My 5 favourite RPG books - UPDATED
I think it is time to update this list, as my thoughts and preferences have evolved quite a bit. I am introducing a new rule to myself: I can only include what I have extensively used myself, as to keep me from getting to hyped up on something I recently read. I am looking at you Ultraviolet Grasslands and Dolmenwood... Additionally, I like to think of these five books not just as my favourite RPG books, but also as all I would need to run the kind of D&D game I like, while keeping it interesting and creative.
The top 5
Rules: S&W Complete Revised by Matt Finch
My long reflection post on Shadowdark has outlined some of the issues I have faced with the system and now I have become just much more pragmatic: OD&D is not just a great system in itself, but it so interesting because it is such a great starting point to define your own rules of choice. Modular and not prone to breakage. Something that one cannot easily say for the modern more integrated OSR systems of today. What convinced me in the end, was trying to remove luck from Shadowdark and failing to do so cleanly. Additionally, the ability to run historical TSR and contemporary OSR material without conversions makes it a clear winner. The book is also written in such a friendly and encouraging manner that makes you want to hack your own version while reading. Truly inspirational. OSE would have been another obvious choice, more table usable, but also more sterile. S&W just clicks more with me.
Monsters: Monster Overhaul by Skerples
"Half system neutral monster book, half collection of related random tables, these parts come together in a great toolbox to fill your world with life. Leaning towards the vanilla, it still provides all you need to create memorable encounters that won't always go to the death." I still stand by this and is since helped me spice up MANY encounters in interesting ways!
Adventures: Winter's Daughter by Gavin Norman
Stonehell was just a tad too vanilla for me, hence a change in this category. It was the category I had to debate the longest, with Sailors on the Starless Sea, I6 Ravenloft and Willowby Hall being very tough competitiors, but in the end Winter's Daughter won the day: it is just a beautiful, simple adventure, that eschews combat for creative solutions and draws players into its magical world of Dolmenwood. The seeds for everything that followed are already here. In spades.
Tables: Mörk Borg by Pelle Nilsson and Johann Nohr
Not a book of tables per se, but a setting transported through its tables. The rules themselves are a nice simple version of D&D, but the true achievement is the maximalist transport of its world through brief flavorful tables and an immediacy of visual design that leaves very little doubt as to what this world is about. It is a masterclass in not what you say, but how you say it, about attitude and communication and as a consequence is endlessly inspirational to a GM for questioning their own long held beliefs and practices.
Advice: Electric Bastionland by Chris McDowall
"A masterclass in game design, a setting brimming with creativity and freshness, highly usable tools for content generation and concise presentation of key principles for running fun tabletop games. This book is worth its weight in gold." I still stand by this. It might be my favourite book of all.
Honorable Mentions
Tables: Knave 2e by Ben Milton
I still use this all the time. Especially the Careers table and the gear tables.