Hiding the PHB from players - Cool or Restrictive?

[Shabe]

Well I've been reading this forum for the past few weeks now and I'm getting quite excited about 4th ED, I'm intending on running the published modules/adventures as the only other game I ran was a homebrew setting and I don't intend on putting that amount of hours into a setting again.

So to the core of my quesiton, I want 4th ED to be brand spanking new and exciting, I want players to marvel at each others powers as they see them iron tide/hunter quarry/misty step for the first time, hopefully invoking gasps of wow thats cool. I want the players not to play something because its a min maxed combination of powers that will be vastly overpowered and then add a rp reason and background to it after.

I'm intending to let my players know the races available, the classes available and also the roles of those classes, with a blurb out bits of the races and classes and then let the PHB powers and stuff be known after.

I'm throwing the question out here to test the water basically, would this sound good to you or is this a stifling of the players rights?

NB, none of the players will be buying the core rule books so it will be their first introduction to 4th ed.

 

[Rechan]

I think it would be difficult for them if they can't read the combat chapter and understand how the game, well, works unless you plan on teaching that to them too.

I personally would get annoyed by this because I like to make my own character; it's particularly hard to do that when you're given the classes, feats, powers, paragon paths etc through an eye dropper. But since they're not buying the books, then they may not be that motivated.

 

[Nifft]

I'm a grown up, and I feel capable of choosing the degree of my character's optimization all by myself. Your players may also be grown ups. If so, expect that they may want to make their own decisions.

Not all the fun is in the unwrapping. Lots of fun comes from using, too.

Cheers, -- N

 

[Cirex]

I think the players deserve to read almost enterily the Player Handbook. It's easier to explain and understand rules if everybody has read them. It's also easier to plan characters if they know what the future (or destiny) has for them.

In my personal case, my players' level of English is pretty low...so even if I let them read the PHB, they will understand close to nothing.

EDIT : I want to add that I will be translating many, many things. Each thing my players want to know will be translated, like, "information about my possible paragon paths, powers, feats, anything".

 

[Mort_Q]

I see nothing wrong with making up your own PH, like the one that Monte has for Ptolus, that tells the players what your take on the races, etc. is for your campaign. Let them know that not everything in the PH is in play, but there is no need to restrict access to it, even if you could somehow enforce it.

Most of the people I game with also DM, so there'd be no point really.

I voted No and I'd give the players access to the monster manual as well, grrr i'm a monster!... but mostly because I'm working on an Eberron campaign.

 

[Festivus]

I wouldn't want to play in a game where I couldn't see the rules and figure stuff out.

 

[Agamon]

My experience with players: if you want them to do something, tell them they can't do it. So by telling them they can't look at the PHB....that just wouldn't work, not with any players I've played with anyway/

 

[Nifft]

My experience with players: if you want them to do something, tell them they can't do it. So by telling them they can't look at the PHB....that just wouldn't work, not with any players I've played with anyway/

So you'd recommend he require full knowledge of the PHB, and assign specific Monster Manual pages as homework?

Cheers, -- N

 

[Shabe]

I see nothing wrong with making up your own PH, like the one that Monte has for Ptolus, that tells the players what your take on the races, etc. is for your campaign. Let them know that not everything in the PH is in play, but there is no need to restrict access to it, even if you could somehow enforce it.

Well i intend on letting them take anything in the PHB, so nothing to be excluded, i'm playing the setting vanilla style till the player's characters spark off ideas for me. As I said I plan on the PHB being unavailable only for the choosing a race and class and they are all very familiar with 3.x so the jump should not be too tricky.

 

[CubeKnight]

I played a couple of times with a control-freak GM on his homebrew setting. We knew nothing of the system, short of the name and general description of the class we were using.

Most. Frustrating. Game. Ever. No wonder it only lasted like, 2 sessions tops.