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I am thinking of adopting a new houserule, and decided to lay it bare here for your critiquing.
Givin the proliferation of new rules accessories and similar books that give players more and more options I think I willmake it mandatory that any player that wants to make use of material from such a book must own it. I think this will ensure that the player is commited to the idea and it is not just a whim. It will also help ensure that the player reads and understands the class or options they are using from the book. I will also own the book.
What do you guys think?
Tam
I am thinking of adopting a new houserule, and decided to lay it bare here for your critiquing.
Givin the proliferation of new rules accessories and similar books that give players more and more options I think I willmake it mandatory that any player that wants to make use of material from such a book must own it. I think this will ensure that the player is commited to the idea and it is not just a whim. It will also help ensure that the player reads and understands the class or options they are using from the book. I will also own the book.
What do you guys think?
Tam
I'll go ahead and repost this (the originating thread is here), since it is a nifty checklist.
I have a player who's always asking for the most ridiculous abilities, feats, spells, classes, etc. Telling him that if he wants it he'll have to buy the book wouldn't work, because he does buy the books. The important thing to remember is that you are the DM. At your whim, you can allow or deny any non-core book (heck, you can change the core rules too if you want - I do all the time).
When someone asks me for such and such ability from such and such splatbook, I go through this little checklist:
0) I read up on it. In general - unless it only exists in an online format - if I don't have physical access to it, and the player isn't willing to let me borrow his source for it until I thoroughly understand it, I will categorically deny it. Once I hold the reading material in my hands, I read it over and over until I completely understand it.
go to 1
1) Does this ability make sense for the character?
if yes then go to 2, else go to 3
2) Is the ability purely mechanical (+X to whatever with no 'fluff')?
if yes go to 4, else go to 3
3) Ask the player to explain how this ability fits the character.
if "A wizard did it" is the best they can come up with then go to 6, else go to 4
4) Will this ability unbalance my game?
if yes, wait 30 minutes and go to 5, else go to 7
5) Will this ability unbalance my game (no, seriously)?
if yes go to 6, else go to 7
6) Inform the player that they can take their sarruhk (monster from Serpent Kingdoms - search the wizards.com boards for Pun Pun) and stuff it where the sun don't shine... or just tell them they can't have it.
Done
7) Inform player that I am interested in this idea, and would like them to continue explaining how they intend to use it. If all sounds good, it's a go. Remind the player that if the ability turns out to be more powerful than expected, my ruling may change.
Done
That all being said - if this particular house rule works for you, great. And if it doesn't... well I guess you've helped the economy. :-)
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Thanks for the list, I think I can deffinately use it as a guideline to make sure that i am fully versed in the use of a new spell, feat, ability etc. before it comes into question during play. That being said, I did not mean to imply that I had a problem with my players using a new accessorys and the optional rules presented therein. What I meant to accomplish by posting this thread is finding out whether anyone thought is was to much of me to ask my players to purchase the books containing the material they wish to make use of. A lot of the reasoning for this house rule was mentioned above and needs not be repeated here, but another reason is to prevent myself from having to carry every product Wizards and every other d20 company produce to every game. We do not always play in the same location, and the amount of material and equipment that I carry to each session is already cumbersome. Again, thanks for the list. Any othe opinions out there?
Tam
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Thanks for the list, I think I can deffinately use it as a guideline to make sure that i am fully versed in the use of a new spell, feat, ability etc. before it comes into question during play. That being said, I did not mean to imply that I had a problem with my players using a new accessorys and the optional rules presented therein. What I meant to accomplish by posting this thread is finding out whether anyone thought is was to much of me to ask my players to purchase the books containing the material they wish to make use of. A lot of the reasoning for this house rule was mentioned above and needs not be repeated here, but another reason is to prevent myself from having to carry every product Wizards and every other d20 company produce to every game. We do not always play in the same location, and the amount of material and equipment that I carry to each session is already cumbersome. Again, thanks for the list. Any othe opinions out there?
Tam
In my opinion, someone should own the book (maybe you have a group supported library). It makes sense that the player owns it and allows the DM free access to it. However, I can also see the DM getting books and encouraging players to use pieces to fit a story line. For example, maybe the player need not own Libris Mortis but the DM does and encourages someone to take the Tomb-Tainted Soul feat at startup (let the players worry about why - thanks James Jacobs!).