D&D 5E Do you allow third party material in your game...

[Matthan]

I allow 3PP material and homebrew material. I'm actually running an adventure path that had a companion book full of player options (new archetypes and such), and I asked everyone to choose one of those archetypes (getting my money's worth from that kickstarter).

In my normal game, I allow WotC published material pretty much as is. I allow UA with the caveat that if there are balance issues, we adjust as we go and if the material is released in a full product then you shift your character to the complete version.

For 3PP and homebrew, I look it over and approve it first. Certain publishers have more credibility to me so their content passes a little easier. This step does take time though because I usually have to reference a bunch of other material to see how it stacks up. If its homebrew, I usually ask for a link to a reddit or forum post where the material was discussed. That's an easy way for me to see concerns others had and reasoning behind design choices. The Unearthed Arcana reddit and ENworld's homebrew forum are both good sources for that kind of discussion.

The biggest reason why is that I know some people like to play something new or different. Some people have a something particular that they want their character to do or be that the core rules cannot fully accommodate or requires such a large degree of multi classing that they don't get to be what they want until high level and are probably underpowered if they make it that far.

An individual bonus for me is that allowing 3PP/homebrew material has increased my own level of system mastery. Evaluating archetypes, classes, spells, etc... forces me to dig into the classes and try to figure out the rough balance levels. It helps you drill down to really get a solid hold on the action economy and resource management.

 

[Jester David]

Yes.
I allow some stuff from the Tal'Dorai Campaign setting and some stuff from Kobold Press' books. And will likely allow large swaths of the Midgard Campaign Setting's 5e companion book.
I also allow some stuff from the DMsGuild plus a bunch of stuff I made.

 

[chunkosauruswrex]

Currently I allow UA and Mercer content only. We are playing in Taldorei, so Mercer content is basically a given. UA stuff is generally okay, and if one of my players found something else theyw anted to use I would do it on a case by case basis

 

[Gardens & Goblins]

Sure, though if I'm DMing the table, I make it clear that everything is up for review.

 

[Cap'n Kobold]

I allow most UA stuff, although some (such as the Artificer) may require adjustment. So far no one has asked to play anything too weird from DM's Guild or 3rd party publishers. I would evaluate those on a case-by-case basis.

 

[TwoSix]

So, how can you get all the pros, without the occasional cons? Easy- table buy in. You might be the best DM ever, but you can't possibly foresee all interaction, always and forever. So I use two simple rules when it comes to homebrew/3PP:

1. All characters (even first party product) can get a re-do at fourth level. Just create a new fourth level character if it isn't working.

2. Any person using a 3PP agrees that if something is unbalanced in play, they will work with the DM to correct it. This works both ways; if there's a serious underperformance issue, then we will see what we can do to bump it up a little; but if it's a massive overperformance issue, we will discuss nerfing or replacement without whining.

It's always worked so far.

I like the rule 1, although I tend allow players to rebuild/start a new character whenever they're feeling the itch for something new. It's easier to just have the old character retire, or move on, than to have the player play poorly for a few sessions trying to kill the character.

Honestly, whenever the DM gives me the green light to play something new, I deliberately self-nerf so as to not cause problems. If I want to make an unbalanced character, there are plenty of PHB options to do so.

 

[lowkey13]

*Deleted by user*

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

My rule is that it has to be in print, but yeah, in theory I allow third party content at my table. However, in practice, that mostly ends up being DM stuff, like monsters and magic items. None of my players have shown up wanting to use something from, say, Kobold Press’ new races books.

 

[steeldragons]

My game and campaign setting ARE third party material...and but I allow elements of "official D&D" into it to use as rule guidelines.

Does that count?

 

[Sacrosanct]

Seeing as how I write a lot of my own 3PP material, I'd say the answer is a big yes

I'd also be a hypocrite for not allowing any of it lol. So what I do, is if a player wants something that is 3PP, I'll review it first and see if it's good with me. If there are issues, I'll talk with the player and we'll work out an agreement on how to adjust it.