No, at least not for D&D. For us, it's understood that stuff purchased mid-campaign is really just for interest-- if it's particularly good, or introduces a mechanic that fits existing characterization well, we'll include individual elements on a piecemeal basis. But books certainly aren't presumed ready for inclusion just because they're bought.
Besides, if you want to squabble there's always spell lists to provide endless "she's more powerful than she should be" fodder. (Most recently used for Greater Blink, as a response to the cleric's Raise/Lower Water and Conjuration spells...]
Has anyone else experienced something similar in their games?
Yes, but it had nothing to do with the books really. I used to play with a guy who was very competative in everything he did. He always tried to make sure his character was more powerful than everyone elses, and often succeded. This happened regardless of the amount of material he had available to work with. So while buying extra books may be a method players use to get an edge on other players, the problem lies with them, not in the books.
In our group we are pretty generous on material we use. Usually, anybody who wants to use something out of a specific book brings that book so everyone can look through it. This might not be a bad policy to use in your group. If this doesn't work out you, (assuming that you are the GM) you could require that everyone pass any feats or classes they decide to use past you before they are allowed into the game. If this doesn't work, you could limit game material to certain books only. Though I would only use this as a last resort.
My own personal rule for the campaigns I DM is this, if I do not have the book, then nobody gets anything major from it. By major I mean anything along the lines of classes, artifacts, etc. Spells, most magic items, mundane equipment, and such I will usually allow. Regardless of what it is, I still look over before allowing anything into any of my campaigns.
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My own personal rule for the campaigns I DM is this, if I do not have the book, then nobody gets anything major from it. By major I mean anything along the lines of classes, artifacts, etc. Spells, most magic items, mundane equipment, and such I will usually allow. Regardless of what it is, I still look over before allowing anything into any of my campaigns.
I do things very similarly; however, I buy basically all the books that have crunchy material in them (so, I don't always buy stuff like Mysteries of the Moonsea, but always stuff like the Complete series and the campaign settings), and we have another fellow geek in our group who also buys most (if not all) the books released by WotC, and, apparently unlike most of the groups that have posted on this topic, we share our books without thinking about it. If I have a book that contains someting that might be of interest to a particular player (especially in the campaign I DM), I suggest it and loan it out. It seems that in some other groups, players might be doing a little "dibs" calling on published material; I would completely frown on this and disallow it in my game.
When I have a power gamer in a group I GM, he gets a slightly greater level of attention from the heavy baddies. Not to unfairly single him out, but just enough to reward players who just stick to the rules and don't look to produce an indestructable character.