Define Core Only for your game

Quasqueton · Sep 27, 2006

Those of you (DMs) who run a Core Only game:

What does “Core Only” mean in the context of your game?

Why do you run Core Only for your game?

Do you get Players who balk/complain about Core Only? How do you handle such complaints?

Quasqueton

SunRaven01 · Sep 27, 2006

PHB, DMG, MM

Anything else is forbidden, unless they ask about a specific spell/feat/what-have-you in advance, and I approve it. I will not blanket approve an entire supplement.

So far my players have no problem with it, but I have one player who never tried RPGs in the past, and thus doesn't know what she's missing, and a second player who had never played 3E and is content to learn the core rules before adding splatbooks.

lrsach01 · Sep 27, 2006

One of our games is PHB, DMG, MM only. The other is PHB, DMG, MM plus any Dragonlance book and the Draconomicon. Its a Dragonlance campaign so no Eberron and no Forgotten Realms.

Thurbane · Sep 27, 2006

Quasqueton said:
Those of you (DMs) who run a Core Only game:

What does “Core Only” mean in the context of your game?

As stated above, PHB, DMG, MM. Aditionally, I only allow races from the PHB, not races from MM.

Why do you run Core Only for your game?

Coming over from an older edition, most of us had a lot to learn without adding in optional supplements. Cost is a factor, also. I learnt my lesson in 1E and 2E - once you add in one supplment, soon you are buying them left right and centre. I have literally thousands of dollars (maybe even tens of thousands) worth of books now sitting in boxes collecting dust that aside from an occasional map, are basically useless in our current game.

Do you get Players who balk/complain about Core Only? How do you handle such complaints?

Quasqueton

Nope, everyone I play with is most happy with core only. If and when we reach a point where a majority are keen to include supplemental materials, we'll reassess our position.

Umbran · Sep 27, 2006

In the past, I have run core only - PHB, DMG, MM. PCs built from the PHB alone.

This was largely because we were all pretty new to the rules - everybody had a great deal to learn, so it made sense to limit the space a bit.

Plus, those three books have a whole lot to offer. I could probably rune core-only, and my players would not notice. They aren't big rules readers, and are unlikely to request non-core elements unless I explicitly offer them. They've only got one non-core element among them right now, and that's really only to support certain backstory elements that might come to bite one player in the butt.

sjmiller · Sep 27, 2006

When I started my first 3rd edition campaign all there was available was the PH, DMG, and MM. We played that quite happily for several years. Many of us were coming from decades of playing AD&D 1st Ed., and even if there were optional books available we would not have used them. We wanted to keep things simple.

When I started my second campaign, with a different group, they were converting from 2nd Edition with lots of modifications. So I decided to go primarily with the core three books, but with a supplement of races (mostly from Arcana Evolved), spells (from the WotC website and a book by Phil Reed), and Talents (a free extra 1st level feat from AE). I could have kept it at just the core books, but as the DM I wanted to add these things.

If I were to start a new campaign I think I would go with Arcana Evolved and use just the core books for that. I have never seen the need to add every single new book that is out there into the mix. It just makes things more complicated and dilutes the overall theme of a campaign.

Stormborn · Sep 27, 2006

I am not running one at the moment, but I have in the past.

What does “Core Only” mean in the context of your game? That Players can only use the PHB - the exception being for summoning spells, in which case they can use the MM to get the stats for that. I think I did "cheat" and occasionally draw in monsters from other sources, but rarely.

Why do you run Core Only for your game? At the time because it was easier and we were working on introducing new players to the game.

Do you get Players who balk/complain about Core Only? How do you handle such complaints?
Not for that game, no. Honestly, I am the one who most often wants non-Core stuff, and is one of the reason that those games are always short lived or mutate into something else. Even in our regular games I am the one who ususally finds the material outside the core books for players who say "I would like do to X".

WayneLigon · Sep 27, 2006

What does “Core Only” mean in the context of your game?
PHB, MM, DMG

Why do you run Core Only for your game?
Several reasons:
1. These are the books most people are going to have access to, either in print or online.
2. Everyone is on a level playing field; no arguements about classes nobody knew anything about.
3. I have the references as well. No surprises or some spell I've never heard of.

Do you get Players who balk/complain about Core Only?
Yes

How do you handle such complaints?
The door's thataway.

diaglo · Sep 27, 2006

core only for me is what the group agrees upon.

which means anything is available until it gets nixed

rvalle · Sep 27, 2006

Core only = PHB, MM, DMG. Player characters only from the PHB.

Why? Its my first time DM'ing and I wanted to limit the things I had to deal with.

Balking? No. We have some new players as well and everyone is ok with the limits imposed.

If there was a complaint? I have 3 kids. No means No.

rv

Define Core Only for your game

Quasqueton

First Post

SunRaven01

First Post

lrsach01

Explorer

Thurbane

First Post

Umbran

Mod Squad

sjmiller

Explorer

Stormborn

Explorer

WayneLigon

Adventurer

diaglo

Adventurer

rvalle

First Post

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