Everything from Mongoose. Yeah, it's quite good, but not 100% compatible with Pathfinder - which is why I'd like to see some of it in PFRPG. I only suppose it's OGL, though, and that's because many of their supplements are available online.
I can't remember if they are 3rd party or not, but Books of Exalted Deeds/Vile Darkness were always a favorite of my groups.
Hey there folks,
I have a question for the community and I would love to hear your opinions.
What are your favorite 3rd party rules supplements from the 3.0 and 3.5 eras? What parts of that product were best? What specific rule or mechanic saw the most use in your game (ie, spell, feat, magic item, piece of gear)?
Now for a couple of caveats...
1. Open Content products only.
2. 3rd Party only please.
3. Skip monster books, that is not what I am currently interested in.
4. This thread is not for discussion. Please post up your favorite products only.That is all. Thanks for your suggestions.
Jason Bulmahn
Lead Designer
Paizo Publishing
for me it's no one product. an easier question would be what TYPE of content and rules did you seek and use most often from 3rd party sources. That would be easier to answer. adventure ideas,feats, more spells, towns and castle ideas,magic items, and class options-the ones where you could drop a class ability in favor of a different one. over all my players used new feats,spells, magic items over any other thing.
but if you want specifics i will give you one. DNDwiki.com we used more than anything. 2nd would be *casts an enlargement spell on Paizo's ego*...Dungeon Magazine of course!
I used FFG - Traps & Treachery alot but I also liked the BAS - Arms & Armor. The FFG - Steam & Sorcery never got tested properly but I gave it a small try with much enjoyment.
Developer
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I love The Book of the Righteous - I think by Green Ronin? I used a lot of the tips in there on creating a cosmology, and though I never used the actual cosmology in the book, I very much wanted to. I also immediately implemented the Holy Warrior option in my campaigns. Too bad there isn't a "Pathfinderized" Holy Warrior, not that I've found anyway.
I love The Book of the Righteous - I think by Green Ronin? I used a lot of the tips in there on creating a cosmology, and though I never used the actual cosmology in the book, I very much wanted to. I also immediately implemented the Holy Warrior option in my campaigns. Too bad there isn't a "Pathfinderized" Holy Warrior, not that I've found anyway.
There will be...watch for the Templar in one of the hardcover releases this year.
There will be...watch for the Templar in one of the hardcover releases this year.From Paizo or another publisher?
Paizo. APG (Advanced Players Guide).
It's supposed to have rules for an Anti-Paladin (CE or LE, not sure which) and Templars (Non Paladin/Anti-Paladin church warriors).
I would also like to mention that I REALLY enjoyed, as both a player and a GM, the Skill Tricks in Complete Scoundrel (In fact EVERYTHING in Complete Scoundrel) in addition to Books of Vile Darkness and Exalted Deeds--as I mentioned before. Sorry if these suggestions are not Third Party, I've gotten rid of almost all of my 3.5 books now that Pathfinder came out: DAMN YOU JASON BUHLMAN!!!!!! <<shaky fist of doom at the sky>>
Sword and Fist from 3.0 had some really cool stuff in it as well, along with Complete Warrior (3.5). Complete Divine had a great idea of expanding the Gods list in addition to the Domain spells and abilities (That is, additional Domains: In particular I really like the Purification Domain).
The important thing I would like to mention is that, as both a player and a GM, it would be awesome if the first couple of expansion books to come out were well rounded as far as the types of things they had in them (e.g.: feats for all classes, spells for every caster, kits for each class, et cetera, et cetera). That way no one gets WAY too overpowered in comparison to the rest of the party: if this could be taken into account it would be much appreciated.
Hey there folks,
I have a question for the community and I would love to hear your opinions.
What are your favorite 3rd party rules supplements from the 3.0 and 3.5 eras? What parts of that product were best? What specific rule or mechanic saw the most use in your game (ie, spell, feat, magic item, piece of gear)?
Now for a couple of caveats...
1. Open Content products only.
2. 3rd Party only please.
3. Skip monster books, that is not what I am currently interested in.
4. This thread is not for discussion. Please post up your favorite products only.That is all. Thanks for your suggestions.
Jason Bulmahn
Lead Designer
Paizo Publishing
Anything Scarred Lands. From beginning, middle to end. I adored the Player's Guides. For me Scarred Lands was the best thing to come out of the 3.0/3.5 era.
Relics and Ritual by Sword and Sorcery
I have gotten considerable joy and mileage out of the Malhavoc Press products - When the Sky Falls, Requiem for a God, the Anger of Angels, as well as Beyond Countless Doorways, and Chaositech.
Seconded. I'd recommend HyperConscious as well, but I can't seem to find my copy and check if it's OGL.
I would cheat and say the OGL wiki. They have content from dozens of books that you can pick and choose from...including a link to pathfinder's srd...Some of the more obscure stuff from mongoose before they went 4e is excellent.
I bought Iron heroes twice and steal its feats on a regular basis.
I also like Castles and Crusades from troll lord for its 2nd ed feel using 3.5 rules. Although their Siege Engine mechanic isn't OGL, the majority of it is. Great for a simple game you can expose new players too since it lacks a lot of stuff like feats--which can be confusing to new guys.
Big fan of the mongoose stuff.
Off the top of my head
Encyclopedia Arcane: Chaos Magic: Wild Sorcery By Mongoose Publishing
also the constructs and Demonology ones by mongoose.
Mercenaries by Alderac Entertainment Group
and
Relics and rituals
Heroes of Horror had some great material like "dread" and "taints" for example.
All very Logue-esk!
I was very partial to Tome of Battle (Book of Nine Swords) in the 3.5 era. Not open content - but the concept surely is open.
...I'm not that keen on "fighter spells" anymore though (so wouldn't specifically recommend Paizo doing something like that) - instead I'd prefer some aspects of these maneuvers/stances pathfinderized as feats and alternate class abilities.
The thing I feel strongest about is:
- Variant class abilities
- Variant classes, specifically those that encourage different stat-builds for classes (a fighter who's primary stat is Intelligence, for example)
I guess this counts as open content: 10letter
Definitely Privateer Press' Iron Kingdoms, for
- Expanded alchemy rules
- Pain of Healing
Mostly the Pain of Healing, because it's so damn cool. Divine healers get a daily hp threshold for healing, and if they surpass it, it's time to roll randomly for nastiness. This rule led to some awesomely tense moments in my games and really kicks the banality out of healing. If a cleric took Healing as one of his domains he could double the threshold and mostly avoid the badness.
The thing I feel strongest about is:
- Variant class abilities
- Variant classes, specifically those that encourage different stat-builds for classes (a fighter who's primary stat is Intelligence, for example)
I guess this counts as open content: 10letter
I also feel that way. I'd love variant class abilities, as it opens up possibilities for more roleplay concepts.
My group and I were always fans of the Green Ronin books, especially the Advanced books and their X & X race books. We still use elements of those for our Pathfinder games.
Now I'm getting a lot of use out of 4 Winds Fantasy and Super Genius Games Pathfinder-specific stuff, especially new gear and base classes.
I liked the ideas and balance from Mongoose's Ultimate Character Concepts.
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Wow... reading this thread has been quite a trip down Memory Lane. I own many of the suggestions and it so great to see many books were popular with us. Third Edition was quite the Revolution in rp gaming - especially for D&D! I'm so glad to have particpated in this era!! (Hence my support with 3rd Ed's primary heir: Pathfinder! :-D )
Books that stand out for me:
The Book of the Righteous - I even made my own "paladins" for NG and CG based upon their analysis of the core class. Very satisfying and enjoyable results for my game at the time.
Traps & Treachery I - great bag of tricks for GM's, and I found the "thug" class useful.
Mythic Races, Seafarer's Handbook, Spells & Spellcraft - didn't get extensive use but I mined them for the new ideas.
Tome of Horrors! - 'nuff said :-)
Relics & Rituals I & II - very inspiring at the time.
Most of the material from Green Ronin and Malhavoc Press was very good - too many titles for me to mention them all.
FantasyCraft - a recent product by comparison. A host of great ideas to explore!
I just realized there are plenty of setting books and adventures that were published where most offered new rules as well...
I'd say the Book of the Righteous tops my list the best of old open gaming content. Rich fluff and creative crunch!
Throw in the fact that Paizo has published some Malhavoc Press books,They have? Which ones?
Book of Experimental Might
Most of my favourite stuff is already listed. Is this a vote (ie should I chime in on stuff I like) or just pointing out cool things?
One of my most-used sourcebooks is a 3.0 rulebook that I still keep around called Spellbound: A Codex of Ritual Magic published by Living Imagination. In D&D games there's often mention of powerful ritual magic to do whatever as part of the backstory, and the mechanics in Spellbound help me keep things consistent and more believable. It also helps me say "yes" when players ask if, given enough time and effort, they could do the same thing.
I second that recommendation. Spellbound, along with Agents of Faith from the same publisher, had a great ritual magic system that sparked a ton of ideas for me. The mechanical execution could be a bit spotty - some of the rituals were wildly unbalanced - but the ideas were wonderful.
Anything with Shapeshifting Classes + PrC's
e.g. Complete Warrior's Warshaper, good idea lousy class build
and
Treantmonk's Guide On Everything ;)
also does anyone else feel like we're going to end up listing every 3rd party product in existence for 3.5 ? ;)
Book of The Righteous ,got more use from all of the 3 games that have been run in the last 5 yrs with our group
Monsternomicon, because IMHO it set the standard for what a third party bestiary should look like.
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I loved all of it, really. probably one of the main reasons I chose to stay with PFRPG rather than switch to 4e.
Now, the companies that most impressed me were in order :
1 - Green Ronin
2 - Paradigm Concepts (though probably not OGL)
3 - Fantasy Flight (esp adventures)
4 - AEG
5 - Bastion
Though that does not mean I did not like the rest, far from it. These are the ones I am most likely to reread and integrate in one of my games today.
Privateer Press:
Iron Kingdoms Character Guide:
- Firearms
- Pain of Healing
- Gun Mage Base ClassMonstronomicon:
- Adventuring Scholar Prestige Class
the book of fiends was awesome. good choice.
the guide to godlings book, by supergenius.
I second that, and add the guide to mystic godlings.
Also, time thief. Godlings and time thieves are great ideas, well done, you can't do any other way. they are the best supergenius has to offer.
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Mongoose Publishing
Ultimate Equipment Guide I and II ( from the 3.0/3.5 )
My group plays low magic setings and mundane equipment helps
Every thing else we use is from Pathfinder OGL.
Kobold Quarterly
Genius Guide
ToLoot4Less ( I like most of them becous thay have usefull low level magic items )
4Winds Publishing
I Dogs ( Becous Dog in the animal complanion. The listing is just to bland for how meny types of dogs there are. I know why you did it beocus there are to meny.)
Wayfinder
Way to meny good things. For me to list just a few.
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Here is a list of OGC things that I use in every game beyond my own products.
The Year's Best d20 almost everything in there is 100% OGC, and it really is examples of the best stuff that I have used in my games.
Book of Taverns by Necromancer Games
Tournaments, Fairs, and Taverns by EN Publsihing
Complete Book of Experimental Might from Malhavoc Press (really anything from Malhavoc gets used at some point in my campaigns)
Crime and Punishment by Atlas Games
Dynasties and Demagogues by Atlas Games
Oh and I started using the Time Thief by Super Genius games.
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AEG's excellent book, simply entitled "Dragons" was much, much fun to read.
The feats and new uses for extant skills were a decent bonus, and the prestige classes were okay, and fairly useful. The advancement for dragons, the dragon-based setting, and the magic items available for anybody who uses dragon parts in their alchemy were excellent.
But what I liked better than that were the long descriptions of all ten dragon varieties (metallic and chromatic). They had a relatively brief and well-written description for:
1) The life-cycle of this creature. This helps a GM to put the dragons into places where they feel organic, and can improvise better about them. Not to mention that it's rife with plot hooks.
2) Its relationship with humanoids and general attitude. This helps a GM pick the right creature for the right encounter and to role play that creature in a way that feels true to the rest of D&D.
3) Its relationship with other dragons. Which sets up monster politics. Which is awesome.
4) Its society, family, and how you're likely to encounter one. And that helps a GM to set up great encounters.
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The pact magic books by Radiance House were both excellent. You could run an entire game based on nothing but pact magic and its affect on the world using those books, and it would be awesome. Also: the amount of crunch in there is staggering.
The Iron Kingdoms Character Guide and Liber Mechankia by Privateer Press were both fantastic. I loved the steam-fantasy elements there and have cannibalized a lot of that content (gun mages, warjacks, etc.) into my own setting.
I really liked the Holy and Unholy warrior classes that Green Ronin put out. A great take on the whole paladin "debate".
Anything the werecabbages have been involved in. :-)
Shameless plug! ;-)
"A Magical Medieval Society: Western Europe", expeditius retreat press+1
Best supplement I have ever read.
+1
And "Silk Road" by the same was fantastic, too.
-Ben.
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Love & War, Crime & Punishment, and Dynsaties & Demagogues are peerless for exploring certain themes, offering add-on systems that are fun and easy to use, and supporting the game system up to the state of the art at the time.
AEG's Magic has been largely superceded by later development, but was a classic. In particular, its totem magic was my choice for orc magicians for a long time, in preference to adepts, clerics, or sorcerers.
Magical Medieaval Society, naturally.
I really like Testament and The Medieval Player's Guide as treatments of alternate settings, that offer some really useful guidelines for building similar milieus. I also like the Penumbra Occult Lore, chock full of magic that doesn't quite make the grade in a standard setting but is great for variant settings, unique NPCs, etc.