I am taking a dive back into DND 5e soon. I've run a couple of campaigns in the past but never picked up any books.

Now that I'm getting back in,  I need to decide what books i want.

Core three are probably a must. I plan on making my own setting and campaign.  I've heard good things about kobold press books although i have not looked into them.  Give me your recommendations.

Xanathar's is really the only other WotC book I'd recommend.

I have all the kobold press bestiaries. They are all good, though I do think the first Tome of Beasts is the best.

So I'd say core 3, Xanathar's, and Tome of Beasts.

I'd throw in Tome of Horrors and Book of Lost Spells, both from Frog God Games. Always good for mixing things up.

Quote from: Hzilong on August 10, 2022, 04:52:56 PM
Xanathar's is really the only other WotC book I'd recommend.

I have all the kobold press bestiaries. They are all good, though I do think the first Tome of Beasts is the best.

So I'd say core 3, Xanathar's, and Tome of Beasts.

Those are good recommendations.  The original releases of Volo's and Mordenkainen's were good too; prior to WOTC deciding to "fix D&D".  Tasha's is ok if you treat the whole book as being optional, per the DM.  It's just a reference on a shelf, per se.

I have enough player options in the 3 core, +XGTW if you want.

Creature Codex is awesome in addition to ToB. The Creature Collection looks great and is insanely cheap in PDF:

https://methodsetmadness.blogspot.com/2022/08/amazing-scared-lands-sale-90-off.html

Maybe pick a campaign? they are not great but I had fun with CoS.

Top Ten ?!
That's a bit optomistic.

As mentioned, the Core 3 and Xanathar's Guide are good choices. Since you are building your own setting, you might find the information in the Mordenkainen's & Volo's books beneficial, and the monsters are serviceable enough (I never picked up the Kobold Press bestiaries, so I defer to others' judgment).

It also might be worth it to look at some fan-made stuff. A lot of it is junk, but a few things stand out. The Backgrounds Omnibus adds something like 20 new backgrounds that fill-in the gaps left by the Core PHB. I think it's free... at least, I didn't spend money on it. 

Anything else you can probably skip, unless you can find them for cheap. In fact, check ebay and similar sites. Many times you can find entire lots of books for about $15-20 apiece.

Oh yeah I'm good with 3rd party materials. Its just a lot to sort through for quality.

Physical only or PDF too?

I published a few 5e books about weapons, armor, and monster creation (although the last has more to do with random tables than mechanics - might be useful if you want to create some monsters).

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/291160/5e-Manual-of-Arms-Weapons?src=hottest_filtered
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/291153/5e-Manual-of-Arms-Armor--Shields?src=hottest_filtered
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/317448/Teratogenicon?src=hottest_filtered

Other than that I can recommend this 3rd-party adventure from someone else:

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/216229/The-Chapel-on-the-Cliffs-5e

Oh yeah i work more with pdfs than physical books so I'll take a look!

Kobold Press - I'd say definitely ToB & CC. ToB II is ok but not nearly as much of a must-have as those two.

WoTC - just XGTE really.

If you want short plug-in adventures, I strongly recommend 12 Peculiar Towers from Kobold Press.
If you want a 5e campaign setting, Primeval Thule Campaign Setting (via drivethru, there is a POD option) is pretty incredible. It is a strongly Howardesque swords & sorcery setting well integrated with the standard 5e rules.
For big tentpole megadungeons, the 5e version of Barrowmaze is pretty cool, though it's very much OSR with a light 5e skin. For a slick new-school mythic fantasy campaign I recommend Odyssey of the Dragon Lords.

Add those 7 to PHB-DMG-MM and you get 10!  Honourable mentions to the Primeval Thule Adventure Anthology https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/171225/Primeval-Thule-5e-Adventure-Anthology Night of the Yellow Moon https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/181058/Night-of-the-Yellow-Moon-5e? and KP's Book of Lairs - the battle maps make it more useful for VTT than real tabletop play though.

Go third party and you'll find many more options.  Are you interested in those as well as the WOTC drivel?

Quote from: Radiofreedeath on August 10, 2022, 04:34:29 PM
I am taking a dive back into DND 5e soon. I've run a couple of campaigns in the past but never picked up any books.

Now that I'm getting back in,  I need to decide what books i want.

Core three are probably a must. I plan on making my own setting and campaign.  I've heard good things about kobold press books although i have not looked into them.  Give me your recommendations.

Xanathar's, Tasha's, and Monsters of the Multiverse are the three "core-like" expansions. In fact those three are sold in a bundle on Amazon right now with a slip cover.

In terms of adventures, I really quite like both Tomb of Annihilation, and Tales from the Yawning Portal.

Quote from: Radiofreedeath on August 10, 2022, 04:34:29 PM
I am taking a dive back into DND 5e soon. I've run a couple of campaigns in the past but never picked up any books.

Now that I'm getting back in,  I need to decide what books i want.

Core three are probably a must. I plan on making my own setting and campaign.  I've heard good things about kobold press books although i have not looked into them.  Give me your recommendations.

None. Just download the free pdf of DnD 5e Basic Game from the WotC website and see how far you can go with that. Then, with a better understanding of the game rules and what you want to do with them, you can better choose what to buy.

The core three and seven character sheets.

I am re-reading Tales From the Yawning Portal.  It's on my table, and I am mining it for ideas.  More digestible, than Dungeon of the Mad Mage; which is massive.