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Message: <blockquote data-quote="BSF" data-source="post: 1475178" data-attributes="member: 13098">Your "good" reason doesn't need to exist beyond my "I'm trying to establish a different feel to the game.  It can exist beyond that, but it doesn't have to.  Well, I am the DM and since I am the one running the game, I might be telling a story that you don't yet understand.  Learning the background in the context of the game might be part of the fun.  So, no I won't always explain why certain limitations are in place.  If you, as a player, can't accept that, that's fine.  I'll keep you in mind the next time I run a more "normal" campaign.I'll counter you on this with some home-grown examples..  My game doesn't have Dwarves.  Why?  They don't exist.  My reasons?  Well, among other things, I got tired of the stereotype of "grumpy dwarf" as the extent of a character's personality and development.  No Dwarves.  I have two races that are somewhat Dwarf-like.  The Thurgon and the Durgon.  However, you are going to really need to understand the background and personality that are already inherent in the Thurgon before you can even begin playing one.  And no, I am not going to be very tolerant of a deviant personality to fit your vision.  Read the full background and you will probably understand why.  Then write up a background as to why the character would be different and we can start "negotiating."Last campaign didn't have any Elves either.  Why?  You don't know.  There are legends that the Elves once existed.  You want to play one?  No.  Why?  Because they don't exist right now.  Why?  You don't know.  Play the game and see if you can unravel that mystery.Gnomes are not inveterate tricksters.  You want to play one like that?  Sure, but keep in mind that _your_ gnome is very different than the rest.  Why?  Well, because they consider themselves to be the protectors of the last true forest in the world.  They are also the ones responsible for saving the halflings from extermination.  Many Gnomes are Druids or Rangers, in fact, Druid is the Gnomes Favored Class.Halflings are rarely seen.  Why?  They were almost completely exterminated by humans.  You want to play one?  Well, they are a bit shy of humans and not likely to be in the human city where the campaign begins.  Why?  See the extermination comment above?  You want to play one from somewhere else?  These are the last halflings on the continent.  Oh, you want to be from another continent?  No.  There is only one race that understands navigation right now.  They are trying to control all trade and they are a byzantine mess of politics. No half-breeds either.  Why?  They have never existed.  Can't I make an exception?  No.  Play the game and see if you can figure out how to make that happen.Wizards and Sorcerors suffer an incredible prejudice in every society.  If you play one, you will be pretty much ostracized initially.  I will warn you in advance that you will not find much treasure that they can use either.  Why?  Read the background I provided.  There is a reason why they were called the Necromancer Kings and there is a reason why it was called the Necromancer Wars.Heironemous?  Who is that?  No, I don't use the stock gods.  Hmm, none of my gods have the exact domains that you wanted?  I'm sorry to hear that.  These are just some of the restrictions I put in place for my last campaign.  Oddly enough, everyone seemed to have a good time playing.No, these restrictions are absolute.  It's the game world I wanted to design.  If I wanted a different game world, I could have chosen Grayhawk or Forgotten Realms.  I've run games in both in the past.  I don't want to right now.  There are plenty of ways to play different types of characters in my games.  IF none of them fit your "vision" I'm sorry to hear that.  Don't want to play because of that?  I'm sorry to hear that, catch you later.Oddly enough, all my players wanted to play in the next campaign.  Same world, 1000 years later.  Some of the restrictions have changed.  They seem more interested in the options that are available rather then worrying about my arbitrary restrictions.  I am heavy-handed on some things.  I also allow my players to create cultures, countries, martial orders, gods, organizations, etc as they need them.  Sure, everything has to be OK'd by me.  Sometimes I will require changes to be made to fit my world vision a bit better.  More heavy-handed arbitrariness on my part I am sure.  I have also created PrC's, organizations, etc to appeal to particular characters.  Something that nobody else has yet seen.  It seems to work.  We are playing in a campaign that is different than any of us has played in before.  I'm still waiting for all the characters to gel together in a strong manner, but they are getting there.  Say what you want about arbitrary decisions and DM heavy-handedness.  Perhaps it offends your ideal of what the game should be.  And yes, I know there are people out there that can be arbitrary and heavy-handed in a completely non-fun way.  But, that doesn't mean every arbitrary decision detracts from the potential fun in every game.</blockquote>

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