Torches
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This is a thread to have a place to discuss the revised 3rd edition of Dungeons & Dragons (v.3.5), which ran from 2003 to 2007, and the 4th edition, which ran from 2007 to 2011.
Both games are delightful in their own, and both were highly formative to Dungeons & Dragons Online, the MMO we all play.
The game books can still be purchased legitimately on OneBookShelf, through the DriveThruRPG and DM's Guild storefronts.
3.5 edition D&D is the game that has the closest resemblance to DDO (with the level-based multiclassing, skill advancement, and spell selection mechanisms), and its books can be found here:
Player's Handbook (Core Rulebook I, and all you need to make a character, although not necessarily a fun character for you; also necessary for Dungeon Masters), Dungeon Master's Guide (Core Rulebook II, and bearing the guidelines and instructions for prospective Dungeon Masters), and Monster Manual (Core Rulebook III, which offers resources for Dungeon Masters and player characters). Additionally, if you want to play a game in Eberron, the default setting of DDO, then the setting book, Eberron Campaign Setting, will serve you well!
The core rulebooks were also supplemented in the middle of the edition with Player's Handbook II and Dungeon Master's Guide II, and Monster Manual III thru V, which are genuinely useful additions to the game (and Monster Manual II, a book made for the un-revised "3.0" version of the game, which a conversion guide exists for), in addition to Unearthed Arcana (a book of variant rules discussing why you might use them and what they change about the game), the Complete series of books (Complete Warrior, Complete Arcane, Complete Divine, Complete Adventurer, Complete Champion, and Complete Mage), the Races series (Races of the Wild, Races of Stone, Races of Destiny, Races of the Dragon, and Races of Eberron), the Expanded Psionics Handbook (for matters relating to kalashtar, quori, the Dreaming Dark, and Riedra in Sarlona), and special themed books like Tome of Battle, Tome of Magic, Magic of Incarnum, and Dragon Magic. Finally, what should be core rulebooks 4, 5, and 6: Magic Item Compendium, Spell Compendium, and Rules Compendium (which serves to compile all the additional rules that were added in supplements up to its release, in addition to sorting rules by topic).
4th edition D&D is the edition that ran alongside most of early DDO's lifespan, and is responsible for bringing tieflings and dragonborn to the forefront in the Player's Handbook (rather than being tucked away in the Dungeon Master's Guide, as tieflings were in 3.5, or Races of the Dragon, for dragonborn). The books for 4th edition can be found here:
Player's Handbook (a necessary book for anyone, player or Dungeon Master), Player's Handbook 2 and Player's Handbook 3 (mostly optional, but having very attractive content like arcane sorcerers, primal druids and barbarians, divine avengers invokers, and psionic ardents and monks), Dungeon Master's Guide (which offers resources for prospective Dungeon Masters), Dungeon Master's Guide 2 (an optional supplement which some will tell you is a book you should buy anyway, if you play any tabletop roleplaying game, not just D&D, for the fantastic advice it gives), Monster Manual (essential for Dungeon Masters who want to provide challenges but don't just want to run adventure modules), Monster Manual 2, and Monster Manual 3 (which provides a selection of monsters using math revisions that make for more intense battles). If you want to play a game in Eberron, then as a player, having access to the Eberron Player's Guide is going to give you a bevy of useful options like dragonmark feats and the Artificer class, while Dungeon Masters will want to pick up the Eberron Campaign Guide. If you're fine with adapting Forgotten Realms material, then the Forgotten Realms Player's Guide is notable for printing a works-out-of-the-box arcane defender class called the Swordmage. The swordmage, and the various classes found in the Player's Handbooks, receive extra love in the Power series of books (Arcane Power, Divine Power, Primal Power, Psionic Power, Martial Power and Martial Power 2). Poor artificer gets just the one book's worth of options.
4th edition is much maligned as a result of a campaign by Paizo (who published Pathfinder Roleplaying Game to capture the 3.5 edition crowd after being told that the Dungeon and Dragon magazines they were printing would be moved in-house to Wizards of the Coast), but as a game where you and a few friends crawl through dungeons over beer and pretzels and make stuff up with your blorbos, it's the peak of D&D.
Additionally, there was a revised* version of 4th edition D&D, calling itself D&D Essentials, which had its own core rulebooks, while still using the same fundamental framework as pre-Essentials material. Essentials is mostly notable for printing character classes that don't have as many per-encounter and daily powers, which overall reduces the dynamic nature of 4e's battle. Its books can be found here:
Rules Compendium (as with the 3.5 book of the same name, a collection of all the rules revisions, such as Stealth and vision, scattered throughout prior 4e books, useful as a resource when you have a question about how to play the game), Heroes of the Fallen Lands (a book for playing extremely normie D&D characters under the Essentials paradigm, which introduces new variants on the cleric, fighter, rogue, and wizard, alongside old standbys like the dwarf, halfling, wood elf, and eladrin (also known as a high elf), and human, functionally a very basic substitute for the Player's Handbook), Heroes of the Forgotten Kingdoms (for playing slightly more oddball options like a hexblade warlock, cavalier paladin, sentinel druid, and scout or hunter ranger, alongside dragonborn, drow, half-elves, half-orcs and tieflings; this book also contains enough info to create a character, serving as a core rulebook in itself; if Heroes of the Fallen Lands is Pokémon Ultra Sun, this is Pokémon Ultra Moon, as both try to punch up the previous iteration in the generation while being standalone titles), and the Dungeon Master's Book (a must for running Essentials D&D, apparently) and Monster Vault (yet more monsters!).
I'd be happy to set up a game of 3.5 or 4e D&D, in case anyone wants to give it a try!
If you know of other standout titles published in these editions, or have anything you'd like to discuss, feel free to post!
But negativity towards either game will be disregarded. You always have the option to simply not post, I should remind you.
Both games are delightful in their own, and both were highly formative to Dungeons & Dragons Online, the MMO we all play.
The game books can still be purchased legitimately on OneBookShelf, through the DriveThruRPG and DM's Guild storefronts.
3.5 edition D&D is the game that has the closest resemblance to DDO (with the level-based multiclassing, skill advancement, and spell selection mechanisms), and its books can be found here:
Player's Handbook (Core Rulebook I, and all you need to make a character, although not necessarily a fun character for you; also necessary for Dungeon Masters), Dungeon Master's Guide (Core Rulebook II, and bearing the guidelines and instructions for prospective Dungeon Masters), and Monster Manual (Core Rulebook III, which offers resources for Dungeon Masters and player characters). Additionally, if you want to play a game in Eberron, the default setting of DDO, then the setting book, Eberron Campaign Setting, will serve you well!
The core rulebooks were also supplemented in the middle of the edition with Player's Handbook II and Dungeon Master's Guide II, and Monster Manual III thru V, which are genuinely useful additions to the game (and Monster Manual II, a book made for the un-revised "3.0" version of the game, which a conversion guide exists for), in addition to Unearthed Arcana (a book of variant rules discussing why you might use them and what they change about the game), the Complete series of books (Complete Warrior, Complete Arcane, Complete Divine, Complete Adventurer, Complete Champion, and Complete Mage), the Races series (Races of the Wild, Races of Stone, Races of Destiny, Races of the Dragon, and Races of Eberron), the Expanded Psionics Handbook (for matters relating to kalashtar, quori, the Dreaming Dark, and Riedra in Sarlona), and special themed books like Tome of Battle, Tome of Magic, Magic of Incarnum, and Dragon Magic. Finally, what should be core rulebooks 4, 5, and 6: Magic Item Compendium, Spell Compendium, and Rules Compendium (which serves to compile all the additional rules that were added in supplements up to its release, in addition to sorting rules by topic).
4th edition D&D is the edition that ran alongside most of early DDO's lifespan, and is responsible for bringing tieflings and dragonborn to the forefront in the Player's Handbook (rather than being tucked away in the Dungeon Master's Guide, as tieflings were in 3.5, or Races of the Dragon, for dragonborn). The books for 4th edition can be found here:
Player's Handbook (a necessary book for anyone, player or Dungeon Master), Player's Handbook 2 and Player's Handbook 3 (mostly optional, but having very attractive content like arcane sorcerers, primal druids and barbarians, divine avengers invokers, and psionic ardents and monks), Dungeon Master's Guide (which offers resources for prospective Dungeon Masters), Dungeon Master's Guide 2 (an optional supplement which some will tell you is a book you should buy anyway, if you play any tabletop roleplaying game, not just D&D, for the fantastic advice it gives), Monster Manual (essential for Dungeon Masters who want to provide challenges but don't just want to run adventure modules), Monster Manual 2, and Monster Manual 3 (which provides a selection of monsters using math revisions that make for more intense battles). If you want to play a game in Eberron, then as a player, having access to the Eberron Player's Guide is going to give you a bevy of useful options like dragonmark feats and the Artificer class, while Dungeon Masters will want to pick up the Eberron Campaign Guide. If you're fine with adapting Forgotten Realms material, then the Forgotten Realms Player's Guide is notable for printing a works-out-of-the-box arcane defender class called the Swordmage. The swordmage, and the various classes found in the Player's Handbooks, receive extra love in the Power series of books (Arcane Power, Divine Power, Primal Power, Psionic Power, Martial Power and Martial Power 2). Poor artificer gets just the one book's worth of options.
4th edition is much maligned as a result of a campaign by Paizo (who published Pathfinder Roleplaying Game to capture the 3.5 edition crowd after being told that the Dungeon and Dragon magazines they were printing would be moved in-house to Wizards of the Coast), but as a game where you and a few friends crawl through dungeons over beer and pretzels and make stuff up with your blorbos, it's the peak of D&D.
Additionally, there was a revised* version of 4th edition D&D, calling itself D&D Essentials, which had its own core rulebooks, while still using the same fundamental framework as pre-Essentials material. Essentials is mostly notable for printing character classes that don't have as many per-encounter and daily powers, which overall reduces the dynamic nature of 4e's battle. Its books can be found here:
Rules Compendium (as with the 3.5 book of the same name, a collection of all the rules revisions, such as Stealth and vision, scattered throughout prior 4e books, useful as a resource when you have a question about how to play the game), Heroes of the Fallen Lands (a book for playing extremely normie D&D characters under the Essentials paradigm, which introduces new variants on the cleric, fighter, rogue, and wizard, alongside old standbys like the dwarf, halfling, wood elf, and eladrin (also known as a high elf), and human, functionally a very basic substitute for the Player's Handbook), Heroes of the Forgotten Kingdoms (for playing slightly more oddball options like a hexblade warlock, cavalier paladin, sentinel druid, and scout or hunter ranger, alongside dragonborn, drow, half-elves, half-orcs and tieflings; this book also contains enough info to create a character, serving as a core rulebook in itself; if Heroes of the Fallen Lands is Pokémon Ultra Sun, this is Pokémon Ultra Moon, as both try to punch up the previous iteration in the generation while being standalone titles), and the Dungeon Master's Book (a must for running Essentials D&D, apparently) and Monster Vault (yet more monsters!).
I'd be happy to set up a game of 3.5 or 4e D&D, in case anyone wants to give it a try!
If you know of other standout titles published in these editions, or have anything you'd like to discuss, feel free to post!
But negativity towards either game will be disregarded. You always have the option to simply not post, I should remind you.
