* * * Wizards Community Thread * * * -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Thread : What are the Top 10 Best Campaign Supplements Ever? Started at 09-19-07 06:20 PM by KingThor Visit at http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=926484 -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 1] Author : KingThor Date : 09-19-07 06:20 PM Thread Title : What are the Top 10 Best Campaign Supplements Ever? Hi, I'm just thinking about getting back in. I managed to acquire the 3.0 PHB, DMG, and MM used. I read through it but seem a little uncertain if I like it. I started playing in highschool in hte 80's with 1st and 2nd edition and they were fine. I sold most of my stuff to get into Magic The Gathering in the late 90's but have a smattering of stuff left including most of the brown books (e.g. The Complete Fighter) all of the Player's Option books, the D&D Basic Sets, and a smattering of other stuff (e.g. Wilderness Survival Guide + Unearther Arcana etc). I am looking to expand on the world I built so I was wondering what the best Campaign Supplements are out there. I missed anything from @1997 onwards but from my memory these were the best: 1) Dungeon Master Design Kit (Awesome, totally kills writers block!) 2) World Builder's Guidebook (for realistic grounding) 3) Campaign Sourcebook and Catacomb Guide (fluff and realism) 4) Villains Guidebook (memorable enemies) 5) DMG (obviously) 6) Book of Lairs (for Ad-Hoc adventures) 7) Al - Qadim (New theme, new classes) 8) Oriental Adventures (New Theme new classes) 9) Unearthed Arcana (random assortment of goodies) 10) B1-9 In Search of Adventure (Mega Module in case not enough time to prepare adventures) I know WOTC has put out some new stuff such as Cityscape, Dungeonscape, Stormwrack, etc. Are any of these worthwhile? Are there any that you recommend (Don't have to be WOTC/TSR can be any source)? Thanks! -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 2] Author : tankschmidt Date : 09-20-07 09:28 AM Thread Title : Re: What are the Top 10 Best Campaign Supplements Ever? It's likely that a lot of people who frequent this particular forum don't own a lot of WoTC-published material either. Some of the books I find myself using the most as campaign supplements are (in order!): 1. 1st edition AD&D DMG 2. OD&D (1974) Underworld & Wilderness Adventures 3. Mentzer D&D Rules Cyclopedia 4. GAZ1 - The Grand Duchy of Karameikos 5. www.dragonsfoot.org 6. Troll Lord Games' Castle Zagyg: Yggsburgh Setting 7. Aurora's Whole Realms Catalog 8. D&D 3.5 Heroes of Horror 9. OD&D (1974) Supplement II: Blackmoor 10. Judges' Guild adventure "Caverns of Thracia" (the original, of course, for inspiration!) -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 3] Author : Prof. Pacali Date : 09-20-07 09:37 AM Thread Title : Re: What are the Top 10 Best Campaign Supplements Ever? Here are my suggestions in no particular order: 1) Domains of Dread: the definitive 2E Ravenloft sourcebook. For the first time there were rules for playing natives of the Lands of the Mists. Combined with the 3.0 Ravenloft Campaign Setting sourcebook, published by Arthaus under a license from WotC, there is everything a Ravenloft DM could possibly need to run an evocative gothic horror campaign regardless of what rules you use. 2) Planescape boxed set: Between the philosophy and the DiTerlizzi artwork, this is one of the best of the settings that TSR put out in the mid-90's. Also grab the Planewalker's Handbook, the Factol's Manifesto, and the adventure modules "The Great Modron March". 3) Red Hand of Doom: the best adventure module WotC has released for 3.5. It may not be that "backwards compatible", but definitely worth reading for stealing ideas. 4) The 1E DMG: The rules are dated, there's no organization to speak of, but it is chock full of adventure ideas for any edition. 5) Any issue of Dragon Magazine from Roger Moore's tenure: this was when I first started reading Dragon, and I loved the way that his editorial tone was lightheated and funloving. That said, try to get issues from Erik Mona's recent tenure as well, as he also has a true love of D&D in all it's forms. 6) The Order of the Stick webcomic: You asked for something to supplement your campaign? What could be better than a hilarious fantasy world created by the runner-up in WotC's contest for a new campaign world? Seriously, once you get past the jokes about the rules, there is a wealth of material to steal for your campaign. Go to http://www.giantitp.com for a really good laugh, a little bit of crying, and some insight into why certain things work and others don't. 7) Third party D20 stuff: There is litererally thousands of campaign worlds created for 3.X by third party creators. Most of it sucks, but some of it is golden. Some of the better publishers include Green Ronin, Goodman Games, Mongoose, and Privateer Press. Just because it doesn't have say "an official D&D product" on it doesn't mean it can't give you ideas. 8 ) Netbooks: There are hundreds of sites with D&D content for free. Just do a quick google search to find the hard work of thousands of fellow DMs. 9) Fantasy novels: The best way to find inspiration is to read the works that inspired the game's creators. Tolkien, Vance, Lovecraft, Howard, and White all gave Gygax and Arneson ideas, so read those authors to get a better understanding of the game. 10) Non-fantasy stuff: Study historical texts, visit a museum, read the complete works of Willaim Shakespeare (or better yet act out a play or two), read a newspaper, even the Bible: There is a wealth of campaign info out in the "real world" waiting to be brought into your campaign. Hope this helps. I tried not to stick to any one edition of the game, since the goal should be to find what works for your campaign. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 4] Author : KingThor Date : 09-20-07 07:49 PM Thread Title : Re: What are the Top 10 Best Campaign Supplements Ever? Hi, Thanks for your replies. I've heard from numerous people that Heroes of Horror is pretty good. What about the Legends and Lairs stuff (e.g. traps + Treachery). Any thoughts on the 3rd edition books like City/Dungeon Scape? I am looking to put together a campaign and I am mainly looking for sourcebooks (not specific as in a setting such as Forgotten Realms) that will help me to create my own Campaign World. Anyone here have experience with Campaign Cartographer? That looks pretty cool too! -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 5] Author : Prof. Pacali Date : 09-21-07 09:05 AM Thread Title : Re: What are the Top 10 Best Campaign Supplements Ever? Hi, Thanks for your replies. I've heard from numerous people that Heroes of Horror is pretty good. What about the Legends and Lairs stuff (e.g. traps + Treachery). Any thoughts on the 3rd edition books like City/Dungeon Scape? I am looking to put together a campaign and I am mainly looking for sourcebooks (not specific as in a setting such as Forgotten Realms) that will help me to create my own Campaign World. Anyone here have experience with Campaign Cartographer? That looks pretty cool too! The problem is that some of the best material is campaign specific, and not easily adapted to other campaigns. Take Dark Sun for example. It has a compelling backstory, beautiful artwork by Brom, and the novels were accesible while advancing the plot. The problem is that it's a package deal, either you adventure on Athas, or you can't use much of the material. That's why I mentioned the Ravenloft book Domains of Dread: although set in the Demiplane of Dread, the material is based on archetypes that you can steal. Count Strahd is based on the movie Dracula (Universal and Hammer), Vlad Drakov is based on the Historical Dracula (Vlad the Impaler), Azalin could be put in any kingdom ruled by a cursed Lich, and even the oddities like Maligno, the evil Pinnochio, can be used for one-shot adventures. My other suggestions are also more compatible with the average campaign world. Red Hand of Doom can be plopped into any campaign world that has hobgoblins and chromatic dragons, and the Dungeon Crawl Classics from Goodman Games are very generic. The thing is that you don't want your homebrew campaign to be too generic, you want your players to remember it years from now. Take what ever you feel fits, but the goal should be to try to find an original spin on it that is true to your campaign. As for Heroes of Horror, I have it, but some of the older Ravenloft material, along with a lot of White Wolf's World of Darkness books, are more effective at teaching a DM how to scare players. I haven't read any of the Legends and Lairs books, but I have read some of the Mongoose books, like the Qunitessential series and the Slayer's Guides. (Gary Gygax contributed two volumes to the Slayer's series, one on Undead, and I think one on Dragons.) Another piece of advice about designing a campaign world: do it piecemeal, not all at once, and don't be afraid to make subtle changes if things don't work out. Ask your players what interests them, and work together with them. Good luck! -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 6] Author : KingThor Date : 09-23-07 12:25 PM Thread Title : Re: What are the Top 10 Best Campaign Supplements Ever? Hi Prof, Yes, I think I will try and start from the Bottom Up and see how it goes. I just visited the Paizo site. Just out of curiosity, how does that whole thing work (legality). Did they buy the rights to the books from Wizards? I prefer having the books in hand, I have the Complete Dragon Archive (#1-#250) but I find that I prefer to read through an actual book as I sit in front of a computer all day already. I agree with your point about the setting specific material. One thing that I am thinking of doing is getting a couple of flavour settings (e.g. Maztica and Kara-Tur, and then using some of those ideas and transferring them into my own campaign world). -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 7] Author : tankschmidt Date : 09-24-07 08:13 AM Thread Title : Re: What are the Top 10 Best Campaign Supplements Ever? I agree with your point about the setting specific material. One thing that I am thinking of doing is getting a couple of flavour settings (e.g. Maztica and Kara-Tur, and then using some of those ideas and transferring them into my own campaign world). Maztica is available free as a pdf from WoTC here: http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/dnd/downloads -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 8] Author : Varl Date : 09-24-07 10:48 AM Thread Title : Re: What are the Top 10 Best Campaign Supplements Ever? Anyone here have experience with Campaign Cartographer? That looks pretty cool too! It is, but it also comes with a steep learning curve. You must have lots of patience with this program in order to master it enough to create quality maps. If you have some AutoCAD background, that'll help. Most of the interface is point and click, but you've also got a command line (like in AutoCAD) that it helps to know the commands or set up macros for the commands in order to speed along the mapping. I use AutoCAD every day at work, but for some strange reason, I rarely use the command line in CC2. I use the point and click buttons and get proficient that way. It's been a long while since I've used it, however, so I know I'm very rusty. Edit: I probably should give my Top Ten, in no particular order: 1, 2, & 3- The Forgotten Realms deity triad of books. 4- Undermountain (1e/2e) 5- Dragonsfoot.org 6- The 3 priest and 4 mage spell compilation tomes from 2e. 7- Dragon magazine from the end of the 2e era back, all the way to number 1. 8- Dungeon magazine (all). 9- Monster Manuals (all) 10- Free Time -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 9] Author : KingThor Date : 09-24-07 08:50 PM Thread Title : Re: What are the Top 10 Best Campaign Supplements Ever? Tank, Thanks for the Maztica link Varl, What are the names of those FR books and I have never owned any of the spell compendium books. Why exactly do you find them so useful (e.g. refernce or for ideas)? Thanks! -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 10] Author : havard Date : 09-25-07 07:01 AM Thread Title : Re: What are the Top 10 Best Campaign Supplements Ever? The Gazetteer series, the whole bunch are very high on my list. Havard -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 11] Author : Varl Date : 09-25-07 10:37 AM Thread Title : Re: What are the Top 10 Best Campaign Supplements Ever? What are the names of those FR books and I have never owned any of the spell compendium books. Why exactly do you find them so useful (e.g. refernce or for ideas)? Faiths and Avatars, Powers and Pantheons, and Demihuman Deities. I find them most useful for reference because they lay out each faith and its deity exactly how I would have laid them out. Each entry has a lot of lore behind them; affiliated orders, dogma definitions, new spells, all the way down to the color and style of vestments for the priests. They also used a small font, which enabled them to cram as much info into those 3 books as they could. The spell compendiums are just as useful if you like obscure magic, and using obscure magic as rewards to mage and priest players. Nothing beats the intrigue and mystical than finding a scroll with Aganazzar's Scorcher, or any other unique spell, on it. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Post 12] Author : Prof. Pacali Date : 09-25-07 10:57 AM Thread Title : Re: What are the Top 10 Best Campaign Supplements Ever? Hi Prof, Yes, I think I will try and start from the Bottom Up and see how it goes. I just visited the Paizo site. Just out of curiosity, how does that whole thing work (legality). Did they buy the rights to the books from Wizards? I prefer having the books in hand, I have the Complete Dragon Archive (#1-#250) but I find that I prefer to read through an actual book as I sit in front of a computer all day already. I agree with your point about the setting specific material. One thing that I am thinking of doing is getting a couple of flavour settings (e.g. Maztica and Kara-Tur, and then using some of those ideas and transferring them into my own campaign world). I don't know all the legal details, but I do know that Paizo was spun off from WotC a few years ago, because either Hasbro or WotC themselves didn't want to continue publishing Dragon and Dungeon. (At least not in the sense of publishing a real magazine; they apparently have no problem with slapping a few articles on their Website and charging money for the content.) Paizo eventually began expanding, and one area is the PDFs that they sell of OOP material. I imagine that they give a percentage of the cost they charge per download to WotC. I have downloaded a few old adventures and sourcebooks from them, and haven't had any real problems doing so. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Downloaded from Wizards Community (http://forums.gleemax.com) at 05-10-08 08:22 AM.