[Not-a-Poll]How much do you restrict player chargen choice?

[Sejs]

Usually something in between.

To use my current game as an example:

• Modified Forgotten Realms as a basis. Generally means things unique to other campaign settings are a no-go. One player was allowed a shifter druid because he had a story and concept that blew my socks off.
  
  
• No races over LA +1, no templates. Pure balance reasons, there.
  
  
• Nothing relating to the Underdark; the nature of the Underdark is one of the things that's changed in this version of the Realms. It's not a series of caves, it's actually a paralel prime material plane the portals to which are deep underground and only open during particular stellar conjunctions.
  
  
• Psionics are not available as a character option at this time, due to campaign issues. Behind the curtain, in this game psionics are mainly the perview of the lovecraftian Outer Gods and their children (illithids, aboleth, yuan-ti, etc). On worlds where their presence is much more pervasive (even if hidden), the knowledge, practice, and development of psionics is much more commonplace. On Faerun at this time, such infiltration is rare and as such the only way someone would be toting psionic powers would be through direct intervention of one of the aformentioned childer races.
  
  
• No Incarnum at the moment. Nothing against the system, I just didn't have access to the book when the game started and shoe-horning it in now in a 'what, it's always been there!' way would feel... sloppy. But that's not to say there won't be somewhere out there where the use of incarnum has primacy and that it can't be introduced that way. Just that it's not in right now. Same goes for the various fighting arts out of the Book of Nine Swords.
  
  
• In addition to the above restrictions on psionics, incarnum, and martial initiates, the following classes are unavailable: Samurai (CW; poorly assembled class), Truenamer (ToM; broken mechanics), anything from OA (setting issue, mostly - unless the player can blow my socks off). The Ninja (CAdv), Wu Jen (CArc), Shugenja (CD), and Monk (PHB) have had their flavor adjusted to better fit in with the base Realms. The Ninja is more of a stealth-rather-than-stealing version of the Spellthief. The Shugenja are basically priests of the elemental powers (Kossuth, Grumbar, etc). Things like that.
  
  
• Alignment isn't as hard and fast as it might be in other games. Alignment restrictions on some classes are more guidelines than anything. You can be evil as long as you're not a dick about it, particularly to the point of ruining other peoples' fun just because you feel like being contrary. Disrupt my game and I will rain down upon you like the fist of an angry God.
  
  
• PrCs need to have DM approval before you can take 'em. A few are banned outright (Hulking Hurler, Frenzied Berzerker, etc), but mostly it's so I can have a chance to integrate the PrC and the character's entry into it, into the game as a whole.
  
  
• Character class variants as mentioned both in the DMG and in UA are available. Urban ranger? Sure. Alternative features for a specialist wizard? No problem. Want to tweak the list of class skills so it's more appropriate for your character? Sounds dandy. Just talk to me and I'm more than happy to work with you to make the character you're looking for.

 

[Thunderfoot]

Quite a bit actually. Our (I co-DM) campaign is set in a homebrew world and your racial choices are directly tied to your location when you gen. Elves are only found in a couple of places and dwarves are even more rare. Halfings don't even walk the earth in the "known" realm and are rumored to be just myths and legend (though that's about to change do to the actions of the party.) Half-elves are as rare as chicken's teeth, elves and humans don't really get along, or more to the point, elves don't find humans all that appealing and really wish they would all just go away. (For the most part)

Conversely, just because a class has made it into the books doesn't mean its fair game for play. All the cores are allowed (though monk is looking like it may end up being deleted from the list) and Scout for base classes. PrCs are campaign specific and must be approved before play (we currently allow the Warpriest (unchanged from the books) and a modified version of the Arcane Archer. Other than that, no one has wanted to even think about a PrC yet. (About 8-10th level currently).

 

[Umbran]

It varies greatly from campaign to campaign. I don't have a single set policy. I will choose restrictions to reflect the flavor my players and I have decided upon.

 

[Roadkill101]

For a one-shot game, or short mini-campaign (3 or less sessions, but more than one), pretty much anything is acceptable, as I've not spent a lot of time on the setting.

For long term campaigns, I'll have a somewhat detailed setting (and a great amount of time spent having so done), therefore any character classes and races need to make a plausible attempt to fit withing the that setting. I only own the core books and UA, so I'd want copies of any pertinent character info regarding race and class, not found in the core rules.

I would like to note that I prefer to home-brew almost everything. The last (and only) packaged setting I used was FR (grey boxed set and subsequent sourcebooks). Even then most adventure locales were of my own design or left up to the GM to detail.

 

[Arrgh! Mark!]

Depends on how serious or themed my game is.

Age of worms: Players play anything they like that doesn't for instance have four feet. I limit them to PC's that would have some interest in the plot and would do something about it.

If my game is serious then I'll quite easily and with no twinge of guilt limit them as much as I like.

Thing is, my players used to like playing nonsense races. Until I limited everyone to human (WoT game) when they started taking inspiration from the races in the books and managed to have highly interesting characters that weren't one dimensional one-trick ponies.

I still couldn't believe how well the WoT game went. I mean, no one even likes the Wheel of Time books that much.

 

[fusangite]

I write up a setting. Then I see what races and classes exist in it. I then allow the players to choose amongst those.

 

[Nifft]

They can choose their PC's middle names.
The rest is up to me.

-- N

PS: Okay, actually: anything in the PHB is fair game, as is most other stuff, but we began the game before most other stuff existed, so no-one has really tried anything outside of Core. Well, we had a Tiefling for a while, but that's depressingly close to Core.

Stats are "restricted" to 32 point buy.

Races are Human, Dwarf, Elf, modified Half-Elf, modified Orc, modified Gnome (Tiny), modified Halfling, and modified Kobold. One guy has a Warforged, which has a mysterious and campaign-specific origin, steeped in mystery and coolness.

Clerics and Paladins must choose a deity.

Er, that's about it.

Oh, there are numerous secret house rules about high-level spells -- none of them are guaranteed to work exactly like it says in the book -- so casting 7th or higher is, well, more magical.

 

[Victim]

I allowed pretty much anything for my game, although I might have rejected Incarnum stuff out of hand. And pretty much anything from Exalted Deeds. But other than that, I allowed most things with a few line item vetos like the Frenzied Berserker and using Changeling to qualify for Warshaper.

There was also an initial restriction that characters must have some competence at stealth, since that was kind of the player set theme of the group. Once pretty much everyone picked a stealthy character, they didn't want one clanker ruining their efforts. By the end of the game, several characters had changed so it wasn't as much of an issue for later characters. And the party could use magical substitutes more easily then.

 

[Lord Zardoz]

In the games I have run, I insist on the following:

- Use of a point buy for stat generation
- Stick to the PHB for race and class
- Be reasonable about the alignment

I generally stick to the core rules for my game so that everyone will be familiar with the rules used, and to streamline character creation. I also ask my players to stay away from Chaotic Evil types, mostly to make my job easier.

For players that are new to the game, I often advise that they try a Fighter / warrior type. The reasoning for this is simple. Once such a character is created, there is minimal book keeping required for the character.

END COMMUNICATION

 

[ThirdWizard]

No concept is restricted, but things might be restricted for balance purposes. I'm willing to work with them to bring things into what will be balanced for the game. So, for example, no frenzied berserkers, but maybe a toned down version with the same flavor. I've never said no to a race or template, though, that I can recall. So its pretty free with whatever they want to try out.

I encourage them to go crazy.