasty arcane base class examples that aren't over powered. Shows how uninspired the wizard is as a class.


Cities Encounters, City Populating, Character Catch Up
By Stephen Abrams & Jon Everson, Chaosium 1986 (also Midkemia Press)
Great random tables and advice for building cities. I have a hard copy but I love it so much I'm including it here.


Sigurd


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## Nightfall (Mar 24, 2007)

Darkwalkers is a good update from the previous stuff from Mystic Eye/Mongoose etc. I was happy to add it to my collection.

The rest...meh but eh it's not like it's FFE crud.


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## I'm A Banana (Mar 24, 2007)

I hope not, Nightfall! But I'm going to err away from stuff that doesn't seem like it'd have a good appeal "whole cloth"  for my personal list (that is, without another setting book or something). Sadly, that makes the Divine & Defeated a bit too niche, but it sounds like it encapsulates the SL god/titan conflict really nicely. 

*#11:Ultimate Equipment Guide*http://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Equipment-Guide-Matthew-Sprange/dp/190398081X. It's a crying shame that the WotC "softback in a hardcover" Arms & Equipment Guide probably outsold this thing. 

*#12:Classic Play: Strongholds*. There's not one review on the thing, so I can't even say what's strong about it! What makes it good?

*#12:The Book of Taverns*. Neat, actually, this thing sounds like EVERY campaign can use it. At least for on-the-fly taverning! 

*#13:Doom of Listonshire*. Again, no reviews, but it seems like someone went out on a limb with random adventure design. That's a ballsy move!

*#14:The Witch's Handbook + The Shaman's Handbook*. Seems to bring a good historical feel to a new class that could go mad with myth. Sometimes, this is a good thing.


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## Nightfall (Mar 24, 2007)

Kami,

eh, it might but it has some nice mechanics, like what does praying actually do as a mechanic without casting the spell. Spells too. But *shrugs* whatever. I still vote Divine and the Defeated over most god books.


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## I'm A Banana (Mar 24, 2007)

> Untapped Potential: New Horizons in Psionics by  Dreamscarred Press . It is like complete psionic, only full of psionic goodness instead of suck.




HAHAHA, wow, that's a good recommendation. 



> eh, it might but it has some nice mechanics, like what does praying actually do as a mechanic without casting the spell. Spells too. But *shrugs* whatever. I still vote Divine and the Defeated over most god books.




I'll buy that. Let's LINK IT!


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## Nightfall (Mar 24, 2007)

YAY!  Divine and the Defeated in the hunt!  Sooo cool.


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## Sigurd (Mar 24, 2007)

*Also a General Vote for the Money Raisers*

I also think third party publishers deserve high marks for the several money raising projects for charities they have done.

The Le - Personal Artifacts - Leukemia Edt.

F20 Gamers Against Cancer Edition (never tried it)
http://enworld.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=2529&

Sean K Renolds - Swords Into Plowshares
Now free: http://enworld.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=214

Also Hungry Little Monsters benefits FoodForAll.org
http://enworld.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=3926&


Dog Soul Publishing: Suck Da Head, Squeeze Da Tail - Katrina Fundraiser
http://enworld.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=5953&


I'm sure WOTC gives money to good causes but these 3rd party publications (and others) are visible acts of good will. I think these projects don't always get the recognition they deserve. Simply good ideas to help people. 

(Part of what makes me try to always spend more on PDFs than on mainstream publications.)


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## catsclaw227 (Mar 24, 2007)

Hmmm.  The ones that I'd mention are:

*The Drow War Campaign Trilogy* - Mongoose Publishing. a 1st-30th campaign in 750 or so pages.

*Oathbound *  - Bastion Press. There are a bunch of books out and you can get them cheap.

*Iron Kingdoms *  - Privateer Press. There are a few of these books, but the players guide and the campaign setting are stellar, oh and so is the new Five Fingers book. Flavor-insane goodness.

Also for good flavor (though mechanically a bit messy) are the four *Warlords of the Accordlands * books that came out all at once. 

Let's see, most *Scarred Lands*, *Freeport*, *Bluffside (!)*... I guess you can see that I like setting books. 

But, for non setting books, I would say that many of the *Legends and Lairs * books that FFG put out were really good.

*Crime & Punishment* and *Dynasties & Demogogues* by Atlas Games where really good as well.


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## khyron1144 (Mar 24, 2007)

I like the first Creature Collection that Sword & Sorcery/ White Wolf put out.  The CRs are a bit off because it's such an early product, but the concepts are good.


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## Angel Tarragon (Mar 24, 2007)

Broncosaurus Rex - concetually cool, but could have been implemented better.

Experts 3.5 An extremely useful resource for DMs that need specific types of experts.


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## Valesin (Mar 24, 2007)

Fantasy Personae:  Spies, sages and informants:

http://enworld.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=5431&

Unique and extremely cool spies and information brokers using lots of creatures, templates and PrCs from other 3rd party/OGC sources.  Your not going to find your standard diviner/rogues here.  These NPCs rock so hard that I bought many of the books they were derived from.  I used 3 in my last campaign and can't wait to use several more in my new campaign.  One of those books I am surprised hasn't been raved about from one messageboard to another.


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## Mouseferatu (Mar 24, 2007)

GAAAHHH said:
			
		

> Doom of Listonshire.




Thank you, man. Seriously. I really feel that _DoL_ is one of the best projects I've designed, and certainly the best of the various adventures I've written. It's always bugged me that, since it came out at the beginning of Necromancer's partnership with Kenzer, it (and several other modules that came out about the same time) never got all that much attention.


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## Dannyalcatraz (Mar 24, 2007)

I agree on the reccomendation for Northern Crown.

I also love:

1) Book of the Righteous

2) Hyperconscious

3) Second World Sourcebook

4) Modern Magic

5) Ultramodern Firearms d20

6) The alt-D20 game/settings: Nyambe, Spycraft 2, M&M 2, AU/AE, and Midnight 2


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## Soel (Mar 24, 2007)

Red Spire Press' *Dark Legacies Campaign Setting* - Grittier than IK

Necromancer Games' *Eldritch Sorcery* - Chock full of spells, many old school styled

Silverthorne/Goodman Games' *Book of Templates Deluxe Ed.* - make you old creatures new

Green Ronin's *Advanced Bestiary* - Templates, and usable with the above

Bastion Press' *Arms and Armor 3.5* - Lots of diff weapons and armor and magical properties

Eden Studios' *Liber Bestarius* - Monster book, but heads and shoulders above many others

anything by *Inner Circle Games* (Avadnu, Fantasy Persona-Sages, Spies, etc)

anything with *Phillip Reed*'s name on it.


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## RedFox (Mar 24, 2007)

Oh man, Dragonstar looks freakin' awesome.  Anyone got more info on that one?  The website's only half-functional and it looks like the books are OOP.


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## GAAAHHH (Mar 24, 2007)

<quote>#12:Classic Play: Strongholds. There's not one review on the thing, so I can't even say what's strong about it! What makes it good?<quote>

It has rules for both building castles/fortresses, and running kingdoms.  I remember wanting to do this since the companion rules for basic D&D, but I never had a DM who would let me.


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## LordMelquiades (Mar 24, 2007)

*Righteousness!*

I was getting all wobbly with concern as I read through this.  Surely someone will... but what about... no... but... ah!  Thank you Dannyalcatraz!

The Book of the Righteous: http://www.greenronin.com/catalog/grr1015

Don't worry about the gods, here you have the best "standard" churches you could want, plus extra myth and cosmology should you so desire.


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## Aus_Snow (Mar 24, 2007)

Keeping to 3rd party products that might've flown under the radar somewhat, so to speak (unlike say, *Book of the Righteous* or *A Game of Thrones*). . .

From Stone to Steel (Monkey God Enterprises)
Legends of Sorcery (RPG Objects)
Legends of Excalibur (RPG Objects)
Legends of the Samurai (RPG Objects)


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## Darrin Drader (Mar 24, 2007)

Denizens of Avadnu is an excellent monster book, and it was a steal when I bought it. Definitely the most bang for the buck I've seen in a long time.

Darwin's World by RPG Objects - I'm often surprised when I run into online gamer geeks who have never heard of the game. It is the best post-apocalyptic product line going.

Ancient Kingdoms Mesopotamia - one of their more experimental titles, part ancient world setting, part adventure, this is one of their best, and most often overlooked.


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## Imruphel (Mar 24, 2007)

Whisperfoot said:
			
		

> (snip) Ancient Kingdoms Mesopotamia - one of their more experimental titles, part ancient world setting, part adventure, this is one of their best, and most often overlooked.




Yeah this one is definitely worthy of more "love". Green Ronin's _Book of Fiends_ is still my favourite non-WotC release.


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## ColonelHardisson (Mar 24, 2007)

Kamikaze Midget said:
			
		

> Describe that a bit more. What is it? What does it do so well?




Pretty much what it sounds like. Self-contained quarters - Thieves, Temple, Arcane (the three produced so far) - of a fantasy city that can either be dropped into a DM's campaign as part of a homebrew city, or as part of the whole city the series will add up to. A good, solid, generic product that provides enough detail and hooks without being overwhelming. Plus the modular nature of the series means one can pick and choose what quarters one does and doesn't want.


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## Ry (Mar 24, 2007)

Divine and Defeated is a ridiculously good god book.  Ridiculous.  If WotC did something like that for the D&D mythology...

Well, I can't even really imagine it.


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## Ry (Mar 24, 2007)

Nightfall said:
			
		

> Deekin,
> 
> 2000 XP for you! Yes, if you want GOOD psionics, this is the place to look it. It comes right after Hyperconscious and before the XPH.




And Steve Jackson's Psychic Handbook comes just after, IMO.  Great book, especially for d20 modern games.


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## Stormborn (Mar 24, 2007)

rycanada said:
			
		

> And Steve Jackson's Psychic Handbook comes just after, IMO.  Great book, especially for d20 modern games.




Do you mean Green Ronin's Psychic Handbook?


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## Silver Moon (Mar 24, 2007)

Whizbang Dustyboots said:
			
		

> Redhurst, Academy of Magic. If this hadn't been released just as 3.5 dropped, I'm convinced this would be as popular as Freeport.



A great book.  I designed a Harry Potter-esque campaign for my daughter using this book as the base but her interests changed so we never got around to doing it.  Thankfully I have a younger son with an overactive imagination so I'll get another chance to use it in a couple of years.


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## Silver Moon (Mar 24, 2007)

My vote would be for *"Tournaments, Fairs and Taverns" *  I picked up the PDF years ago and it has gotten a lot of use.


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## bento (Mar 24, 2007)

I'd suggest Dog Soul's Kitsunemori Campaign Setting  ($13.95).  I picked it up last year when my OA game was in a lull.  

If you looking for a smaller setting to run an OA game, and I mean by that nothing BIG like Kara-Tur or Rokugan, this is a fun and interesting place.  It's set in a large isolated valley of a much larger island, where there's plenty to do.  I ran one game from this and the players had a great time.  It also has race guidelines for playing a Kitsune (trickster fox-person) and rules for a more shamanistic approach to magic.


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## Alnag (Mar 24, 2007)

Oh man ... I love *Thieves' World*. Recreation of the setting of fantastic short stories by celebrities of fantasy writing! City-setted game.


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## Sir Elton (Mar 24, 2007)

RedFox said:
			
		

> Oh man, Dragonstar looks freakin' awesome.  Anyone got more info on that one?  The website's only half-functional and it looks like the books are OOP.



http://www.titangames.com/products/role-playing-games?pMfg=Fantasy+Flight+Games

http://www.nobleknight.com/ViewProd...cturerID_E_212_A_CategoryID_E_12_A_GenreID_E_


Check those out.  I like Dragonstar.


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## Sir Elton (Mar 24, 2007)

I'm going to toot my horn:

_Occult Lore_ from Atlas Games is one of the credits that I did.  Most of my work is for Rolemaster's e-zine, the Guild Companion.  But I teamed up with some of the best in the Industry to put out this book.

_Occult Lore_ has rules for alchemy, astrology, sympathetic magic, dream magic, geomancy, Herbalism, and many others.  Including my own Elementalism.  Its available at Warehouse 23, and at e23.

Elton.


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## pawsplay (Mar 24, 2007)

I've always wondered why Atlas Games' _Love & War_ didn't get more love. It's a fantastic book. Ruleswise, it's head and shoulders above the PHBII knight, introducing a half dozen knight prestige classes, tons of feats, and a very satisfying amount of discusson. It's a whole book full of ideas relevant to "would a knight do X" or "would a paladin do X." I feel it's a great look at medieval romance, something D&D could use more of. 

Crime & Punishment is also really good, and Dynsasties & Demagogues, too, although it's not something I see myself using a lot.

AEG's Magic is a fantastic book, somewhat outdated by material since released that gives more options for spellcasters. Despite that, it's still worth a read.


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## Sir Elton (Mar 24, 2007)

rycanada said:
			
		

> And Steve Jackson's Psychic Handbook comes just after, IMO.  Great book, especially for d20 modern games.




its not my cup of tea.


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## I'm A Banana (Mar 24, 2007)

> its not my cup of tea.




So which alt psychic book would you recommend? If you were to give a good one that not many have noticed...


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## Edheldur (Mar 24, 2007)

Kamikaze Midget said:
			
		

> *#10:"Tombs!" by Dreaming Merchant Press*. This one, I couldn't find anyplace to actually buy it.  If you've got the link for the free pdf, care to post it? I didn't see it on DMP's website, either, but part of the purpose of the thread is to help promote the stuff that people didn't see, so if it's out there, bring it here!



You won't find it in any regular PDF store since the company is now out of business (and has been for a few years). To make things short, I e-mailed the owner of the company about releasing the product for free since there has been some interest in it, and he gladly accepted it. If you want it, you can get it HERE. (Well, actually the link takes you to another post in here explaining the whole legal situation of the product and a link to the actual PDF).


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## Aus_Snow (Mar 24, 2007)

rycanada said:
			
		

> And Steve Jackson's Psychic Handbook comes just after, IMO.  Great book, especially for d20 modern games.



http://greenronin.com/catalog/grr1306

*Steve Kenson's*, right?

If that's the one you mean, I agree - it's very good indeed. That guy can do no wrong, as far as I'm concerned, when it comes to d20/True20 material. . . including largely designing True20 itself, if I remember correctly.

And I concur with Elton's take on Occult Lore - a very interesting, and at times useful, book for several kinds of different magics.

I'll also second Darkwalkers - fantastic book for evil (d20 fantasy) characters.


Re: Northern Crown, I'm looking forward to getting that one too.


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## Greg K (Mar 24, 2007)

Here is my quick list. Many of the books on my list have been mentioned

DND
Psychic's Handbook
Shaman's Handbook
Witch's Handbook
Book of Iron Might
Quintessential Monk
Quintessential Sorcerer
Quintessential Wizard
Experts 3.5
Redhurst Academy

D20 Modern
Blood and Fists
Elements of Magic: Mythic Earth 
Psychic's Handbook


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## Jack of Shadows (Mar 24, 2007)

Fiery Dragon's Battle Box.

Jack


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## Twowolves (Mar 24, 2007)

Green Ronin's Advanced Bestiary: awesome templates

Necromancer Games' Eldritch Sorcery: awesome old spells

GR's Advance Player's Handbook: Awesome old spells, AND the mass combat rules from Cry Havok AND the psychic rules from Psychic Handbook, all in one.

FFG's Traps and Treachery: Poisons, traps, and more traps.

SSS's Player's Guides (for Scarred Lands): Tons of world fluff, and awesome PrCs with notes on how to adapt them to any campaign.


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## Glyfair (Mar 24, 2007)

Jack of Shadows said:
			
		

> Fiery Dragon's Battle Box.




I was thinking about the original question and decided that very little 3rd party d20/OGL material would I consider "Freaking Awesome."  A number of things raved about here I consider horribly overrated.  Battle Box, on the other hand, qualifies as "freaking awesome."

Other than that I'd list both of Wolfgang Baur's open design projects.  After that, to get "freaking awesome" I'd have to go to other game systems.  _Griffin Mountain_ does define freaking awesome to me.


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## Sir Elton (Mar 24, 2007)

Aus_Snow said:
			
		

> http://greenronin.com/catalog/grr1306
> 
> *Steve Kenson's*, right?
> 
> ...




Thank you.


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## Ry (Mar 24, 2007)

Aus_Snow said:
			
		

> http://greenronin.com/catalog/grr1306
> 
> *Steve Kenson's*, right?
> 
> If that's the one you mean, I agree - it's very good indeed. That guy can do no wrong, as far as I'm concerned, when it comes to d20/True20 material. . . including largely designing True20 itself, if I remember correctly.




Wow, yeah, I don't know how I flipped those two.  Must be a side effect of being sick for 2 weeks with the same virus and having nothing to do but read EN World and Monster Manuals.


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## Orryn Emrys (Mar 24, 2007)

I would have to add Necromancer's The Book of Taverns to the list... a very cool resource, pretty much exactly what it sounds like.  I'd also _really_ liked Atlas's Occult Lore and Dynasties and Demigogues, Eden Stuidos' Fields of Blood: A Book of War, and EGG's The Canting Crew from Troll Lord Games.

As PDFs go, I've purchased a _lot_ of Phil Reed's work, and gotten far more value out of it than I had ever expected, and a lot of the EN Publishing offerings.  A couple of better PDFs that nobody's mentioned would include Magic: The Science and Art of Causing Change from 93 Games, which is a really well constructed D20 Modern magic system, Malhavoc's Book of Iron Might, RPG Objects' GM Mastery: NPC Essentials by Johnn Four, and, most definitively, Expetitious Retreat's Magical Medieval Society: Western Europe, an invaluable resource for world builders.


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## Greg K (Mar 24, 2007)

Twowolves said:
			
		

> Green Ronin's Advanced Bestiary: awesome templates




How did I forget this?


----------



## Valesin (Mar 24, 2007)

And how did I forget Ari's "Secrets of the Planes: Planar Factions" and "SotP: Planar magic" 

http://www.roninarts.com/store/product_info.php?cPath=37&products_id=331
http://www.roninarts.com/store/product_info.php?cPath=37&products_id=330

Brilliant work dude.  I would say 'Keep them coming' but, judging from your latest work, you already are.


----------



## Greg K (Mar 24, 2007)

Aus_Snow said:
			
		

> *Steve Kenson's*, right?
> 
> If that's the one you mean, I agree - it's very good indeed. That guy can do no wrong, as far as I'm concerned, when it comes to d20/True20 material. . . including largely designing True20 itself, if I remember correctly.




So far, every rpg product that I am aware of Steve Kenson having worked on as been top notch whether it involved Mutants and Masterminds, d20, True20 or Shadowrun. Even his free alternate Marvel Superheroes Adventure Game rules drastically turned that game into something top notch.


----------



## Whizbang Dustyboots (Mar 24, 2007)

ColonelHardisson said:
			
		

> Pretty much what it sounds like. Self-contained quarters - Thieves, Temple, Arcane (the three produced so far) - of a fantasy city that can either be dropped into a DM's campaign as part of a homebrew city, or as part of the whole city the series will add up to. A good, solid, generic product that provides enough detail and hooks without being overwhelming. Plus the modular nature of the series means one can pick and choose what quarters one does and doesn't want.



You got me all excited about the Arcane Quarter: It looks like with the loss of their cartographer, this is in limbo currently. Which is a shame, since I was planning on using it as the sourcebook for my Vock Row Ptolus game.


----------



## Nightfall (Mar 24, 2007)

I wish Steve would write more books. I like his stuff.  

*is glad Ryn gave some love to Divine and the Defeated*


----------



## Big Bucket (Mar 24, 2007)

Thieves World and Black Company (Green Ronin). They did a very good job bringing these series to RPG life.


----------



## Tinner (Mar 24, 2007)

XRP's Beast Builder really wowed me.
I even wrote a review here on ENWorld for it.
If you like making new monsters, this is THE book for you!

Speaking of monsters, I really have enjoyed The Wanderers Guild books too.
Monsters of the Boundless Blue was fun, and so was Monsters of the Endless Dark.
Maybe not mechanically perfect, but hey, I'm no number cruncher. The monsters are fun, and fun to play with, and  very unique.


----------



## Whizbang Dustyboots (Mar 24, 2007)

I'm pretty tough on monster books -- I find Monsternomicon to be a triumph of style over substance, and there's MAYBE five monsters in the whole book that I'll ever use. In contrast, I can see using more than 90 percent of the monsters in Creatures of Freeport.


----------



## ColonelHardisson (Mar 24, 2007)

Whizbang Dustyboots said:
			
		

> You got me all excited about the Arcane Quarter: It looks like with the loss of their cartographer, this is in limbo currently. Which is a shame, since I was planning on using it as the sourcebook for my Vock Row Ptolus game.




Well, crap, here I was about to order it myself. Regardless, the two that actually exist at the moment are good enough to make me wait for the next.


----------



## amethal (Mar 24, 2007)

I'm a big fan of EN Publishing's Steam and Steel. I wasn't a big fan of steampunk, but this product fired my imagination.

I also like Bastion Press's Airships. One day I'd like to run a campaign based around it.

I'm also impressed with the Book of Templates, which I think is Goodman Games. All the monsters you could ever need, just by mixing it with the Monster Manual.


----------



## Nightfall (Mar 25, 2007)

Amethal,

I don't think that's Goodman Games but you are, Book of Templates is good. I prefer to supplement that with Advanced Beastiary. Any book that can give you the Four Horsemen = awesome in my book. 

Greg,

We all forget after all while. Even me.


----------



## Twowolves (Mar 25, 2007)

Nightfall said:
			
		

> Amethal,
> 
> I don't think that's Goodman Games but you are, Book of Templates is good. I prefer to supplement that with Advanced Beastiary. Any book that can give you the Four Horsemen = awesome in my book.
> 
> ...




Green Ronin = Advanced Bestiary (includes the Four Horsemen templates)

Silverthorne Games = Book of Templates, Deluxe (the other one)


----------



## Whizbang Dustyboots (Mar 25, 2007)

Book of Templates, distributed by Goodman Games.


----------



## Angel Tarragon (Mar 25, 2007)

Nyambe: African Adventures - Dark Continent gaming

Mythic Races - a great resource for alternate playable resources

Shelzar: City of Sins  - unique and interesting city book.


----------



## Nightfall (Mar 25, 2007)

AND Shelzar = home to Nightfall when he wants to "get away from it all."


----------



## Angel Tarragon (Mar 25, 2007)

Nightfall said:
			
		

> AND Shelzar = home to Nightfall when he wants to "get away from it all."



Had no doubt.


----------



## Twowolves (Mar 25, 2007)

Whizbang Dustyboots said:
			
		

> Book of Templates, distributed by Goodman Games.





But made by silverthorne games:

Book of Templates


----------



## Nightfall (Mar 25, 2007)

Which happens a lot. A good company shut down, another swoops in to rescue a great product from despair. 

Fru,

I knew you did but it was for the benefit of those without knowledge of my hometown.


----------



## Whizbang Dustyboots (Mar 25, 2007)

Twowolves said:
			
		

> But made by silverthorne games:
> 
> Book of Templates



Right, I was clearing up the confusion about why Goodman was in people's mind, not getting involved in this stupid pissing match.


----------



## Edheldur (Mar 25, 2007)

Some more suggestions, off the top of my head:
Advanced Bestiary: Templates, more templates, and then some templates.
Portal & Planes: Planar traits make this one worth it. By Mike Mearls.
Wildscape: Environmental effects, combat terrain rules and a variant system for wandering monsters and encounters. By Mike Mearls.
Book of Iron Might: Combat maneuvers, Arcane Battle feats, new uses for skills -mostly related to combat- and a stunt system (that is, quite frankly, basically a prototype of what later appeared in Iron Heroes). By Mike Mearls -again-.
Magesmithing 101: Ever wanted to make non-casters smiths able to forge magical weapons and armors? Then, this product is for you! (I'd really love to see more in the "101" series by Dog Soul Publishing).
101 Feats, 101 More Feats, Another 101 feats: A lot of feats. 
Fantasy Player's Companion: Higher Level Feats: A nice collection of higher level feats -and a reason for Patrick Younts to keep writing gaming material!-
Hot Pursuit: The Definitive D20 Guide to Chases, Hot Pursuit: ON FOOT: A nice little system to adjudicate chases while keeping them abstract. Way better treatment than what the core rules state.


----------



## Nightfall (Mar 25, 2007)

Ed,

Nice suggestions, especially about Portals and Planes. It is lesser known book. But then Beyond Countless Doorways...wow that's just awesome.


----------



## Edheldur (Mar 25, 2007)

Hey Night!



			
				Nightfall said:
			
		

> Ed, Nice suggestions, especially about Portals and Planes. It is lesser known book. But then Beyond Countless Doorways...wow that's just awesome.



Beyond Countless Doorways is, indeed, awesome; but the reason I recommended P&P is because it presents you building blocks to create/modify planes and demiplanes. Besides, I just love the way Mearls streamlined a lot of things in the "Legends & Lairs" series.


----------



## Nightfall (Mar 25, 2007)

Ed,

True, Mike did streamline a great deal. That's why it's a great builder block. I guess what I liked about BCD was the fact it was so...pulpy yet still so Planescape too.  But you are correct, best way to create stuff is with Portals and Planes.


----------



## Ace (Mar 25, 2007)

Ill third the Psychics handbooks -- lurvly stuff and double awesome if you combine bits from Blue Rose/True 20 with it.

I also really liked Citizen Games Way of the Witch. It was one of the few game books other than Blue Rose with good fluff text and the rules were cool too.


----------



## Celebrim (Mar 25, 2007)

So hard to saying why I don't like some of the well recommended picks, but I'll control myself and limit myself to my recommendations.

Green Ronin - Book of the Righteous  (This is the book I wish I could write if I had time to write an RPG book, and pretty much the gold standard for a divine supplement and an RPG book period.  Also, definatively what the Paladin should have been in 3rd edition.  Awesome.  Amazing.)  
Green Ronin - Shaman's Handbook
A Magical Medieval Society
A Magical Medieval Society - City Guide
AEG - Toolbox (It's like the random dungeon dressing tables at the end of the 1st edition DMG, only for a whole world)
Mongoose Publishing - Book of the Planes
Ambient - Everyone Else (I could do this or wing this, but now I don't have to.)
Ravenloft Player's Handbook - I personally feel that the fear/horror/madness rules should be made core.
Hot Pursuit - the Definitive Guide to D20 Chases (The best rules supplement to have been published for D20.  Still has some kinks in it, but definately a big step in the right direction.)
Necromancer Games - Tome of Horrors (Mentioned, but really, worth mentioning again)
Dungeon Crawl Classics - Into the Wild (DDC mentioned, but really, can't mention this enough)

Special mention, 'D20 Firearm Mechanics, by Kenneth S. Hood'.  It's a fairly short pdf document (21 pages).  Mine has 'beta version' on it.  I'm not even sure where I got it, but its far and away hand's down the best firearm rules for d20 ever published - and I'm pretty sure they never were actually published for sale.  Absolutely and unquestionably makes any other D20 firearms manual look like a freaking joke, and makes some more famous products on the market look like an utter waste of your money.  If I ever have need for D20 modern in any setting, firearms will be converted to Mr. Hood's most excellent rules.


----------



## JVisgaitis (Mar 25, 2007)

rycanada said:
			
		

> I wish Denizens was available as a PDF...




Coming soon, don't worry... 

I absolutely love From Stone to Steel by Monkey God. First PDF I ever purchased where I had to hunt down the book. Not only are the weapons awesome and well done, it kinda serves as a history lesson for warfare. Very very cool.

I also really like the Dark Legacy books from Red Spire Press. Very well done setting which is different then a lot out there. It certainly doesn't get enough props.



			
				Valesin said:
			
		

> Fantasy Personae: Spies, sages and informants




Thank you! Denizens gets lots of praise which helps alleviate the pain of still having half the print run, but Fantasy Personae is really like some sort of bastard stepchild of ours. I think Alex put together a lot of great NPCs for that book and we had a whole product line ready with 5 more in the series planned. It didn't flop, but didn't do well enough for a sequel. That always bugged me as I thought it was a solid product. Anyway, thanks for mentioning it!


----------



## Soel (Mar 25, 2007)

I'll add some recent purchases...

*Metablades* - from Genjiutsu Games, for the fighter/mage or psychic warrior in you

*Classic Play - Book of the Planes* - from Mongoose, a lot of cool ideas, and my fav of all the 3e planar books.


----------



## Stormborn (Mar 25, 2007)

Edheldur said:
			
		

> Magesmithing 101: Ever wanted to make non-casters smiths able to forge magical weapons and armors? Then, this product is for you! (I'd really love to see more in the "101" series by Dog Soul Publishing).
> .





Thank you!  I was selfishly scanning this list to see if one of my books showed up, but wasn't expecting it to be this one. I too would like to see more 101 books, and a 3rd was in the works but basically there were so many other projects between Dog Soul and myself that it got put on hold.  I wont do another one unless I have a really good idea for one and its something that a ton of other products haven't covered.


----------



## Philotomy Jurament (Mar 25, 2007)

I get a hell of a lot of use out of _Gary Gygax's World Builder_ and _Living Fantasy_, both from Troll Lord.  Also a fan of _The Black Company Campaign Setting_ and the _Tome of Horrors_.  _The Wilderlands of High Fantasy_ boxed set is awesome.  I also recently picked up the adventure module, _Coils of Set_, which looks pretty damn good, too (although I haven't run it, yet).


----------



## dougmander (Mar 25, 2007)

Kamikaze Midget said:
			
		

> *#1:Northern Crown*. AKA "Septentrionalis." It's a mouthful, but the concept is a winner: take early North America, from about Columbus through to the 18th Century and make it Fantasy. A "New World" is a fertile ground for all sorts of mythos and conflict and drama, and NC rolls it all up pretty dang nicely. As a bonus, it's in the same world as Nyambe (which is also great), and makes me really sad that we'll probably never see a Southern Crown.




Wow, what an honor to head this list of 3rd-party awesomeness! Thanks!
It spins my head to think of how many of of these recommended books I've yet to read.


----------



## Philotomy Jurament (Mar 25, 2007)

dougmander said:
			
		

> Wow, what an honor to head this list of 3rd-party awesomeness!



I wasn't familiar with Northern Crown before reading this thread, but have been checking out the web pages about it and it sounds pretty damn cool -- I ordered it (and the Gazeteer) from Amazon.


----------



## Fishbone (Mar 25, 2007)

The Monster Handbook, Mike Mearls(Man, is he heading up the list or what!)
I've been addicted to this mofo since Christmas. Please make one for 3.5 with Magical Beasts, Mikey, I'm beggin' yah!
You know what, to save time I'm just going to give a blanket recommendation to anything Mike Mearls has ever done on the Legends and Lairs line, is doing on the Legends and Lairs line, and will do on the Legends and Lairs line, world without end, amen.


----------



## Sir Elton (Mar 25, 2007)

Orryn Emrys said:
			
		

> I would have to add Necromancer's The Book of Taverns to the list... a very cool resource, pretty much exactly what it sounds like.  I'd also _really_ liked Atlas's *Occult Lore* and Dynasties and Demigogues, Eden Stuidos' Fields of Blood: A Book of War, and EGG's The Canting Crew from Troll Lord Games.




Thank you.

I'm still working on that thing for dreamscarred press.


----------



## DMH (Mar 25, 2007)

Ones that have not been mentioned:

Genjitsu's Shaping the Self- leveled templates done right. I also find the racial levels much more interesting than those in UA.

En Publishing's The Fantastic Science gets so little love for being the very best in the subject.

Primal Urge's Emerging Forms line has many useful races in detail for cheap.

Throwing Dice Games' Notebook Essentials: Swarms, Stampedes and Skirmishes for masses of creatures larger than tiny. The gorgon stampede and demilich swarm are perfect for evil DMs.

Tabletop has many useful pdfs for those who want to develop the scenery of their settings.

Adamant's Dread Codex for undead from many sources updated to 3.5 (plus spells and magic items).

Bloodstone's Book of Broken Dreams cover the mental illnesses that everyone has and good advice in creating personalities.

Parent's Basement Games' Murchad's Legacy for a setting with a twist.

Dire Press' Lineage of Earth has 3 classes for those with the taint of earth elemental power.

And last, but not least is Plot Device's color scheme for magic. The pdfs have all the SRD spells within that color to make the DM's and player's life easier.


----------



## Napftor (Mar 25, 2007)

DMH said:
			
		

> Ones that have not been mentioned:
> 
> Adamant's Dread Codex for undead from many sources updated to 3.5 (plus spells and magic items)...




Thanks!  It's nice to see this hasn't dropped off the radar completely.


----------



## philreed (Mar 25, 2007)

Orryn Emrys said:
			
		

> As PDFs go, I've purchased a _lot_ of Phil Reed's work, and gotten far more value out of it than I had ever expected . . .




Thank you. This means a lot to me (and your timing is perfect, considering the announcement coming the first week of April).


----------



## Aus_Snow (Mar 25, 2007)

philreed said:
			
		

> Thank you. This means a lot to me (and your timing is perfect, considering the announcement coming the first week of April).



Oh, OK then . . .

I thought your excellent PDFs were too well known for this thread, but while others are at it, I'll also thoroughly recommend the Campaign Planners (I, II and III) (on the list on that page) and several of the 101s too (particularly 101 Mundane Treasures and Another 101 Mundane Treasures, as it happens). Both have been godsends, so. . . thanks again! 


Announcement, eh. . .? Hmm. . .


----------



## Twowolves (Mar 25, 2007)

Whizbang Dustyboots said:
			
		

> Right, I was clearing up the confusion about why Goodman was in people's mind, not getting involved in this stupid pissing match.




No pissing match here, friend. I didn't think Goodman had put it out, did a websearch and came up with Silverthorne games and it had no mention of Goodman on the rpgnow page, so just posted it. But hey, if you want to take offense, be my guest.


----------



## Edheldur (Mar 25, 2007)

Fishbone said:
			
		

> The Monster Handbook, Mike Mearls(Man, is he heading up the list or what!)
> I've been addicted to this mofo since Christmas. Please make one for 3.5 with Magical Beasts, Mikey, I'm beggin' yah!



There's a Magical Beasts chapter PDF on the Fantasy Flight Games site that should've been in the Monsters Handbook. Here's the link.


----------



## Rawhide (Mar 25, 2007)

Dragon Compendium. Paizo may be officl but their not WotC, so this should count. Great stuff, much of it later turned into more complicated rules by WotC. Stick with the roiginal. Shackled city comes a very close second

Arcana Evolved. Ignore the earlier and confusingly names Arcana Unearthed. The ritual warror alone is worth the price of entry. easily ported to another settg too if you prefer

Advanced Gamemasters Guide. By far my very favorite GM advice book. The stuff inside is best for fantasy, but i've used it for modern and science fiction two. from rules on making rules to guidleines for creating artifact (which make sense, and unbalance bothing). Pure gold.


----------



## catsclaw227 (Mar 26, 2007)

philreed said:
			
		

> Thank you. This means a lot to me (and your timing is perfect, considering the announcement coming the first week of April).



I am a huge fan of your work too, Phil.  I have just about every d20 fantasy thing you've put out.  I would be remiss if I didn't mention that too. 

I always suggest your "A Dozen..." series to GMs and your 101 stuff is great too.


----------



## philreed (Mar 26, 2007)

Aus_Snow said:
			
		

> I thought your excellent PDFs were too well known for this thread . . .




Possibly. With tens of thousands of PDFs sold there's a good chance any D20 fan that buys PDFs has at least one PDF that I worked on.




			
				catsclaw227 said:
			
		

> I am a huge fan of your work too, Phil. I have just about every d20 fantasy thing you've put out. I would be remiss if I didn't mention that too.




Thank you. I hope you get lots of opportunities to use the stuff in your games.


----------



## Olaf the Stout (Mar 26, 2007)

I take it that this planned announcement will be a good thing rather than a bad thing Phil?

Olaf the Stout


----------



## JeffB (Mar 26, 2007)

Hmmmm....under the radar..most of my stuff is 3.0 and adventures..but..

Kenzer: Dangerous Denizens 
Kenzer: Lost Tomb of Kruk Ma Kali
Kenzer: Fury in the Wastelands (Orcs of tellene)

Necromancer: Necropolis
Necromancer: PGTTW
Necro/TLG: Barakus
Necro: Demons & Devils

Fiery Dragon: OSM
Fiery Dragon: NeMorens Vault

SSS: Mithril: City of the Golem

FFG: Legends & Lairs series...many of these were VERY good..T&T, Planes & Portals, DungeonCraft, etc...


----------



## Ceresco (Mar 26, 2007)

Kunimatyu said:
			
		

> SSethregore: In the Coils of the Serpent Empire, Paradigm Concepts.
> 
> Blows WotC's Serpent Kingdoms out of the water with an excellent evil reptilian culture, made extra believable by the addition of a herpetologist to the writing crew. For players interested in playing lizard races, the book has an excellent collection of feats, PrCs, and spells for them, too.





I love the love for Arcanis!

Respectfully,

Edward Kopp: Arcaniac at Large


----------



## ShinHakkaider (Mar 26, 2007)

Jack of Shadows said:
			
		

> Fiery Dragon's Battle Box.
> 
> Jack




WINNAH!!!!


----------



## Orryn Emrys (Mar 26, 2007)

philreed said:
			
		

> Thank you. This means a lot to me (and your timing is perfect, considering the announcement coming the first week of April).



And I mean it...!  "101 Mundane Treasures" was one of the very first PDFs I purchased, and I loved it (and the sequel) so much, that I quickly started snatching up your products on general principle.  Thank _you_ for producing so much quality material that's easily ported into any game.


----------



## Edheldur (Mar 26, 2007)

Stormborn said:
			
		

> I wont do another one unless I have a really good idea for one and its something that a ton of other products haven't covered.



And that's why I like Magesmithing 101 so much -although I also enjoyed Golemcraft 101-. Both are concise, not expensive and good products.



			
				Olaf the Stout said:
			
		

> I take it that this planned announcement will be a good thing rather than a bad thing Phil?



I wouldn't mind if it involved more products in any of the "101 ..." series (specially a product about zones).

And on topic, someone else already recommended the "Book of Broken Dreams" which I second. Mechanically,it's not the best product out there, but the information about mental disorders and personality is just awesome. Unfortunately I can't find it for sale on RPGNow.

And there's also Nature's Wrath which deals with poisons and diseases. Many of them are based on real world diseases, so it might not be for everyone's tastes.


----------



## catsclaw227 (Mar 26, 2007)

Oh, has anyone mentioned the city book, *Streets of Silver*?  I just came by this one recently, and I am suprised I didn't know about it before.  It's a really nice product.

Oh and *Valus*.   That is an excellent product as well.


----------



## Keldryn (Mar 26, 2007)

It's already received a fair bit of praise already, but _The Book of the Righteous_ is one of my favourite RPG products of any line, by any publisher, since D&D started.  Changed my entire outlook on Clerics and in-game religions and what they represent -- and it just makes the whole setup in Forgotten Realms and Greyhawk look pretty lame by comparison, for many reasons.  Faiths & Avatars isn't even in the same league.

I love the mythology of the book so much that I'm building my whole campaign world around it.

Absolutely brilliant book.  Ummm.... but for under-rated, under-praised books... The Unholy Warrior's Handbook makes a great companion piece for it!


----------



## Ghendar (Mar 26, 2007)

catsclaw227 said:
			
		

> *Dynasties & Demogogues* by Atlas Games where really good as well.




I'll throw in a vote for this book as well. <thumbsup>


----------



## Ghendar (Mar 26, 2007)

Sir Elton said:
			
		

> I'm going to toot my horn:
> 
> _Occult Lore_ from Atlas Games is one of the credits that I did.  Most of my work is for Rolemaster's e-zine, the Guild Companion.  But I teamed up with some of the best in the Industry to put out this book.
> 
> ...




I'm a fan.
I particularly like the Geomancy rules.


----------



## Ghendar (Mar 26, 2007)

Kamikaze Midget said:
			
		

> *#2:Denizens of Avadnu*. This is the best Monster Manual since the original. It beats the Fiend Folio. Even if you don't count it's absolutely beautiful presentation and art (because opinions on art vary pretty widely), it's hundreds of unique and usable monsters that have an added bonus of not seeming derivative at all. Get the orignal MM for the goblins and the dragons and all the classic beasties. Then get Denizens when you want to give them something they ain't never seen before.





Just bought a copy of this book based on this thread and doing a bit of research. 

By the way, GREAT thread idea. Kudos, my friend, kudos.


----------



## Erekose (Mar 26, 2007)

Alnag said:
			
		

> Oh man ... I love *Thieves' World*. Recreation of the setting of fantastic short stories by celebrities of fantasy writing! City-setted game.




Thieves World gets another vote from me!


----------



## DMH (Mar 26, 2007)

A couple more:

Adamant's Miracles and Wonders makes divine magic interesting and different.

Tangent's Ars Lingua adds a lot to the use of communication.


----------



## Voadam (Mar 26, 2007)

Complete Minions. 

3.5 pdf full color monster book by Bastion Press. Alien odd monsters, most with sharp claws and good descriptions as well as connections among some of the critters. My most used monster book outside of the srd in my game.


----------



## Fishbone (Mar 26, 2007)

The Monster Geographica books.


----------



## 00Machado (Mar 26, 2007)

Fishbone said:
			
		

> The Monster Handbook, Mike Mearls(Man, is he heading up the list or what!)
> I've been addicted to this mofo since Christmas. Please make one for 3.5 with Magical Beasts, Mikey, I'm beggin' yah!




I think FFG has the magical beasts section available as a free download.


----------



## Grum_l (Mar 26, 2007)

Immortals Handbook - EPIC BESTIARY: Volume One from Eternity Publishing


----------



## Mark CMG (Mar 26, 2007)

Kamikaze Midget said:
			
		

> Freaking Awesome 3rd Party Books That Don't Get Enough Praise




Here are some of the ones I have felt most strongly about since the beginning of 3.x . . .

From 2WS - _The Second World Sourcebook_ and _Skill Focus: Talking_

From AEG - _Dragons_, _Dungeons_, _Evil_, _Gods_, _Good_, _Magic_, _Mercenaries_, _Monster_, _Undead_, and _War_

From Atlas - _Crime & Punishment_, _Love & War_, and _Dynasties & Demigogues_, as well as _Nyambe_, _Seven Cities_ and _Occult Lore_

From Bastion - _Guildcraft_, _Ink & Quill_

From Blue Devil Games - _Poisoncraft: The Dark Art_

From Dark Furies - _Mudhollow Inn_ and _Strongholds & Sanctuaries_ (Likely any of their stuff is useful to any DM)

From Eden Studios - _Fields of Blood: A Book of War_

From Fantasy Flight Games - _Cityworks_, _Dungeoncraft_, _Monster's Handbook_, _Traps & Treachery_, _Traps & Treachery II_, and _Wildscape_.

From The Game Mechanics - _Thieves’ Quarter_ and _Temple Quarter_

From Goodman Games - _The Power Gamer’s 3.5 Warrior Strategy Guide_ and _The Power Gamer’s 3.5 Wizard Strategy Guide_

From Green Ronin - _The Book of the Righteous_, _The Medieval Players Handbook_, and the three _Advanced_ Books (_Advanced Bestiary_, _Advanced Gamemaster’s Guide_, and _Advanced Player’s Manual_)

From Kenneth S. Hood - _Grim-n-Gritty Hit Point and Combat Rules_

From Mongoose - Many of the Slayer's Guides and Quintessential books have some good in them, and the Combat System from Conan is worth having around, IMO

From MonkeyGod - _From Stone to Steel_

From Skip Williams - _Cry Havoc_

From XRP - _Magical Medieval Society: Western Europe_

Plus, anything from Creative Mountain Games, of course.


----------



## occam (Mar 27, 2007)

I'll reiterate a couple that have already been mentioned: I gave  *Airships*  from Bastion Press, by Same Witt, as a gift (to my DM), and it looked complete and well laid out. And *Nyambe* is just crazy good.

I also loved *The Complete Guide to Rakshasas*  from Goodman Games, by Matt Sprengeler. Lots of great background info on rakshasa culture drawn from Indian mythology, new rakshasas that are totally different than the standard one, a half-rakshasa template, the yogi base class... all great stuff.


----------



## Psion (Mar 27, 2007)

Just a few... I'm sure that I'll miss lots.

*Spycraft 2.0*. Distilled modern action that flows.
*Darwin's World 2 & Sidewinder Recoiled*- not a huge fan of D20 modern itself, but somehow, it seems a great framework for other systems. These two are great examples.
*Second World Sourcebook*: A great innovative little world-building cookbook that is mechanically inspired and throws the doors wide on the mechanics of D&D and d20 modern and lets you meld them together.
*Hyperconscious* - Psionic sourcebook jam packed with flavor and neat character building materials.
*Advanced Bestiary* and *Book of Templates*: Two tastes that taste great together! A bottomless well of cool monster ideas.
*Magic and Mayhem* and...
*Spells and Magic* - really cool magic sourcebooks.
*Rappan Athuk Reloaded* - a classic megadungeon taken to new heights.
*Book of Fiends* - Fiendish Goodness
*Denizens of Avadnu* - Definitely one of the most undersold victims of the d20 market crash. Pure monster awesomeness.

Again, sure I'm missing lots...


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## DMH (Mar 27, 2007)

One I am currently rereading is Atlas' Splintered Peace. Not for everyone, it covers the issue of racism and the mechanics can be extended to other social issues.


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## Belen (Mar 27, 2007)

philreed said:
			
		

> Possibly. With tens of thousands of PDFs sold there's a good chance any D20 fan that buys PDFs has at least one PDF that I worked on.




Announcement?

One?  I have them all, Mr. Reed.  I only violate my no PDFs rule for you.


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## Nightfall (Mar 28, 2007)

Psion,

You are so right about adding Advanced Beastiary with Book of Templates. That makes for some VERY interesting combos/encounters. *also glad you mentioned RAR since it is the grand-daddy of d20 dungeon crawling*


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## Angel Tarragon (Apr 29, 2007)

Nightfall said:
			
		

> *also glad you mentioned RAR since it is the grand-daddy of d20 dungeon crawling*



I thought that was World's Largest Dungeon?!


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## jdrakeh (Apr 29, 2007)

Kamikaze Midget said:
			
		

> *#1:Northern Crown*. AKA "Septrionalis." It's a mouthful, but the concept is a winner: take early North America, from about Columbus through to the 18th Century and make it Fantasy. A "New World" is a fertile ground for all sorts of mythos and conflict and drama, and NC rolls it all up pretty dang nicely. As a bonus, it's in the same world as Nyambe (which is also great), and makes me really sad that we'll probably never see a Southern Crown.




Amen! Northern Crown has been rockin' my world this month  Let me add. . . 

*Legends of the Samurai*. I have the "forthcoming" hardcover and despite a couple of cut and paste errors where material was lifted from other OGL sources, this book puts Oriental Adventures and Rokugan to shame. This book gets feudal Japan right. The only thing that could make it better is an expanded bestiary with more traditional Japanese monsters (currently, the Japanese beasties of pop culture outnumber those of actual myth).


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## Psion (Apr 29, 2007)

Frukathka said:
			
		

> I thought that was World's Largest Dungeon?!




RAR is much more stylish and is not laden with bizarre assumptions and a redundant first level.


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## jdrakeh (Apr 29, 2007)

Psion said:
			
		

> RAR is much more stylish and is not laden with bizarre assumptions and a redundant first level.




It's also not the same kind of product (WLD is a 1-20 dungeon adventure path, while RAR is a high level dungeon adventure)


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## Ghostwind (Apr 29, 2007)

Sigurd said:
			
		

> Darkwalkers The Evil Within by DragonWing
> 
> http://enworld.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=7598&
> 
> I have not read another source that put evil into a framework that lets evil have a goal\strategy. It keeps everyone from killing each other just to prove how evil they are and has a lot of crunch!




Wow. That's high praise. Thank you very much for it. Slowly, more and more people are picking this up and adding it to their collection. It will be even easier in a few weeks when the print version comes out. It will also be at Gen Con (for those making shopping lists).


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## Teflon Billy (Apr 29, 2007)

Man, I hardly know where to begin. 3rd party uf is the lion's share of what I use...

This should be quite a list, please bear with me...


*Dawnforge*. Awesome setting that manags to be both high-powered and non-cheesy.


*From Stone to Steel*. A truly massive equipment book broken down by historical era with appropraite classes and such tossed in for great justice.


*The Black Company*. Nice low-magic rules, but the real winner here was the rules for equipment.


*Alchemy and Herbalists*. One of the few books that actually made me pay attention to an ignored "nich" in my own campaign.


*Magical Medieval Society: Ecology and Culture*. Best Fantasy Worldbuilding handbook ever. Presented in a very readable fashion (it could've very easily read like a textbook)


*Denizens of Avadnu*. Already well documented in this thread. One of three "go to" books for monsters in my campaign (*Tome of Horrors* and *Monsternomicon* being the other two)...maybe the most unfairly overlooked product of all time.


*Beyond Monks*. Took what I considered to be a very limited and "cookie-cutter" class and jazzed them up considerably, without going the route of _over_powering them.


*Advanced Bestiary*. Not sure this one meets the "doesn't get enough priase" requirement of the thread. The praie heaped on it is well-deserved.


*A Game of Thrones*: Released in a storm of controversy as the publisher went under on a sour note. The product itself is maybe the finest 3rd party effort seen to that point.


*Necromancer's Legacy*. Took a subject I considered both "juvenile" and "done to death" and breathed new life into it.


*Poisoncraft*. Much like *Alchemy and Herbalists* before it, pretty much forced me to expand a niche in my game due to it's awesomeness.


*Airships*. Didn;t think I would like it...seemed gimmicky. Triggered a 9-month campaign that is still talked about fondly.


...and if you aren't meaning just "D&D Fantasy"...


*Sidewinder: Recoiled*. About as fine a Cowboy game as I could wish for.


*Mutants and Masterminds*. Again, not sure if this meets the "no praise" requirement...but it's awesomeness is inarguabl. I wouldn't have thought that D20 would've been a very good model for displacing Champions as the Best SUpers Game ever...I was wrong.


*Spycraft 2.0*. Infinitely better than the already pretty good Spycraft. Awesome game.


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## caudor (Apr 29, 2007)

Mouseferatu said:
			
		

> Thank you, man. Seriously. I really feel that _DoL_ is one of the best projects I've designed, and certainly the best of the various adventures I've written. It's always bugged me that, since it came out at the beginning of Necromancer's partnership with Kenzer, it (and several other modules that came out about the same time) never got all that much attention.




Yeah, I was puzzled why Doom of Listonshire didn't get much attention at the time.  You are probably right...just a quirky timing thing.

DoL can't be praised enough


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## Bacris (Apr 29, 2007)

Wow, I missed this thread the first time around - and the very nice words about my first book on the first page, to boot!

My vote goes to Hyperconscious - it's the 3rd party sourcebook I use most frequently when I game (although mostly for the psicrystal staff and mindscapes combat system... love both!)


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## TarionzCousin (Apr 30, 2007)

Some of my favorites:

Malhavoc's _Chaositech_ and _Book of Iron Might_
Green Ronin _Shaman’s Handbook_
Necromancer Games' _Eldritch Sorcery_
AEG's _Toolbox_

P.S. I dub this thread the "most expensive thread ever," as it is going to cause me to spend mucho dineiro.   
Great recommendations here, folks.


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## Arrgh! Mark! (Apr 30, 2007)

It's been mentioned, but Atlas Games Splintered Peace is a very interesting module; I picked it up for ten bucks from the second hand store, and it is an excellent way to incorporate depth into games. I've been meaning to run it for some time.

Not for everyone, but certainly for people who don't mind dealing with mature topics.

Privateer Press: IK line. I don't much care for the mechanics, but I love the setting. Witchfire Trilogy wasn't very good, though. 

True 20 deserves a mention also. I like it.


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## Yair (Apr 30, 2007)

pawsplay said:
			
		

> I've always wondered why Atlas Games' _Love & War_ didn't get more love. It's a fantastic book. Ruleswise, it's head and shoulders above the PHBII knight, introducing a half dozen knight prestige classes, tons of feats, and a very satisfying amount of discusson. It's a whole book full of ideas relevant to "would a knight do X" or "would a paladin do X." I feel it's a great look at medieval romance, something D&D could use more of.



I'll second that. I really loved Love & War.


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## Darrin Drader (Apr 30, 2007)

This thread actually caused me to buy Denizens of Avadnu (many months ago, back before the foul necromancy brought it back), and I agree that it is one of the best monster books ever made. I know nothing about the world of Avadnu, but this monster book doesn't revolve around the setting, and the monsters are very usable in standard D&D.


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## Aus_Snow (Apr 30, 2007)

The monster book actually came before the setting (er, the setting _book_ anyway), which is yet to arrive on the scene (that is, the *Avadnu Primer*). The *Broken Isles* PDFs came out not too far back though, detailing one smallish section of Avadnu. Very cool. 


Just thought I'd second the *Book of Broken Dreams* and *Nature's Wrath*, too, while I was at it. Underappreciated, I'm sure.


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## EditorBFG (Apr 30, 2007)

Fishbone said:
			
		

> You know what, to save time I'm just going to give a blanket recommendation to anything Mike Mearls has ever done on the Legends and Lairs line, is doing on the Legends and Lairs line, and will do on the Legends and Lairs line, world without end, amen.



Especially _Darkness & Dread,_ which is almost a complete new OGL RPG in and of itself. Brilliant examination of horror in fantasy with lost of useful crunch.

Hopefully, Mike Mearls's new gig at WotC, which seems to be more directly writing rules, will allow him to start doing the same quality of work he did for Legends and Lairs.

What, no Big Finger Games' products in this thread? Do we need to do more fantasy stuff?


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## DMH (Apr 30, 2007)

Catalog #12 from Lost Worlds

http://enworld.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=5378&

The items are useful, varied, but the gem is the artificer class which makes temporary magical items on the fly.


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## kigmatzomat (Apr 30, 2007)

RedFox said:
			
		

> Oh man, Dragonstar looks freakin' awesome.  Anyone got more info on that one?  The website's only half-functional and it looks like the books are OOP.




It is awesome and it is out of print.  The DS PH and DMG (starfarer's guide and ?? System guide??) are really all you need.  The game is a pretty slick mix of magic and tech, kinda SR meets battletech in implementation.  

Lots of potential.  A friend keeps saying he's going to run but it never happens.


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## Alzrius (Apr 30, 2007)

These are the books that blew my socks off when I read them. This isn't to say that these are the best books out there, but these are the one that were even better than I expected, to the point where I think they deserve more than 5 out of 5 stars:

The Bestiary: Predators, by Betabunny Publishing. Weighing in at 250 pages, this PDF not only gives stats for dozens upon dozens of real animals, but also covers things like their habitats, eating habits, value alive and dead, whether or not they're edible, life cycle, paw prints, and so much more. It rightfully notes that characters in a fantasy realm wouldn't know as much about normal animals as we do now, and includes excerpts from the historical Bestiary by Pliny the Elder. This book goes far, far beyond the extra mile in what it presents.

Kitsunemori, by Dog Soul Publishing. This Folkloric campaign setting is meant to be fantasy Japan, and it does a spectacular job. Rather than overloading us with new feats, spells, prestige classes, etc., it only has a few of those. Instead, it focuses on interesting new sub-systems like Hearth Magic (used via skills), Geomancy, the Tao, magatama (elemental stones), and more. Best of all, the kitsune (fox spirits) are given so much coverage that it's incredible. Not just new racial information, they have their own classes, and fox magic. This is the best fantasy Japan I've ever seen, hands down.

The Book of Unremitting Horror, by Pelgrane Press. This is so much more than just a monster book. Meant for _d20 Modern_, this is a book of nightmares. Each of the monsters is gruesomely drawn, and provides vivid opening fiction, as well as notes of what's left of the victims. The grisly new artifacts and the adventure at the end of the book just help showcase the horror better. This is one of the few RPG books that actually scared me as I read it.

Octavirate Presents Vol. #5: Collectabeast!, by Octavirate Games. Sometimes the best changes are the smallest. Collectabeast thematically brings Pokemon and Digimon to d20, and does so masterfully. The new templates make a series of small changes that radically alter existing d20 monsters to adorable, nonlethal variants, adding new depth to familiar creatures! The new artwork and names given really spur the imagination, and with their wide variety of optional d20 rules and alternate genre support sidebars, the possibilities of what's given here are mind-boggling. This is easily my most favorite product from what's rapidly becoming one of my favorite d20 publishers.


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## MoogleEmpMog (Apr 30, 2007)

When I think "freaking awesome 3rd Party Books," (or "Freaking Awesome RPG Books In General"), the first thing that leaps to mind is RPG Objects' Blood and Fists.

I'm reluctant to even list anything else, because this is simply the best of the best for me.  I really wish I'd gotten the .pdf, because my print copy is looking heavily used these days.


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## Edheldur (Apr 30, 2007)

Alzrius said:
			
		

> Octavirate Presents Vol. #5: Collectabeast!, by Otavirate Games.



That's a product I would've never imagined. Still, I know someone who will absolutely LOVE it from what you've described.


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## jgbrowning (Apr 30, 2007)

Troll Lord's World Builder. It got a lot of flak for what it is (mostly lists of information), but it's a bunch of _useful_ information, IMO.

joe b.


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## ColonelHardisson (May 1, 2007)

jgbrowning said:
			
		

> Troll Lord's World Builder. It got a lot of flak for what it is (mostly lists of information), but it's a bunch of _useful_ information, IMO.
> 
> joe b.




Yeah, I really, really love that book. But then, I loved all that kinda stuff in the 1e DMG.


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## Vigilance (May 1, 2007)

MoogleEmpMog said:
			
		

> When I think "freaking awesome 3rd Party Books," (or "Freaking Awesome RPG Books In General"), the first thing that leaps to mind is RPG Objects' Blood and Fists.
> 
> I'm reluctant to even list anything else, because this is simply the best of the best for me.  I really wish I'd gotten the .pdf, because my print copy is looking heavily used these days.




Folks who buy RPGObjects' print books get a free copy of the PDF. 

Make an account at RPGObjects.com and email me the account email address at rpgchuck (at) gmail (dot) com.

I'll add it to your account, and you can download the PDF. 

Also- thanks to everyone who mentioned one of my books or another RPGO release. It's greatly appreciated. 

Chuck


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## Ulric (May 1, 2007)

Darkwalkers The Evil Within 



			
				Ghostwind said:
			
		

> Wow. That's high praise. Thank you very much for it. Slowly, more and more people are picking this up and adding it to their collection. It will be even easier in a few weeks when the print version comes out. It will also be at Gen Con (for those making shopping lists).




Print Version? 

How and Where Do I get it?


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## Ghostwind (May 1, 2007)

It should be available in mid-May from local game stores or from the Studio 2 online store. Or you can pick it up at Gen Con.


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## Imaro (May 2, 2007)

Don't know if anyone mentioned it yet but I liked the Dark Legacies Campaign Setting from Red Spire Press.  It's one of the all around best "dark fantasy" settings for D&D 3.5

I also want to second Nyambe as a great book.


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## JVisgaitis (May 2, 2007)

Imaro said:
			
		

> Don't know if anyone mentioned it yet but I liked the Dark Legacies Campaign Setting from Red Spire Press.  It's one of the all around best "dark fantasy" settings for D&D 3.5




I think I may have mentioned it, but it does deserve a second nod. Great set of books.


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## Ulric (May 4, 2007)

Just got done reading the "Echoes of Heaven Campaign Setting" Book. 

I'll post a review soon. 

Definitely a 3rd Party Book that doesn't get enough praise.


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## mxyzplk (May 4, 2007)

Not fantasy, but the Book of Unremitting Horror is one of the most awesome d20 supplements out there!


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## khyron1144 (May 4, 2007)

To me, one of the most praiseworthy books that does not recieve enough praise is Necromancer's Tome of Horrors.  I really like the old monsters, and I found the decision to turn the Cat Lord into a template actually works.


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## Sigurd (May 4, 2007)

*Atlas Games Come Back!*

I read through the entire thread. One of the things that struck me is that sometimes whole publishers get no love and not enough recognition.


Atlas Games - I loved Penumbra and all the D20 stuff of yours that I've seen. Come back to D20! E23 doesn't do bundles and truthfully I find some of your prices high for an abandoned 3.0 edtn line. Have a sale that will let me justify a bulk purchase.

AEG - Some Really Good books. I dont own any of them, but a friend does. Your books are so well organized and comprehensive!


Finally - an odd Favourite

Loot 4 Less V1 - Rings and Things by Owen K.C. Stephens

Great and believable magic for lower levels. Here's the 'bundle' of vol 1&2 for $1.74

http://enworld.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=21570&


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## Rawhide (May 4, 2007)

Sigurd said:
			
		

> AEG - Some Really Good books. I dont own any of them, but a friend does. Your books are so well organized and comprehensive!




i do own a lot of those books. While balance is often iffy, the ideas within are always awesome.




			
				Sigurd said:
			
		

> Loot 4 Less V1 - Rings and Things by Owen K.C. Stephens
> 
> Great and believable magic for lower levels. Here's the 'bundle' of vol 1&2 for $1.74
> 
> http://enworld.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=21570&




those are great! i had no idea they had been bundled. that's great news for some players i know.

isn't vol 3 supposed to be out soon?


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## Jeff Wilder (May 4, 2007)

Ace said:
			
		

> I also really liked Citizen Games Way of the Witch. It was one of the few game books other than Blue Rose with good fluff text and the rules were cool too.



Is that the one with the Vitke prestige class?  We still laugh about that one in our game group.  One of the players -- RL Wiccan -- wanted to play a "witch."  I'd just gotten _Witch's Handbook_, thought it was cool, and suggested that.  He says, "Well, I'd rather play this," producing the Vitke.

Fighter's BAB, full spell progression, two or three good saves, d8 or d10 HD, and a special ability damn near every level, including use of a magical one-handed bastard sword.  "Yeah, I imagine you would!"


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## Thomas Percy (May 5, 2007)

I have to use nearly all Atlas Penumbra pdfs. Not perfect from the crunch poin of view, but contain thousands upon thousands little interesting fluff ideas.


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## jdrakeh (May 5, 2007)

Year of the Zombie for d20 Modern.


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## Vigilance (May 6, 2007)

jdrakeh said:
			
		

> Year of the Zombie for d20 Modern.




Seconded. Awesome, awesome book.


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## Dannyalcatraz (May 6, 2007)

Never heard of it- who makes it?


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## Teflon Billy (May 6, 2007)

jdrakeh said:
			
		

> Year of the Zombie for d20 Modern.




Oh Yeaaaah!

I'm not certain how I missed that one.

Tim Willard and his crew's take on "zombie apocalypse" is just brilliantly done. Good reading, good rules and thought-provoking.

Solid


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## Voadam (Jul 6, 2009)

Dannyalcatraz said:


> Never heard of it- who makes it?




Year of the Zombie by UKG Publishing.


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