Beyond just the Pathfinder Core Book what are you using in your home game for sources of Feats or similar rules additions?
My group has generally had a pretty open policy about what we allow in, and people aren't really power gamers to try and make unbeatable characters, but rather take things that are in character for them.
As I'm setting up the game that I am planning to run, I'm using a lot from the Pathfinder book (would be my basic rules set up) with some changes to it. I'm trying to figure out how much outside of PFCRB I should be letting people pick up.
Have people found any feats to be problematic, or any feat sources? Prestige Classes are also a bit of a question, but not focusing on them right now and they are a bit easier for me to evaluate in regards to each other for what I would use and what I wouldn't.
Happy gaming.
Barator
Beyond just the Pathfinder Core Book what are you using in your home game for sources of Feats or similar rules additions?
My group has generally had a pretty open policy about what we allow in, and people aren't really power gamers to try and make unbeatable characters, but rather take things that are in character for them.
As I'm setting up the game that I am planning to run, I'm using a lot from the Pathfinder book (would be my basic rules set up) with some changes to it. I'm trying to figure out how much outside of PFCRB I should be letting people pick up.
Have people found any feats to be problematic, or any feat sources? Prestige Classes are also a bit of a question, but not focusing on them right now and they are a bit easier for me to evaluate in regards to each other for what I would use and what I wouldn't.
Happy gaming.
Barator
I allow pretty much everything published by Paizo and Wotc with the exception of subsystems and such which don't fit into my current Campaigns. Although I will always read through something before allowing it into my game.
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Since I'm the only one who seems to own any books I usually allow anything from PFRPG, anything that can be found at d20srd.org, anything from the PHB2, anything from the Eberron Campaign Setting, Races of Eberron and the XPH.
3rd Party wise I usually allow anything from Green Ronin, but beyond that I look at things on a case-by-case basis.
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For my Rise of the Runelords campaign, I am allowing the PFRPG Core Rulebook, the Pathfinder Campaign Setting and that is all. I want to keep the game as CORE as possible. I have found in past campaigns, the more options you give your players, then more they try and powergame and break the game.
That is just me though.
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For my Rise of the Runelords campaign, I am allowing the PFRPG Core Rulebook, the Pathfinder Campaign Setting and that is all. I want to keep the game as CORE as possible. I have found in past campaigns, the more options you give your players, then more they try and powergame and break the game.
That is just me though.
For the RotR campaigns I am currently running I also stuck with these two sources only, but more for the players to get a feel for the new system than concerns of players trying to create the "unstoppable" character.
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If the players want it, I'll try to make it work.
But my players are pretty tame. Clerics, Druids and the occasional Fighter, Barbarian or Wizard. That's it. Even Bards and Sorcerers are too 'out there' for them.
So I amuse myself by re-writing NPC encounters to mix things up, changing the leader of the mercenary gang that's hunting them down to a dual-axe-wielding urban ranger and his sorcerer second-in-command to a warlock or whatever.
The last time one of my regular gang wanted a class or race that wasn't in the main book, was back in 2nd edition, after The Will & The Way revolutionized psionics for that edition.
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I'm using pretty much anything from:
Pathfinder
Adamant's Book of Secrets
Book of Arcane Magic
Mongoose Games
WOTC 3.5/3.0
Green Ronin
Fantasy Flight Games
Malhavoc Press
Penumbra
Margaret Weis Press
Sword and Sorcery
Bad Axe Games
AEG's Oriental Adventures Line
and a few other things...
Apparently, we're easy to get along with. :)
For my ROTR stuff, I'm allowing any of the Pathfinder Material, including the Chronicles and other APs' I'm also allowing SOME of the stuff from Tome of Secrets, subject to GM approval.
I got away from 3.5 because of the rediculous amount of feats and prestige classes available...
Depending on the campaign, I use a multitude of things.
Right now, I think the biggest thing is Hero Points/Action Dice. That's a must (to me). I generally look to Crafty Games' Spycraft line for inspiration for feats and such.
Outside of those, I have looked into (and allowed) various races and feats from WotC sourcebooks, and equipment from old Dragon Magazines. Really, apart from that, it's case by case.
Pick a source, and I'll look at it (I have a large d20 collection), and I'm pretty sure that I'll allow most things. Not everything, but enough to make it fun for everyone.
/d
I use quite a bit.
Complete roles. (Warrior, Arcane ect)
Complete mage. (would like Scoundrel)
The squeals to DM and PHB.
Magic item compendium.
Spell compendium.
I have found that the roles that translate easiest into pathfinder are the players handbook two 'base' classes.
All of which have similar power level to that of pathfinder characters.
However the Knight is the only class I have tested.
One of the things I loved about pathfinder was leaving all of this open to me.
I am waiting with baited breath to see there cavalier from what I heard from Jason it sounds like it will be a Marshal/Knight that focuses on 'buffing' or 'debuffing' a single target, with some riding stuff in there.
EDIT: I also use action points!
But highly modfied.
You don't replenish them by level you can only get them back by being 'cinematic' and they don't have any of that class related ebberon stuff.
In my Rise of the Runelords game, I'm allowing the Pathfinder Core and most of the traits/feats from the Pathfinder Chronicles/Companions, but my players are fairly tame where that's concerned. I've also been allowing some of the magic items from the Magic Item Compendium, but after a fiasco with a player taking the Heartseeker Amulet in a prior game, it's on a case-by-case basis. But that player was a powergamer anyway, so it didn't make a huge difference, just was way too inexpensive.
We're using a group-made homebrew world with rotating Game Masters. So far we're using the PFCR, some random things from the Pathfinder Chronicles Campaign Setting, the Character Traits web enhancement, the "Lands of Mystery" map and Maps of Mystery from Dungeon Magazine, and the firearms section from d20 Past (from early to wild west era weapons). Its a pirate/seafaring campaign with each of 3 GMs running a 3-4 adventure story arc and then passing it on.
I'm very open with letting stuff in. I've always been bit surprised by a lot of 3x GM's and Players who support open gaming and want 3rd to be accepted and prised but then turn around and not allow any 3pp stuff into the game because of balance.
In any case I have to really give it to the guys at Paizo as I thought I'd be updating a lot of classes from 3pp pub. (forget Wizards non-core classes which for the most part I found kinda eh)but have found that most need only a small tweek or non at all. List of classes that came out fine:
Tinker, Hunter, Runemaster, (Warcraft RPG)
Cavaler (GR)
Seductress (Conan)
Classes that need work, and by this I mean just added stuff each level.
Kingdom of Kalamar (all)
Witch (GR although I'm thinking of combining various attempts at this class into one, oddly enough this is good way of updating the class with a little less work)
OA (all)
Knight (R&R Excaliber) this is my fav. version of the Knight, although it was a bit underpowered and too close to the Fighter even in 3.x so I gave it the weapon power from Rokugon Samurai which made unique and equal. Now I have to bumb him up to Pathfinder level. I'm thinking of getting that 3pp book with the new Knight class and combine the two. but I'm still working on that.
Then their are rules. I've highly modified conan's dodge and parry to work with Pathfinder and like the results, but find making a custom character sheet a reall pain.
Feats, I've yet to see a really really broken feat, however because of Wizards, and even Paizo to a lesser extent, I can tell you of a few feats that simply are worthless and obsolete now. Had a pdf archer book which I loved that let fire more then one arrow at the cost of a feat per arrow. Well Wizards took care of that with one feat when 3.5 came out. Its not that Wizards way isn't better or worse, but after that became an option no one used the old feat.
So count me in as someone who lets just about anything in. I don't have powergamers in my group so maybe I have it easy, but I have found that most 3pp came out with fairly balanced stuff. If anything the creep came more from wizards then anything else.
TTFN DRE
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RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8
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My plan is...
Pathfinder RPG
Expanded Psionics Handbook.
Untapped Potential
Secrets of Pact Magic/Villians of Pact magic
Advanced Player's Manual/Advanced Gamemaster's Guide/Advanced Bestiary
Hamunaptra
Some home brew, Arcane Evolved races/racial levels and other stuff case by case for players.
And i'm shooting for a home game Sunday, Oct 11 if anyone is interested.
It's easier to put what I (generally)don't allow; Dragon Shaman, stuff from the Eberron Books (w/ the exception of the Muliple Rings feat), Greenbound Summoning feat, Vow of Poverty feat, Tome of Battle (w/ the exception of the Superior Unarmed Strike feat), alternate magic systems (shadow, truename, etc).
Owner - D20 Hobbies
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Beyond just the Pathfinder Core Book what are you using in your home game for sources of Feats or similar rules additions?
Just switched a 14th level home game (that started in 3.5 at level 1) over to Pathfinder.
I use a very liberal view of allowed books for this game:
Every WotC book published with these exceptions:
1) Classes/PrC from Bo9S:ToB modified to have vancian style "slots" for their maneuvers instead of existing "per encounter" 4E lite style.
2) Adventures allowed by special permission (EtCR, etc)
3) No "alternate" options from UE (like Prestige Bard)
4) 3.0 material is permission only with GM errata.
Every Pathfinder book including Gods&Magic, P.CampaignSetting, etc.
While liberal with materials allowed, I tend to have conservative interpretations of the rules and how they interact. So some of the more
"out there" interpretations of what something does won't fly and I pay
attention to intent often when the rules say "I win" but the intent is probably "I get this advantage."
Basically, I have to own the book we use and since I only own all WotC and Paizo with just a few monster books (Tome of Horrors) by 3rd parties, I don't allow 3rd party books for players.
Sounds like a lot of folks are like me and letting in a wide variety of stuff. I have been working on my rules document so that we have something written down on what is in the game and what is out of the game. This has had me compiling feats from a number of different sources. I was a bit worried that with some of the changes that Pathfinder made, some of it might not go in the best. Certainly, there are conversions that will need to be addressed as a few things work differently from one system to another, but I don't feel bad about letting in a wide variety of stuff.
Barator
Hmmm,
My game is on vacation while someone else runs a Champions based Transformers campaign. But, when I pick it back up :
1) Pathfinder Core
2) WoTC Splatbooks (Completes, etc)
3) WoTC Environment books (Stormwrack, etc)
4) WoTC PHB2 classes/feats
5) Very Very selective 3rd party works (GM Pre-approval required)
6) Some of the Tome of Secrets
7) FR/Ebberon classes/feats/races (GM Pre-approval required)
8) Spell Compendium (With GM Veto as needed)
Right now I'm keeping my players to Pathfinder Core. So far it's worked out find: there are enough changes to the core classes to keep the players interested. And I think we all got a little burned out during our last game: the DM had us start at level 10 with free access to any 3.5 material. Needless to say there were some powerful builds from some of the players and things ended up pretty destabilized very swiftly. So as a change of pace, when I took over the DMing duties I started everyone at 1st and limited the available options to just the core book. And as I said before, it's been working out fine.
Beyond just the Pathfinder Core Book what are you using in your home game for sources of Feats or similar rules additions?
My wife and I are playing in her homebrew universe, in combination with some published universe material. Given that it's a plane-spanning, multiverse jumping hootinanny, we use a LOT of different sources for material.
For the main GMPC, we're using a wizard(universalist)/fighter/thief of epic level, and he's pretty much textbook PFRPG.
For my first (of many) characters, we're using a flat stock of wizard(evoker) and will soon be adding the Astrogineer PRC from "When The Sky Falls" (from which we're already using the engram rules and which will play a moderate part in the game overall)
Next up is my Gnome (textbook PFRPG race) Archivist/Fey Bloodline Sorcerer. Archivist is from Heroes of Horror, the Sorcerer is straight up PFRPG. Eventual goal is to spec this character out by adding on Mystic Theurge (because it really fits the character)
Then there's the Bariaur Planar Ranger. Bariaur rules combined from the OGL Fanbook for Planescape and the D&D 3.x Planar Handbook (or is it Manual... I always mix those up) and with the Planar Ranger variant from Unearthed Arcana. Otherwise, she's built on PFRPG ranger. Significantly doubt she'll be multi-classing.
Next is the Kitsune Bard/Nogitsune. The race and the Nogitsune class are both drawn from an OGL fanbook called "Kitsunemori" with some of the equipment from Oriental Adventures. I'm thinking (somewhat jokingly) of adding Cleric to the mix, and pledging her to a homebrew trickster deity.
Then there's the other GMPC, a Alou Demon Infernal Bloodline Sorcerer. Mostly textbook PFRPG, and I'm not sure where my wife pulled the racial stuff honestly.
And last, but not least, there's the newly added PFRPG Halfling Rogue with rules from the traits enhancement book. She's... a bit in over her head, and is currently one of my favorite 'pure RP characters'
There's discussion of adding a PFRPG built Druid, a Modron Outcast Psion (again from the OGL fanbook for Planescape, with material from the wizards.com web release on Modrons) and other wacky hijinx.
In other news, I've been wanting to post about this group for a while now. This is the first chance I've gotten. I am rather fond of this little band, and would like to know if anyone else has fantastic tales of their own motley crew of disparate worlds/books/resources.
When I start running my next campaign, I plan on allowing:
The PFRPG
The Expanded Psionics Handbook (or, preferrably, the DSP revision)
Tome of Battle
The Complete X series
The Spell Compendium
Magic Item Compendium
Heroes of Battle
Heroes of Horror
Libris Mortis (possibly)
Lords of Madness (possibly)
Untapped Potential (DSP)
Hyperconscious
My homebrewed races/feats/classes
That's pretty much it. Basically, my whole 3.5 collection, sans the Draconomicon (though maybe that, too), the Tome of Magic (haven't found a good fit for anything in there in my world) and Magic of Incarnum (there's a fit for it, but it's an entire continent away). I'm pretty fast and loose with what I allow, but I have one general rule - if it actually does prove broken in game, we'll have to limit it/fix it/etc. Also, I generally espouse the nuclear option - I throw classed NPCs up against PCs pretty regularly.
Everything WotC and Paizo. Also, we play gestalt; we find it greatly broadens the number of character concepts that are actually viable at the table.
PHB 3.5E (backup rule reference)
*Complete Books (Warrior, Adventurer, Divine, Arcane)
*Miniatures Handbook (3 Base Classes & Feats)
*Libir Mortis (Feats)
*Spell Compendium
*Magic Item Compendium
*Races of the Dragon (Kobold & associated material)
*MM 3.5E (monsterous races: Orc, Goblin, Hobgoblin, Plane-touched
Reaper Miniatures (player/major NPC minis)
WotC D&D Miniatures (monster minis)
Homemade Terrain (occasionally)
Homemade Initiative Board(Wal-mart, magnet board for player viewing)
*EVERYTHING NOT CORE Rules is subject to DM approval, the way it should be, IMO.
For the most part I use:
PFRPG
Expanded Psionics Handbook
Complete Warrior
Complete Divine
Complete Arcane
Complete Adventurer
Player's Handbook 2
There are of course things in those books which are no good, but largely stuff in those books I find to be balanced, fun, and flavorful. I always encourage my players to create their own feats, prestige classes, and spells which can be used upon approval.
PFRPG.
3.5 Core
Everything else case by case basis
In the past I've always only allowed the core PHB, and the Conplete series. That was pretty much it. I don't care for book delving to be honest.
If I am running a character specific campaign I tell the players the options of classes. These are generally shorter campaigns lasting 20 sessions or less so the players appreciate the higher levels with limited classes.
Feats --- PC's can only select a maximum of 3 feats from "other" rulebook (non-PF) for the lifetime of the character. You can exchange feats as 4e allows (at level up) including these 3 feats. You can use any non-PF books. Commonly we use:
All of the Eberron books
Paths of Faith, Magic, Sword, & Shadow;
Spell Compendium
Book of Eldritch Might
Exp. Psionics Handbook
Green Ronin Books
Malhavoc Press Books
This keeps a cap on too many feats from maxing out builds but still allows enough freedom for some pc's to reach some great feat combo's.
Spells --- Using the following resources: Spell Compendium, All Eberron books, Book of Eldritch Might, Path of Magic, Expanded Psionics Handbook. These are all available with the DM's approval per spell.
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I find it's too much (money|time|effort) to allow scads of alternate sources into my campaigns. I mean, I work for a living and I certainly can't be reading through every supplement to determine how it's going to affect the campaign story.
I find that PF has done "re-energized" my players such that (for the time being) they don't need those other sources for the game to be fresh. And I try to encourage role-playing as a differentiating factor rather than mechanics. If a player tries to make their character unique based on mechanics, then there will always be "feature creep" in the rules.
I'm considering requiring PCs (in my next campaign) to include at least one stat score of 8 or less and then providing a list of feats/traits/something that will add a situational +2 bonus to the stat to counteract the -1 modifier. The goal is to encourage the player to think about which stat will have the penalty in many cases and how they will role-play the feat/trait/??? in order to avoid the penalty.
Another factor for me is that I would like to be able to use an automated tool for PC/NPC generation and the more optional materials that are allowed into the campaign the more difficult it becomes to support all those options in the various tools.
Hmmm,
My game is on vacation while someone else runs a Champions based Transformers campaign. But, when I pick it back up :1) Pathfinder Core
2) WoTC Splatbooks (Completes, etc)
3) WoTC Environment books (Stormwrack, etc)
4) WoTC PHB2 classes/feats
5) Very Very selective 3rd party works (GM Pre-approval required)
6) Some of the Tome of Secrets
7) FR/Ebberon classes/feats/races (GM Pre-approval required)
8) Spell Compendium (With GM Veto as needed)
Yeah for brothers in arms!
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well...lets see
I use mainly:
Pathfinder RPG Core (of course)
Magic Item Comp.
Spell Comp.
PHB 2, DMG 2
Bonus Bestiary, Bestiary Preview 1,2
Monster Manuals 1,2,3,5 (until The Bestiary comes out)
Special Document (I rewrote and compiled a bunch of other races such as from expanded psionics, eberron, and bestiary and converted them)
I use secondarily:
Sandstorm
Storm Wrack
Frost Burn
Dungeonscape
Complete Series (for feats mainly, 1/2 the classes suck)
Spycraft (for modern or future games and chase rules)
I use rarely (but still use):
Expanded Psionics Handbook (only because of no Pathfinder Psionics yet)
Heroes of Horror
Tome of Magic
Tome of Battle
Dragon Comp. (i love the hoards)
Eberron (anything)
I have plenty of other books too, but never use them an amount worth mentioning. ^_^
Beyond just the Pathfinder Core Book what are you using in your home game for sources of Feats or similar rules additions?
We are basically using the PF release to clean up our game. No splat-books allowed.
We are playing by the PRPG only. I will probably allow other feats on a case by case basis.
Other core classes and PrC will not be allowed. Even PF PrCs will only be allowed if they complement the story we are playing. And spells or magic items from other sources will probably not be allowed at all.
We are basically trying to leave all the old bagage at the door and to give PF a try on its own premisses.
Until additional rules are released, we use the DMG and MM books as support.