FormCritic wrote:"Huge letdown" was the universal American reaction to the Fiend Folio.

One of my players wanted to return it and get his money back!

FormCritic wrote:I still go back to the Fiend Folio to find ideas for useful twists and monsters that break the routine.

That's a great idea

FormCritic wrote:Oh, and the cover - the githyanki on the Fiend Folio cover looked wierd at the time, but it has become an iconic AD&D image.

I wish I knew enough about art to figure out what's weird about the cover.
But it is definitely wrong.
Iconic, but wrong.

No vote.

My favorite AD&D hardback is

FFoulkes: The Armourer and his Craft.

F

Art is supposed to evoke an emotional response, right?

What I like is the title page sketch with the Forlarren beckoning.
Or the Princess of Mars homage (rip off?) on pg 60.
Either would've been a better cover.

Some great interior art in the FF, much better IMHO, then most of the art in the MM2-I respect Jim Holloway, but never cared much for his style.

FormCritic wrote:
Does DRAGON #55 include the negative review about Fiend Folio that outraged Gary Gygax?  Something like, "Flat Taste Didn't Go Away?"

Apparently, some of the staff members were under the misconception that they were independent journalists.

The githyanki picture wasn't bad.  It just wasn't what we were expecting.

Yes, there's actually three articles-"Flat taste didn't go away" was was written by some hack named Ed Greenwood...wonder what happened to him?  

My vote went without hesitation to the Players Handbook. The reason is that I as referee can have any number of manuals and maps and tables and notes on my side of the screen (I tend to use OD&D/JG materials), but what I really need in a published book is an attractive and thorough book aimed solely at presenting the game to players. To me, the PHB has never been outdone in that goal—the players never need to go to another book, and they are never given information they don't need. For the spells and equipment lists alone it is worth the price, but having all the races and classes detailed is handy indeed, not to mention all the adventuring advice. The only thing I wish was added is the excellent "Portentous Runes & Glyphs" section from the 1980 The World of Greyhawk folio. I know this is nebulous, but for me, if a character is 1e PHB-legal then it is a "real" D&D character in my eyes. The PHB is the real thing, everything else is an optional expansion or poor imitation in my eyes.

Falconer wrote:My vote went without hesitation to the Players Handbook. The reason is that I as referee can have any number of manuals and maps and tables and notes on my side of the screen (I tend to use OD&D/JG materials), but what I really need in a published book is an attractive and thorough book aimed solely at presenting the game to players. To me, the PHB has never been outdone in that goal—the players never need to go to another book, and they are never given information they don't need. For the spells and equipment lists alone it is worth the price, but having all the races and classes detailed is handy indeed, not to mention all the adventuring advice. The only thing I wish was added is the excellent "Portentous Runes & Glyphs" section from the 1980 The World of Greyhawk folio. I know this is nebulous, but for me, if a character is 1e PHB-legal then it is a "real" D&D character in my eyes. The PHB is the real thing, everything else is an optional expansion or poor imitation in my eyes.

Agreed.
I wrote the poll with using "favorite" on purpose.
There's often a distinction between favorite and best.
The PHB is the best, IMHO.
But I voted MM, because (as kids say these days) monsters are beast.

AKP

akp-love the dr strangelove reference...

FormCritic wrote:
Aboleth is Monster Manual II

Ooops! Ok, I admit I have MM2. If I hadn't left those books in my old office / new daughter's closet, I'd go for a quick refresher. Long overdue for that apparently. Need to move them tomorrow!