Core Books only or Everything?

[ThirdWizard]

Anything outside of core, the players can come to me and I can decide to allow or disallow on an individual basis. I'm fairly lenient, however, I just like to make sure before something comes into the campaign. Still, its probably #2, mostly core with a little outside of it. In our current campaign nothing outside of core is in play at the moment, although someone is going toward Bear Warrior from CW.

 

[Edena_of_Neith]

When I DMed, my attitude was: everything. And then some.

 

[dnd3dm]

I voted Core Books plus a couple of favorite rules or items, but the correct answer is a bit more complex.

In the campaign in which I'm a player, we have to "filter" anything we want that isn't from the core rules through our DM. It's his own world, so he of course has the final say in what fits and what doesn't. He doesn't use 3rd party stuff except for ideas. For example, my character in that game is a paladin2/cleric6 or Tyr, and I'm taking the Justicar of Tyr from Player's Guide to Faerun as a PrC, but that's pretty much the only thing my DM will allow from that book. The initiate feats are broken as all hell, and are most certainly not allowed. I like Faerun, but quite a bit of the rules isn't balanced outside of FR. (Even there, some of it is still broken!)

In the campaign that I'm running in my own home-brew world, I allow Core, Completes, stuff from Dragon, a little bit of UA, and Book of Exalted Deeds, all subject to my final approval. Stuff from the supplements sometimes requires approval/modification/shoe-horning into my world. Since it's a very heroic campaign, my usual conditions include that the feat or PrC not require you to be evil or "any non-good". Equipment and magic items outside the Core Rules are solely at my discretion, and nobody starts with magic items (that's an FR thing, IMHO). I don't allow 3.0 stuff, FR stuff, or 3rd party stuff, since it's less likely to be balanced with the 3.5 core rules. I prefer if players use materials that I own, so I can look up the item in question at my leisure (since I have a huge pile o' WOTC stuff, this isn't a problem).

-GT

 

[wingsandsword]

While I have a large library, I normally only allow stuff from a pretty short list without special permission. Typically it's the PHB/DMG/MM, Expanded Psionics Handbook, Players Guide to Faerun, Complete Warrior, and Book of Exalted Deeds. If a PC wants something from another book, they have to specifically request it and justify it.

Book of Vile Darkness is completely DM only since I don't allow evil PC's (but PC's can use BoED), and all the FR books are certainly available for flavor (and if necessary, crunch), and if I need a specialized rulebook (like Stronghold Builder's Guidebook, OA, or Manual of the Planes), it'll get used if it's specialty comes up. 3.0 Splatbooks are generally out, although I might allow something in if I personally rewrite it and evaluate it case-by-case to 3.5, but that's pretty unlikely. 3rd Party Stuff is out, because all the 3rd party d20 stuff I have is for non D&D genres.

The main reason I do this is simplicity, not bringing in piles of books that really aren't needed to run the game helps the game run faster. It's not about balance, I'll let my PC's have powerful things, but I get to make the NPC's just as powerful. It's also about why I don't buy every new book coming out anymore, I realized I have plenty of books to run a good campaign, and adding more books doesn't add a whole lot to my game and it slows things down if it's heavily used.

 

[Steel_Wind]

CORE Plus Sov Press DragonLance Material (DLCS, AofMortals, War of the Lance and Towers of High Sorcery).

I use monsters from wherever I like, but the players stick to the Core books and DragonLance specific material.

 

[Cthulhu's Librarian]

I use just about anything that is available when designing my world and adventures, but I ask that my players bring anything they want to use outside of the core books to me for approval before using it. I like to think I'm fairly open to allowing things, as I want my players to be happy. I may place restrictions on certain things, but I don't think I'd completely nix a players ideas. I might offer to help them find another option that works better in my game, or modify things to fit better. The players tend to come to me with ideas and ask what I have that might fit their ideas, or I may suggest a book (or books) to them and let them borrow them to see what they can come up with.

 

[atom crash]

I allow a fair range of material in my game -- core books, other WotC books, the Legends & Lairs series by FFG, any Green Ronin Freeport material (I'm running a Freeport campaign), plus bits and pieces from other sources. I will evaluate new material and then decide whether or not to allow it.

However, since I'm the guy with all the books, the players tend to use only core material. I've printed them off a list of material from all WotC 3.5 sources (downloaded from Crystal Keep, of course) and have been encouraging them to use it.

At the moment I'm not using material from the FR or Eberron settings. I may decide to incorporate a warforged-type race into my campaign, but I doubt I'll ever allow feats and spells from FR.

 

[Sejs]

Core and Selective Inclusion from non-core books for me.

 

[Psion]

I draw from a diverse array of products, though I tend to be selective about what I allow in for balance and flavor reasons. I tend to rely on a list of 8-10 supplements that fit the image of the game I am trying to create, plus 1 or 2 an adventure as the specific need arrises.

 

[Twiggly the Gnome]

Nothing is automatically included in my games. Some things get nixed for balance, but they are the exception rather than the rule. In my Eberron game I don't allow Favored Souls because the premise of the class, IMO, clashes with some of the settings assumptions about religion. Subraces and Pokemounts get booted for their cheese factor. Bloodlines, PrCs, and RSLs default to not allowed, just to make my life easier.