D&D 5E DMs which books do allow players to use

[Yora]

While I did buy a good number of books with plenty of character options and then sold them again because they weren't any good, I think I always only ran PHB only games.

 

[Blue]

All of the official books are official. That does not mean all or even any character creation or other options in a book will be available for every campaign. Especially the setting books. But it also doesn't mean they won't.

Breaking it up by book feels very Adventurer's League. And not even current Adventurer's League. Do groups really do that? It's not very granular.

 

[Rogerd1]

Best to keep campaign it specific. Otherwise if you make it a case of multiverse travellers you can end up with someone from Star Wars, or Esper Genesis in a fantasy setting that can make things complicated with conflicting metaphysics.

 

[Li Shenron]

I voted PHB +3, but essentially I allow them to use the books I own: PHB, DMG, MM, Volo's and Xanathar's so technically it's PHB +4... DMG however means just the magic items and possibly the evil PC stuff, and MM only really gets used for wildshape/polymorph/summoning options.

That said, this list means what I allow without questioning or bothering the player. It doesn't mean anything else is never allowed. If one of my players brings up something from another book, the idea is that by default I don't trust the source and I will take a look and decide on a case by case. So what is disallowed, is someone coming up at the table with a character sheet already containing stuff from outside my books and pretending to use it without me vetting it first.

 

[Jacob Lewis]

I hadn't given this topic much thought because I gauge options based on the campaign, group, or game I am planning to run. And I never consider options from sourcebooks as wholesale. For example, I don't always use optional rules in the PHB, like feats or multiclassing.

Or, if I want to run a game in a setting where arcane magic is forbidden or feared, I might not allow certain classes for players.

Conversely, a player might want to use a subset of options from different sources that I don't own but would make an interesting idea for their character, I may allow it if it is appropriate and in-line with the parameters of the particular game we are playing.

So the idea of allowing Books A, C, and X just seems like strokes much too broad for me.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

Everything but tasha's optional rules.
If someone would ask me for an ASI shift, I would allow it.

 

[toucanbuzz]

It's campaign specific for me as to what we pull and plug into the setting. It might be 1 character option from this book and spells from that option. I almost never go "anything goes" as I aim for themes (e.g. a pirate setting, a gothic horror setting).

 

[Benjamin Olson]

Very much in the "anything" camp here, though I discourage UA and 3rd party anythings.

 

[Hussar]

Used to be I was the only person at the table to ever suggest 3pp stuff. Whether I was DMing or playing, didn't matter. If it didn't have a WotC stamp on it, no one else would even consider it. Now, I find that players and DM's are FAR more willing to give 3rd party stuff at least a look, if not outright approval. I've found that as time has gone on, particularly given the length of time 5e has been around now, 3rd party stuff is pretty much in line with WotC most of the time. And, if it's not, the writers are usually pretty up front about how it varies from baseline.

 

[SkidAce]

Core, plus case by case basis.

Usually not to ban, but so I am aware of what's coming into play.