How many of you use only the Core Books for your campaign?

[Nathanael]

I'm just taking a little poll to see just how useful ETools is to a lot of you. Hence the question: Is your camapign strictly by the three Core Books?

If not, how has this limited the usefullness of ETools, and had WOTC not spanked PCGen to knock out some competition, would you even use it?

I personally use all of the WOTC Class books as well as Oriental Adventures and the Psionics Handbook, so I'll be using the old PCGen files for awhile...

 

[Leopold]

I'm just taking a little poll to see just how useful ETools is to a lot of you. Hence the question:

1. Is your camapign strictly by the three Core Books?

2. If not, how has this limited the usefullness of ETools, and had WOTC not spanked PCGen to knock out some competition, would you even use it?

3. I personally use all of the WOTC Class books as well as Oriental Adventures and the Psionics Handbook, so I'll be using the old PCGen files for awhile...

your post has 3 questions in one and i am going to answer them in turn

1. Yes


2. Totally untrue. We were never spanked, laid the smackdown, or bitch slapped to give up PCGen. We had a nice discussion with the powers that be and are fixing things to make PCGen in compiance, nothing more. And we are not, have not, and never compete with Etools. I am still waiting to hear from others on if I should buy Etools.

3. Ditto.

 

[bushfire]

I'm just taking a little poll to see just how useful ETools is to a lot of you. Hence the question: Is your camapign strictly by the three Core Books? [/qb]

No. Mostly use the core books, but have a little I have taken from various D20 stuff (some Wotc, some 3rd party). But I also don't use *any* non-core book completely. I may use a couple things from S&F or R&R, but don't allow everything from the books in my game.

If not, how has this limited the usefullness of ETools, and had WOTC not spanked PCGen to knock out some competition, would you even use it?

First see Leopolds post above.
It hasn't limited it at all. I would rather have a product I can add just what I want to, easily, then something I have to hack out all the stuff I don't want. Especially when it is not easy to just hack away at the PCGen files.

Once a couple people have created simple programs to allow entry of classes and a few other things, I think eTools will be easier to customize and configure for *my* campaign then PCGen.

I personally use all of the WOTC Class books as well as Oriental Adventures and the Psionics Handbook, so I'll be using the old PCGen files for awhile...

You have that option.

 

[Nathanael]

I understand that you're trying to be diplomatic, but to deny you the right to use non-SRD material and then to never update the SRD so that ETools will have no other competition when it comes to 'official' books, that, my friend, is a spanking, however polite.

And you may say that you aren't in competition, but that is totally unrealistic. I love PCGen. I've used it for over a year with nary a problem with speed, crashes, or any of the other odd complaints it gets on occasion. I use it to make stat-blocks and spellsheets as well as characters and even my MAC using players can utilize it to make characters for the game. It is my most used computer tool.

Furthermore, you have carried through with your promise to update frequently. WOTC has consistently cancelled or failed to support my favourite game lines if they don't sell like Pokemon within a 90 day, period, regardless of release schedules or 'promises.' The point: Consumer confidence, you have it, they don't.

For these reasons, I won't buy ETools until they include the other WOTC books in it. WOTC knows this. Therefore, regardless of how you feel on the matter, WOTC is trying to 'encourage' me to buy their programme on the strength of yours now being incomplete. And the implication on WOTC's part is that, if I don't buy the programme, then they won't support it, and I will never be able to use Class Books, Oriental Adventures material, Faerun material, etc, ever again except by hand. This is typical WOTC arrogance and it is no coincidence that it occured at the 'premiere' of their new software.

So, unless WOTC has plans to release more material into the SRD, which I think is about as likely as pigs teleporting, you have been 'spanked.'

Still, I find it interesting that your campaign only uses the three Core Books. Why is that? Just curious...

 

[Leopold]

So, unless WOTC has plans to release more material into the SRD, which I think is about as likely as pigs teleporting, you have been 'spanked.'

you said it and not me ! I hope one day i can see ole wilbur flying across the florida sky!

Still, I find it interesting that your campaign only uses the three Core Books. Why is that? Just curious...

well my players use the gods from all the FR world and the netbook of feats and WOTC splatbooks for feats as well. I will NOW begin using my Creature Collection to suprise the PC's with random encounters as they have gotten off too easy...

so for 90% of the game I use the core books as I know those backwards and forewards and so do my players. The splatbooks for feats and so forth are easy to pick up and use and are(were) in PCGen so we used those as well as all had those books lying around.

I like to keep my games as simple and smooth as possible without taking too much time thumbing through lots and lots of books. Hence, I use the core 3 for 90% of the game and so do my PC's, not counting Bluffside for the capital city as a sourcebook of course...


That and those cheap buggers won't go out and buy anything that does NOT say WOTC on it..<sigh> they need to see the light as both Oathbound, Dragonstar, and D20Modern will be coming down the pipe..

 

[Nathanael]

Just to clarify my first question, when I ask about using the 3 Core books, I mean just those three. I want to know who uses those, without allowing any other outside material in, whatsoever.

I treat any 'official' D&D product as 'Core' material. I know a lot of people call the Class books, Oriental Adventures, Psionics, etc. optional material, but so are the Core Rules by their own definition. So I include everything WOTC as 'Core,' which makes the stillborn SRD thing a bit of an irritant for we PCGen users. But regardless, the question refers to the PH, DMG and MM strictly.

I personally restrict my players to using only material from books that I own. That way we don't have someone unduly surprising me with some third party twink rules that throw game balance out the window.

 

[Leopold]

I personally restrict my players to using only material from books that I own. That way we don't have someone unduly surprising me with some third party twink rules that throw game balance out the window.

i do that as well. If I own the book in one form or another then it's kosher for the players to use. If not then i don't allow it.

this rule is null and void when it comes to the monsters section as the PC's are too familar with the 'core' ones and new ones needed to be thrown in to scare them.

for PC creation it's core all the way. Advancement in levels, then we throw in the splat books.

 

[Fast Learner]

Our PC's use the splatbooks and, in the appropriate campaigns, FR material and psionics.

However as a DM I almost exclusively use the core rulebooks (with the exception of the occasional magic item or monster), so e-tools is great for me.

 

[Breakdaddy]

I love PCGen, but Im a little confused. I havent seen an output sheet for outputting stat blocks for characters. Can anyone refer me to where I might be able to get one?

 

[Nathanael]

Sure. Under file, goto Export. Select Standard. This will provide you with a number of options including several different types of statblocks, including the standard WOTC one. I use this all the time when creating monsters and NPC encounter lists.

Hope this helps...

As for using the Core Books in my games as DM, I make it a point to use whatever books the PCs have available to them. It makes for a larger variety of surprises and encounters than just the main three and keeps them on their toes.

For example, a trio Gnoll Ranger Commandos (OA Ninja's without the Oriental Flavour) led to the demise of one PC. Expecting uncoordinated attacks from the gnolls, placed himself in the midst of them to give his party flanking attacks and, therefore, set himself up to be the target of four flanking criticals himself which the Gnolls turned their attention from their opponents to provide. He was the first PC I'd ever seen reach -18 in one round of attacks.

Another instance saw a Water Genasi Cleric (A Monsters of Faerun mix) who was kidnapping people through portals opened up in baths, wells, and even shallow puddles of water and then sacrificing them to a Kraken in the caves underneath a seaside town.

These are but two of the examples that have kept my campaign from becoming predictable. There are just too many WOTC books to gain advantage by memorizing every class/monster/NPC/trap combination. My players love it...