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A sourcebook is a collection of writings on a subject that is intended to be a basic introduction to the topic presented.
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A sourcebook is a collection of writings on a subject that is intended to be a basic introduction to the topic presented.
In US-American universities, a sourcebook, either a standard one or a custom collection, may function as a supplement or replacement for a textbook.
In American law schools, casebooks are similar to sourcebooks, offering selections of legal cases and commentary, forming the basis for analysis and discussion.
In games, a sourcebook is a publication intended to supplement the core materials of a gaming product. Sourcebooks are most commonly used to complement role-playing games and some tabletop or wargaming series, and often contain optional rules, scenarios, or other materials that players can use to extend or enhance the central game. The term tends to refer to an overall expansion, while the related splatbook focuses on a specific fictional aspect of the game in depth.
Popular gaming series with many sourcebooks include:
White Wolf Publishing was an American roleplaying game and book publisher. The company was founded in 1991 as a merger between Lion Rampant and White Wolf Magazine, and was initially led by Mark Rein-Hagen of the former and Steve Wieck and Stewart Wieck of the latter. White Wolf Publishing, Inc. merged with CCP Games in 2006. White Wolf Publishing operated as an imprint of CCP hf, but ceased in-house production of any material, instead licensing their properties to other publishers. It was announced in October 2015 that White Wolf had been acquired from CCP by Paradox Interactive. In November 2018, after most of its staff were dismissed for making controversial statements, it was announced that White Wolf would no longer function as an entity separate from Paradox Interactive.
BattleTech is a wargaming and military science fiction franchise launched by FASA Corporation in 1984, acquired by WizKids in 2001, which was in turn acquired by Topps in 2003; and published since 2007 by Catalyst Game Labs. The trademark is currently owned by Topps and, for videogames, Microsoft's Xbox Game Studios; Catalyst Game Studios licenses the franchise from Topps.
Iron Crown Enterprises (ICE) is a publishing company that has produced role playing, board, miniature, and collectible card games since 1980. Many of ICE's better-known products were related to J. R. R. Tolkien's world of Middle-earth, but the Rolemaster rules system, and its science-fiction equivalent, Space Master, have been the foundation of ICE's business.
The d20 System is a role-playing game system published in 2000 by Wizards of the Coast, originally developed for the 3rd edition of Dungeons & Dragons. The system is named after the 20-sided dice which are central to the core mechanics of many actions in the game.
SLA Industries is a role-playing game first published in 1993 by Nightfall Games in Glasgow, Scotland. The game is set in a dystopian far-flung future in which the majority of the known universe is either owned or indirectly controlled by the eponymous corporation "SLA Industries" and incorporates themes from the cyberpunk, horror, and conspiracy genres.
Chill is an investigative and modern horror role-playing game originally published by Pacesetter Ltd in 1984 that captures the feel of 20th-century horror films.
The Monster Manual is the primary bestiary sourcebook for monsters in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, first published in 1977 by TSR. The Monster Manual was the first hardcover D&D book and includes monsters derived from mythology and folklore, as well as creatures created specifically for D&D. Creature descriptions include game-specific statistics, a brief description of its habits and habitats, and typically an image of the creature. Along with the Player's Handbook and Dungeon Master's Guide, the Monster Manual is one of the three "core rulebooks" in most editions of the D&D game. As such, new editions of the Monster Manual have been released for each edition of D&D. Due to the level of detail and illustration included in the 1977 release, the book was cited as a pivotal example of a new style of wargame books. Future editions would draw on various sources and act as a compendium of published monsters.
Trinity Continuum: Æon is a science fiction role-playing game previously published by White Wolf Game Studio in 1997 under the name Trinity. The current game is owned and published by Onyx Path Publishing.
Torg is a cinematic cross-genre tabletop role-playing game created by Greg Gorden and Bill Slavicsek, with art by Daniel Horne. It was first published by West End Games (WEG) in 1990. Game resolution uses a single twenty-sided die, drama cards and a logarithmic results table, which later formed the basis for WEG's 1992 sci-fi RPG Shatterzone and 1994 universal RPG Masterbook. WEG produced over fifty supplements, novels and comics for the first edition. A revised and expanded core rule book was produced in 2005, with a single adventure. After WEG closed in 2010, Torg was sold to Ulisses Spiele, who, after a successful crowdfunding campaign, published a new edition called Torg: Eternity in 2018.
Classic BattleTech is a table-top wargame set in the fictional BattleTech universe that simulates combat between futuristic mechanized forces. Originally published by FASA Corporation, the game is now produced by Catalyst Game Labs under license from WizKids. The term "Classic" is used to differentiate the original game from variants and related games that have derived from it, such as MechWarrior: Dark Age. The game has an extensive range of 1/285 scale miniatures.
Heavy Gear is a mecha science fiction game universe published since 1994 by Canadian publisher Dream Pod 9. It includes a tabletop tactical wargame, a role-playing game, and a combat card game. The setting is also known through the PC game incarnations published by Activision in 1997 and 1999, which were developed after Activision lost the rights to the Battletech/MechWarrior series. It also spawned a 40-episode, 3D-animated TV series in 2001, which featured a much simplified version of the universe developed in the role-playing game.
Several different editions of the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) fantasy role-playing game have been produced since 1974. The current publisher of D&D, Wizards of the Coast, produces new materials only for the most current edition of the game. However, many D&D fans continue to play older versions of the game and some third-party companies continue to publish materials compatible with these older editions.
Star Trek: The Next Generation Role-playing Game is a role-playing game set in the fictional Star Trek universe and published by Last Unicorn Games (LUG). Due to licensing issues, LUG did not release the game as a single core rulebook and setting supplements for the various series but instead intended to release a corebook for every series. The Star Trek license was lost to Decipher before a Star Trek: Voyager rulebook could be released.
Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game is a role-playing game set in the Star Wars universe, written and published by West End Games (WEG) between 1987 and 1999. The game system was slightly modified and rereleased in 2004 as D6 Space, which used a generic space opera setting. An unrelated Star Wars RPG was published by Wizards of the Coast from 2000 to 2010. Since 2012 the official Star Wars role-playing game is another unrelated game, published by Fantasy Flight Games.
Conspiracy X is a role-playing game (RPG) originally released by New Millennium Entertainment in 1996, and since revised and released by several publishers including Steve Jackson Games and Eden Studios, Inc. In all versions, the setting posits that aliens are insiduously taking over the world, reminiscent of The X-Files.
D6 Adventure is a generic role-playing game system based on the D6 System. D6 Adventure is published as a stand-alone rulebook and is supported by its own line of supplements.
Robert E. Howard's Conan: Adventures in an Age Undreamed Of is a sword and sorcery pen-and-paper role-playing game set in the world of Conan the Barbarian, the fictional Hyborian Age. Both the character and the setting were first imagined by author Robert E. Howard. Howard's original literary work has since spawned a vast franchise of novels, comic books, films, video games, board games, role-playing games, etc. Following this tradition, Conan: Adventures in an Age Undreamed Of is the third officially licensed Conan role-playing game. The two precedent games were Conan Role-Playing Game (1985-1988) and Conan: The Roleplaying Game (2004-2010), although there also had been supplements for independent generic systems, like GURPS Conan (1988-1989).
Nobles: The Shining Host is a tabletop role-playing game supplement released by White Wolf Publishing in March 1996 for use with their game Changeling: The Dreaming, and is part of the larger World of Darkness series. The book primarily describes the sidhe and other fae nobility, covering their history and giving more depth to the creation of sidhe characters, as well as fae politics in the setting.
Book of Lost Dreams is a tabletop role-playing game supplement published by White Wolf Publishing in September 1997 for use with the horror game Changeling: The Dreaming, and is part of the World of Darkness series. It introduces expanded rules for cantrips and combat, describes creatures from other World of Darkness games to aid cross-over play, and contains the adventure "Capture the Flag". The book was released together with a storyteller screen, which contains rules information and tables for storytellers to reference while running a campaign. The book was well received by critics, who considered "Capture the Flag" a good way to introduce players to the Changeling: The Dreaming setting.
Charnel Houses of Europe: The Shoah is a supplement published by the Black Dog imprint of White Wolf Publishing in March–April 1997 for the horror role-playing game Wraith: The Oblivion, itself part of the series of horror role-playing games known as World of Darkness.