You've bought a new book now what do you do?

[Bagpuss]

Say you've just bought the Complete Scoundrel or Complete Mage, or XXXXX.

You've read it and you kind of like the stuff in it, now what do you do?

A) As a player where the DM hasn't got a copy of the book.

B) As a DM where the players haven't got a copy of the book.

How long is it before stuff gets incorporated into your game? What if you are already playing a campaign and you are say the party Cleric, but the Swashbuckler/Rogue is looking more appealing with the feat in Complete Scoundrel that lets abilities stack?

 

[Crothian]

As a Player I present it to the DM out side of game. I usually do this over e-mail or on our message boards.

As DM I will also use the mesdsage board and possible point out some options I think fit some of the PCs. And I will be planning to use it with NPCs.

 

[delericho]

Say you've just bought the Complete Scoundrel or Complete Mage, or XXXXX.

You've read it and you kind of like the stuff in it, now what do you do?

A) As a player where the DM hasn't got a copy of the book.

Ask the DM if I can use it, but prepared for him to say "no".

(As an aside, I would strongly advise DMs to not allow anything into their campaign that is from a book they don't personally own.)

B) As a DM where the players haven't got a copy of the book.

How long is it before stuff gets incorporated into your game?

I have an 'approved sources' list that I generate before the campaign. After the start of the campaign, that list doesn't change. So, until the next time I'm starting a campaign, that book sits on the shelf, or is perhaps loaned to interested players.

In the specific case of the "Complete" books, these are added to use in 'sets'. So, Complete Mage and Complete Scoundrel won't be added to my game until Complete Champion and Complete Warrior II are available. In fact, I won't purchase any of those books until I can get all four.

What if you are already playing a campaign and you are say the party Cleric, but the Swashbuckler/Rogue is looking more appealing with the feat in Complete Scoundrel that lets abilities stack?

Retire the character and switch. Or just stick with the Cleric. It would depend on how much fun I'm having with the Cleric, and how strong a concept for the Swashbuckler/Rogue I have, and how the DM feels about me switching. (I always build characters from concept -> stats, so the publication of a new feat, no matter how sweet, is unlikely to make me want to generate a new character just to use it.)

If I'm already playing a Swashbuckler/Rogue, and the DM has introduced Complete Scoundrel to the game, I may well ask to ret-con my character to have that feat.

 

[Bagpuss]

Ask the DM if I can use it, but prepared for him to say "no".

This so of sucks any incentive out of purchasing RPG products.

(As an aside, I would strongly advise DMs to not allow anything into their campaign that is from a book they don't personally own.)

This is part of the reason I think RPGs books are a hard sell for the publishing industry, because either they sell two books or none, and for the group it's far easier for it to be none, since its less work to include the stuff.

 

[MadMaxim]

A) I show the DM the book and lets him/her read through it or just the parts I'm interested in (in the case of prestige classes and feats). Then I ask the DM whether or not I can use any of it.

B) I surprise the heck out of them when I present them with my new 26th-level half balor/half pit fiend vampire dragonfire adept Just kidding. But I incorporate stuff immediately if I like it for NPCs.

 

[Aus_Snow]

Say you've just bought the Complete Scoundrel or Complete Mage, or XXXXX.

You've read it and you kind of like the stuff in it, now what do you do?

A) As a player where the DM hasn't got a copy of the book.

B) As a DM where the players haven't got a copy of the book.

A) Show the book to them. If they like the look of it, lend it to them and/or wait for them to buy it too. Request things from it, if necessary, on a case-by-case basis. Usually either not very many or none at all, as it happens.

B) Incorporate whatever bits of it I want to use/allow into my house rules, officially, in written form.

(. . .) What if you are already playing a campaign and you are say the party Cleric, but the Swashbuckler/Rogue is looking more appealing with the feat in Complete Scoundrel that lets abilities stack?

This is a not an issue, as far as I'm concerned. I don't flit from PC to PC, even in terms of what I want to play in a given campaign [that I already have a character in].

 

[delericho]

This so of sucks any incentive out of purchasing RPG products.

I don't disagree, but my reasoning is twofold:

Firstly, for balance reasons, I feel there needs to be a level playing field for all players. But, if the rich player has bought all the 'Complete' books, he's likely to bring the one for his class along, but not the others. This is hardly going to give parity as far as available options is concerned, is it? Sure, everyone has equal access to the Rogue classbook, but that's hardly a boost to the party Cleric.

Secondly, if the DM doesn't have the book, even if the player loans him the book so he can read it, his ability to easily reference it is reduced. And, if the player 'forgets' (or just chooses not to bring) his book, then that's not really something the DM can call him on. Yet, oddly, if a player has to remember what one of his feats, classes or magic items do, he always seems to recall the most generous application of the benefits, and curiously has a poor memory for the drawbacks and limitations. It's uncanny.

Basically, I've now read too many horror stories of DMs allowing books that they don't own into their games to advise anything other than "don't do it".

 

[Umbran]

A) As a player where the DM hasn't got a copy of the book.

Outside the game, I offer to lend it to the GM to read. Once it has been read, bring it up in conversation - "What did you think of X? I thought it fit pretty well where I wanted to take my character...""

B) As a DM where the players haven't got a copy of the book.

I mention the availability of options, and ask that anyone who wanted to explore said options should speak with me after the game.

How long is it before stuff gets incorporated into your game?

I don't often change the rules a whole lot once a campaign has started, so frequently it waits until the next campaign.

What if you are already playing a campaign and you are say the party Cleric, but the Swashbuckler/Rogue is looking more appealing with the feat in Complete Scoundrel that lets abilities stack?

Rarely does a new character become more appealing to me merely because of rules changes. I generally start from a personality and style sketch, and find the crunch that fits. So, if I didn't have a swashbuckler idea to start with, I'm not going to worry overmuch about the feats they get. If my original character is working fine, I am far more likely to stick with him or work to make him work than to head off into left field...

 

[Nonlethal Force]

A) As a player where the DM hasn't got a copy of the book.

Show it to the DM, loan the book to the DM to read. Ask how long till they buy it (if they like it). I never expect a DM to allow a book in a game if they don't own it.

B) As a DM where the players haven't got a copy of the book.

Ask the group if anyone minds bringing a book into play. It's a group vote, 75% needed to carry. Any less than 75% not approve, book isn't allowed. By the way, I've found retraining rules in PHB II to be an excellent system for allowing new books without their players wanting to immediately scrap their current character!


As to how long stuff gets incorporated ... usually as long as it takes the DM to own the book. If one of my players wants me to use a book, they typically loan it for me to read. If I like it, I tell the player that it is on my list of things to buy and will get it in about "X months/weeks/ or days." If they want to use it sooner, then it can become a gift. [That rarely happens, though, because most books I like I don't wait for months to buy.] This is our group policy, btw. Not my individual policy.

 

[Voadam]

Say you've just bought the Complete Scoundrel or Complete Mage, or XXXXX.

You've read it and you kind of like the stuff in it, now what do you do?

A) As a player where the DM hasn't got a copy of the book.

B) As a DM where the players haven't got a copy of the book.

How long is it before stuff gets incorporated into your game? What if you are already playing a campaign and you are say the party Cleric, but the Swashbuckler/Rogue is looking more appealing with the feat in Complete Scoundrel that lets abilities stack?

A) depends on the DM and what their guidelines are for allowable sources. Sometimes it is "show me stuff you want to use and I will evaluate it" sometimes it is "these sources only". I'm fine abiding by a DM's campaign rules either way.

B) As a DM I use the stuff in it myself when considering options and generally let players know if it is a book they can use stuff from. I might point out stuff to a PC that is relevant to their character concept, such as a class power substitutions from UA or PHII that seem better fits for what they say they are going for.