Book picks similar to
Role-Playing Mastery by E. Gary Gygax


non-fiction
reference
games
role-playing-games

Clanbook: Tremere


Keith Herber - 1995
    they are also the clan with the most to fear, for their enemies are everywhere, especially within their own ranks. Clanbook: Tremere includes: the dark history of the clan, and rumors of its even darker future; ten sample characters suitable for players and Storytellers; and in-depth information on the powerful Discipline of Thaumaturgy.

Fiasco


Jason Morningstar - 2009
    Maybe you and your girlfriend figured you could scare your wife into a divorce, but things went pear-shaped and now a gang of cranked-up Mexicans with latex gloves and a pit bull are looking for you.It seemed like such a good idea at the time.Fiasco is inspired by cinematic tales of small time capers gone disastrously wrong - inspired by films like Blood Simple, Fargo, The Way of the Gun, Burn After Reading, and A Simple Plan. You'll play ordinary people with powerful ambition and poor impulse control. There will be big dreams and flawed execution. It won't go well for them, to put it mildly, and in the end it will probably all go south in a glorious heap of jealousy, murder, and recrimination. Lives and reputations will be lost, painful wisdom will be gained, and if you are really lucky, your guy just might end up back where he started.Fiasco is a GM-less game for 3-5 players, designed to be played in a few hours with six-sided dice and no preparation. During a game you will engineer and play out stupid, disastrous situations, usually at the intersection of greed, fear, and lust. It's like making your own Coen brothers movie, in about the same amount of time it'd take to watch one.

Ravenloft Campaign Setting:


Bruce Nesmith - 1994
    Other lords of darkness have embraced the Demiplane of Dread as their own, and woe to heroes who wander there. Creatures of the night prey freely upon the living in this land, and day is but a prelude to another night of horror.This new edition of the RAVENLOFT game combines the original Realm of Terror boxed set with elements of Forbidden Lore and updated rules from other accessories. Domains destroyed in the infamous Grand Conjunction have been deleted, new domains added, and key personalities detailed.This boxes set includes: Realm of Terror - a 160-page book of rules concerning the reshaping of character classes; fear, horror, madness, and powers checks; curses; spells and magical items,both new and old; psionics; techniques of terror; and more. Domains and Denizens - a 128-page book describing the dark lands of the Core, the islands of terror, and many nefarious personages. Two maps depicting the reshaped Core domains and the islands of terror.A poster featuring a painting by artist Robh Ruppel. A tarokka deck of beautifully illustrated cards for role-playing fortunetelling.A DM screen specifically designed to be used with a RAVENLOFT campaign.

Kobold Guide to Plots & Campaigns (Kobold Guides Book 6)


Margaret WeisRobert J. Schwalb - 2016
     Kobold Guide to Plots & Campaigns shows how to begin a new campaign, use published adventures or loot them for the best ideas, build toward cliffhangers, and design a game that can enthrall your players for month or even years. Want to run an evil campaign, or hurl the characters into unusual otherworldly settings? Want to ensure that you're creating memorable and effective NPCs and villains? We've got you covered. Complete with discussions on plotting, tone, branching storytelling, pacing, and crafting action scenes, you'll find all the tips and advice you need to take on the best role in roleplaying--and become an expert gamemaster, too! Featuring essays by Wolfgang Baur, Jeff Grubb, David "Zeb" Cook, Margaret Weis, Robert J. Schwalb, Steve Winter, and other game professionals.

Star Wars Roleplaying Game Saga Edition Core Rulebook


Christopher Perkins - 2007
    Immerse yourself in the excitement of the greatest space fantasy of all time!This new edition of the Star Wars Roleplaying Game encapsulates all six feature films while presenting a thorough revision of the rule, making the game easier to learn while improving the overall game experience.This new edition includes new character abilities and options, a world gazetteer, statistics for key characters from all six Star Wars films and the Expanded Universe, and guidelines on how to use Star Wars miniatures and battle maps in play.

Faiths and Pantheons (Forgotten Realms) (Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition)


Eric L. Boyd - 2002
    Some of those divine powers inspire respect, while others elicit fear. Good or evil, all of them coexist within these pages. Complete information for key gods, along with the powers and abilities granted to their most dedicated followers, and descriptions of supporting deities combine to provide this look at all the gods of the Forgotten Realms campaign setting.Over 115 gods 20 specialty priest prestige classes Maps of four temples This collection details the thirty most important gods in the Forgotten Realms setting and expands upon the profiles of the rest of the deities.To use this accessory, a Dungeon Master also needs the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting, the Player's Handbook, the Dungeon Master's Guide, and the Monster Manual.

Nobilis


R. Sean Borgstrom - 1999
    Once human, each character has been forever changed, imbued with awesome power and terrible responsibility. Heaven and Hell, angels and devils, the Giants and the Old Gods - in Nobilis, all are united in the Great War against the Excrucians, whose goal is to destroy all Creation - but all are divided by their own plots and ancient rivalries, as well.

Legends and Lore: Cyclopedia of Gods and Heroes from Myth and Legend


James M. Ward - 1980
    

The Complete Bard's Handbook


Blake Mobley - 1992
    The Complete Bard's Handbook gives you everything you need to create a bard the world will never forget!

Menzoberranzan: Boxed Set


R.A. Salvatore - 1992
    The priestesses of Lloth, the Spider Queen, demand (and receive) complete respect from the citizens of this mighty city. But what of the common folk - the drow of non-noble birth, the humans, and others? What is their lot in life, in this magnificent den of intrigue?Three books in this boxed set explain the ways of Menzoberranzan in detail. Book One: The City gives the reader a tour of the streets and districts, a wealth of information on various practices and customs, and an overview of daily life for each class of citizen (and non-citizen). Book Two: The Houses presents all eighteen major and minor Houses of the city, including the Matron Mothers and their immediate families, as well as any important advisers and associates. Book Three: The Adventure gives players a chance to take their characters into the web of deceit and intrigue woven by the denizens of this famed city.Additionally, this boxed set includes:Four connecting poster-sized maps of the city proper;one poster map of the House Baenre compound;a poster showing the rivalries and alliances among all eighteen major and minor houses; a 16-page House Do'Urden retrospective and the collected essays of Drizzt; twelve cardsheets containing in-depth statistics on main characters from Houses Nurbonnis and Millithor, and small maps for use in the adventure; and a full-color poster of the stunning box cover art by Jeff Easley.

Fiend Folio


Don Turnbull - 1981
    The Fiend Folio is a collection of monsters for use with Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, similar in format to the original Monster Manual and effectively a supplement to that book.

Rules Compendium


Chris Sims - 2007
    The definitive reference guide of Dungeons & Dragons(R) core rules.Tired of hauling all of your D&D rules supplements to the gaming table? Having trouble finding the rule you need? The Rules Compendium supplement takes all of the game's most important rules and presents them in a single comprehensive, easy-to-reference volume for players and Dungeon Masters.In addition to presenting the rules of the game, the Rules Compendium incorporates official errata as well as behind-the-scenes designer and developer commentary explaining how the rules system has evolved and why certain rules work the way they do.

The Vampire Player's Guide


Andrew Greenberg - 1991
    A large portion of the book's text is reprinted, updated, and revised from the previous version of the Players Guide to fit the Second Edition's rules and formatting style. Notable among the new content in this edition of the Players Guide is the introduction of two new bloodlines, the Daughters of Cacophony and the Samedi, along with their respective signature Disciplines.

Monster Manual V (Dungeons & Dragons Supplement)


David NoonanWil Upchurch - 2007
    This D&D supplement presents a fully illustrated hoard of new monsters, as well as ready-to-play variations of previously existing monsters. In addition, this supplement features maps of monster lairs, sample encounters, and tactics sections to help Dungeon Masters run the more complex creatures. Additionally, many entries contain information about where monsters are likely to appear in the Forgotten Realms and Eberron compaign settings.

Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master


Michael Shea - 2018
    Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master uses the experiences of thousands of GMs to help us focus on how we prepare our games, how we run our games, and how we think about our games. It includes practical steps for focusing our preparation activities on those things that will bring the biggest impact to our game. Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master builds off of the concepts of the well-received GM's guidebook Lazy Dungeon Master, updating that book with five years of new experiences, new approaches, and new observations of the way people prepare and run RPGs. This new book is a completely self-contained work, which does not require anyone to have previously read The Lazy Dungeon Master. Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master offers a new focused approach for preparing and running our roleplaying games. The book includes an eight-step guide for lightweight game preparation and is focused on how we prepare for our games, how we run our games, and how we think about our games. Prepare what benefits your game.