Importing Setting Specific Stuff?

[Fallenibilis]

I reacently had a conversation with my DM about his campaign about what he's using and what he's not using. One of the main things the he seems to shy away from is content from any campaign world stuff (such as races, classes, prestige classes, and enchantment) as he runs his own homebrewed universe.

He claims that the things in the campaign world books are balanced against other things in that campaign world. That using things from these world would upset the balance.

I'm not sure that so true. I mean sure things like the Planner Shepard is OP but in general, it doesn't seem like it would cause that much of a problem overall.

Anyone got any experience with this concept, if so would you mind enlightening me.

Thanks Fallenibilis

P.S. In particular, i'm looking at a few prestige classes and races from forgotten realms for a wizard i want to use at some point in the future, that and some weapon enchantment for some the players in the group i'm in like Splitting for the Ranger.

 

[Alexander123]

I personally allow all books.

The reason being that D&D is a game and I want it to be fun for my players so I am very relaxed about this issue.

If allowing setting specific material is going to increase the fun which my players have then I am going to allow it.

As far as "game balance" is concerned, in every supplement irregardless of whether it is setting specific or not there is optimized material and material which is not optmized so this is not a valid reason for not allowing setting specific supplements in my opinion.

 

[Rhun]

I generally don't allow campaign specific classes and races in my homebrew campaign world, but generally because they don't fit the world, not because they aren't balanced.

There are balance issues in almost every source, whether it is campaign specific or not.

 

[Noctos]

as he runs his own homebrewed universe.

oh thank god remember the DnD books are only suggestions the dm has the power and right to change any thing at any moment to better fit is goal. that was the first line in the first book i picked up of DnD i run i very wild and crazy world the most common asked question in my game was

Does this fallow the book or did you alter it?
and often it was altered

the game is about entertaining people and passing time. if your DM has changed a bunch of stuff most likly he will allow you to do anything you can argue strong enough. it;s that idea that you can stump him in the rear. just be warned if you slip things past him do to his open-ness he'll just make the world tough to deal with but it those things that make it the most fun.

 

[RSKennan]

His "Character" is the setting.

I suspect he might have framed it in terms of balance because he sees you as a player who gets mechanics. While it might be debatable that new races or classes would upset the world's mechanical balance, it may be the case that he feels that they would upset the harmony of the setting. Warforged, though a cool race, aren't right for every setting, for example. Similarly, if you're playing a stone age setting, swashbuckling pirates don't fit.

Think of it this way- how would you feel if after 10 levels, the GM told you to multiclass into a completely inappropriate class or spend a feat the way he wanted you to? In all creative pursuits, what you cut is as important as what you include. You can't have a sculpture without negative space, or a character without weak spots.

Sorry if that seems a bit preachy or authoritative- It's late, and it's a subject I've talked about a lot with friends.

 

[Eldritch_Lord]

I allow everything, setting, non-setting, and Dragon. If you want to play it, I'll find a way to make it work. Players only have one character to work with (possibly multiple if I'm in a killer DM mood ) while DMs have a whole world, so I feel that making small changes to the world to accommodate player agency and incorporate the concepts they want to play is worth it--within reason, of course.

 

[Theo R Cwithin]

Agreed, as long as it's understood that "within reason" can vary quite a lot from one GM or group to another.

 

[Magesmiley]

I would suggest working with your DM - try to find places in his setting where the prestige classes and races would make sense to exist. Give him some rationales as to why these races would exist. His objections might be more than he has a "balanced" setting that makes sense to exist. Introducing additional elements might create logical inconsistencies into his setting.

For the campaign I run, my general rule is that I allow anything provided that it can be fitted into the setting, which the players typically have to help with if they have something exotic in mind.

 

[Jhaelen]

Before I start a campaign I'll provide the players with a short primer that includes what is and what isn't going to be allowed in the campaign. Then we discuss it and some aspects may be changed until we have something everyone agrees with or I make an entirely different suggestion (which restarts the discussions).

If stuff from a particular source is not allowed, it's off limits. There's no discussion once the campaign is under way, unless in-game events cause a major shift in the setting.

In my very-soon-finished 3e campaign no material from the Forgotten Realms is allowed, period. It's a homebrew setting loosely based on Greyhawk and I see no reason what so ever to allow FR material. One reason is that I dislike the setting and another reason is that FR material is notorious for containing unbalanced stuff.

On the other hand, I've imported some things from the Eberron setting, e.g. everything related to Action Points.

An example for a limitation that was removed later was alignments: Initially all players were members of the realm's border patrol, so chaotic alignments were not allowed.

Other setting-specific limitations included banned races (no elves or gnomes).

I don't like kitchen-sink campaigns where everything is allowed. If you want to create a certain atmosphere it's important to make a number of restrictions.

A Dark Sun campaign that includes everything from every setting under the sun will lose what makes it a Dark Sun setting.