I have the chance to get a new source book and I don't know what to get. So I want to know what your favorites are so I can choose better( Their also cool to hear about.).
My favorite sourcebook by far is Xanathar's Guide to Everything. The book is of helpful variant rules, new subclasses, and new spells. The jokes are also pretty funny, even if they are cheesy. Also, XGtE contains a bunch of common magic items, which aren't in the DMG. Whether you are a DM or a player (or both), XGtE is definitely the book I'd recommend.
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All stars fade. Some stars forever fall. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Homebrew (Mostly Outdated):Magic Items,Monsters,Spells,Subclasses ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If there was no light, people wouldn't fear the dark.
My favorite sourcebook by far is Xanathar's Guide to Everything. The book is of helpful variant rules, new subclasses, and new spells. The jokes are also pretty funny, even if they are cheesy. Also, XGtE contains a bunch of common magic items, which aren't in the DMG. Whether you are a DM or a player (or both), XGtE is definitely the book I'd recommend.
Cheese is my jam.😁 XGtE is my favorite outside the big 3, PHB, DMG, and MM.
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Human. Male. Possibly. Don't be a divider. My characters' backgrounds are written like instruction manuals rather than stories. My opinion and preferences don't mean you're wrong. I am 99.7603% convinced that the digital dice are messing with me. I roll high when nobody's looking and low when anyone else can see.🎲 “It's a bit early to be thinking about an epitaph. No?” will be my epitaph.
My favorite is the 144 page, first edition, Deities and Demigods from 1980. The one with the Newhon, Cthulhu, and Melnibonean Mythos stuff in it. Also, City Works from 3.5 Edition was a great sourcebook with alternative takes on a lot of classes. Right now I'm still new to this whole 5th Edition stuff, but it's all so very well put together that I am just super impressed with all of it.
I'm sure there's a buying guide out here but as has been pointed out after PHB, DMG, and MM, most folks will tell you to pick up Xanthar's. If you got that, and are content with your current creature/monster load, you might want to hold onto your money for a couple of weeks and get Tasha's to see what the fuss is all about (or you can pre-order the DDB edition here right now if it's burning a hole in your pocket). After those, if you're looking for general probably helpful for any game, I'd go with either Mord's Tome of Foes or Volo's Guide to Monsters. Volo's gives tables for some common "monstrous" races to be used as player character races, plus more monsters. Mord's is more lore on some major conflicts in most D&D games, and then does a deep dive into the participants. As a result you get more options for types of elves (mostly) but also some of the other humanoid races as well. I'd say if you want lore to either provide you a "big war" context to place your characters within, or provide models for how to set up that sort of conflict between other factions of your choosing for your own worldbuilding, Mord's has that, After those two books I'd see what else in the WotC output interests you, but would also start branching out into third party publishers.
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Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
OK then I agree with the consensus that the next best one to get is Xanathar's Guide. It's got a little something for everyone, so it will be useful in many contexts.
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WOTC lies. We know that WOTC lies. WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. We know that WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. And still they lie.
Because of the above (a paraphrase from Orwell) I no longer post to the forums -- PM me if you need help or anything.
yep, as everyone s saying, XGtE (Xanathar's Guide to Everything) is great, and my personal favorite. VGtM (Volo's Guide to Monsters) is also good, especially for DMs. TCoE (Tasha's Cauldron of Everything) is coming soon, and seems pretty cool.
XGtE: what @Thauraeln_The_Bold said. "My favorite sourcebook by far is Xanathar's Guide to Everything. The book is of helpful variant rules, new subclasses, and new spells. The jokes are also pretty funny, even if they are cheesy. Also, XGtE contains a bunch of common magic items, which aren't in the DMG. Whether you are a DM or a player (or both), XGtE is definitely the book I'd recommend. "
VGtM: is pretty useful, especially for DMs. includes some lore on some monsters (beholders, giants, gnolls, gobliniods, hags, kobalds, mind flayers, orcs, yaun ti), most of the common monters as playable races, and a TON of new monsters. i have found it extremely useful, but still recommend XGtE more.
TCoE: (I'm just going to copy the DDB description, as i dont know much more than that about it. it is not out, but coming soon) • 192 pages full of new rules options and 22 new subclasses for all of the character classes in the Player’s Handbook, like Fey Wanderer • Introducing the artificer in a major rules expansion, plus a new subclass • New spells, magic items, and artifacts, as well as the introduction of magical tattoos and Group Patrons like the Merfolk King and sidekicks • An expanded Dungeon Master toolkit, including a plethora of puzzle guides of varying difficulty like the Display of Daggers • New rules to rework a character's racial traits to customize their origin story • Run games in unnatural environments like Magic Storms
SCAG: includes a TON of lore about the sword coast, a few subclasses, a variant teifling race, some spells that also apear in XGtE, and some backrounds. if you want to go super in deapth with the sword coast, this could be a good purchase, but generally, i think some of the other source books would be a better choice.
MOoT: has a bunch of stuff about making gods feel more preasant in your game, some races, subclasses, a lot of monsters, some magic items, and lore about a world called theros. its a cool book, especially if you are into greek stuff, but i would still rather get XGtE.
MToF: has lore on wars and conflicts, along with a race, and a bunch of monsters. a great choice for DMs.
yep, as everyone s saying, XGtE (Xanathar's Guide to Everything) is great, and my personal favorite. VGtM (Volo's Guide to Monsters) is also good, especially for DMs. TCoE (Tasha's Cauldron of Everything) is coming soon, and seems pretty cool.
I'm thinking about DMing so I will probably get volo's guide
Volo’s isn’t a bad choice. I too would have recommended Xanathar’s, but Volo’s isn’t bad at all. It has lots of Race options for both Players and DMs to use, and a good chunk of Monster Stat blocks too.
Volo’s isn’t a bad choice. I too would have recommended Xanathar’s, but Volo’s isn’t bad at all. It has lots of Race options for both Players and DMs to use, and a good chunk of Monster Stat blocks too.
Really i thought it was lore but that sounds cool too.
The value of lore is entirely dependent on how well that lore fits into your campaign setting. Since I use an old setting no longer supported for D&D, lore is often not one of the most valuable aspects to me personally when assessing any publication like that. Lore isn’t bad, but it doesn’t always fit for everyone, so I tend to not include it when making these evaluations. Besides, even if it fits, whether or not someone likes it is still entirely subjective.
If I had known that you were specifically considering your purchase based on lore over mechanics, i might have instead recommended an alternate campaign setting like Eberron or Wildmount for example. I find “the realms” so boring that I’m one of the ones who “forgot” them in the first place. But for someone who loves the FR, those settings might hold less interest, and therefore less value. See what I mean about subjectivity?
But races for PCs and NPCs and monsters for the DM to throw at players are more objectively useful, and they can be adapted to fit any lore for any world as needed. Hence why I mentioned the value I place on those as reasons to purchase that book.
As you can see, there are many reasons people enjoy the different products available for purchase. I hope you enjoy Volo’s!
Xanathar’s - or Tasha’s. Xanathar is better for subclasses and extra rules, Tasha’s is better for getting one’s mind going for homebrew and it fixes Beastmaster. It’s really up to you.
I have the chance to get a new source book and I don't know what to get. So I want to know what your favorites are so I can choose better( Their also cool to hear about.).
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Count as high as you can before Nikoli_Goodfellow Posts!
Extended Signature, The Best Paradox, We all knew it.
I participate in the Level 20 Gladiator Arena with several champions they are all in my extended signature Win Streak: 0 Total Wins: 19 Total Loses: 6
Well, what do you have so far? Hard to know what to suggest if we don't know what you already have.
WOTC lies. We know that WOTC lies. WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. We know that WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. And still they lie.
Because of the above (a paraphrase from Orwell) I no longer post to the forums -- PM me if you need help or anything.
My favorite sourcebook by far is Xanathar's Guide to Everything. The book is of helpful variant rules, new subclasses, and new spells. The jokes are also pretty funny, even if they are cheesy. Also, XGtE contains a bunch of common magic items, which aren't in the DMG. Whether you are a DM or a player (or both), XGtE is definitely the book I'd recommend.
All stars fade. Some stars forever fall.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Homebrew (Mostly Outdated): Magic Items, Monsters, Spells, Subclasses
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If there was no light, people wouldn't fear the dark.
Cheese is my jam.😁 XGtE is my favorite outside the big 3, PHB, DMG, and MM.
Human. Male. Possibly. Don't be a divider.
My characters' backgrounds are written like instruction manuals rather than stories. My opinion and preferences don't mean you're wrong.
I am 99.7603% convinced that the digital dice are messing with me. I roll high when nobody's looking and low when anyone else can see.🎲
“It's a bit early to be thinking about an epitaph. No?” will be my epitaph.
Favourite as player or as DM? WotC only, or is third party material accepted?
Want to start playing but don't have anyone to play with? You can try these options: [link].
My favorite is the 144 page, first edition, Deities and Demigods from 1980. The one with the Newhon, Cthulhu, and Melnibonean Mythos stuff in it. Also, City Works from 3.5 Edition was a great sourcebook with alternative takes on a lot of classes. Right now I'm still new to this whole 5th Edition stuff, but it's all so very well put together that I am just super impressed with all of it.
I'm sure there's a buying guide out here but as has been pointed out after PHB, DMG, and MM, most folks will tell you to pick up Xanthar's. If you got that, and are content with your current creature/monster load, you might want to hold onto your money for a couple of weeks and get Tasha's to see what the fuss is all about (or you can pre-order the DDB edition here right now if it's burning a hole in your pocket). After those, if you're looking for general probably helpful for any game, I'd go with either Mord's Tome of Foes or Volo's Guide to Monsters. Volo's gives tables for some common "monstrous" races to be used as player character races, plus more monsters. Mord's is more lore on some major conflicts in most D&D games, and then does a deep dive into the participants. As a result you get more options for types of elves (mostly) but also some of the other humanoid races as well. I'd say if you want lore to either provide you a "big war" context to place your characters within, or provide models for how to set up that sort of conflict between other factions of your choosing for your own worldbuilding, Mord's has that, After those two books I'd see what else in the WotC output interests you, but would also start branching out into third party publishers.
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
I have the DMG, PHB, MM
Black Lives Matter
Count as high as you can before Nikoli_Goodfellow Posts!
Extended Signature, The Best Paradox, We all knew it.
I participate in the Level 20 Gladiator Arena with several champions they are all in my extended signature Win Streak: 0 Total Wins: 19 Total Loses: 6
OK then I agree with the consensus that the next best one to get is Xanathar's Guide. It's got a little something for everyone, so it will be useful in many contexts.
WOTC lies. We know that WOTC lies. WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. We know that WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. And still they lie.
Because of the above (a paraphrase from Orwell) I no longer post to the forums -- PM me if you need help or anything.
The best one other than the big three is probably xanathars by a landslide. Then maybe the wildemount guide, or the eberron guide.
When players get creative.
yep, as everyone s saying, XGtE (Xanathar's Guide to Everything) is great, and my personal favorite. VGtM (Volo's Guide to Monsters) is also good, especially for DMs. TCoE (Tasha's Cauldron of Everything) is coming soon, and seems pretty cool.
I am an average mathematics enjoyer.
>Extended Signature<
here's a description of most of them:
XGtE: what @Thauraeln_The_Bold said. "My favorite sourcebook by far is Xanathar's Guide to Everything. The book is of helpful variant rules, new subclasses, and new spells. The jokes are also pretty funny, even if they are cheesy. Also, XGtE contains a bunch of common magic items, which aren't in the DMG. Whether you are a DM or a player (or both), XGtE is definitely the book I'd recommend. "
VGtM: is pretty useful, especially for DMs. includes some lore on some monsters (beholders, giants, gnolls, gobliniods, hags, kobalds, mind flayers, orcs, yaun ti), most of the common monters as playable races, and a TON of new monsters. i have found it extremely useful, but still recommend XGtE more.
TCoE: (I'm just going to copy the DDB description, as i dont know much more than that about it. it is not out, but coming soon) • 192 pages full of new rules options and 22 new subclasses for all of the character classes in the Player’s Handbook, like Fey Wanderer
• Introducing the artificer in a major rules expansion, plus a new subclass
• New spells, magic items, and artifacts, as well as the introduction of magical tattoos and Group Patrons like the Merfolk King and sidekicks
• An expanded Dungeon Master toolkit, including a plethora of puzzle guides of varying difficulty like the Display of Daggers
• New rules to rework a character's racial traits to customize their origin story
• Run games in unnatural environments like Magic Storms
SCAG: includes a TON of lore about the sword coast, a few subclasses, a variant teifling race, some spells that also apear in XGtE, and some backrounds. if you want to go super in deapth with the sword coast, this could be a good purchase, but generally, i think some of the other source books would be a better choice.
MOoT: has a bunch of stuff about making gods feel more preasant in your game, some races, subclasses, a lot of monsters, some magic items, and lore about a world called theros. its a cool book, especially if you are into greek stuff, but i would still rather get XGtE.
MToF: has lore on wars and conflicts, along with a race, and a bunch of monsters. a great choice for DMs.
I'll send more once i have time!
I am an average mathematics enjoyer.
>Extended Signature<
I'm thinking about DMing so I will probably get volo's guide
Black Lives Matter
Count as high as you can before Nikoli_Goodfellow Posts!
Extended Signature, The Best Paradox, We all knew it.
I participate in the Level 20 Gladiator Arena with several champions they are all in my extended signature Win Streak: 0 Total Wins: 19 Total Loses: 6
I ended up getting Volo's guide I will have it on Monday
Black Lives Matter
Count as high as you can before Nikoli_Goodfellow Posts!
Extended Signature, The Best Paradox, We all knew it.
I participate in the Level 20 Gladiator Arena with several champions they are all in my extended signature Win Streak: 0 Total Wins: 19 Total Loses: 6
Volo’s isn’t a bad choice. I too would have recommended Xanathar’s, but Volo’s isn’t bad at all. It has lots of Race options for both Players and DMs to use, and a good chunk of Monster Stat blocks too.
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting
Really i thought it was lore but that sounds cool too.
Black Lives Matter
Count as high as you can before Nikoli_Goodfellow Posts!
Extended Signature, The Best Paradox, We all knew it.
I participate in the Level 20 Gladiator Arena with several champions they are all in my extended signature Win Streak: 0 Total Wins: 19 Total Loses: 6
The value of lore is entirely dependent on how well that lore fits into your campaign setting. Since I use an old setting no longer supported for D&D, lore is often not one of the most valuable aspects to me personally when assessing any publication like that. Lore isn’t bad, but it doesn’t always fit for everyone, so I tend to not include it when making these evaluations. Besides, even if it fits, whether or not someone likes it is still entirely subjective.
If I had known that you were specifically considering your purchase based on lore over mechanics, i might have instead recommended an alternate campaign setting like Eberron or Wildmount for example. I find “the realms” so boring that I’m one of the ones who “forgot” them in the first place. But for someone who loves the FR, those settings might hold less interest, and therefore less value. See what I mean about subjectivity?
But races for PCs and NPCs and monsters for the DM to throw at players are more objectively useful, and they can be adapted to fit any lore for any world as needed. Hence why I mentioned the value I place on those as reasons to purchase that book.
As you can see, there are many reasons people enjoy the different products available for purchase. I hope you enjoy Volo’s!
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting
Volos- you had better wait - oh curses. THEY JUST ERRATA'd IT! YOU'VE GOT AN OUT-OF-DATE COPY!
Frequent Eladrin || They/Them, but accept all pronouns
Luz Noceda would like to remind you that you're worth loving!
yah i'm thinking i might get Xanathar’s guide next
Black Lives Matter
Count as high as you can before Nikoli_Goodfellow Posts!
Extended Signature, The Best Paradox, We all knew it.
I participate in the Level 20 Gladiator Arena with several champions they are all in my extended signature Win Streak: 0 Total Wins: 19 Total Loses: 6
Xanathar’s - or Tasha’s. Xanathar is better for subclasses and extra rules, Tasha’s is better for getting one’s mind going for homebrew and it fixes Beastmaster. It’s really up to you.
Frequent Eladrin || They/Them, but accept all pronouns
Luz Noceda would like to remind you that you're worth loving!