What D&D Books Should You BUY? (2023)
Vložit
- čas přidán 9. 06. 2024
- There are even more D&D 5e books since last year's complete D&D book review, not to mention a shift in the industry! So which books (and boxes) are actually worth buying? This video is your Dungeons & Dragons 5e buyer's guide for 2023! ▶️ More below! ⏬
💥 Displate: displate.com/bobworldbuilder?...
*save 20% on 1-2, or 30% on 3+ Displates with this link!
✨ FREE Cairn RPG for beginners: www.drivethrurpg.com/product/...
✨ FREE D&D rules: dnd.wizards.com/resources/sys...
📚 D&D Books (affiliate): www.amazon.com/shop/bobworldb...
Best ways to support
✅ LIKE & SHARE: / bobworldbuilder
✅ PATREON: / bobworldbuilder
RPG resources (affiliate links)
🎲 DICE*: www.onlycrits.com/bobworldbui...
🛒 BOOKS: www.amazon.com/shop/bobworldb...
🧙 MY BOOKS: www.drivethrurpg.com/browse.p...
📚 BOXED TEXT*: dscryb.com/bob
*use discount code "BOB" !
Thank you for all your support, and keep building :D
00:00 dnd 5e has too many books!
01:07 you don't "need" any dnd books
02:11 the best dnd* book for beginners
03:39 comparing the dnd box sets
05:05 get some fantasy art! (sponsor)
06:14 the dnd 5e core rules are FREE now
07:44 when to explore other RPGs
08:48 comparing dnd rulebooks for PLAYERS
10:07 the BEST books for game masters
11:10 best type of book for diy GMs
13:13 overview of all dnd 5e SETTINGS
18:39 overview of all dnd 5e CAMPAIGNS
24:56 my favorite type of dnd 5e book!
#dnd #dungeonsanddragons #dnd5ebooks - Hry
💥 Displate: displate.com/bobworldbuilder?art=632cd01835fd5
*save 20% on 1-2, or 30% on 3+ Displates with this link!
✅ LIKE & SHARE: czcams.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?
Smashing together all 3 starter sets into one sandbox, and running it in Cairn is an EPIC campaign.
I've run cairn and it's cool, but a bit of a learning curve for people who see the PCs as unstoppable heroes since in Cairn/OtO/Knave... they aren't.
I mashed the Starter sets into one sandbox AND added the adventure from Acquisitions Incorporated. A lot of fun!
@@cha0sunity Yeah it's better for people getting into the hobby than for people who already have the superhero adventurer mentality :P
Can I play??
I mashed LMoP and DoIP together to run for 3 of my daughters, and we all had a blast!
Of course he donated his old D&D books to his high school. Just an absolute class act. You rock, Bob.
🙏 Gotta pass it on!
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.
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
Can confirm, the Eberron book is well laid out and easy to use.
Another awesome testimonial! haha Thanks! :)
I found the Eberron book so much easier and more interesting to read than Sword Coast's, Eberron is now my favorite setting!
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)
I think all the shoutouts to third party content really made this video a great one for people of all different familiarity leveled. Well done!
Thank you!
The two books currently helping me the most are the Midgard Worldbook by Kobold Press and from a couple of years ago Eberron Rising from the Last War. Big thick setting books with lots of places and lots of details seem to let me fill out campaigns forever. They build this rich tapestry I can come back to again and again.
Thanks for the recommendations!
I love the layout of Eberron Rising. So usable, enough information to spark ideas but not too much that you feel tethered to the pages of the book.
For the Tome of Beasts, Kobold Press just released a new updated version of the Tome of Beasts 1. All four of the books are great but I'd probably start with that one if you don't have any of the Tomes of Beastes.
Tell Displate they should be printing battle maps for different combat environments.
Hahah that would be cool!
I think you're absolutely right about Witchlight. If you write/run any homebrew adventures, it's worth the read even if you never run it, to get some insight into encounter design that might be different than the traditional styles
Guess I need to follow my own advice now haha
@@BobWorldBuilder I could run it, but my print version is missing 24 pages! And I umm... somehow don't have a DndBeyond account anymore... since January. Hmm
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.
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%!
Before you buy new, check your local used book store and library.
Yes, definitely!!
Genuinely i think Griffon's Saddelbag has been one of the best additions to my game. I know it's just magic items, but the inspiration I've gotten from that book, both for adventures, npcs and artifacts are immense.
Very nice! Haven't delved into GS myself, but it's popular for a reason! Great resource.
@@BobWorldBuilder Now that I've got you here Bob, I just want to thank you for being so awesome, optimistic and down to earth in your videos. They have helped my tables a whole lot.
Edit: And helped me.
I would also like to add that Xanathars backstory tables are really fun to roll on if you have no idea what kind of character you want to play. Or just want some inspiration, and I do agree that Tashas, while having some really powerful character options (Bladesinger and Twilight/Peace domain clerics, we're mainly looking at you), they dont really add much else to the table. Van Richtens is a good guide on how to make a villain.
Ahh yes, I have used those backstory tables at one point or another. Didn't know about the villain tools in Van Richtens though!
I pretty much always roll the adventuring table for some additional connections or loot for my players at the end of their character creation. The full backstory piece of it was a bit much for them, but is good resource if they need ideas.
If you find yourself playing dnd and keep asking yourself "how can I do X" or trying to bend the rules into when you want to play (like a scifi setting, trying to run a heist, political intrigue, owning a business, low magic, swashbuckling, etc) there is a 100% change there is a different TRPG system that does exactly what you want and sooo much better.
dnd is as modular as a rube goldberg machine. It's possible if you don't value your time and enjoyment, and it rarely works how you imagine it will.
Haha that's a great metaphor xD
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'm really excited about looking into the Agnostic: TTRPG Prep Method booklet by Map Crow.
It's designed to help people, with too many books, use those books to create a 1-3 session adventure. They could be RPG books or just like any random book. It looks super cool.
Hmmm just saw that mentioned in a video on JP Coovert's channel. I'll have to check it out!
Love Map Crow didn't know about that book. Appreciate you letting us know!
A friend and i came up with a concept called a " Game grimoire " in which each person make their own collection of rules that they use, drawn from official materials and supplements. It is best to get a bunch of people who all have different supplementary materials and you spend a few days and order the rules in the way you want them. the down side is collating them and coppying them into your notebooks takes a long time. But at the end, you reduce a stack of books into a smaller stack of books with the rules and classes / subclasses you use most.
This is also a great way to collect all the spells scattered through out the offical book, and have the rules or items. These game grimoires are very useful for DMs with rotating players who have characters from everywhere.
I love this concept. I've been thinking about constructing the same thing for my own purposes!
Really appreciate your input, Bob. Give Ravnica a try; I've been in love with it ever since the first Magic expansion on the plane, been running a campaign in Ravnica since early 2023, and my players (most of them non-Magic players) love it as well. It's a great setting for urban adventures and faction intrigues.
Thanks, and thanks for the suggestion! If I find myself looking for an urban adventure book, I'll give it a shot :)
I recall WebDM said it was one of their favorite books as it had lots of help running an urban/faction adventure.
Ptolus is good for Urban campaigns as well.
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.
Only 2 minutes in and just wanted to say your video editing skills are as equally good as your thoughts and perspectives, which is to say really enjoyable!
Thanks very much!
For 5th edition, it's the PHB. For D&D overall, my most used book was a 3rd edition splat book called Sword & Fist. It had player options for monks and fighters as well as a sample combat for different playstyles. Besides that, it had awesome artwork that I still find inspiring.
That sounds awesome!
All the Class expansion books were SO good!
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
1:23-1:40 reflect my feelings exactly! I started playing D&D with my brothers in the early 80's. We didn't have any fancy miniatures, battleboards, or box sets. Our character sheets were hand-made, and we only had a few books. But what made the game so much fun was our imagination! I was the youngest of three brothers, and our oldest brother was our DM. The adventures/campaigns that he pulled out of thin air were nothing short of magical.
I've been playing dnd for around 6 years, but I haven't had money to buy any books, and have been homebrewing pretty much everything while pirating the PHB and DMG and stuff. Finally picked up a module, gonna run Rime of the Frost Maiden soon, feels really nice to not have to make everything myself for once lol
Haha great point. Modules are great when you need a break from doing ALL the creative stuff yourself!
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!
Great job as always Bob!
Free League has another great setting out called "Ruins of Symbaroum". It's a 5E conversion, more of a low magic Witcheresque world. One of my players will be running it as our next campaign setting. I'd love to hear your thoughts on it, even if it's just a review of their free preview materials.
Thanks for the recommendation! Sounds like something I'd like. Hope you have fun with it!!
As a new DM, Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master completely changed the way I saw game prep
Awesome video! And I love how you keep evolving and growing because this time I found the background music not overwhelming as I found it previously. The music now complements the presentation and not taking over. You’re doing great mate! I linked this video to a work colleague of mine that wanted to start role playing. What better video than this to be their first to get an overview. And I hadn’t heard of the one ring so that’s probably what I’ll be recommending her to start with since she’s a big Tolkien fan. Keep up the good work man!
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
Just ran my first game as Keeper for Call of Cthulhu, ran the "Edge of Darkness" scenario out of the box set, had a really great time, it had very solid premise and my group had a blast trying something other than 5e.
Woo! That's awesome
I am so glad you are having everyone post what resources they enjoy or use the most. I have yet to buy a si gle physical D&D book and am always on the fense since thw options are vast and I mainly GM for ICRPG.
Besides the ICRPG Master Edition rulebook, i also find myself referencing Untold Encounters of the Random Kind by Loke when im brainstorming for my next session. It's system agnostic but has explicit conversion instructions for 5e. It is a 340 page book of tables, art, descriptions and situations. Its a little hard to find but has generated more story hooks/seeds than I ever would have come up with on my own.
I love my campaign which sprang from Mythic Odysseys of Theros but I wish I did it differently. Let me explain.
I love the idea of a setting similar to ancient greek mythology. The idea that the fanatical beliefs of the mortals can give life to powerful beings is not a new one to DND. If I had simply combined these two ideas and come up with a campaign, I think I would've arrived at a more interesting conclusion than the adventure that is features in this source book. Its not a terrible adventure because it introduces the world, but there's much better (Less confusing) ways to do it and if I did it over, I would have a different start.
That's great to know! Thank you for commenting! :)
I bought that book mainly because I was able to buy a shop damaged copy super cheap so I didn't mind if I was never going to use it, but I found a wonderful section about an amphitheater with a network below that edifice that I was able to pull, practically whole cloth, to be a location to be part of the story arc for the Cleric/Druid player who follows a Greyhawk little known Trickster Goddess, Johydee. So it more than paid for itself as inspiration for me 😀
Odyssey of the Dragonlords by Arcanum Worlds also has greek mythology themes, and many hold it in high regard for that type of campaign using 5e rules. I have yet to run it, but it's on my short list.
Lazy DM is my DM Master Guide each time I prep a homebrew campaign ˆˆ
For the setting book you also have Humblewood which is pretty good if you want to play in a world with animals like in Disney's robin hood.
You also have Neverland which is a campaign book for general rpg especially but not limited to dnd, where the player are transported in Peter Pan's Neverland but with some twist for the classic characters. It's an hexcrawl with a lot of surprises.
Lazy DMs Forever! Great recommendations
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
I'm first time DMing and a long time player, this video really helped me out to organized everything I need to know and which books to go to. I really appreciate this video! Thank you for it!
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.😊
players handbook has 100% been the most valuable, it was the only one i had for a while when i started and it's how me and my friends all learned how to play. no other book i have comes close in providing as much needed knowledge or have had as much time spent open during sessions
💯
the alexandrian remix of wterdeep dragonheist is pretty good. fixes a bunch of stuff wrong with the campaign and i recommend reading through, since it also gives good gm and storybuilding advice
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 😁
Getting into DMing and this videos was super informative! the descriptions you had for campaigns are a little different from my taste but you made it very clear the vibes of each! Thanks
Can vouch for Call of Cthulhu and Pathfinder 2E starter sets. Both are great for new players
The books are great.
Player's handbook is essential, used the most. I was also gifted the dungeon master's guide, and have used it.
Totally! I too, have used the dmg, just not as much as I thought I would haha
I absolutely love the Neverland and Oz campaign setting books by Andrew Kolb. The art alone makes these books amazing, but they’re also fantastic settings on their own.
I always appreciate your thoughts sir. Thanks!
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.
Goodman games 5e conversions. My player's especially loved the isle of dread. Love your work mate.
The Goodman Games 5e conversions are gorgeous, masterfully done, full of fascinating history, and the single best demonstrator of how much easier TSR era D&D (other than thac0, which is easily swapped for AAC) is to DM than 5e.
Thanks for the recommendation and the compliment! I've read their conversion "Into the Borderlands" but haven't had the chance to run it yet. Isle of Dread sounds fun!
Players handbook + Explorer's guide to wildemount is an amazing combo both for new DMs and new players, if you found d&d through critical role. You get four adventures, several monsters, items, and things for your character, alongside a very comprehensive lore section.
Very helpful! Thank you!
Can confirm that the Theros book is amazing and sets up so many cool potentials for conflicts with the gods. There's a whole piety system and Supernatural gifts that really make your players feel like Heroes rather than "slightly more powerful wizard"
It's one of the only books I've actually read almost all the way through and got into the lure of. My players love it as well, I'm actually running 2 Theros campaigns and everyone's really involved with the story
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.
Thank you for the information!
Amazing video for a new DM! So glad I stumbled onto your channel!
My favorite book ever is not technically a book. It's a boxed set. The first time I ever played was in lost mine of phandelver as a wizard when none of us understood spell slots. Then, the first time I ever DM'd I ran LMoPh with players who had never played before. They decided that killing the goblins (I put only two because of that's how many players I had) was extreme, so they put the goblins in a bag after casting sleep on them. After only a few attempts to escape and put the party in the bag, the goblins made friends with the characters. They ended up getting pronouncable names (in goblin, they were called Glrkhvef and Another that I didn't write down, but with even less concinents) and aiding the characters during the redbrand fight. Now, I like to imagine that Goblo (one goblin) is a traveling peddler of strange contraptions, and Sir (the other) is a renowned farmer of cabbage, his favorite food.
Ramblingly, DungeonOnion
That's a great tale, thank you for sharing!
Obviously the Player's Handbook is golden for a player and DM, but honestly the best books I've used regularly are Eberron, Tasha's, and Candlekeep. Candlekeep gives some great adventures that are easy to pull out and reflavor, Tasha's is great for additional player options and frameworks for making your own, and Eberron is the best example we have in 5th edition of presenting a unique world to players. LOVE the Eberron book.
Also VALDA'S SPIRE OF SECRETS!!! Oh my goodness such a perfect 3rd party book.
Fantastic suggestions!! Including one more graet testimonial for the Eberron book!
Loved your take on Ebboron and spelljammer.
Thank you for your precious advices. 👍👍👍
Cairn is probably the best rules to fun ratio you can get
Excellent review!
Here are some of my recommendations.
Index Card RPG: A great tool to homebrew your DnD experience, especially if you want to make it more fast and exciting.
DungeonWorld: In someways a bit outdated, but the GM principles and Preparations advice and general mindset can really help you think differently about your game.
Fiasco: Not really a traditional RPG but a one shot collaborative story telling game that is a great exercise for your group in storytelling, creativity and might help you step out of your comfort zone a bit.
AD&D 2nd Monstrous Manual: not really something to start with but just a really fun and great book. Most monsters get a full page with both crunch and fluff, has lots of little fun world building easter eggs in it, is just fun to read and has some great tools for populating lairs with variants of the same monsters with chieftains, treasure, possible magic items etc.
Awesome recommendations!! I've heard those sentiments about ICRPG and DW before. Not familiar at all with Fiasco, but it sounds interesting! The 2e MM definitely sounds useful.
@@BobWorldBuilder In Fiasco you basically play a one shot crime drama heavily influenced by Coen Brothers films and the likes. It's structured in acts so a game will usually take around 3-4 hours. It does not have a DM, instead it let's players take turns playing scenes with their characters. The story is created using D6 tables with needs, relationships, objects and locations.
It's really fun. :P
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!!!
Wooo new upload! My favorite series too!
Thanks very much!
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!
Another great video, Bob. As someone who doesn't have a good local game store in my area, could you do a video dedicated to all of the best 5E material made by third parties? I've seen your DCC and Skate wizards videos, but would love to see something like this idea for Kobold Press. Thanks, and keep building!
Thanks! I could try... I honestly wouldn't be the best for it because I'm only aware of the bigger 3rd party names, and a few niche ones. Maybe by next year though, this recurring video will have turned into just a 3rd party review haha
I have used elements from Lost Mines of Pandelver, and the Dragon of Ice Spire Peak to great success.
Excellent! Glad to hear it!
Man, your delivery today, has been the best I've ever seen you, every joke hit, and you just seem so much more comfortable in front of the camera.
Thanks very much! Like most of my videos, this one was scripted, but I actively tried to think about "how could this part be funny" when writing it out. Gotta do that more often I guess!
@BobWorldBuilder Well, you are by far my favorite CZcamsr/channel on CZcams. The passion you have inspires me.
Your stuff always gets better, but if you add more comedy, your really good at it.
Back when I was running 5e the best books I had for it were Dungeon World and Guildmaster’s Guide to Ravnica. Dungeon World was my whole approach to the game and I hacked in the GM move / mixed success / success framework into 5e. I played in the Ravnica setting, and even more important to me there are solid tables in the book for generating quick adventures. On several occasions I’d run 5e adventures generated using nothing but GMGTR on 15 minutes of warning and no other official D&D book has gotten even close to that gameable. Honorable mention to Five Torches Deep for the rubix cube dungeon generator! Used it a lot.
That's a great testimonial for Ravnica! Thanks!
Which book has been the most fun at my table? Honestly I feel like you might pan it later in the video (I think last time you mentioned it you hadn't read it), but Wild Beyond the Witchlight, absolutely hands down. It's a really fun, whimsical, interesting campaign, honestly the only module I've ever run or wanted to run all the way through, and my entire party LOVED it and still talks about it six months after it ended. 🥰
Hahah that's a glowing testimonial! I think I'll actually have to check it out one of these days :P
@@BobWorldBuilder yeah, I see you were a bit more favorable to it this time than the last time you talked about it, where I think the carnival vibes threw you off? I hope you read it someday! For whatever it's worth, most of it doesn't have any circus or carnival vibes, but I actually think the carnival gives a great "safe" sandbox for level 1 characters to RP and solve problems without combat that transitions nicely into the "now make it weirder" nature of the Feywild and primes the party to think about finding peaceful solutions to things (at least, it was that way for my players!). I made some small edits but I ran a lot of it as writ and it was just a delightful experience from start to finish. Now granted, it's a TERRIBLE module for a group that wants a lot of combat (unless the DM really changes a lot of things) so it's definitely not for everyone. But gosh, I just want more people to give it a try.
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
You start and end with the Moldvay/Cook basic D&D from 1981. It's the only edition you'll ever need.
The D&D books you should buy:
Old-School Essentials Advanced Fantasy Player's Tome and Referee's Tome
Tome of Adventure Design
The Monster Overhaul
Into the Wild Omnibus Edition
A couple of those aren't even out yet, but yeah you're not wrong.
Monster Overhaul is out in PDF and is shipping now in physical, and Into the Wild Omnibus is going to the printers very soon (Todd at Third Kingdom cranks his stuff out with alacrity), bbut the constituent parts of the omnibus are available now separately. I figured i'd future proof my comment by just saying 'get these,' yanno?
I really need to check out ToAD! I've heard it recommended many times over the last couple years.
ToAD is an absolute revelation. It might be the single best world and adventure building resource ever written for RPGs.
I would suggest that Dungeon World, even more so than Cairn, is one of the best and easiest ways to get new players into D&D/Fantasy TTRPGs. It's easy to GM, everything the player needs is on one sheet of paper (two for spell-casters) and it introduces players to the concepts of classes, races, abilities, modifiers, skills/feats/etc... in a very easy system to manage (PbtA). It is especially useful to teach younger players the basics of RPGs and have a blast doing it. I've used it with adults and kids as young as 7. The things that seem unappealing to some GMs at first glance (e.g. 2d6 rolls, only goes to level 10) actually become bonuses when playing (the dice mechanics make GMing ridiculously easy, and the level cap is actually perfect as players can "graduate" to more complex systems after a full campaign or two). It's a very good balance of "crunch" and story-telling ("play to find out what happens...") for new players. It's also very easy to import content from any other system or source book. The XP system and "Discern Realities" mechanics alone make the system worth looking at if nothing else. It's also my favorite system for one-shots/short campaigns.
Yeah I think it's just a matter of taste then. For *introducing new players, I've done fine with 5e for years. The Cairn recommendation is more so for people who are brand new, learning to run their first RPG. I haven't read DW, but I think it's still a pretty long book (certainly compared to Cairn's 20 pages!) all that said, numerous comments have said that DW is their main recommendation for improving one's DMing! :)
You heard correctly about Decent into Avernus. It was my first time DMing so I figured I would grab a campaign book to make it easier, figured I would learn a lot and maybe try my hand at building my own adventure after. We're about a year and a half into the campaign and I haven't followed the story arc from the book for most of that. I also have spent weeks and probably an extra $100 on other books like Candlekeep and a bunch of DM's guild products to actually make the adventure playable and fun. All the big highlights that the players seemed to have the most fun on were the DM's guild supplemental material.
I used the essentials kit and starter set to start, it was pretty helpful
Players handbook is my most used reference book. Frequently I take just that and my dice to sessions when I’m playing.
That being said you can get through a campaign or 2 without any books. I’d encourage people not to buy and to borrow where possible.
If your looking for more spice and options for the next character I’d 100% suggest Tashas. It has a bunch of fixes for PHB classes, interesting new subclasses, a new class and a bunch of new items/spells.
Xanathars is also good, but focuses more on DM tools which most players probably don’t need.
Excellent advice!
Do I spy, with my little eyes, a Free League box? Best independent publisher in the ttrpg space right now, IMO. Love their stuff. Dragonbane looks to be the 5e killer for me
You do! haha
Really helpful! Thanks
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
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!
Always enjoy your videos. You rock bob. So does Grace.
Thanks a lot! :)
I bought the Dragon of Icespire Peak to get into being a DM after several years of being a player. I then discovered your series of videos on how to run it, which was a huge help to a new DM and that's why I still watch your videos today.
Great video. Very comprehensive.
I fricken love mad mage. It is designed to be so open for the Dungeon master to change to there liking.
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'm also not a MTG fan, but I adored Ravnica and the monsters it contained. I don't need to know the card lore to find interesting setting bits...or appreciate a cyclops that can dash and attack as a reaction if someone casts a spell! Really threw the party for a loop when the sorcerer cast a fireball and found it suddenly in the backline!
Saltmarsh is so much fun. My players really got into being citizens of that little port town; they even converted the haunted house from the first module into a Bed & Breakfast
Love the updated video! Tomb of Annihilation is still my favorite published adventure. Running Wild Beyond the Witchlight right now but not sure I will ever return to it, unlike ToA that I cannot wait to run again. The anthology books are great. Right now I am running The Keys from the Golden Vault as a campaign using the Golden Vault as the foundation. We decided as a group to homebrew our own world and set the heists from the book within it. I've made the city of the first adventure, Varkenbluff, the primary city for the party to operate out of and am actively creating a map and working on side quests because I feel that heist after heist might become monotonous after a while. Already came up with a nice story to run under the adventure that will lead to an ultimate showdown to save the world after they complete the heists. I also love Candlekeep and might have created a way to use a few of those adventures in my Golden Vault campaign through a mirror shop in the city. Super glad that you pointed out some of the great alternative TTRPGs and third-party products! Keep the videos coming, especially some more DCC coverage!
Thanks for this comment! Sounds like you and your group are creating great stuff! :)
Man, you carrying in those books, wasn't aware this was the gun show.
💪
This video was honestly so helpful and very factual thank you
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
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 :)
For the Official D&D, I have the Essentials Kit and that's pretty much it when it comes to a physical copy, I have yet to play it lol I'll be going through it soon, my son wants to play and he's been making his character.
My library has some D&D books including the DM's book and the Players Handbook which I'm reading, I just downloaded the SRD PDF as well.
I do have Cairn and a few other books and Pathfinder 2e Beginner Box that I'm eager to read.
I've never played or DMed so I'm not deluding myself that I'll be great out of the gate. Albeit, I'm eager to take that first step and run a game even if it's a solo game to get familiar with any game I choose to start with.
I bet you and your son will love the Essentials Kit! I've gotten a bunch of happy comments over the years from folks who have played that with their kids.
@@BobWorldBuilder awesomeness!
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.
Great update. And way to push Sly Flourish Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master; best “pound for pound” DND book purchase
I love that kind of video, even though they are so frustrating. There are so many 3rd party books that seem so cool, but only in english (even some official books are not translated), and I'm not confident enough with my english to try them ^^
But, as always, very cool video ! 😉
Thanks very much! I know more small publishers are working to translate their materials--at least digital versions--these days, but that is one thing the big publishers will always be better at
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! :)
This is awesome! Good job!
Currently using two books to set up a campaign that have been a huge inspiration. Guildmaster's guide to Ravnica and the Keys of the Golden Vault. I don't know how much I'll end up using 1 to 1 but they have really inspired me to see the campaign and mechanics from different perspectives!