D&D General The Tyranny of Rarity

[Crimson Longinus]

The PhB has rules for characters of all levels and offers that characters can start higher if the DM agrees, and the DMG has rules for starting at higher levels. Many posters on this board might have joined an ongoing game at 1st level where there were others at higher levels. (I remember one with a bunch of 1st levels and a pair in the double digits. And the higher level ones were good at not stealing the spotlight, but rather stopping TPKs). The DMG even has a suggestion of having lower level followers in case someone dies so a player can just grab one of them as the new character, so clearly parties of mixed levels can be a thing.

So, @hawkeyefan, @Vaalingrade, or anyone else who doesn't particularly like DMs to restrict things when they don't need to, if my character idea for your new game is an experienced 3rd level war-wizard, a 5th level former mercenary captain, or an exiled 9th level monk... are those all good to go in whatever game you're running? If not, why not?

I also want my experienced mercenary captain to have a laser rifle, as the DMG has rules for it.

 

[Greg K]

Question for people who don't want a "cantina effect": do you also limit the number of intelligent monster species?

Yes. I also limit non-intelligent monster species.

 

[Oofta]

Question for people who don't want a "cantina effect": do you also limit the number of intelligent monster species?

I have a world that has a PHB-only races (plus orcs, minus dragonborn) limitation, because when I made the world, we were teaching a newbie how to play and I didn't want to overwhelm him with choices. But I also made the choice of saying that there were only two other intelligent humanoids in the area (kobolds and bullywugs), and except for dragons, other intelligent beings are very much supernatural in origin (fey, elementals, undead, etc.). When we move into a different area of the world, the players will learn that there are different races there.

So I was just wondering what other DMs are doing. Do you have tons of intelligent beings but only a few are playable?

Yes, I limit monsters, of all sorts particularly those that are native to the prime material.

While goblins tend to be a lot of places, there is generally only one monstrous humanoid in a region. I occasionally reskin monsters to fit the pattern, just like I would consider for a PC.

 

[hawkeyefan]

So I was just wondering what other DMs are doing. Do you have tons of intelligent beings but only a few are playable?

I generally don’t restrict most races, per se, in that I don’t sit down ahead of play and actively go through the list of creatures and red stamp those that are approved.

I introduce elements as they’re needed or as they come up. So I don’t say “No ettercaps in this world, no way!” before we even sot down to play. Instead, I see if spiders come up in some way, or if I need some kind of monstrous humanoid that’s a bit different from the standard orc/goblin etc.

If they never come up, hey there were no ettercaps in this world! If an opportunity does come up where they would make sense, then I introduce them.

It seems to work well, it gives me flexibility to adapt to player input and desire, and contrary to what many say, it in no way leads to an incoherent world.

 

[Helldritch]

Mmmmmm..... while I do limit intelligent races, it is not so with monsters. The evil gods often placate the world with evil creatures from the nether because... they're evil? Just to say that anything, monstrous side, can be done. If a god of evil is angry with a kingdom, it might send a mighty ogre, dragon, beholder, bodak or whatever to exact its revenge and heroes are needed. Or it might be a mad experiment from a wizard that went astray...

 

[JiffyPopTart]

Ok...
Then you would cave in no matter what and you really expect others to do the same?

Do you really DM? As DMing takes a lot of work, preparation and a lot of personal time. No one that I know of that DM more than just a bit, would be ready to throw that kind of investment to the garbage.

I GM quite a bit and have a world with internal logic and history....and at the same time make it a feature (not a bug) of my game to accommodate exactly what the players want to play. It's not *caving in" if it's a design goal of your game.

If you wanted to introduce and use a new monster in your game, I have no doubt you can do so and make it feel organic. I'm assuming that all the GMs on this thread have added new and changed existing content in their finely honed and crafted worlds over the past few decades.

I find "I dont like it so I'm not going to add it" as a selfish and lazy cop-out to actuslly just spending the 10 minutes it would take to add that thing exactly like you would and do everytime you add something that you do like.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

control freak.

Mod Note:

Disagreeing without being disagreeable is a thing. Responses without confrontational language are a thing. Your post would be perfectly fine without the first paragraph, or at least, without the quoted phrase (or a similar variant) in it.

Do better going forward.

 

[Vaalingrade]

Ok...
Then you would cave in no matter what and you really expect others to do the same?

Therein lies the problem. You see it was caving and a sign of weakness.

Do you really DM?

Are you being for real with this crap?

As DMing takes a lot of work, preparation and a lot of personal time. No one that I know of that DM more than just a bit, would be ready to throw that kind of investment to the garbage.

What garbage? It's not like I'm only going to DM one other game in my lifetime. I've been working on my setting for decades now. I'm just not going to get upset when the group wants to do something else.

 

[Vaalingrade]

So, @hawkeyefan, @Vaalingrade, or anyone else who doesn't particularly like DMs to restrict things when they don't need to, if my character idea for your new game is an experienced 3rd level war-wizard, a 5th level former mercenary captain, or an exiled 9th level monk... are those all good to go in whatever game you're running? If not, why not?

wizard is going to be way underleveled, but its your funeral. Monk will get to 9th level soon enough.

 

[Vaalingrade]

Can we spin the thing where people keep suggesting increasingly esoteric things and asking if they're allowed in hopes of me saying no so they can shout 'hypocrite' into another thread?