I agree with the above...

1) Necromancer - well written, well laid out, good maps, clever plots & ideas

2) Iron Kingdoms - just my opinion, but I like the setting & characters, I find the production to be really well done

3) Goodman Games Dungeon Crawl Classics- lots of material, all are pretty useful (more or less), I like the old-school themes

4) Troll Lord Games - especially the CZ setting

5) honourable mention to Paizo, the Pathfinder AP books especially are just *beautiful*

TheHistorian wrote:Okay, but is it really as across the board as that?  Are you really recommending ALL Necromancer, AEG, DCCs, etc?

Are you really only going to buy 1 or 2 from the line

TheHistorian wrote:Okay, but is it really as across the board as that?  Are you really recommending ALL Necromancer, AEG, DCCs, etc?

Not impossible, of course, just a little hard to believe.  

So far all the Necromancer stuff has been good to great.

The DCC line pre-4e is like TSR 1e releases, some great, some good, some ehhh...

Iron Kingdoms is high production value and I've heard great things, but it is steam and gunpowder stuff.

Pathfinder is very slick and I hear great things but their Kingmaker series was disappointing after the 1st in the series, which I felt was very good.

I've heard good things about Black Sails over Freeport but haven't read through it yet.

Ptolus I recommend (and thanks for snagging me a copy).

If you are interested in DMing or world building I'd snap up the Gygax series of world/cosmo builder stuff while they are still cheap.

I'm not a big fan of the Green Ronin Mythic Vistas series except for the Egyptian Adventures Hamunaptra boxed set.

I also like what I have scanned through from the first book of the Drow War series from Mongoose.

And from Mongoose the items done by Gygax are worth getting from their slayer line.

And speaking of Gygax you should grab the Hall of Many Panes boxed set while it is also cheap.

I did find collecting the Necromancer and DCC lines highly addictive.

If you scroll up this thread I believe you will find a review of Lost City of Gaxmoor that I wrote.

It is easily the best D20 product from Troll Lord Games (others from that publisher are of lower quality...old school, but lower quality).

Lost City of Gaxmoor is a great example of the power and flexibility of the 3rd Edition rules.  You get a very nice ruined city map, a good setting and tons of stuff to kill.  

Add to this the plus that Lost City of Gaxmoor is often available for well under $10 on Ebay.  I have a couple copies just because I couldn't let one get away for...like...99 cents.

If you're discussing d20 products to own for actual gaming reasons, I think that is entirely different than owning them for their supposed monetary value.

For example, Monsternomicon is a cool book for a gamer. Valueless to a reseller. I also even like the Book of Templates though I actually have grown to dislike the concept of templates (primarily because they were overused, like prestige classes.) There are a few setting resources like Hamunaptra or Testament that are worthwhile to use for inspiration (if one is bent that way) but do not really sell well -- I bought mine for $3.

TheHistorian wrote:Okay, but is it really as across the board as that?  Are you really recommending ALL Necromancer, AEG, DCCs, etc?

Not impossible, of course, just a little hard to believe.  

I am posting during lunch at work, so I got cut off before I could give more detail.

In the case of Necromancer Games, yes, I am recommending the entire catalog.  And Frog God Games as well.

AEG:  Buy World's Largest Dungeon and shop their brochure-sized adventures.

Goodman:  Dungeon Crawl Classics is hard to beat.  Also, go on Paizo.com to the Goodman Apocalypse Sale and buy the Judges Guild D20 re-makes there...currently being sold for basically the price of shipping.

Troll Lord Games:  Lost City of Gaxmoor and Castle Zagyg, Upper Works  Also, buy Hall of Many Panes while it is still cheap.

Paizo:  Buy the Pathfinder RPG book.  See if you want the modules.  I currently play Pathfinder.

Privateer Press:  Five Fingers, Port of Deceit is not bad.  Also the Witchblade trilogy in hardback currently being sold on their website for $5.

Green Ronin:  The Freeport modules and the Mythic Vistas line.  I especially like The Black Company hardback.  

Atlas Games:  You probably won't play it, but the two hardbacks in their North American colonial D20 setting are fair to brilliant...so is their African Nyambe hardback.  These are still around for cheap.  Check out Paizo.com

Mongoose:  The Drow War trilogy.  Also, people who did not buy up the D20 Conan RPG books will cry later that they missed it.

There is lots more to list.  Those are the stars I can think of right now.

This is the gold rush for D20 bargains.

Gnat the Beggar wrote:Nice to see someone else other than me enjoyed the Mongoose Drow Trilogy.

I believe I have written a review about the Mongoose Drow War Trilogy as well.  

It should be earlier in this very thread.

Praise is given to the Kalamar Campaign setting.

We've used it for a few years now for our 3.5 setting.

TheHistorian wrote:Excellent!  Thanks for all the ideas, everyone.

I guess the followup question is how about d20/3.0/3.5 material from WOTC?  I don't really see that stuff mentioned... ever.

The core rules books for 3.5 from WOTC are fine.
A great majority of the rest of the garbage WOTC produced during the 3.x/D20 period are what is sometimes called SPLAT BOOKS.

Not all of it, but most of it.