Can you use too many sources?

(Psi)SeveredHead said:
Yes.

By a large amount, enough to harm the game. Optimization isn't bad; the game is built around that.

Yes, and here is the beginning of my objection: who determines what is "too much?"
 

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Heh. I didn't mean to attack you; I just wanted to point out that the language you use and the assumptions you make can be harmful to the playing environment if you aren't careful.
 

I think if all your resources work together well/make sense then no real limit.

I guess my big-issue is when people simply take lots of different things that have no cohesion and slap them into a game. I like my games to atleast sorta make sense and have a sense of interconnectiveness. Which is actually one of my issues with some settings like FR there is simply to much stuff, no themes/ideas become dominant.

But that is a personal opinion, so is completely open to ones own interpretation.
 

(Psi)SeveredHead said:
Yes I think it's possible to use too many sources.

If you're using AE you probably should avoid most of these sources for crunch.

AE has no psionic rules (except Mind Witchery) that I'm aware of, so that one might be okay, but you could still be breaking things by letting a psion take AE stuff.

I don't know why you'd let Eberron races into FR. (For that matter, same with AE races. Are there Mogh in your FR?)

Let me try and clarify. As I said I use AE rules as a base. I use most of the classes and spell system from AE. I also use the PHB races and a couple of the PHB classes. I only use the mohj (a cult of the dragon experiment) and litorians from AE. Essentially I mix and match and modify where necessary (and give a reason why it exists). Balance is not a huge issue for us. If my players and I think something is out of whack, we change it accordingly.

As to why I'm looking to use psionics and the Eberron races, some of my players want to play those.

I'm trying to keep a lot of options out there without them becoming overwhelming.

Thanks.
 

Elodan said:
Let me try and clarify. As I said I use AE rules as a base. I use most of the classes and spell system from AE. I also use the PHB races and a couple of the PHB classes. I only use the mohj (a cult of the dragon experiment) and litorians from AE. Essentially I mix and match and modify where necessary (and give a reason why it exists). Balance is not a huge issue for us. If my players and I think something is out of whack, we change it accordingly.

As to why I'm looking to use psionics and the Eberron races, some of my players want to play those.

I'm trying to keep a lot of options out there without them becoming overwhelming.

Thanks.

Have you considered simply listing the books you don't have?
 

For one-shots & mini-campaigns, a short list of sourcebooks is an advantage.

For a full-sized campaign, use whatever you feel comfortable with...as long as you don't overwhelm your players (experience may make a difference, here) with info overload. Even a seemingly overhuge number of books can be made manageable with a little extra work on the DM's part, though.

For example, I once ran a RIFTS campaign with a plethora of sourcebooks (40+), so I went through each one and made a list detailing each OCC (Occupational Character Class- equivalent to a D20 Class) and RCC (Racial Character Class- equivalent to D20 Race) usable in the campaign, along with a one- to two-sentence blurb detailing what each one was. I attached this list with the list of HRs for the campaign- totalling about 7 pages (mostly the OCC/RCC list), and handed them out. Despite some players having no RIFTS experience, my efforts resulted in everyone breezing through character creation.
 

I think it's a fine list.

I am generally open to stuff from any source, but I review it first and approve or disapprove on a case-by-case basis.
 

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