Inspired by Persimmon's other thread on favorite single RPG book, what is your favorite RPG prep book? A supplement or system-neutral book that's your go-to when prepping for a campaign, a session, whatever.
If I could only pick one book, I'm a fan of the Tome of Adventure Design by Matthew Finch and published by Frog God Games. I think he just did a Kickstarter on a slightly newer version of this book fairly recently.
I also grab AEG's Ultimate Toolbox from time to time as well.
Any other favorites out there?
I only use Brian Jamison's Gamemastering.
Pic related
The Lazy DM and return of the Lazy DM.
Quote from: I HATE THE DEMIURGE I HATE THE DEMIURGE on September 18, 2022, 05:53:20 PM
Pic related
That´s ingenious :D
Anyhow, I shouldn´t say Robin´s Law of Good Gamemastering, for it´s debatable whether it is a lot of content and whether
it answer the question asked, though it does give a very concise treasure map of sorts and simplifies the creative process to a simple
mechanism behind the session/campaign.
Thanks, all! These are useful references/suggestions. I'm always looking to expand my library with useful reference books. I'm saving I HATE THE DEMIURGE's pic as well. Cool way to go!
Depending upon, whether I envision using Evil NPCs or Monstrous Humanoids; I'd say either the NPC Codex, or the Monster Codex, from Pathfinder 1E. I'm not really looking at the rules, but taking inspiration from the artwork and write ups. You can get examples of fully fleshed out Core Classes at every character level; or more lore about Monsters, beyond what is in the Bestiary.
A pad of graph paper.
I couldn't come up with a great answer myself (I use my own books, but they are not collected in a single tome - see link in the sig), so I'll just agree with Ultimate Toolbox, ToAD, and Return of the Lazy DM.
Just wrote a review of the last one:
https://methodsetmadness.blogspot.com/2022/09/return-of-lazy-dungeon-master-review.html
Roget's Thesaurus. No, really, it's the single book I consult most often while preparing a game. Lately, I've been using an online thesaurus first, then going to Roget's when necessary.
Browsing different slants on words often sends my thoughts down a new track. I'll also use it to find an obscure word with which I can mangle a few letters to get a made up name that fits the setting--more for geography than people, but both work sometimes.
For a more serious answer I'd have to say wikipedia. So much information at your finger tips.
Quote from: Steven Mitchell on September 20, 2022, 11:33:29 AM
Roget's Thesaurus. No, really, it's the single book I consult most often while preparing a game. Lately, I've been using an online thesaurus first, then going to Roget's when necessary.
Browsing different slants on words often sends my thoughts down a new track. I'll also use it to find an obscure word with which I can mangle a few letters to get a made up name that fits the setting--more for geography than people, but both work sometimes.
That is actually interesting, I´v never even considered that ??? I need to try this out
Quote from: David Johansen on September 20, 2022, 02:16:12 PM
For a more serious answer I'd have to say wikipedia. So much information at your finger tips.
I second this, I´v mined so much interesting ideas from Wikipedia, study portals and online encyclopedias (Britanica fx.)
which have extended articles for whatever, let´s say I want to read about ancient legal or bureaucratic methods and
next thing you know, you´v read half a dozen articles jumping from one related article to another, truly a great source for RPG´s.
As an example:
https://www.britannica.com/topic/bureaucracy/Bureaucracy-and-the-state
https://study.com/academy/lesson/ancient-persian-bureaucracy-arstibara-vacabara-hazarapatis.html
Quote from: Steven Mitchell on September 20, 2022, 11:33:29 AM
Roget's Thesaurus. No, really, it's the single book I consult most often while preparing a game. Lately, I've been using an online thesaurus first, then going to Roget's when necessary.
Browsing different slants on words often sends my thoughts down a new track. I'll also use it to find an obscure word with which I can mangle a few letters to get a made up name that fits the setting--more for geography than people, but both work sometimes.
100% this. Also, obscure and archaic synonyms make for great spell names.
The D30 DM Companion and the D30 Sandbox Companion from New Big Dragon Games. While useful in play, they are also incredibly useful for generating plot hooks, adventures, settlements, NPCs, and a host of other things.
I surf images in Google for creatures and locales that stimulate my imagination.
Does it have to be an actual book? My favorite supplement is breaking out pen and paper and starting to sketch out some mind maps on plot hooks, drawing a portion of a map or dungeon, etc.