DM: Do you allow Mongoose Publishing Books into your game?

[Kichwas]

My biggest concern from independants is game balance.

Honestly this is a valid concern with WotC product as well. Sword and Fist was too potent, many felt Psionics was under potent, and Epic Level defines too potent. Throughout their products they have been no better than any other publisher.

WotC only really has a legal claim on DnD, it has no creative claim. The creatives behind the game for the most part no longer work there. If you want product you feel can be creatively linked to 'pure DnD', you need to buy from people like Monte Cook and Gary Gygax. From a moral standpoint albeit not legal - that's what's official DnD.

So, I give WotC only a little more grace than I do anyone else. And that's only because it's a 'jump off the cliff' issue -everybody else is doing it so if I want to stay current I have to as well.

The only Mongoose book I really use is SOB.

Son of a B..? I doubt that, so what's SOB?


Oh, a lot of people have been anti slayer's guides here. I myself have been highly impressed by this line. I remember being happy as a bug in a rug when I got the Hobgoblin guide - and if I was using any setting other than Kalamar I would make good use of it (in Kalamar Hobgoblins are a major race, so they come highly detailed). That said, the other guides will get their use by me.

I see these books as flavor text were others weren't willing to provide such. It helps quite a lot in knowing how to run certain races. For example the ideas in the Gnoll book can go a long way towards helping a GM change them from a CR 1 encounter to something quite scary, where they will definately earn that CR 1's worth of XP in ways that will feel much more difficult -even outside of combat.

These guidebooks bring the races they cover to life, and that is well worth the price you pay for them for a GM who wants more out of an encounter than just rolling initiative and to hit.

 

[S'mon]

I do not allow Mongoose books in my game. They are generally so shoddy that I would have to allow rules and feats on a case by case basis (or fix them myself) and that is not time well spent in my opinion.

I find it time very well spent.

 

[tabrumj]

Not currently. I have disliked most of the Monngose books I have skimmed and I really hated thhe only book of theirs I purchased. I thought that the Quint Witch was awfull. In specific I didn't like the balance on the rules, I thought most of the ideas were uninspired and that the flavor text writing was just plain bad. The fact that most of the art was mediocre and their were more editing errors than an early white wolf book was just icing on the cake for me. This book now serves a usefull purpose as a door stop.

Of course if one of my players wanted to use something from one of Mongoose's books I would be willing to consider it on a case by case basis.

 

[Skarp Hedin]

Well, I've used some stuff as a DM, for NPCs and the like, and one player used a prestige class once that I told him about that, but other than that, no.

I haven't got many Mongoose products, the ones I've got seem okay. Somewhat jumpy in quality, but so far nothing terrible.

 

[Hackenslash]

I won't use Mongoose in my Campaign.

Not very impressed with Mongoose and from what I have seen from Mongoose so far it is very unlikely that I will be using anything published by them. They seem to offer the players the world at the cost of game balance. Take the Called Shot rules in the Quintessential Fighter, apparently ok to be used with any warrior class and you don't even need a feat or a higher BAB. Yeah Right !!!! Ridiculously over powerfull. Also some of their published prestige classes from other books I have read leave a lot to be desired and I am sure have not been properly play tested for campatibility and/or game balance. So unfortunately I will not be allowing the use of those books in my campaign but if they publish something that has been properly analyzed for compatibility and game balance then I would re-consider. Just my 2 cents...Cheers !!!

 

[Ghostwind]

SOB=Seas of Blood

Mongoose has been hit or miss with a lot of its books concerning game balance. Considering the number of books in their product line, that's not surprising. While I don't have a lot of use for most of their products, their are a few real gems in my opinion.

*Seas of Blood
*Ultimate Equipment Guide
*Ultimate Game Designers Guide
*EA: Chaos Magic
*Their Cities of Fantasy line offer some really good plug-and-play drop-in cities with good usable ideas.
*Babylon 5 is shaping up to be quite good.

I'm not a huge fan of their Quintessential line, but it is Mongoose's best seller. The Slayer's Guide often come across uninspired, but there are a couple of good ones in the bundle, such as the Slayer's Guide to Trolls.

 

[Leopold]

I allow all books except those by FFE as they make no sense whatsoever

 

[Garmorn]

I really like the line of Mongoose Publishing books. Our DM, since no one was using them except for me, recently decided that they will not be allowed anymore.

Do you allow them into your game?

While most have talked about how much they like or dislike Mongoose Publishing, I have a difference take on why he might not allow it.

You mentioned that you are the only one using it. If this was my campaign I might disalow it just so I could keep the number of books/styles to a number I can handle. More books in use, more work for the DM. Books vary in style, approach and in power levels. It is easier to run a home brew if every one is working out of the same set of books and that set is not overly large.

 

[Buttercup]

Right now the only sources we're using are the 3.0 srd (or the PHB) and Monte's alt.sorcerer. Because three of my players are new to roleplaying, I wanted to keep things simple for a while. If one of them were to ask to include a book, I would honestly consider it.

I have several Mongoose books, and I think they range from good to total dreck. That's true for most publishers though. The only publishers whose products I refuse to buy, or even look at anymore, are Fast Forward Entertainment (for producing ridiculously unbalanced monty haul dreck) and Avalanche Press (for their completely gratuitous bimbo covers).

 

[Mithriltooth]

Honestly this is a valid concern with WotC product as well. Sword and Fist was too potent, many felt Psionics was under potent, and Epic Level defines too potent. Throughout their products they have been no better than any other publisher.

WotC only really has a legal claim on DnD, it has no creative claim. The creatives behind the game for the most part no longer work there. If you want product you feel can be creatively linked to 'pure DnD', you need to buy from people like Monte Cook and Gary Gygax. From a moral standpoint albeit not legal - that's what's official DnD.

Excellent point here and I agree with you, but the comments in this thread are mostly Independant company related. As for WotC things, I do give them more slack because they are sort of the "Main D&D" line.
So far I've had to tone down one WotC Prestige Class already (done case by case based on my players interest), The Elemental Archon. Specifically, a more gradual acquiring of Mephit henchmen.

As I've stated, some of my favorite designers are over at Malhavoc and I do buy a few things from time to time from there, but as I've said there are too many variant rules to my liking.
Based on the positive feedback in this thread, I will finally pull out Mindscapes from my "D&D Closet" and actually read it.

I'm off to my local hobby shop today (Complete Strategist in NYC) to find Necromancer/TrollLord's Vampires and Liches....