I will have to say that the two Fiendish Codexes seem well written (read: any edition use).

JohnGaunt wrote: . . . and now you are well on your way to buying a wall of 3.5 books . . .  

Doubtful.  The only reason I even purchased the Fiendish Codexes was because I got them for $7 apiece and they were so evil looking I just couldnt pass them up.  I dont even own the other two books but I have them in .pdf format so I have read through them a bit.

A few of the other books have their redeeming qualities but most of them are crap.  Libris Mortis and Elder Evils were interesting reads but even those had their laughable content.  Libris Mortis has a bunch of undead critters that were obviously inspired by Japanese horror movies and video games.  Dire Maggot, Slaymate, and my personal favorite: Brain in a Jar.  

I played a good deal of 3.0 and 3.37 while living in CA:  we had a great Greyhawk DM, and played with GH/1e sensibilities (so no half-dragon anythings were in evidence).  

My biggest gripe was converting high-level 1e casters (such as, say, Xaene/Zayene) from 1e to 3.x:  it took FOREVER.  And combats ran too long, too.  Otherwise, it was fun, but that's much-more the end-result of a good DM and good players than the rules, no matter what edition you play.

JohnGaunt wrote:Since this isn't Dragonsfoot . . .

What 3.5 books beyond the three Core books are worth buying?  The Fiendish Codexes seem to have a following.

I only have the demons book, and it's pretty good, though more-detailed than I'd prefer.  

I also liked these 3.x books/adventures (in no particular order):

- NG's early modules with web downloads (Crucible of Freya, Demons & Devils, Tomb of Abysthor, Vault of Larin Karr):  among the best 3.x adventures, and they stand up well to TSR and non-TSR classics too
- NG _Mother of All Treasure Tables_:  a fabulous edition-independent resources (well, editionless if your edition includes gp ); some folks also really like the Mother of All Encounter Tables, but I haven't used it much so I can't vouch for that one yet; also good:  Bard's Gate (city supplement), Tome of Horrors 1 & 2 (I don't own 3; convernted monsters from 1e to 3e, as well as new ones); Eldritch sorcery (as ToH, but for spells)
- Fantasy Flight:  Traps & Treachery (I don't own #2), as well as their Planar Handbook, Monsters Handbook, and Seafarers Handbook; Midnight's pretty good too, especially if you have any plans to adapt it to Carl Sergent 2e-era GH; Grimm is also quite good (I have the d20 supplement, not the later-published d20/OGL full game)
- Expeditious Retreat Press:  _A Magical Medieval Society: Western Europe_, _MMS: Ecology & Culture_, and _MMS: Silk Road_ are great resources; I like MMS:WE so well that I'll use it in my next Ars Magica campaign (and that's saying something!); I've liked some of their 1 PC modules too (1 player, 1 DM; I bought the thief and bard ones); XRP are also publishing OSRIC modules, well-worth picking up, too, of course (especially James Boney's and Matt Finch's)
- WotC:  3.0 Manual of the Planes, Liber Mortis, and Lords of Madness stand out among my WotC books that haven't been boxed up; also good are the Book of Vile Darkness and it's good counterpart (I forget the name; though they are a bit cheesy in their "maturity" here and there)
- Atlas Games:  Dynasties & Demagogues is great, and others in the series have looked good too (Crime & Punishment, for example), but I haven't looked for them at fire sale prices yet
- MonkeyGod:  Frost & Fur (I've wanted to run an ice age game ever since Dragon 68, and this book would definitely help deliver the good!  Blow's away WotC's similar environmental book)
- Malhavoc Press:  the Banewarrens (Monte Cook's best adventure)
- Bad Axe Games:  Grim Tales (an excellent resource for low-magic, grim-n-gritty d20 gaming)

Enjoy, and good hunting!

The man with two brains.
Classic.

Other than the 3 core rule books, I am currently using:

Magic Item Compendium (Magic items galore   )

Complete Divine (I am currently playing a Paladin 5 / Pious Templar 8 )

Spell Compendium (More Spells!)


Splat Books (as the builder/"Complete" books are known as) are a wonderful addition to any campaign, as long as you limit/restrict the number of books.

ashmire13 wrote:thanks for the advice on the books, I'm curiously interested now!
But as a game, is it more dice orientated than 1st ed, or less?

As for 3.5 Edition, it really Depends on which of the rules you use.
Let me go back a step.
That is true for ANY Edition.
Use the rules you want and skip the others.

You CAN get dependant on dice, or ignore them in favor of story telling and/or miniatures useage.
The DMG actually states that you can spend TWICE as much time rolling die than in previous Editions if you use all the rules in 3.5 Edition.
But then the book ads: ...there is no reason that you MUST use them all; all the time.

I have only just started reading the DMG today, but I have already seen that there are rules for using dice to detrmine if spells affect others at all.
In addition to all of the previous Editions saving throw rolls that we all remember.

The DMG also includes a set of 12 pages of Cut Out Tiles (Or you can make copies and cut those up) and a large folded perforated pull out dungeon and area map (All of them (Maps and Tiles) are two sided).

So use of minatures is very much encouraged.

And although I wil never own 5 thousand minatures and will in fact (Without guilt) use mixed and sometimes matched miniatures in my games.
Actually, I like that aspect of 3.5 Edtion.

I still say you may want to expand on your Monsters.
The First Monster manual will eventually not be good enough.
Just like in OD&D.

Once your PCs have beaten all of them in that book and they know exactly how to do so, you will be looking for new challenges for the PCs to face.
Besides, with all those books of treasures and magic, who (or what) is going to guard it all?

ashmire13 wrote:thanks for the advice on the books, I'm curiously interested now!
But as a game, is it more dice orientated than 1st ed, or less?

I would say more.  Combat takes substantially longer, therefore a higher percentage of playing time is related to combat.

the Monster Manual is not a frickin' checklist.

It is if you're looking for miniatures.