Spell Compendium and other limitations

[MerricB]

Mostly, I allow anything.

Cheers!

 

[Glyfair]

My house rules list three categories of books (and there is a fourth category assumed). I list primary, secondary and tertiary sources. Things from primary sources can be assumed to be allowed, unless I've specifically stated otherwise. Things from secondary sources will probably be allowed. Tertiary sources are other books I own and I will consider allowing something from those books. I don't list an other category, but it's similar to tertiary with a lower chance of being allowed (since I don't have them).

Players are expected to ask my permission to add anything from a non-core book (which, for my campaign, are the 3 core books, the Eberron campaign setting and the Expanded Psionics Handbook). I read my email several times a day (and check my forums), so getting an answer typically pretty quick.

 

[Engilbrand]

If we have access to it, it's fair game. In all of our games. We don't have any problems. Why? Because we actually trust each other. We're not going to break the game. Nobody's going to cackle and make something retarded. If you trust your players, you should allow anything. I don't believe that anything is honestly "broken". It's how it's used that breaks things. ToB is fantastic. It's nowhere close to broken. Incarnum? Rocks! ToM? Binder=cool. I'm a teacher, too. I don't get stuffy and stpend hours researching something that might have a minor impact on what I'm doing. I take it in stride. If it pops up and surprises me, I realize that not everything can be planned for and I make a note about it for the future. After all, does it really matter if a Warlock can fly whenever he wants? Do you really need to plan things to stop him from using that ability? If you do, that's ridiculous. Open it all up and let the players actually have fun.

 

[Thunderfoot]

Currently the campaign I run allows the Core books, the four original Complete books and the Spell Compendium as usable material (with a spin on Unearthered Arcana for a specifc class that we have bastardized for our purposes). But that only is with regards to spells, feats and skills. Classes are base plus Scout and Favored Soul, and all Presitige class must be created by the players with regards to the game and how they would fit into the world around them. So far we have a bastardized Arcane Archer and not much else, the players are actually pretty much straight down the board single classes, start as a cleric, stay as a cleric, etc.

Just allowing anyone to dump in anything is a sure way to 'screw the pooch' as the saying goes.

 

[zoroaster100]

So far I have found most things in the Complete books and Player's Handbook 2 relatively well balanced. The Spell Compendium, however, gives me headaches on balance. While many of the spells are great additions to the game, a bunch of ill-thought out unbalanced spells seem to have been allowed into the book as well. I think next campaign I run I will ban Spell Compendium and just allow the Complete books and the Player's Handbook 2 as well as the Core books. Spell Compendium spells will be allowed only one at a time after careful review, as with new player-created spells.

 

[The Lost Muse]

Generally, when I start up with a new group, I like to keep it to Core + Setting (i.e. PHB + Eberron Campaign Setting) for players. After the first campaign is done, I will allow the following as standard:

• PHB
• Expanded Psionics Handbook (almost no one ever uses psionics)
• Complete Warrior, Divine, Arcane, and Adventurer
• Spell Compendium
• Eberron Line (ECS + Supplements I own)

 

[DungeonmasterCal]

I try to get my players to use new, non-core sources, but it's like pulling teeth. I have tons of optional books, and so far they just look good sitting on my shelves.