While listening to the latest episode of The Tome Show podcast that took an initial look at Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything, I had an idea to write this post.

A post that will look at the official WotC D&D 5e books that I own, and answering the question why did I buy that book? What do they bring to the table for me?

I’m not going to talk about the “holy trinity” of books that should be on every DM’s book shelf, the Dungeon Master’s Guide, Player’s Handbook, and Monster Manual.

Those are a given, and shouldn’t need explaining.

I’m also going to assume it’s a given that each book gives new monsters, spells, and magical items. And they were not bought because of this. But that this is a nice bonus to the main reason the book was bought.

So here are the official D&D 5e books I own and why.

Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes was bought for the extra depth it gives on some of the races such as halflings and gnomes. It covers their beliefs, societies etc. Very useful indeed for inspiring player backstories, or adventure ideas. I’ve used what the halflings believe about death and the afterlife to describe what Dram experienced whilst he was temporarily dead before being resurrected.

Volo’s Guide to Monsters was bought for the monster lore chapter. The nine monsters covered there not only add more depth to them but also have maps for a liar. These are basically instant mini adventures that could be used at the drop of a hat during a session or planned into a campaign. Very useful to have.

Xanathar’s Guide to Everything this is full of optional rules to use along side the core rule books. So far the revisited rules for Traps have been of use, along with the rules for levelling up from Appendix A shared campaigns. Appendix B is also very handy with its lists of character names.

Both Guildmasters’ Guide to Ravnica and Mythic Odysseys of Theros are firstly source books bringing the world of Magic the Gathering (MtG) to D&D. Being a MtG player this mash up appealed to me. So it was a given I’d get the source books that will allow me to play in the MtG sandpit.

I don’t (at the moment, nor have I) run a published adventure. So why do I currently own six of them?

Ghosts of Saltmarsh was bought for the rules it brings to the table that cover sea travel, ships, underwater encounters, and the many tables it has to roll against.

Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus was purchased for it’s Appendix A: Diabolical Deals. I plan to use these within my campaign (once we can get back to playing safely as a group). I just love the idea of one of the characters making “a deal with the devil” as a story plot.

I bought Tales from the Yawning Portal because it was full of examples that would be classed as death trap dungeons (I think that would be the correct term to describe them). They have a high mortality rate. Plus lots of examples of different types of traps and puzzles.

An element I’d like to try to bring to my campaign is horror. The nice thing about my campaign is that it allows for me to try different genres/themes very easily. Although it is true to say that I have not started down that route yet.

However for examples of writing horror themed adventures WotC have now kindly provided two different examples and styles of this genre. Curse of Strahd is the gothic horror of the classics such as Dracula and Frankenstein. Whilst Icewind Dale Rime of the Frost Maiden is inspired more by The Thing. Plus it has some rules for wilderness travel in extreme cold. Which could be handy.

Tomb of Annihilation is an example of a hex crawler. And it was for it’s rules on this that I bought the book. I have used these rules as the basis for sea travel within my campaign.

These final three books are like the MtG books above, settings books. Books that inspire.

My first campaign is set in the Forgotten Realm, and to the Moonshae Isles which are to the west of the Sword Coast. So it was obvious to get the Sword Coast Adventurers Guide that provided some background information for the area.

Eberron: Rising from the Last War was bought because I liked the sound of the setting. Steampunk meets fantasy. Throw in adventure, pulp and noir themes, and it sounds a blast. Plus Halflings with dinosaur pets!

I’m not a fan of streamed D&D sessions. I find them boring to watch, and an inaccurate depiction of a D&D session. How many D&D groups are made up entirely of actors and comedians? I feel these streamed shows are more about improve acting and showcasing what these actors/comedians can do.

So it’s fair to say I am not a fan of the Acquisitions Inc streamed show. So why is the Acquisitions Incorporated source book in my collection? It’s for it’s franchise rules. The running a corporate organisation, such as a heroes for hire, or whatever other business the players might think up. Not sure if we will use these. But it’s there if the thought comes to the players.

So there we have it a brief explanation why each of the official D&D books that I own are in the collection. How many do you own and why did you buy them?