Splatbook

Splatbooks are sourcebooks devoted to a particular facet or fictional faction in a role-playing game. The term "Splatbook" came about from the dizzying array of sourcebooks published by White Wolf Game Studio for each of its World of Darkness RPGs. The books were termed by series (Werewolf Tribe Books, Vampire Clanbooks, Changeling Kithbooks, Mage Tradition Books and so forth), which led to the derivation of the term: The asterisk on a computer keyboard, when used as a wild card character, is often called a "splat."

Splatbooks are alternately desired and reviled by gamers, who see them alternately as valuable resources for creating their characters and a craven attempt to milk players for extra money for things that should have been included in the main system resource books.