Greetings fellow adventurers, I've started running a campaign with the basic rules, and Lost Mines of Phandelver. I'm looking to branch off into a homebrew campaign in the Forgotten Realms after that. I was initially planning on buying the PHB, DMG, and Monster Manual, but is this the best way to go to get the best bang for my buck? Are there any other books I should consider? I don't really want to spend more than these 3 books ($90 USD), and I'll be waiting for a 25% coupon before I buy, so it seems I have some time.
If you had $90 USD to spend, what would you buy and why?
Those three core rulebooks are the best three to start with, in my opinion. You and your players will have plenty to use for any game you want to run! Now if your players decide to buy the PHB, freeing up some funds for you to invest in another book, I have a three suggestions:
* Xanathar's Guide to Everything - a wealth of resources for both players and DMs! More subclasses, spells, lists of names, a whole sections on a bunch of DM tools, downtime actives, alternative encounter builders, and more.
* Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide - If you want to keep your game in the Forgotten Realms and want extra information on the Sword Coast to both use as reference and draw inspiration from then this is an excellent book. Tons of lore, maps, history, and religion...plus a few class and background options for your players!
* Storm Kings Thunder - Say you suddenly had some extra cash and could afford a bit more then you originally thought. While this is an adventure (and a great one at that) and you mentioned wanting to homebrew a campaign, this book offers a huge sandbox chapter filled with information on almost every town on the Sword Coast and beyond! I ran several months of a campaign just using Chapter 3 as reference and inspiration. For your purposes the first two books are your best bet, but down the line if you need more Faerun this is an excellent book.
I would suggest starting with the free, Basic Rules (which is actually Basic Rules + OGL content + EE Players' Companion) whilst you play LMoP. You'll then have a much better idea of what you're missing (whilst also waiting for a coupon to come up).
The PHB is the most important book by a country mile, as you will sorely miss the sub-races, subclasses, backgrounds and spells that are absent from the Basic Rules. Even, or especially, as DM you'll likely want it. I think (citation needed) that even WotC advocate getting this book first.
After the PHB, I bought the XGtE on a whim and, whilst I like it, it's far from a necessity. Things like that and Volo's you can always just buy the specific races/subclasses that you're after. DMG and MM you can live without initially, or at least I do. I'd say MM ahead of DMG.
Another consideration is the "PHB + 1" rule, which in essence means characters shouldn't get to pick all the goodies from all the books, lest they become OP and/or befuddle the DM by having to reference too many sources. This is for Adventurers League play, but WotC recommend it (again, citation needed) for general use.
There is another recommendation thread somewhere on these forums (I think) with advice far more sagely than mine. Other good resources are Reddit and rpg.stackexchange.com, e.g.:
The Player Handbook, DM manual, and Monster Guide are CORE books to start. However, DEFINITELY get Xanathar's. It adds more spells to your players, more subclass options, feats, and a LOT more in the DNDbeyond system. Those 4 books are the bare minimum I'd go with myself.
After that, it's really just a decision of if you want to add things here and there. I've been contemplating Volo's for the evil races. Just not sure Eberron, Volos, Sword coast, or Modenkein's offers enough for me the pull the trigger. They seem more luxury than need.
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Greetings fellow adventurers, I've started running a campaign with the basic rules, and Lost Mines of Phandelver. I'm looking to branch off into a homebrew campaign in the Forgotten Realms after that. I was initially planning on buying the PHB, DMG, and Monster Manual, but is this the best way to go to get the best bang for my buck? Are there any other books I should consider? I don't really want to spend more than these 3 books ($90 USD), and I'll be waiting for a 25% coupon before I buy, so it seems I have some time.
If you had $90 USD to spend, what would you buy and why?
Thanks in advance!
You might be able to hold off on the MM for a while as there are quite a few free monsters. XGtE is a great supplement for both players and DMs.
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InsiderThose three core rulebooks are the best three to start with, in my opinion. You and your players will have plenty to use for any game you want to run! Now if your players decide to buy the PHB, freeing up some funds for you to invest in another book, I have a three suggestions:
* Xanathar's Guide to Everything - a wealth of resources for both players and DMs! More subclasses, spells, lists of names, a whole sections on a bunch of DM tools, downtime actives, alternative encounter builders, and more.
* Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide - If you want to keep your game in the Forgotten Realms and want extra information on the Sword Coast to both use as reference and draw inspiration from then this is an excellent book. Tons of lore, maps, history, and religion...plus a few class and background options for your players!
* Storm Kings Thunder - Say you suddenly had some extra cash and could afford a bit more then you originally thought. While this is an adventure (and a great one at that) and you mentioned wanting to homebrew a campaign, this book offers a huge sandbox chapter filled with information on almost every town on the Sword Coast and beyond! I ran several months of a campaign just using Chapter 3 as reference and inspiration. For your purposes the first two books are your best bet, but down the line if you need more Faerun this is an excellent book.
Find me on Twitter: @OboeLauren
If you wait for a 25% Coupon, you can buy 4 books for 89,97$. Every single book costs 22,49 with 25% Coupon.
I recommend this 4 books:
Player Handbook
Dungeon Master Book
Monster Manuel
Xanathra‘s Guide to Everything
I would suggest starting with the free, Basic Rules (which is actually Basic Rules + OGL content + EE Players' Companion) whilst you play LMoP. You'll then have a much better idea of what you're missing (whilst also waiting for a coupon to come up).
The PHB is the most important book by a country mile, as you will sorely miss the sub-races, subclasses, backgrounds and spells that are absent from the Basic Rules. Even, or especially, as DM you'll likely want it. I think (citation needed) that even WotC advocate getting this book first.
After the PHB, I bought the XGtE on a whim and, whilst I like it, it's far from a necessity. Things like that and Volo's you can always just buy the specific races/subclasses that you're after. DMG and MM you can live without initially, or at least I do. I'd say MM ahead of DMG.
Another consideration is the "PHB + 1" rule, which in essence means characters shouldn't get to pick all the goodies from all the books, lest they become OP and/or befuddle the DM by having to reference too many sources. This is for Adventurers League play, but WotC recommend it (again, citation needed) for general use.
There is another recommendation thread somewhere on these forums (I think) with advice far more sagely than mine. Other good resources are Reddit and rpg.stackexchange.com, e.g.:
Finally, I think this guide does a reasonable job of categorising the different publications: https://www.dungeonsolvers.com/2018/03/22/which-dd-5e-book-should-you-buy/
Edit: I neglected to mention it - and it's not Forgotten realms - but Curse of Strahd is absolutely awesome as a campaign setting.
The Player Handbook, DM manual, and Monster Guide are CORE books to start. However, DEFINITELY get Xanathar's. It adds more spells to your players, more subclass options, feats, and a LOT more in the DNDbeyond system. Those 4 books are the bare minimum I'd go with myself.
After that, it's really just a decision of if you want to add things here and there. I've been contemplating Volo's for the evil races. Just not sure Eberron, Volos, Sword coast, or Modenkein's offers enough for me the pull the trigger. They seem more luxury than need.
"There is only do and do not, there is no try." - Master Yoda