Campaign book necessary? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Campaign book necessary? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Dizmoo
08-16-04, 04:09 AM Say your group was playing in the dragonlance or forgotten realms campaign setting and you were a player, would you need the campaign setting book on top of the core rulebooks?
warlockco
08-16-04, 04:32 AM It is not vital but it does help you to keep yourself informed of the world.
But on the other hand if you want to play a hick that knows nothing about the world, then not owning them is one way to keep yourself from learning more out of game.

I had one DM that was running Kalamar, I said I was going to go buy the campaign setting and he forbid me to do so, so I left the game (was getting sick of the group anyhow, 2 couples with alot of favortism).
After all it totally killed the entire ideal of my character. My character was going to be a Cleric/Wizard of The Mule a god of knowledge and magic. Kinda hard to be a servant of a god of knowledge when you don't even know the basics of the world you are in. Like information on the nation that you are from.
Dizmoo
08-16-04, 04:41 AM Guess you could always buy the book in secret and read it by candlelight before you go to bed, no one will suspect a thing :D
Omya
08-16-04, 06:24 AM as a player who lives with the dm, i dont really need to buy any core books because he already has them, but the dm is always delighted when one of us offers to chip-in for a new scorcebook or buy one ourselves, he thinks that we should read about the world we live in so we are more informed and at home there.

if we see him buying new miniatures that kind of look simular to somthing from the monster manual or another book we usually try and sneak a look at its stats if we are feeling cheeky, lol

but in general thats considered 'frowned upon' lol

the only thing i buy is realms novels to read and the occasional scourcebook because it gets me xp for my character in his campaign. if a book costs Ł22.99 like serpent kindoms did, then that gets me 2299xp :p

he also gives us xp this way for supplying miniatures.

our dm lets us read whatever we want in any of his books apart from dragon or dungeon mags if he's using an idea from them. but we usually ask first if its ok to read. :)

but then we know if we arnt allowed to read it, its getting used lol
warlockco
08-16-04, 08:44 AM Nods, I know what you mean by checking critters.

I had to change the stats of a monster in the middle of combat, because after 2 rounds, I realized that several of the players were metagaming the fight (wasn't a common monster in the first place, and non of the characters would have even a remote knowledge of said creature, with their backgrounds, and no one asked if they could make knowledge checks to try and figure out what it was).
Needless to say, those players that had metagamed got their butts stomped by the monster. Before the others had finally managed to kill it.

My option is knowledge is power for the players to use unless they abuse it. And unfortunately I have so much clutter in my head, even though it does get confused at times, I tend to take characters that are loaded with Knowledge skills this way, I don't metagame as badly as things could go when I play.

Had several players get upset with me in one game, when I started to help the DM run his monster more intelligently, the DM didn't realize the monster had certain powers, and wasn't using them. And since the party was winning, I helped the DM along, especially since the critter was +3 CR above the party and should challenge us.
Tempus665
08-16-04, 09:03 AM It depends on what you want to use the book for. If you want to use it to metagame, or to check whether or not the DM is correct, then you won't need it at all. If you want it to get some more insight into the campaign world, then I'd say go ahead.
Dizmoo
08-16-04, 09:58 AM Wouldn't you need it to know about all the races, classes etc. for that particular campaign setting or is there a seperate book for players?
warlockco
08-16-04, 10:37 AM For both Dragonlance and the Realms, the main campaign setting will give you enough information for most things.
Some settings do have a Player's Book, like Kalamar, but that doesn't give you information on the world though.

Campaign settings are generally your best information for gods, nations, races, and history of a particular world.
Tempus665
08-16-04, 12:31 PM Originally posted by Dizmoo
Wouldn't you need it to know about all the races, classes etc. for that particular campaign setting or is there a seperate book for players?

No. If the DM decides he wants to play Forgotten Realms, it's generally his task to get the campaign setting and inform the players about special races/classes/etcetera. The campaign setting, although it can be incredibly useful to players interested in the campaign setting, is not at all a necessary purchase for players.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Dizmoo 08-16-04, 04:09 AM	Say your group was playing in the dragonlance or forgotten realms campaign setting and you were a player, would you need the campaign setting book on top of the core rulebooks?
warlockco 08-16-04, 04:32 AM	It is not vital but it does help you to keep yourself informed of the world. But on the other hand if you want to play a hick that knows nothing about the world, then not owning them is one way to keep yourself from learning more out of game. I had one DM that was running Kalamar, I said I was going to go buy the campaign setting and he forbid me to do so, so I left the game (was getting sick of the group anyhow, 2 couples with alot of favortism). After all it totally killed the entire ideal of my character. My character was going to be a Cleric/Wizard of The Mule a god of knowledge and magic. Kinda hard to be a servant of a god of knowledge when you don't even know the basics of the world you are in. Like information on the nation that you are from.
Dizmoo 08-16-04, 04:41 AM	Guess you could always buy the book in secret and read it by candlelight before you go to bed, no one will suspect a thing :D
Omya 08-16-04, 06:24 AM	as a player who lives with the dm, i dont really need to buy any core books because he already has them, but the dm is always delighted when one of us offers to chip-in for a new scorcebook or buy one ourselves, he thinks that we should read about the world we live in so we are more informed and at home there. if we see him buying new miniatures that kind of look simular to somthing from the monster manual or another book we usually try and sneak a look at its stats if we are feeling cheeky, lol but in general thats considered 'frowned upon' lol the only thing i buy is realms novels to read and the occasional scourcebook because it gets me xp for my character in his campaign. if a book costs Ł22.99 like serpent kindoms did, then that gets me 2299xp :p he also gives us xp this way for supplying miniatures. our dm lets us read whatever we want in any of his books apart from dragon or dungeon mags if he's using an idea from them. but we usually ask first if its ok to read. :) but then we know if we arnt allowed to read it, its getting used lol
warlockco 08-16-04, 08:44 AM	Nods, I know what you mean by checking critters. I had to change the stats of a monster in the middle of combat, because after 2 rounds, I realized that several of the players were metagaming the fight (wasn't a common monster in the first place, and non of the characters would have even a remote knowledge of said creature, with their backgrounds, and no one asked if they could make knowledge checks to try and figure out what it was). Needless to say, those players that had metagamed got their butts stomped by the monster. Before the others had finally managed to kill it. My option is knowledge is power for the players to use unless they abuse it. And unfortunately I have so much clutter in my head, even though it does get confused at times, I tend to take characters that are loaded with Knowledge skills this way, I don't metagame as badly as things could go when I play. Had several players get upset with me in one game, when I started to help the DM run his monster more intelligently, the DM didn't realize the monster had certain powers, and wasn't using them. And since the party was winning, I helped the DM along, especially since the critter was +3 CR above the party and should challenge us.
Tempus665 08-16-04, 09:03 AM	It depends on what you want to use the book for. If you want to use it to metagame, or to check whether or not the DM is correct, then you won't need it at all. If you want it to get some more insight into the campaign world, then I'd say go ahead.
Dizmoo 08-16-04, 09:58 AM	Wouldn't you need it to know about all the races, classes etc. for that particular campaign setting or is there a seperate book for players?
warlockco 08-16-04, 10:37 AM	For both Dragonlance and the Realms, the main campaign setting will give you enough information for most things. Some settings do have a Player's Book, like Kalamar, but that doesn't give you information on the world though. Campaign settings are generally your best information for gods, nations, races, and history of a particular world.
Tempus665 08-16-04, 12:31 PM	Originally posted by Dizmoo Wouldn't you need it to know about all the races, classes etc. for that particular campaign setting or is there a seperate book for players? No. If the DM decides he wants to play Forgotten Realms, it's generally his task to get the campaign setting and inform the players about special races/classes/etcetera. The campaign setting, although it can be incredibly useful to players interested in the campaign setting, is not at all a necessary purchase for players.