💥 Displate: displate.com/bobworldbuilder?art=632cd01835fd5 *save 20% on 1-2, or 30% on 3+ Displates with this link! ✅ LIKE & SHARE: ua-cam.com/users/BobWorldBuildervideos
After playing 1st advanced thru 3.5 and other gaming systems and a book case full of said books, I don't have any need for yet more books. How many more books does one need to role of D20 really?
The best thing about strahd is the roleplaying possibilities. Being able to used your villan and his home as many times as you like is a really refreshing experience.
I also like the freedom and flexibility the module gives. And also the randomness linked to the card reading. Differently from Spelljammer they talked to the original authors
Return of the Lazy DM is probably the single best thing I used when learning to DM the game. It's also system agnostic and will work with almost anything.
@@BobWorldBuilder To add to that, when i started playing DND I had never played a ttrpg before. My friends said they wanted to play (they had played before) and I was appointed DM without ever having been at a session. To say I had to learn everything from scratch is a giant understatement. Matt Colvill and Shea basically built my GM style.
Return of the Lazy DM is a far better DM guide that is for sure. I just wish it had more about roleplaying characters, and making them unique. Its the bit I find the hardest to figure out. The official DM guide is of little help in that area.
I was sad to not see Fizban's Treasury of Dragons mentioned at all here. Definitely one of my favorite books as a DM, giving me a ton of ideas for how different types of dragons work within the world. Also the new dragonborns.
Yeah I had a clip about that but cut it out because I realized something I said about it was incorrect. Mainly I had it in my head that the wider dnd community said it was a watered down version of the 3e Draconomicon, but then I realized that idea was mostly just from one creator I watch xD I didn't want to leave it in since it seems most people do actually like Fizbans!
I second support of Fizban's. It is my favorite for how it massively improved Dragonborn, expanded the variety of them and added some great draconic monsters (Elder Brain Dragon is nightmare fuel) and basic NPCs. It has great insight into how each dragon would think about the world, expanding on the concepts in the Monster Manual. And it has a world-creation myth that slaps everything we know about Faerun et al upside the head. Such a fantastic work.
@@BobWorldBuilder It's originally a supplement for Dungeon World, but 95% of the stuff is system neutral. It goes a bit further than Cairn/Knave/Maze Rats to generate a world, dungeons, monsters, etc.
I ran our group through Waterdeep: Dragon Heist followed by Dungeon of the Mad Mage, all the way through to the end. It's an excellent campaign, full of factions to work with or wipe out. Lots of fantastic NPCs, and exits to Spelljammer (use one of the free online rulesets), and all the other published campaigns. Highly recommend.
I have Waterdeep: Dragon Heist but haven't run it yet. It's next on my players' list of requests, so it's good to hear that people have enjoyed it. Thanks for your input.
Mythic Odyssey of Theros is notable for really fleshing out rules and ideas for how players interact with gods. As someone who's first foray into 5e included a Cleric PC, I found the lack of a pantheon in the PHB beyond "here are pantheons from some of our settings + history" frustrating. Once I got Theros, I just started plugging those gods into every setting until I moved on to PF2E.
Weirdly enough as a GM/DM I feel like the the 4th edition dungeon master's guide is a great read and really clarifies things that the 5th edition dungeon master's guide doesn't even mention. I would describe the 5th edition DMG as a world building guide, not bad but not as useful as the advice/clarifications of prior editions.
Whatever (wotc) books you want/need to buy, please find a used version. You can support small business book shops, while not putting more money into a corporation that has PROVEN it has no respect for you/me/us.
My two top faves: Kobold guide to game mastery -meta game handbook 13th age core rulebook -best setting and rules imo Rick and morty starter- great sheets, fun flavor adventure. Old school dungeon vibes. Stranger things starter- weird mismatch of flavors here. You play in the dnd world that Will has created in universe. Each starter has Rick/Will's handwritten notes and tips. Both starters have an advanced meta narrative that I wouldn't recommend for beginners, but it could be a cool thing to try with experts- play as the characters from the show learning to play dnd. IE Jerry doesn't know how to play a Wizard, tries to cast magic missile, rolls a 1.
Great recommendations! I'll have to look into the KP GM book. And thanks for the info on those box sets. I remember reading that the ST one is supposed to have been written by Will. They do sound interesting, but like you said, probably not the best for beginners.
Bob, I just love your stuff. You and Proof. Dungeonmaster have become two of my favorite channels to watch for. Thanks for this video and for everything you do!
I've been playing for 20+ years at this point, and I can't say any one book I really use for my games or inspiration. I think I take elements from different settings, and literature I really love and smash them all together. I'm also working on my own game system, hoping that stuff I love about OSR, plus my own original ideas will translate well into a fun game!
I played in a Dragon Heist campaign. My LEAST favorite thing about it was the actual plot of the adventure. We DID have fun, though, but I think that was mostly down to the group.
I was a player in dragon heist but it became a game of SIMs criminal empire building as the players just focused on building a crime base. Wasn't my cup of tea. Felt like shopping all game.
My wife DMd Lost Mine Of Phandelver. Proved that DMing takes prep and patience that she doesn't have😮. I was begged to finish as DM instead of player. Turned out great.😊
Yes, I agree with the popular sentiment that Eberron is the best setting of DnD. For me it's the setting that really incorporates magic as the technology of the world but at the same time infuses it with the mythical ambiguity of arcane and divine magic. It's also the setting that embraces the grayness of the world in terms of alignment. But the most attractive thing about the world is how it's able to make everything really exciting, fun, intriguing, and mysterious. I don't know how to describe it really but as a DM, Eberron is the only setting that really fired up my imagination in a big way. It gives you an exciting framework of a world but it's up to you to give the real answers on why the world is that way.
If you want to run a game in a big city and are thinking of buying waterdeep, please please please have a look at Pathfinder City of Lost Omens. It's basically a (system agnostic) setting book filled cover to cover with bite sized hooks and inspiration, with hundreds of building that all have a physical place on the 4 poster city map. This is my *favorite* TRPG book, ever. (also pathfinder is down right incredible, and the beginner box puts dnd starter sets to utter shame)
Thanks for the testimonial! Yeah I've heard that if you like horror, it's great stuff. PS: I just noticed the "" around fun in your comment. Blink twice if you're okay! lol
@@BobWorldBuilder The primary problem I have with Van Richten's is that a lot of the horror and dark fantasy themes mentioned in the beginning of the book are very watered down. Of course, it also revamps some content from Curse of Strahd. Probably the most damning part of the book (that I gathered from reviews) is that a lot of the content revolving around Ravenloft has been changed from its older iterations; a lot of genderswapping and raceswapping characters. Personally, I don't see it as a negative since I never played the older content, but you can take it or leave it.
I got VRGtR heavily discounted, its defo worth it if you do that lol (I wouldn't have bought it full price tbh). I liked reading all the snippets about running different themes of horror! I also liked reading the parts about all of the dread domains despite most of them being pretty bare bones. The artwork is awesome too.
@@scheele1646 I built out a really interesting campaign that fused two of the domains, Lamordia and the Pinocchio based one. It was supposed to be a one-shot, but the players loved it so much we just kept going.
I love running new players through Dragon Heist. It's got a good balance of combat and social encounters, plenty to see in the city, and I always ignore the advice to have the MacGuffin railroad its section if it's acquired early. Because it's such a bustling city, it chains well into a bunch of other adventures, too. Mad Mage is obvious, but one of my parties took a plot hook to go to Baldur's Gate, and got to witness the fall of Elturel along the way. If the party did some things that got them on the wrong side of Waterdeep's politics, they could be sent to Revel's End, kicking off Frostmaiden. The Witchlight Carnival could randomly show up outside of town, but then so could a Vistani caravan bound for Ravenloft. The noble who sends the party to Chult for Tomb of Annihilation could reach out to the party after their actions have gained them some fame. You get the idea :P
Currently running two campaigns. IWD for my main group. Which is a blast btw. I cut and add content as I see fit, definitely has some good replayability. My other campaign started with Mines of Phandelver, then when they finished “transitioned” into Icespire peak, which finished with Stormwreck isle, which all ties into Tyranny of Dragons. So far it seems like it’ll work out pretty fluently. Everyone is having a blast
Thanks for the info Bob! I'm fairly new to D&D and TTRPGs, only been playing D&D for about a year with a group of friends. I'm currently trying my hand at DMing though. I've started Friday lunchtime group at work, but had so much interest I had to do two groups, alternating each Friday. I'm running a starter set with each group, LMoP with one group and DoSI with the other. It's been a lot of fun with most of the players never having played D&D before.
Then there's someone like me who owns all of the physical D&D 5e books and starter sets. To be frank, I'm surprised that the Sword Coast Adventures Guide doesn't get more love. Granted, some of the more popular subclasses have been revised in subsequence books, but there's some pretty cool options for half-elves (which have very few options otherwise), a subrace of halfling that has telepathy, as well as several forms of tieflings, including one that can fly, and unlike most fliers, they can wear Medium Armor and still fly.
i've never used Return of the Lazy DM, but in my own experiences as a dungeon master, the DM's handbook is used that much unless i am searching for a specific rule or magic items
For my game, the Eberron setting book has been the most useful published 5E book. As someone who isn’t terribly creative without some boundaries the pre-built world and lore are super helpful. And Eberron checks all my boxes for the kind of fantasy I like. But I also use a lot of third party supplements and modules for inspiration. Including third party expansions for Eberron written by Kieth Baker, the person who initially made the setting!
Great video. As a fairly recent DM my most used would be the the Phandelver Starter/Essentials Kits (that I am running as one campaign), followed by the Monster Manual. You mentioned Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk (released later this year), and it would have been nice to have mention (and your opinion) of the other titles releasing later this year - Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants, The Book of Many Things, and Planescape: Adventures in the Multiverse
I picked up the D&D Core Rulebooks gift set for Christmas and ran my first own written one-shot for my friends a couple weeks ago. Now we might be expanding that to a campaign.
Candlekeep mysteries has been a #1 buy for me because it has so many pre-written adventures and monsters. Besides that, I have really loved the epic encounter box sets (adventure + map + minis) fantastic addition.
If you like the dark and grim fantasy settings, I heartly recommend the Grim Hollow books. Very immersive and full of new monsters, with new mechanics that will fit well the theme of the whole setting.
This video is so so so helpful, I'm soon going to be DMing for the first time (and actually one of my first times playing, despite a very deep obsession with D&D 5e for years now) and I've been panicking about books and resources! Thank you so much dude :-))
I can vouch for Call of the Netherdeep, it's a really solid campaign. I'd personally recommend running "Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh" before jumping into CoN and setting the house near Jigow, just as a way to get the party together and give them a small reputation in the starting town.
Can confirm this! It really incentivizes our players to play along with strict character attributes otherwise they risk upsetting their God and losing out on the abilities that God gives them
My sister and I are are new to D&D and Wild Beyond the Witchlight was the first book that caught our attention because we’re both HUGE Disney nerds and it reminded us of Alice In Wonderland, Peter Pan, and many of our favorite fairy tales. We just sadly barely know how to play, learning as we go, and haven’t figured out how to exactly drop it into our campaign as we already started and it’s an early level adventure. Plus on top of that I’m more of a world builder, I have more fun when I’m able to imagine and customize the world that I play in whereas my sister is very plug and go. It’s just the 2 of us so we trade off GM duties every session meaning it can be difficult when you’re customizing and the other person is plugging while simultaneously both also playing as the party and the GM in shifts. It’s rough, hectic, chaotic, but still fun.
Dear Bob, once again a great video - thank you very much for this! It would be nice if you did a video on independent 5e publishers, structured just like this one. There are fantastic books out there for GMs and players alike - from the Lazy DM to books by Guy Sclanders, Keith Ammann and James D'Amato. Epic campaigns are there too - Rultmoork or Rise of the Drow by AAW, or The Red Star Rising Campaign by Gooey Cube (now my #1 best campaign I've run/played/read in 30 years). And the various campaign worlds, like Midgard by Kobold Press, Zyathé/The Wy'rded World by Gooey Cube, or The Lost Lands by Frog God Games, Talislanta for 5e, and so on and so on…
Hey :-) Im one of the Noobs. I watched several Creators and their content to DnD and yours was the one with the most benefit of all of them. Ive decided to try dungeon world (more simple than DnD) but the free Manual is worth to read trough. just give it a shot. thanks for sharing this information! everything in this video is helpful! thank you :-) Greetings from germany.
If you think there's too many 5e books, 3.x had roughly double the output of published material. Not necessarily focused all on DM's like roughly 75% of the 5e books, either. The most fun a single book spawned was the 3.5 PHB. Got me into this wonderful hobby.
Yeah haha, we're slowly getting there with 5e. I've read bits and pieces of that PHB because the first by-the-book campaign I played was with those rules. They really packed those books with info! (and rules options)
@@BobWorldBuilder On average, 5e has a book coming out every 70 days. For 3.X, it was every 36 days for a total of 73 books, excluding starter sets. 5e, excluding starter sets and digital only pamphlets is at 41. They've got a ways to go. Edit: Although, with the "One D&D" / "D&Done" still being 5e in their minds, they have a pretty good chance of catching the volume of 3.X
I’m a beginner, I first started with the free stuff from the D&D newsletter, then wanted to move onto the essentials kit, but it’s not available in german anymore, which is my first language. Because I’m disappointed with the new starter kit, because there is less of everything (less dice, no DM‘s screen, no character creation) for almost the same price, I decided to simply go to my local game store, picked up the player’s handbook and my first set of dice plus an extra d20. In addition I ended up on the D&D discord server of the game store, so as soon as I feel ready and comfortable with the rules, I can just make my own first character and join a group in my hometown. That’s awesome and that’s all you really need, if you know you want to play the game. If you struggle with that decision, the essentials kit is a fantastic compromise.
Great video, Bob. I'm glad you take the time to remind people of all the resources available online for absolutely free, and of small third party publishers. To answer your question, the book that has created the most fun at the table has definitively been Eberron: Rising from the Last War, since my table is just now wrapping up our final few sessions of a two-year long campaign, and it's been an awesome time. I read the book as a player to get to know the material before we dove in, and when creating a new character after my old one got impaled (long story), and I feel like it does an awesome job as a setting book. When we don't have enough, we borrow from third party Keith Baker books like Exploring Eberron, and recently. An honorable mention goes to the Grim Hollow Player's Guide, from which our DM "borrowed" thematic transformations that some of our characters were blessed/cursed with.
BECMI. Specifically, the red and blue box (Basic and Expert). Companion is also well used but more games are just played at level 14 and below. I hope I am not the only one that plays/knows what BECMI is. Great video as always Bob, keep up the good work and stay safe while having fun running & playing D&D. Wait, what is the skateboarding wizard?
I still love my ultimate equipment guide volume I (released during 3.5E). The book is filled with non magical items, equipment and weapons for a whole lot of characters and adventure options. Plus I have a soft spot for the books & cards released through LoreSmyth. Most of their material is fantasy agnostic and all books focus on a specific part (especially their remarkable guilds & remarkable Inns). Check them out.
We are currently running the Theros campaign, it is very enjoyable with the Greek style mythos. We add in a lot of creatures and adventures from the old sinbad movies.
This is super helpful! I started playing before the original PH/MM/DMG came out. My first purchase was the blue-covered starter set with the dragon drawing, an unpainted figure I liked, and some dice. I had a friend who acted as DM. Eventually, we all got the PH/MM/DMG books, and rotated being DM. I played a bit in college and then that was it. Now my older kids are expressing an interest so I picked up the Essentials Kit and for grins, the new PH. Looking forward to DM'ing for my kids!
On Descent into Avernus, my group's been playing through it and our GM says it's mostly bad and that there's very little usable material from the book and whatever usable bits are there are usually just left dangling without any story tie in, looking at you shield, about 80-85% of our campaign has been homebrewed and probably for the better.
The book that made the most impact to me as a dungeon master is actually a Pathfinder 1e supplement the PF 1e Advanced Race Guide had everything to look under the hood and homebrew balanced races for building your own unique world..
As a beginner player id like to say; i enjoy knave a lot but if your gonna play dnd you can borrow the dm's books but id recommend owning the players handbook
Tome of Heroes from Kobold Press is an amazing book. It has a ton of subclasses, magic items, and spells in it. Plus it adds much needed dowbtime rules and expanded things to do. Well worth the money
I love high level D&D, but I don't get to play very often I really love running a single character from level 1 to 20 [chef's kiss] my favorite book as a GM/DM is AD&D Dungeon Master's Guide, cause I used it so much. I loved to just read the magic items and artifacts, and just read it period.
I only have about 5 books and the original starter set, essentials set and the stranger things box for 5e. Now I have a few 1AD&D books and my favorite is the unearthed arcana as it introduces the barbarian. I have a few more 3.5 books and I really like the complete scoundrels book
Honestly to me: Xanathar's Guide to Everything, Tasha's cauldron of Everything, and Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants are three, amazing almost must haves for the options and fun creativity they can add
Lost Mine of Phandelver, Dragon of Icespire Peak, and Dragons of Stormwreck Isle are "Essential" in mind. As someone who has been playing D&D (and other TTRPGs), LMoP is the best published adventure WotC have released for 5e, and DoIP/DoSI expand the setting beautifully. Why haven't WotC released a "Neverwinter Setting Guide" is beyond me, but with the new Phandelver campaign on the horizon, maybe they've finally realised this.
@@BobWorldBuilder they could do SUCH a big book on it as well. Not just the city, but the surrounding region. Pretty much the starter set maps, but outline the dread ring and conyberry and a rebuilt thundertree and gauntlygrm entrance and and and. SO much could be done
Man, Dragon Heist. I joined a local group right before covid that was starting this. Due to scheduling conflicts, and then Lockdown, We ended up re-starting the adventure 3 different times with slightly different groups, before the whole group dissolved. We never got very far.
Really appreciated this video, Bob! I used to play dnd all the time years ago and I got a group of new players who wanna try it and I'm so excited! Thanks for the well made video 😁
I haven't being playing 5e for the past 2 to 3 years now. But I still really love Volo's Guide to Monsters. I will keep it in my collection for the lore alone. Iconic standard monsters, ideas on how to use them, some sample maps of their lair... There's not much you can ask for. Plus some extra stat blocks that can inspire you to adapt them to other systems.
Valda's is amazing. I play D&D for only about one year, played a full campaign from lvl 1 to 11. It was fun, but a i found D&D to be way more "rigid" then the other games i am accostumed to. So, when i decided to DM D&D for the same group i played with, i took a roll20-ready adventure from the Explorer's Guide to Wildemount, and let the players choose things (races, classes, equipments etc) from either the PHB, the Wildemount book or Valda's. I like the new character options of the Wildemount one (one of the players took the Ravenite Dragonborn subrace for his Barbarian), and Valda's was such an success in the group - even if only because of the excitement to try new and cool things that bends a little the rigid stuff of D&D - that several of the players took races or classes from the book. One player got so excited that he made 4 characters with the new things from Valda's and until the day of the first session he couldn't choose which to play hahaha It is a risk, DMing D&D for the first time allowing so much new stuff. But i am a flexible DM, so almost any problem that occurs from that, i can sway to the player's side and balance with what i can do and throw at them as a DM. As the adventure is already done until lvl 3, i'm only adjusting details, i took that liberty with allowing so much stuff. Me and the players are having so much fun even with only one session until now, because of the possibilities, that it was already worth it. Valda's is amazing.
Getting back to D&D, I’ve bought the 3 core: Players, DM & Monster Manual. That’s all I’m buying. I still have all my 1Ed. books and I will adapt from them. Better still, if I can find players who want to, or still are, 1st Ed!
19:11 I am a dm that does not like world building, writing adventures, nor have time to plan. I make a skeleton for the session then just go back to the campaign book. It’s actually been fine, surprisingly
Side note: became a DM mainly for my wife to spend time with her friends after we moved and so that I could still play. I don’t love dm’ing. I like the table experience, and if I have to DM to make it happen, so be it. Also, I am an improv comedian who can do a lot of voices that has a lot of experience as a PC so starting to DM wasn’t as hard as if I were completely green to ttrpg’s
WBTW is such a treat for me. It's basically Wizard of Oz, Alice in Wonderland and every adventure that involves the main character being sent to a whimsical world that they have to travel to go back home while helping others (or just being surprised by Everything) mixed with D&D. I am loving it. I have a 3 player group and that made it easier to tie every character to each of the factions and villains of the campaign and it feels tailor made. I really recommend it for people who like lots of role-playing and the kind of stories I mentioned earlier, cause it is suuuper fun
I'm not sure how close it is because I've never read the original ToH, but I do know there's a direct 5e conversion of ToH in the Tales from the Yawning Portal anthology book!
Controversial option here: the best books I’ve ever had/used for dming 5e are actually 4e books: The Monster Manuals 1-3. Say what we will about 4e (and honestly I’ll agree with most of it), but the building of every monster into a specific role gave a basic understanding of how to rp the monsters as well. And if you loved 1 monster but it wasn’t the right type (let’s say a hobgoblin instead of a Dragonborn), well golly gee that’s where reflavoring comes in. Now porting existing monsters isn’t the easiest given the changes to AC and saves, etc, but adding some old 4e abilities to 5e monsters makes combat much more fun, just go watch Matt Coville talk about it!
As a DM who is currently running call of the Netherdeep, it is hands down the best module I have ever run before. The world is fantastic, unique, and evocative, and so many gaps and holes in normal modules are covered in this one. it's clear that the normal D&D writing team had a lot of extra oomph from matt mercer in writing this ones. The rivals are unique and dynamic, and I'm excited to get more into this!
I bought the main books from maybe 4th edition, but didn't have anyone to play with. I like some of the original games written by Robert Turk, if you've not heard of him. I guess I need a group to play with more than I need more books, but this is a nice review of books.
WBW has some great ideas for exploration and roleplaying pillars. I like how the carnival games keep the attention of the players while a greater mystery unfolds around you. I think the carnival is a great tutorial for players to learn how their skills and non combat spells can solve problems and interact with the world.
Highly recommend the 3rd party campaign setting Grimhollow. It's really fun and me and my players have really enjoyed it so far. It offers transformations for players, into werewolves and the like, as well as a ton of fun dark fantasy lore.
My top book is actually 3 of them, for actual material, probably Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything, but Mythic Odyssey of Theros has been incredible for my own creativity with Homebrew and then Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount for the best ever setting guide I’ve ever read.
In general, the PHB is the only book you need as, if you are willing to put in the work, you can build everything from it. But, the MM and DMG are useful. Sadly, the DGM isn't laid out well, but there are a number of chapters in there I'd consider essential / highly recommended reading for DMs/aspiring DMs.
One book that has proven endlessly useful for my game is Maze Rats. The ability to roll up a random whatever-it-is-you-need-atm in seconds is invaluable.
Sly Flourish’ Return of the Lazy DM books are amazing. I would also recommend Cairn as a first timer play. I don’t think I’ll ever buy from wotc again.
I've been out of the loop since the whole OGL fiasco, and also a problem player at my table about a year prior. Getting back into the swing of things, I'm legitimately shocked that they screwed up spelljammer as hard as they did lmao
I like all the campaign books for the individual encounter locations you can yank out of them. I just finished reading Tyranny of Dragons and I am looking forward to using the Wizard Tower in the middle of a Magical Maze in a game someday.
I've largely moved away from D&D but a player from another game started an acquisitions incorporated game recently and so far it's been really fun. I'm not sure how much is the DM Vs what's in the book but I've been enjoying the conceptm
acq inc is pretty cool! it has a mini campaign, some new spells that fit the theme of the campaign, dta that could be used in any campaign, and pc roles that are kind of like secondary backgrounds but level up over time. i plan to use the dta and roles from acq inc in other campaigns.
Frog God Games made the current module I'm running. Candlekeep Mysteries is the next one i use for one shots when i can't get everyone together. Wish I had time to create my own campaign again again. Thanks for the advice on good modules.
I am both new to Dnd and Dming I've been playing for about 1 year now. Books that I find really helpful and just fun to use is The Game Master Book of Random Encounters by Jeff Ashworth. I fell in love with this book it helps me out so much when I have a mental block or just get lazy. I currently have 4 out of the 5 books and they have all been a great to help expand my mind when creating.
I really love your channel! You're very informative, quite personable, and your recommendations on indie RPGs have stoked my interests in them even further. Will you have videos dedicated to all the indie RPGs you've mentioned, diving even deeper into their play and miscellany? Thanks again for the GREAT channel!!!
The only "official" DND books I've bought are the ad&d DM guide, 4e dm guide, and the 2 4e Wizards presents books. I don't even play DND anymore and have only bought those to read for fun lol.
As a lore junkie, I enjoy getting as many books as possible. I also agree that you don't need to buy all of these books to have a great game session, season, or campaign.
💥 Displate: displate.com/bobworldbuilder?art=632cd01835fd5
*save 20% on 1-2, or 30% on 3+ Displates with this link!
✅ LIKE & SHARE: ua-cam.com/users/BobWorldBuildervideos
Hey, since you said you love adventure time at 21:30, What do you think about the upcoming Adventure Time TTRPG project?
The single best book that has helped the best is 1E AD&D DMG. To this day its still the one I go to for so many things.
After playing 1st advanced thru 3.5 and other gaming systems and a book case full of said books, I don't have any need for yet more books. How many more books does one need to role of D20 really?
The best thing about strahd is the roleplaying possibilities. Being able to used your villan and his home as many times as you like is a really refreshing experience.
Great point!
I also like the freedom and flexibility the module gives.
And also the randomness linked to the card reading.
Differently from Spelljammer they talked to the original authors
Return of the Lazy DM is probably the single best thing I used when learning to DM the game. It's also system agnostic and will work with almost anything.
That's an awesome testimonial! Thank you for commenting! :)
@@BobWorldBuilder To add to that, when i started playing DND I had never played a ttrpg before. My friends said they wanted to play (they had played before) and I was appointed DM without ever having been at a session. To say I had to learn everything from scratch is a giant understatement. Matt Colvill and Shea basically built my GM style.
Return of the Lazy DM is a far better DM guide that is for sure. I just wish it had more about roleplaying characters, and making them unique. Its the bit I find the hardest to figure out. The official DM guide is of little help in that area.
I need that book. let me go buy it now.
@@SlyFlourish My good sir, you have a candid art piece known as your writing.
I was sad to not see Fizban's Treasury of Dragons mentioned at all here. Definitely one of my favorite books as a DM, giving me a ton of ideas for how different types of dragons work within the world. Also the new dragonborns.
Yeah I had a clip about that but cut it out because I realized something I said about it was incorrect. Mainly I had it in my head that the wider dnd community said it was a watered down version of the 3e Draconomicon, but then I realized that idea was mostly just from one creator I watch xD I didn't want to leave it in since it seems most people do actually like Fizbans!
I second support of Fizban's. It is my favorite for how it massively improved Dragonborn, expanded the variety of them and added some great draconic monsters (Elder Brain Dragon is nightmare fuel) and basic NPCs. It has great insight into how each dragon would think about the world, expanding on the concepts in the Monster Manual. And it has a world-creation myth that slaps everything we know about Faerun et al upside the head. Such a fantastic work.
I third support Fizban's, great book for DMs and Players, I flip though and use it more then any other D&D 5e book (other than the PHB)
Cairn + The Perilous Wilds make for a fantastic, low cost and low page count combo.
Thanks for the recommendation! Perilous Wilds rings a bell, but I can't recall where I heard about that.
@@BobWorldBuilder It's originally a supplement for Dungeon World, but 95% of the stuff is system neutral. It goes a bit further than Cairn/Knave/Maze Rats to generate a world, dungeons, monsters, etc.
Im 42 and have been playing DnD since I was 9. By far the best book to help me wasn’t even a corebook it was the DragonLance Novel Series.
Haha now that's a strong testimonial! I really need to check them out one of these days
Weis and Hickman created a gem of a world. It's still my favorite after 30+ years...
I ran our group through Waterdeep: Dragon Heist followed by Dungeon of the Mad Mage, all the way through to the end. It's an excellent campaign, full of factions to work with or wipe out. Lots of fantastic NPCs, and exits to Spelljammer (use one of the free online rulesets), and all the other published campaigns. Highly recommend.
I have Waterdeep: Dragon Heist but haven't run it yet. It's next on my players' list of requests, so it's good to hear that people have enjoyed it. Thanks for your input.
That sounds awesome! I bet you're part of a small group who has actually done it. Well done! lol
I’m in two campaign groups, both running Waterdeep, one DH and the other the Mad Mage, so playing both concurrently as a player is a little wild hahah
Mythic Odyssey of Theros is notable for really fleshing out rules and ideas for how players interact with gods. As someone who's first foray into 5e included a Cleric PC, I found the lack of a pantheon in the PHB beyond "here are pantheons from some of our settings + history" frustrating. Once I got Theros, I just started plugging those gods into every setting until I moved on to PF2E.
Very good to know! I'll have to revisit that. Trying to get the gods more involved in my next campaign
Weirdly enough as a GM/DM I feel like the the 4th edition dungeon master's guide is a great read and really clarifies things that the 5th edition dungeon master's guide doesn't even mention. I would describe the 5th edition DMG as a world building guide, not bad but not as useful as the advice/clarifications of prior editions.
Whatever (wotc) books you want/need to buy, please find a used version. You can support small business book shops, while not putting more money into a corporation that has PROVEN it has no respect for you/me/us.
100%!
My two top faves:
Kobold guide to game mastery -meta game handbook
13th age core rulebook
-best setting and rules imo
Rick and morty starter- great sheets, fun flavor adventure. Old school dungeon vibes.
Stranger things starter- weird mismatch of flavors here. You play in the dnd world that Will has created in universe.
Each starter has Rick/Will's handwritten notes and tips.
Both starters have an advanced meta narrative that I wouldn't recommend for beginners, but it could be a cool thing to try with experts- play as the characters from the show learning to play dnd. IE Jerry doesn't know how to play a Wizard, tries to cast magic missile, rolls a 1.
Great recommendations! I'll have to look into the KP GM book. And thanks for the info on those box sets. I remember reading that the ST one is supposed to have been written by Will. They do sound interesting, but like you said, probably not the best for beginners.
@@BobWorldBuilder Thanks, Bob! Patron request- review character sheets from these boxed sets & the full color illustrated ones from 2021
In Rick and Morty, the math teacher's character is optimized for Strength and he has the best numbers, which is just a flavor win IMO
Before you buy new, check your local used book store and library.
Yes, definitely!!
Bob, I just love your stuff. You and Proof. Dungeonmaster have become two of my favorite channels to watch for. Thanks for this video and for everything you do!
Thanks very much! The Prof is great!
I've been playing for 20+ years at this point, and I can't say any one book I really use for my games or inspiration.
I think I take elements from different settings, and literature I really love and smash them all together.
I'm also working on my own game system, hoping that stuff I love about OSR, plus my own original ideas will translate well into a fun game!
That's a great way to do it!
I played in a Dragon Heist campaign. My LEAST favorite thing about it was the actual plot of the adventure. We DID have fun, though, but I think that was mostly down to the group.
Sounds about right! :P
And the approach to encounter design was... I'm going to go with "some interesting choices were made." 🤔
I was a player in dragon heist but it became a game of SIMs criminal empire building as the players just focused on building a crime base. Wasn't my cup of tea. Felt like shopping all game.
My wife DMd Lost Mine Of Phandelver. Proved that DMing takes prep and patience that she doesn't have😮. I was begged to finish as DM instead of player. Turned out great.😊
Yes, I agree with the popular sentiment that Eberron is the best setting of DnD. For me it's the setting that really incorporates magic as the technology of the world but at the same time infuses it with the mythical ambiguity of arcane and divine magic. It's also the setting that embraces the grayness of the world in terms of alignment. But the most attractive thing about the world is how it's able to make everything really exciting, fun, intriguing, and mysterious. I don't know how to describe it really but as a DM, Eberron is the only setting that really fired up my imagination in a big way. It gives you an exciting framework of a world but it's up to you to give the real answers on why the world is that way.
If you want to run a game in a big city and are thinking of buying waterdeep, please please please have a look at Pathfinder City of Lost Omens. It's basically a (system agnostic) setting book filled cover to cover with bite sized hooks and inspiration, with hundreds of building that all have a physical place on the 4 poster city map.
This is my *favorite* TRPG book, ever. (also pathfinder is down right incredible, and the beginner box puts dnd starter sets to utter shame)
Thanks for sharing that recommendation! Sounds awesome!
Appreciate these system agnostic recommendations. Sounds great as I also love when resources come with physical maps.
I really enjoyed Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft. It inspired some fun world development, and we had a "fun" time in some of the domains of dread.
Thanks for the testimonial! Yeah I've heard that if you like horror, it's great stuff. PS: I just noticed the "" around fun in your comment. Blink twice if you're okay! lol
@@BobWorldBuilder The primary problem I have with Van Richten's is that a lot of the horror and dark fantasy themes mentioned in the beginning of the book are very watered down. Of course, it also revamps some content from Curse of Strahd.
Probably the most damning part of the book (that I gathered from reviews) is that a lot of the content revolving around Ravenloft has been changed from its older iterations; a lot of genderswapping and raceswapping characters. Personally, I don't see it as a negative since I never played the older content, but you can take it or leave it.
I got VRGtR heavily discounted, its defo worth it if you do that lol (I wouldn't have bought it full price tbh). I liked reading all the snippets about running different themes of horror! I also liked reading the parts about all of the dread domains despite most of them being pretty bare bones. The artwork is awesome too.
@@scheele1646 I built out a really interesting campaign that fused two of the domains, Lamordia and the Pinocchio based one. It was supposed to be a one-shot, but the players loved it so much we just kept going.
@@Balcamion79 that sounds like a lot of fun! I think Borca, Lamordia, & Dementlieu were my favorite to read about off the top of my head :)
I love running new players through Dragon Heist. It's got a good balance of combat and social encounters, plenty to see in the city, and I always ignore the advice to have the MacGuffin railroad its section if it's acquired early. Because it's such a bustling city, it chains well into a bunch of other adventures, too. Mad Mage is obvious, but one of my parties took a plot hook to go to Baldur's Gate, and got to witness the fall of Elturel along the way. If the party did some things that got them on the wrong side of Waterdeep's politics, they could be sent to Revel's End, kicking off Frostmaiden. The Witchlight Carnival could randomly show up outside of town, but then so could a Vistani caravan bound for Ravenloft. The noble who sends the party to Chult for Tomb of Annihilation could reach out to the party after their actions have gained them some fame. You get the idea :P
Wow! Sounds like you are truly running a sword coast sandbox!
Man this is amazing, exactly what I’d love to do as a dm as soon as I have more time!
Time for a 2024 version? 😋
Cairn is probably the best rules to fun ratio you can get
Excellent review!
Currently running two campaigns. IWD for my main group. Which is a blast btw. I cut and add content as I see fit, definitely has some good replayability.
My other campaign started with Mines of Phandelver, then when they finished “transitioned” into Icespire peak, which finished with Stormwreck isle, which all ties into Tyranny of Dragons. So far it seems like it’ll work out pretty fluently. Everyone is having a blast
Thanks for the info Bob!
I'm fairly new to D&D and TTRPGs, only been playing D&D for about a year with a group of friends.
I'm currently trying my hand at DMing though. I've started Friday lunchtime group at work, but had so much interest I had to do two groups, alternating each Friday. I'm running a starter set with each group, LMoP with one group and DoSI with the other. It's been a lot of fun with most of the players never having played D&D before.
That sounds awesome! Good on you for taking up the GM mantle! :)
Then there's someone like me who owns all of the physical D&D 5e books and starter sets.
To be frank, I'm surprised that the Sword Coast Adventures Guide doesn't get more love. Granted, some of the more popular subclasses have been revised in subsequence books, but there's some pretty cool options for half-elves (which have very few options otherwise), a subrace of halfling that has telepathy, as well as several forms of tieflings, including one that can fly, and unlike most fliers, they can wear Medium Armor and still fly.
i've never used Return of the Lazy DM, but in my own experiences as a dungeon master, the DM's handbook is used that much unless i am searching for a specific rule or magic items
For my game, the Eberron setting book has been the most useful published 5E book. As someone who isn’t terribly creative without some boundaries the pre-built world and lore are super helpful. And Eberron checks all my boxes for the kind of fantasy I like. But I also use a lot of third party supplements and modules for inspiration. Including third party expansions for Eberron written by Kieth Baker, the person who initially made the setting!
Great video. As a fairly recent DM my most used would be the the Phandelver Starter/Essentials Kits (that I am running as one campaign), followed by the Monster Manual. You mentioned Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk (released later this year), and it would have been nice to have mention (and your opinion) of the other titles releasing later this year - Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants, The Book of Many Things, and Planescape: Adventures in the Multiverse
I picked up the D&D Core Rulebooks gift set for Christmas and ran my first own written one-shot for my friends a couple weeks ago. Now we might be expanding that to a campaign.
Wooo new upload! My favorite series too!
Thanks very much!
Critical core has a nice guide for new GMs and a simple system for players.
Theros has a special place in my heart since it was the setting of my first campaign and my introduction to D&D
14:35 Aquisitions Incorperated has some nice organization building/progressing rules
Candlekeep mysteries has been a #1 buy for me because it has so many pre-written adventures and monsters. Besides that, I have really loved the epic encounter box sets (adventure + map + minis) fantastic addition.
If you like the dark and grim fantasy settings, I heartly recommend the Grim Hollow books. Very immersive and full of new monsters, with new mechanics that will fit well the theme of the whole setting.
This video is so so so helpful, I'm soon going to be DMing for the first time (and actually one of my first times playing, despite a very deep obsession with D&D 5e for years now) and I've been panicking about books and resources! Thank you so much dude :-))
We are currently playing a 2E adventure with 5E elements with more than a dash of Skyrim. It's been fun so far.
That sounds like a fun mix!!
@@BobWorldBuilder It has been. Orcs, were rats, mechanical constructs, trolls, and a death knight. It's been very interesting so far.
I can vouch for Call of the Netherdeep, it's a really solid campaign. I'd personally recommend running "Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh" before jumping into CoN and setting the house near Jigow, just as a way to get the party together and give them a small reputation in the starting town.
Mythic Odysseys of Theros is alright as a setting, but the piety system is well worth the price of the book if you want to add it to your world.
Can confirm this! It really incentivizes our players to play along with strict character attributes otherwise they risk upsetting their God and losing out on the abilities that God gives them
Thanks for this recommendation! I should revisit that part of the book...
as someone just getting into dnd and who wants to eventually DM , these recommendations are so great thank you very much
Oh, I didn't expect the Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master... BUT IT'S SO DAMN HELPFUL!
My sister and I are are new to D&D and Wild Beyond the Witchlight was the first book that caught our attention because we’re both HUGE Disney nerds and it reminded us of Alice In Wonderland, Peter Pan, and many of our favorite fairy tales. We just sadly barely know how to play, learning as we go, and haven’t figured out how to exactly drop it into our campaign as we already started and it’s an early level adventure. Plus on top of that I’m more of a world builder, I have more fun when I’m able to imagine and customize the world that I play in whereas my sister is very plug and go. It’s just the 2 of us so we trade off GM duties every session meaning it can be difficult when you’re customizing and the other person is plugging while simultaneously both also playing as the party and the GM in shifts. It’s rough, hectic, chaotic, but still fun.
Dear Bob, once again a great video - thank you very much for this! It would be nice if you did a video on independent 5e publishers, structured just like this one. There are fantastic books out there for GMs and players alike - from the Lazy DM to books by Guy Sclanders, Keith Ammann and James D'Amato. Epic campaigns are there too - Rultmoork or Rise of the Drow by AAW, or The Red Star Rising Campaign by Gooey Cube (now my #1 best campaign I've run/played/read in 30 years). And the various campaign worlds, like Midgard by Kobold Press, Zyathé/The Wy'rded World by Gooey Cube, or The Lost Lands by Frog God Games, Talislanta for 5e, and so on and so on…
Hey :-) Im one of the Noobs. I watched several Creators and their content to DnD and yours was the one with the most benefit of all of them. Ive decided to try dungeon world (more simple than DnD) but the free Manual is worth to read trough. just give it a shot. thanks for sharing this information! everything in this video is helpful! thank you :-) Greetings from germany.
If you think there's too many 5e books, 3.x had roughly double the output of published material. Not necessarily focused all on DM's like roughly 75% of the 5e books, either.
The most fun a single book spawned was the 3.5 PHB. Got me into this wonderful hobby.
Yeah haha, we're slowly getting there with 5e. I've read bits and pieces of that PHB because the first by-the-book campaign I played was with those rules. They really packed those books with info! (and rules options)
@@BobWorldBuilder On average, 5e has a book coming out every 70 days. For 3.X, it was every 36 days for a total of 73 books, excluding starter sets. 5e, excluding starter sets and digital only pamphlets is at 41. They've got a ways to go.
Edit: Although, with the "One D&D" / "D&Done" still being 5e in their minds, they have a pretty good chance of catching the volume of 3.X
I’m a beginner, I first started with the free stuff from the D&D newsletter, then wanted to move onto the essentials kit, but it’s not available in german anymore, which is my first language. Because I’m disappointed with the new starter kit, because there is less of everything (less dice, no DM‘s screen, no character creation) for almost the same price, I decided to simply go to my local game store, picked up the player’s handbook and my first set of dice plus an extra d20. In addition I ended up on the D&D discord server of the game store, so as soon as I feel ready and comfortable with the rules, I can just make my own first character and join a group in my hometown. That’s awesome and that’s all you really need, if you know you want to play the game. If you struggle with that decision, the essentials kit is a fantastic compromise.
Great video, Bob. I'm glad you take the time to remind people of all the resources available online for absolutely free, and of small third party publishers.
To answer your question, the book that has created the most fun at the table has definitively been Eberron: Rising from the Last War, since my table is just now wrapping up our final few sessions of a two-year long campaign, and it's been an awesome time. I read the book as a player to get to know the material before we dove in, and when creating a new character after my old one got impaled (long story), and I feel like it does an awesome job as a setting book. When we don't have enough, we borrow from third party Keith Baker books like Exploring Eberron, and recently.
An honorable mention goes to the Grim Hollow Player's Guide, from which our DM "borrowed" thematic transformations that some of our characters were blessed/cursed with.
Thank you for mentioning The One Ring. Crying shaking throwing up rn.
I hope I find a group some day.
BECMI. Specifically, the red and blue box (Basic and Expert). Companion is also well used but more games are just played at level 14 and below. I hope I am not the only one that plays/knows what BECMI is. Great video as always Bob, keep up the good work and stay safe while having fun running & playing D&D.
Wait, what is the skateboarding wizard?
I still love my ultimate equipment guide volume I (released during 3.5E). The book is filled with non magical items, equipment and weapons for a whole lot of characters and adventure options.
Plus I have a soft spot for the books & cards released through LoreSmyth. Most of their material is fantasy agnostic and all books focus on a specific part (especially their remarkable guilds & remarkable Inns). Check them out.
We are currently running the Theros campaign, it is very enjoyable with the Greek style mythos. We add in a lot of creatures and adventures from the old sinbad movies.
This is super helpful! I started playing before the original PH/MM/DMG came out. My first purchase was the blue-covered starter set with the dragon drawing, an unpainted figure I liked, and some dice. I had a friend who acted as DM. Eventually, we all got the PH/MM/DMG books, and rotated being DM. I played a bit in college and then that was it.
Now my older kids are expressing an interest so I picked up the Essentials Kit and for grins, the new PH. Looking forward to DM'ing for my kids!
On Descent into Avernus, my group's been playing through it and our GM says it's mostly bad and that there's very little usable material from the book and whatever usable bits are there are usually just left dangling without any story tie in, looking at you shield, about 80-85% of our campaign has been homebrewed and probably for the better.
Dang, thanks for the warning!
The book that made the most impact to me as a dungeon master is actually a Pathfinder 1e supplement the PF 1e Advanced Race Guide had everything to look under the hood and homebrew balanced races for building your own unique world..
As a beginner player id like to say; i enjoy knave a lot but if your gonna play dnd you can borrow the dm's books but id recommend owning the players handbook
Tome of Heroes from Kobold Press is an amazing book. It has a ton of subclasses, magic items, and spells in it. Plus it adds much needed dowbtime rules and expanded things to do. Well worth the money
As someone who got spelljammer it is a lot of fun, has great rules and probably the most mechanically interesting lineages
Heliana's Guide to Monster Hunting is a great supplement!
That sounds awesome!
I love high level D&D, but I don't get to play very often
I really love running a single character from level 1 to 20
[chef's kiss]
my favorite book as a GM/DM is AD&D Dungeon Master's Guide, cause I used it so much. I loved to just read the magic items and artifacts, and just read it period.
I only have about 5 books and the original starter set, essentials set and the stranger things box for 5e.
Now I have a few 1AD&D books and my favorite is the unearthed arcana as it introduces the barbarian.
I have a few more 3.5 books and I really like the complete scoundrels book
Honestly to me: Xanathar's Guide to Everything, Tasha's cauldron of Everything, and Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants are three, amazing almost must haves for the options and fun creativity they can add
Lost Mine of Phandelver, Dragon of Icespire Peak, and Dragons of Stormwreck Isle are "Essential" in mind. As someone who has been playing D&D (and other TTRPGs), LMoP is the best published adventure WotC have released for 5e, and DoIP/DoSI expand the setting beautifully. Why haven't WotC released a "Neverwinter Setting Guide" is beyond me, but with the new Phandelver campaign on the horizon, maybe they've finally realised this.
Yeah NW (I think) is the last big sword coast city they have yet to cover in a book, so it's bound to come out in the next couple years
@@BobWorldBuilder they could do SUCH a big book on it as well. Not just the city, but the surrounding region. Pretty much the starter set maps, but outline the dread ring and conyberry and a rebuilt thundertree and gauntlygrm entrance and and and. SO much could be done
Man, Dragon Heist. I joined a local group right before covid that was starting this. Due to scheduling conflicts, and then Lockdown, We ended up re-starting the adventure 3 different times with slightly different groups, before the whole group dissolved. We never got very far.
Really appreciated this video, Bob! I used to play dnd all the time years ago and I got a group of new players who wanna try it and I'm so excited! Thanks for the well made video 😁
10:14 Thank you, Bob!!
My pleasure, Mike!
25:25 you just say Goats of Saltmarsh? Now that I want to play!
Hahah what a twist! xD
I haven't being playing 5e for the past 2 to 3 years now. But I still really love Volo's Guide to Monsters. I will keep it in my collection for the lore alone. Iconic standard monsters, ideas on how to use them, some sample maps of their lair... There's not much you can ask for. Plus some extra stat blocks that can inspire you to adapt them to other systems.
Valda's is amazing.
I play D&D for only about one year, played a full campaign from lvl 1 to 11. It was fun, but a i found D&D to be way more "rigid" then the other games i am accostumed to. So, when i decided to DM D&D for the same group i played with, i took a roll20-ready adventure from the Explorer's Guide to Wildemount, and let the players choose things (races, classes, equipments etc) from either the PHB, the Wildemount book or Valda's. I like the new character options of the Wildemount one (one of the players took the Ravenite Dragonborn subrace for his Barbarian), and Valda's was such an success in the group - even if only because of the excitement to try new and cool things that bends a little the rigid stuff of D&D - that several of the players took races or classes from the book. One player got so excited that he made 4 characters with the new things from Valda's and until the day of the first session he couldn't choose which to play hahaha
It is a risk, DMing D&D for the first time allowing so much new stuff. But i am a flexible DM, so almost any problem that occurs from that, i can sway to the player's side and balance with what i can do and throw at them as a DM. As the adventure is already done until lvl 3, i'm only adjusting details, i took that liberty with allowing so much stuff. Me and the players are having so much fun even with only one session until now, because of the possibilities, that it was already worth it.
Valda's is amazing.
Getting back to D&D, I’ve bought the 3 core: Players, DM & Monster Manual. That’s all I’m buying. I still have all my 1Ed. books and I will adapt from them. Better still, if I can find players who want to, or still are, 1st Ed!
19:11 I am a dm that does not like world building, writing adventures, nor have time to plan. I make a skeleton for the session then just go back to the campaign book. It’s actually been fine, surprisingly
Side note: became a DM mainly for my wife to spend time with her friends after we moved and so that I could still play. I don’t love dm’ing. I like the table experience, and if I have to DM to make it happen, so be it.
Also, I am an improv comedian who can do a lot of voices that has a lot of experience as a PC so starting to DM wasn’t as hard as if I were completely green to ttrpg’s
Great video. Very comprehensive.
Each of these books costs a full month or more of income for me
I still have them all
Piracy is fun
I love the non-linear advancement presented by Modern Adventure and Plunder, though it's a simplified OSR system.
The essential is a great starter.
Agreed!
WBTW is such a treat for me. It's basically Wizard of Oz, Alice in Wonderland and every adventure that involves the main character being sent to a whimsical world that they have to travel to go back home while helping others (or just being surprised by Everything) mixed with D&D. I am loving it. I have a 3 player group and that made it easier to tie every character to each of the factions and villains of the campaign and it feels tailor made. I really recommend it for people who like lots of role-playing and the kind of stories I mentioned earlier, cause it is suuuper fun
The 4e DM guide has dome really good infor for how to be a DM that is amazing.
I've never read ToA, but if it's based on ToH, it's on my buylist!
I'm not sure how close it is because I've never read the original ToH, but I do know there's a direct 5e conversion of ToH in the Tales from the Yawning Portal anthology book!
Controversial option here: the best books I’ve ever had/used for dming 5e are actually 4e books: The Monster Manuals 1-3.
Say what we will about 4e (and honestly I’ll agree with most of it), but the building of every monster into a specific role gave a basic understanding of how to rp the monsters as well. And if you loved 1 monster but it wasn’t the right type (let’s say a hobgoblin instead of a Dragonborn), well golly gee that’s where reflavoring comes in.
Now porting existing monsters isn’t the easiest given the changes to AC and saves, etc, but adding some old 4e abilities to 5e monsters makes combat much more fun, just go watch Matt Coville talk about it!
As a DM who is currently running call of the Netherdeep, it is hands down the best module I have ever run before. The world is fantastic, unique, and evocative, and so many gaps and holes in normal modules are covered in this one. it's clear that the normal D&D writing team had a lot of extra oomph from matt mercer in writing this ones. The rivals are unique and dynamic, and I'm excited to get more into this!
I bought the main books from maybe 4th edition, but didn't have anyone to play with. I like some of the original games written by Robert Turk, if you've not heard of him. I guess I need a group to play with more than I need more books, but this is a nice review of books.
WBW has some great ideas for exploration and roleplaying pillars. I like how the carnival games keep the attention of the players while a greater mystery unfolds around you. I think the carnival is a great tutorial for players to learn how their skills and non combat spells can solve problems and interact with the world.
Highly recommend the 3rd party campaign setting Grimhollow. It's really fun and me and my players have really enjoyed it so far. It offers transformations for players, into werewolves and the like, as well as a ton of fun dark fantasy lore.
My top book is actually 3 of them, for actual material, probably Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything, but Mythic Odyssey of Theros has been incredible for my own creativity with Homebrew and then Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount for the best ever setting guide I’ve ever read.
Yes! It shows that this is 2023, most of the recommended books are 3rd party. Good job!
It's time to branch out! Not sure if it will be worth doing this video again next year xD
@@BobWorldBuilder Exactly, I care nothing for dnd 6 (or whatever wotc calls it now)
In general, the PHB is the only book you need as, if you are willing to put in the work, you can build everything from it. But, the MM and DMG are useful. Sadly, the DGM isn't laid out well, but there are a number of chapters in there I'd consider essential / highly recommended reading for DMs/aspiring DMs.
One book that has proven endlessly useful for my game is Maze Rats. The ability to roll up a random whatever-it-is-you-need-atm in seconds is invaluable.
Sly Flourish’ Return of the Lazy DM books are amazing. I would also recommend Cairn as a first timer play.
I don’t think I’ll ever buy from wotc again.
Great advice!
I've been out of the loop since the whole OGL fiasco, and also a problem player at my table about a year prior. Getting back into the swing of things, I'm legitimately shocked that they screwed up spelljammer as hard as they did lmao
I like all the campaign books for the individual encounter locations you can yank out of them. I just finished reading Tyranny of Dragons and I am looking forward to using the Wizard Tower in the middle of a Magical Maze in a game someday.
I’ve found the golden vault only works with other material and is super fun
That's right Bob, it's a guideline not the exception to those rules
I've largely moved away from D&D but a player from another game started an acquisitions incorporated game recently and so far it's been really fun. I'm not sure how much is the DM Vs what's in the book but I've been enjoying the conceptm
Nice!
Curse of Strahd and Frostburn for 3.5 are my two favorite D&D books
I found Dragon Heist to be the best adventure / location book for my needs
acq inc is pretty cool! it has a mini campaign, some new spells that fit the theme of the campaign, dta that could be used in any campaign, and pc roles that are kind of like secondary backgrounds but level up over time. i plan to use the dta and roles from acq inc in other campaigns.
Frog God Games made the current module I'm running. Candlekeep Mysteries is the next one i use for one shots when i can't get everyone together. Wish I had time to create my own campaign again again. Thanks for the advice on good modules.
I am both new to Dnd and Dming I've been playing for about 1 year now. Books that I find really helpful and just fun to use is The Game Master Book of Random Encounters by Jeff Ashworth. I fell in love with this book it helps me out so much when I have a mental block or just get lazy. I currently have 4 out of the 5 books and they have all been a great to help expand my mind when creating.
I really love your channel! You're very informative, quite personable, and your recommendations on indie RPGs have stoked my interests in them even further. Will you have videos dedicated to all the indie RPGs you've mentioned, diving even deeper into their play and miscellany? Thanks again for the GREAT channel!!!
The only "official" DND books I've bought are the ad&d DM guide, 4e dm guide, and the 2 4e Wizards presents books.
I don't even play DND anymore and have only bought those to read for fun lol.
As a lore junkie, I enjoy getting as many books as possible. I also agree that you don't need to buy all of these books to have a great game session, season, or campaign.