I am currently running a Skulls and Shackles campaign and thinking of opening up a second game for my players to have multiple game nights instead of once a week so that we can get our gaming fix more often.
Right now I have allowed all but 3rd party and campaign specific books for my players, but it has become a bit overwhelming and a bit too powerful for the game. Example: The summoner PC's level 4 eidolon is near unstoppable. Two claw attacks and Tail attack with bonus stats and bonus damage can decimate anything in its path. Another example: Level 4 druid currently is sitting on over 300+ spells in his book. Not only is it a lot I don't know by heart, but also slows the game down him having to choose from such a bit list.
What books would you recommend I use for RothRL to keep the flow of the game steady, but also give variety among the classes?
It is not a matter of what books suit the AP... it is a matter of what books YOU, as the GM, are familiar with and can manage.
Any AP can be destroyed by allowing even one book the GM is not familiar with. Letting one player pick one class from a book that the GM does not know can be enough to kill the campaign -- because the GM does not know how the rest of the content in that book is intended to keep the balance. Psionics? If the GM is unfamiliar with them and doesn't choose what options to use for interaction, a single Psionic character can wreck a campaugn. Psychic magic? Same deal. Mythic? Even easier.
There are numerous options in the Core Rulebook alone to provide a wide variety of characters. Add ONLY the books you are comfortable that you understand well, or even only the parts of books. Performance Combat? It is optional.. if you're not familiar, don't even go there. Word Casting? Same deal.
I am currently running a Skulls and Shackles campaign and thinking of opening up a second game for my players to have multiple game nights instead of once a week so that we can get our gaming fix more often.
Right now I have allowed all but 3rd party and campaign specific books for my players, but it has become a bit overwhelming and a bit too powerful for the game. Example: The summoner PC's level 4 eidolon is near unstoppable. Two claw attacks and Tail attack with bonus stats and bonus damage can decimate anything in its path. Another example: Level 4 druid currently is sitting on over 300+ spells in his book. Not only is it a lot I don't know by heart, but also slows the game down him having to choose from such a bit list.
What books would you recommend I use for RothRL to keep the flow of the game steady, but also give variety among the classes?
It sounds more like your players are out of control and they will be more so in the Runelords game.
I am not much up on Druids. I just scanned the class. They don't get a spell book. They are more like Clerics. How did a character who can only cast up to 2nd level spells manage to get ahold of 300+ spells? What books are you using that have that many spells?
Perhaps the out of control part is allowing too many books.
Of coarse, you just asked what books to use.
What books are you using in the Shackles game? That might shed some light.
It is not a matter of what books suit the AP... it is a matter of what books YOU, as the GM, are familiar with and can manage.
Any AP can be destroyed by allowing even one book the GM is not familiar with. Letting one player pick one class from a book that the GM does not know can be enough to kill the campaign -- because the GM does not know how the rest of the content in that book is intended to keep the balance. Psionics? If the GM is unfamiliar with them and doesn't choose what options to use for interaction, a single Psionic character can wreck a campaugn. Psychic magic? Same deal. Mythic? Even easier.
There are numerous options in the Core Rulebook alone to provide a wide variety of characters. Add ONLY the books you are comfortable that you understand well, or even only the parts of books. Performance Combat? It is optional.. if you're not familiar, don't even go there. Word Casting? Same deal.
Generally agree with all this. One option might be to limit things to Core and APG (an option I've seen several DMs use). Your players might not love being restricted, but the reality is that you need to maintain control over the game as DM, and a large part of that is ensuring that you are familiar with the content.
I prefer to allow things case by case rather than ban things certain types of characters don't really work with only the very early access books (one handed Dex fighters and blaster casters being good examples).
For classes like Druid and clerics I pretty much force players to make a list of the spells they think they'll actually want to use as they get each spell level so you don't have people wondering what obscure plant X or thorn X or aspect of the X does mid session.
Also generally (there are exceptions) the most problematic classes are the core classes, by problematic I mean both the strong and the weak. Rogues, monks and fighters in the core book are horrible XD and in the same book you find Wizards and Druids and Clerics and chained barbarian. Like I said there are exceptions (summoner) but generally the newer classes strike a nicer balance.
I understand the problem and have had to face it before. I strongly suggest the following solution for classes like clerics and druids who potentially have access to all spells ever written for their class.
- Only allow free access to CRB spells from the cleric or druid list.
- All the other spells from various sources are only available on a case by case basis, and you can require learning such spells from some NPC encountered during the campaign, or else allow spell research to uncover them, or allow access through some mystic shrine or other special place, item or source.
- If a few spells seem particularly thematic for a given character, for whatever reason, you can feel free to grant access... or not.
The thing is, if you allow them to use the complete list from the PRD or the PFSRD, then a kind of paralysis of choice can set in, and the poor player may spend ages agonizing over which spells to take. Suggest he make several different spell loadouts in advance, or use spell cards, or have some similar solution so as not to paralyze the entire group.
Spellcaster players must know their spells in advance and use some system to know the details of each and every spell without having to crack the spines on rulebooks in the middle of a combat.