General acceptability of sources

[herrhauptmann]

How common is it to accept sources beyond phb, and maybe Bolo/Tasha? In 3.5 you had to specify acceptable sources for obvious reasons, and I should just ask the dm, but don't have their contact info.

I'm working on a wizard and found two spells I like, but worried I'm wasting my time on them.

Healing Elixer from UA36.
Silvery Barbs from strixhaven.

Are either of these sources in common use like say the Complete Series was? Closer to Dragon Magazine content, or perhaps even unofficial third party?

[Porcupinata]

Generally (and this is not something that people have agreed on, it's just my subjective opinion) there's a few levels of source material:

1) Core books (PHB/MM/DMG) - Pretty much everyone people uses/allows material from here, although there may be individual classes/feats/spells/etc. that someone doesn't like and therefore doesn't allow. That's pretty rare for this sort of core material, though.

2) General supplements (Volo's, Tome of Foes, Tasha's, Xanathar's, Fizban's, Monsters of the Multiverse) - Most people allow material from here, but you're more likely to find specific things that aren't allowed (especially specific races). There's also something of a divide because Tasha's, Fizban's, and Monsters of the Multiverse show a distinct shift in how races work (in fact MoM straight-up reprints new versions of the races from Volo's and Tome of Foes). Some people only allow the new versions of the reprinted races considering them to have replaced the old; some don't like the new versions and only allow the old; and some allow both.

3) Setting-specific supplements (Eberron, Sword Coast, Ravenloft, Witchlight) - These tend to be used/allowed less often, and it's more likely that people will just take one or two things out of the book to use rather than using the whole of a book.

4) Unearthed Arcana - This is mostly experimental playtest material, and a lot of it has been fixed up post-playtest and released in one or other of the books above. Some of it hasn't been reprinted, though. Some people prefer the playtest versions of things to the finished versions (usually, but not always, because the playtest version was more powerful) and use them, but I think they're in the minority. More people are willing to use the stuff that is only in UA and never made it to print.

5) Magic the Gathering supplements (Theros, Ravinica, Strixhaven, there's possibly others I'm not aware of) - These tend to have options that are unbalanced compared to even the Unearthed Arcana stuff, so they're rarely allowed unless the game is explicitly set in one of their worlds.

So while there are supplements that are pretty common like 3.x's "Complete" series, the two you specifically mention are not from such commonly used sources but are instead from things that are only rarely used/allowed because they're commonly thought to be overpowered.

[J-H]

Here's what I use.

PHB: All OK, but with a few houserules (GWM/SS are now static always-on +2, Sorc gets more spells, Ranger stinks less, etc.)
Xanathar's: All OK
Tasha's: Twilight, Peace, and Scribes are out.

SCAG, EE, AcqInc approval on request (nothing good in AI anyway)
Strixhaven and the new dragon book spells require prior approval. Silvery Barbs will not be approved.
UA requires specific approval, haven't had anyone ask for it anyway.

[Sigreid]

Generally speaking I allow use of anything WoTC puts out, including UA. This may not apply to a particular campaign world where I am going for a certain specific feel. 3rd party content is allowed or disallowed after going over it with the group and getting their opinions. For example, we are ok with Masters of Death, but in practice no one has chosen to use one of those classes to date.

[Mastikator]

If I play I ask the DM which books are allowed. If I DM I inform the players which books are allowed and which (if any) restrictions there are. I also follow this info up with what kinds of characters they should make for the campaign and my expectations of them.
Houserules, UA and optional rules should be written down and be available.

I think generally don't count on UA being allowed.

Don't count on homebrew being allowed.

Don't count on setting specific things to be allowed outside their setting.

Notoriously overpowered subclasses tend to get banned, like twillight domain. Same for spells, there is absolutely a risk that your DM will ban Silvery Barbs.

[LudicSavant]

How common is it to accept sources beyond phb, and maybe Bolo/Tasha? In 3.5 you had to specify acceptable sources for obvious reasons, and I should just ask the dm, but don't have their contact info.

I accept most content from all official sourcebooks. No UA though.

For me it's not about what book it's from, it's about the specific mechanic. Like, I don't care if you pick something out of Strixhaven... unless it's Silvery Barbs. I don't mind if you pick out a Graviturgy Wizard or an Echo Knight, but I do care if you grab Chronurgist or Gift of Alacrity.

[loki_ragnarock]

For me it tends to be specific things I don't like, rather than the whole source, for general books. Twilight Clerics come to mind as a straight nope.

For setting specific books, if it doesn't mesh with what I've got in mind, it's not gonna get shoved in. Dragonmarked races? Perfect for Eberron, maybe not what I have in mind. Ravnica backgrounds? No thanks. The extra starting feature from Theros? Makes sense for Theros, probably not what I'm going for, though. Where it matches (or doesn't matter) I'll consider that input.

Silvery Barbs is a double whammy; a mechanic I intensely dislike that also comes from a setting book. Ew. It kinda makes sense for someone trying to emulate a blue control deck, but outside of that specific context it's no bueno.

UA gets complicated. I'll take a look at the specific thing; if there's a reprint, I'll generally say to use the official thing. If there's not a reprint, I'll take it on a case-by-case basis and reserve the right to tweak things as needed; it's less likely that I allow straight UA and more likely that I'll use it as a template for homebrew. Sometimes someone wants to play a mystic or that crow warlock and there're not many alternatives to point to, because they abandoned whatever highly flavorful idea for whatever reason.
I probably wouldn't allow the Healing Elixer spell, largely because wizards don't need the boosted versatility, warlocks could heal rather alot between short rests starting at low level, and it bypasses the 50gp value of a potion of healing entirely. Potions should be equipment, not a spell slot. If you're looking specifically for something that provides that alchemist feel... I'd say play an artificer of that variety. If you're just looking for the healing mechanic slapped onto chassis that don't normally - or through high opportunity cost choices, might - have a healing power, I'll tell you no and what my reasons are.

But your DM might have different reasoning; toss them the idea and see how they feel. There's going to be someone who'll allow one, or the other, or both.

[Keravath]

This really is an ask your DM question.

However, that said, most DMs appear to accept the core books - PHB, Xanathar's, Tasha's - though content they don't like or think OP might be banned (Peace and twilight cleric for example).

Some folks will only allow setting specific content in that setting. e.g. Eberron, Ravnica, Theros, Strixhaven, etc. That is a pretty common point of view both because some of the content is relatively OP and some just doesn't feel appropriate for whichever setting the DM is running.

Some folks won't allow UA at all since they figure it hasn't been playtested and there is likely a reason why it hasn't been published.

Some DMs will approve content outside their usual sources on a case by case basis and other DMs are fine with any content at all but my impression is that these folks would be in a minority since almost all DMs impose some sort of constraints on sources.

So, if the options you wanted were in the core rule books the odds of it being an issue are small. With UA and strixhaven content, unless the game is set in Strixhaven and the DM is open to UA, then the odds of neither being accepted are fairly high.

The bottom line is wait until the next session, ask the DM, and have a backup plan if they say No.

[Amnestic]

There's no source I won't at least look at whether it's first or third party, but I'll veto stuff from any source - including the PHB.

[PhoenixPhyre]

My general policy is "If I don't own it, it's not allowed." And I don't buy setting-specific books or adventure books.

For homebrew/3rd party--I need to give it a heavy going-over and probably rewrite. Somewhat hypocritically, I do use 3rd party monsters heavily. But I do tweak them.

UA is case-by-case.

1st party official books not caught above have specific exclusion lists[1], but are generally open. Races are the one thing that gets the most scrutiny, because it's a heavily custom setting. I'm actually moving (very very very slowly) toward an entirely custom set of racial stat blocks, built quite differently than current ones. But very very slowly.

[1] no drow, no gnomes (both for "don't exist in the setting" reasons), nothing firearms related (again, setting reasons), a few subclasses from Tasha's, plus the race stuff from Tasha's. A heavy warning that Dream of the Blue Veil will never work; you'll never pick up the needed component. So don't take it. A few other stuff here and there, but generally minor.

[JLandan]

I allow most things from any book I own. There are specific exception I list in my house rules. Something from a source I don't have would be on a case-by-case. I wouldn't veto anything off-hand, even if it looks at first to be unusable. I'll look into it and make a ruling, maybe even post it here and see what people think.

[KyleG]

Here's what I use.

PHB: All OK, but with a few houserules (GWM/SS are now static always-on +2, Sorc gets more spells, Ranger stinks less, etc.)
Xanathar's: All OK
Tasha's: Twilight, Peace, and Scribes are out.

SCAG, EE, AcqInc approval on request (nothing good in AI anyway)
Strixhaven and the new dragon book spells require prior approval. Silvery Barbs will not be approved.
UA requires specific approval, haven't had anyone ask for it anyway.


If I play I ask the DM which books are allowed. If I DM I inform the players which books are allowed and which (if any) restrictions there are. I also follow this info up with what kinds of characters they should make for the campaign and my expectations of them.
Houserules, UA and optional rules should be written down and be available.

I think generally don't count on UA being allowed.

Don't count on homebrew being allowed.

Don't count on setting specific things to be allowed outside their setting.

Notoriously overpowered subclasses tend to get banned, like twillight domain. Same for spells, there is absolutely a risk that your DM will ban Silvery Barbs.


I allow most things from any book I own. There are specific exception I list in my house rules. Something from a source I don't have would be on a case-by-case. I wouldn't veto anything off-hand, even if it looks at first to be unusable. I'll look into it and make a ruling, maybe even post it here and see what people think.

Do any of you have houserule documents you would be willing to share? Im always looking at the scope of houserules people made and whether they match my own thoughts (not implemented as yet) and scope (not wanting to create another whole book or reinvent the wheel).

[J-H]

Sure.

1) Hexblade medium armor proficiency, as well as CHA to-hit and damage with the Blade pact weapon, move from the Hexblade patron to the Blade pact boon.
Blade pact gains proficiency with ONE martial melee weapon only. This makes Blade boon viable for non-Hexblade patrons, and moves any CHA-dependent dips to requiring 3 levels instead of 1.
Hexblade is still the only Warlock with native access to martial weapons (versatility) or shields.

2) Sorcerers get 2 thematically appropriate spells known added to their list automatically, at spell levels 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, as with Aberrant Mind and Clockwork subclasses. I have a list, I've posted it a few time. There have been several threads on the topic in the last few months.

3) Rangers get their Proficiency Bonus added to damage rolls against their favored enemies, starting at level 1. The level 20 capstone applies to all attack rolls against their favored enemies, not just once per turn.

4) Dragonborn breath weapons do (Proficiency Bonus) x d8 damage and can be used once per Constitution Modifier per long rest. This helps it not be overshadowed by cantrips, and gives the Dragonborn the ability to use it slightly more often.

5) Tasha's optional class features are approved.

6) Everyone gets a 4th attunement slot at level 11, and a 5th at level 20.

7) If you go to 0 or get insta-killed (bypassing 0 hp) and raised, you gain 1 level of exhaustion.

8) Berserker barbarians get Frenzy once per day with no consequence; the exhaustion penalties only get added with a 2nd and beyond Frenzy.

9) Attacking while jumping/falling from height: Make an acrobatics check and an attack roll, both against the target's AC.
If both hit, the target takes damage from the attack, and half the falling damage.
If the acrobatics check hits but the attack roll doesn't, they split falling damage but the attack misses.
If the acrobatics check misses but the attack roll hits, the attacker takes the falling damage but manages to stab(slash/bludgeon) his opponent right before hitting the ground.
I had to adjudicate this a couple of times, so I wrote out my process.

10) Tasha's rules for making all the races boring are out.

11) Eldritch Knights may change the Evocation school out for one other school of their choice. (Notable picks: Necromancy for debuffs, Illusion for miss chances, Transmutation for self-buffs)

12) No Scribe school wizard, Peace Cleric, or Twilight Cleric. Tasha's subclasses subject to approval.

13) Using "An Updated View on Necromancy" (DM's guild) for Necromancer wizards. It's better. They can dedicate a spell slot to a single more powerful minion instead of being stuck with a ton of zombies and skeles.

14) No flanking. Big crits: Crits are max damage w/ modifiers + normal rolled damage.

15) Soulknife blades stay manifested, and thus can be used for OAs and to gain the benefits of the TWF feat; Feat: Improved Soul Blade: Your blade gains an enhancement bonus equal to PB/2 (rounded down).

16) 4 Element monks get 2 disciplines every time the PHB says they get 1. They get free discipline uses equal to their Proficiency Bonus, recharging upon Long Rest.

17) Sharpshooter and GWM give a flat always-on +2 damage bonus to the respective weapon types. No -5/+10.

ALLOWED CONTENT GENERAL NOTES:
-Character creation is 27 point buy.
-Tasha's optional class features are activated.
-Tasha's optional racial rules are not in play.
-Tasha's subclasses subject to approval (glares at Scribe, Twilight, and Peace)
-Necromancers use this instead of the PHB version:
https://www.dmsguild.com/product/204466/An-Updated-View-On-Necromancy
-Spells from Strixhaven & Fizban's are by approval only.

[Dark.Revenant]

Sure.

I take it you've committed to disallowing races released post-Tasha?

[J-H]

Species choice is always dictated by the campaign, as I and the DMs I know IRL are not a big fan of "kitchen sink 40 sapient playable races" as a coherent campaign environment that can easily be internally consistent.
I think since Tasha's we've gotten 3 Ravenloft templates, rabbit and owl people who are extremely unlikely to ever fit anything I'd set up, and a revised dragonborn. I haven't really been keeping track of what's in books that I'm not interested in. The next game I have queued up to run after my current ones finish a year or so from now will probably have Dhampir as an option, but none of the others are likely to fit in.

[stoutstien]

I don't really use the source of content as a factor if I want it in a game or not. The only exception is critical roles content because I don't own the books but even then it's a soft ban. Not like there's any rhyme or reason to the relative balance of content from one source to the other.

[Pildion]

How common is it to accept sources beyond phb, and maybe Bolo/Tasha? In 3.5 you had to specify acceptable sources for obvious reasons, and I should just ask the dm, but don't have their contact info.

I'm working on a wizard and found two spells I like, but worried I'm wasting my time on them.

Healing Elixir from UA36.
Silvery Barbs from Strixhaven.

Are either of these sources in common use like say the Complete Series was? Closer to Dragon Magazine content, or perhaps even unofficial third party?

I normally roll with anything WoTC has officially released and then any UA I'll look over myself. I generally don't allow for homebrew.

[KorvinStarmast]

However, that said, most DMs appear to accept the core books - PHB, Xanathar's, Tasha's - Tasha's isn't core. (Strictly speaking, neither is Xanathar's). But I understand what AL has chosen to do. (And it's a good business decision from the WoTC perspective).


Some folks won't allow UA at all since they figure it hasn't been playtested and there is likely a reason why it hasn't been published. My experience with UA at table is mostly on the down side.


Some DMs will approve content outside their usual sources on a case by case basis and other DMs are fine with any content at all but my impression is that these folks would be in a minority since almost all DMs impose some sort of constraints on sources. Yeah.

With UA and strixhaven content, unless the game is set in Strixhaven and the DM is open to UA, then the odds of neither being accepted are fairly high. Strixhaven stuff isn't an option at my table, for example.

The bottom line is wait until the next session, ask the DM, and have a backup plan if they say No. Great advice.

There's no source I won't at least look at whether it's first or third party, but I'll veto stuff from any source - including the PHB. Yep. (No tiefling PCs is my restriction).

Species choice is always dictated by the campaign, as I and the DMs I know IRL are not a big fan of "kitchen sink 40 sapient playable races" as a coherent campaign environment that can easily be internally consistent. Feel similarly.

and a revised dragonborn.
I am a fan, even as one of them "I don't like bloat" kinda guys.

Most things in Xanathar's I am good with.
Most of SCAG I am good with.
Tasha's on a case by case basis.
Volo's is a case by case, let's talk about it.

[Burley]

Our table generally functions under "If its on the DM's D&DBeyond, it's okay. Also, if you can bring the book, its okay."

[Keravath]

Sure.

6) Everyone gets a 4th attunement slot at level 11, and a 5th at level 20.



I really liked all your house rules except possibly this one - though it doesn't come online until later. I think the 3 attuned item limit is intended to encourage characters to make choices and to limit power creep. If they have more item options available but no attunement slots left then they can swap them out in an hour if they need it.

Also, one of the key benefits of the artificer class is the increased attunement slots. The increased availability of magic items for the class compensates for some of their other limitations. Did you change the artificer features to adjust for the increased attunement slots for everyone or do you not use the artificer so it isn't an issue?

[Keravath]

Tasha's isn't core. (Strictly speaking, neither is Xanathar's). But I understand what AL has chosen to do. (And it's a good business decision from the WoTC perspective).



Absolutely true :) .. the only really core book is the PHB. However, I find most DMs are fairly readily accepting of Xanathar and Tasha content in their games (assuming they have the books) with a few particular exceptions (eg Twilight and Peace clerics) that may or may not be an issue to some DMs.

[J-H]

Yes, the artificer gets additional attunement slots. There's a minor effect there with the "end attunement to not die" high level ability, but the difference is minimal considering the scope of the effect anyway.

In my current campaign, all of them (except the wielder of a Mind-Blank granting artifact assassin sword that's actually a fragment of a dead god and they're feeding it power by using it to kill enemy clerics) has an attunement slot taken up by the amulet that prevents scrying, so it's close to a wash until they hit higher levels.

When you go up against a faction that has hundreds of priests and temples, and you let survivor, including high-level priests, escape several times... scrying happens. That faction doesn't have a lot of teleportation resources though (not on the cleric list, and they are light on non-priest casters), so they were never able to pull off a Scry and Die against the party before the amulets got made by the party artificer (they're only uncommon, so it was pretty fast).

Caster-types can get by without any attunement slots needed to use their class features. Until Tasha's, there weren't even many items granting boosts to spell save DCs... only attack rolls (Wand of the War Mage). Warrior-types, on the other hand, benefit heavily from attuning to +X weapons that grant bonus damage dice, items that boost attributes (Belt of Giant Strength especially), and tend to also be disproportionately helped by other attunement-requiring items granting flight, wall-walking, etc. to close with the enemy.

High-level characters should be awesome and feel awesome, and going "If I want to fly, I can't use my magic shield of resistance" isn't awesome.

I would be open to exploring a variable # of attunement slots, where non-casters get 5, half-casters get 4, and full casters get 3. Flavor it as thaumaturgic clutter and disruption of the flow of arcane magical energies, etc etc. Nobody's asked about it, and the only full caster the party's had (Life Cleric) was the last one to use up her attunement slots anyway because, as a non-melee cleric wearing adamantine armor, she just didn't really need any magic items.

[Dr. Murgunstrum]

In my pay to play games, I allow all WOTC published rules, and UA, 3rd Party and Homebrew are subject to approval.

That approval is often coupled to ease of implementation, as I run my games through my Beyond library: if the player and I cannot easily implement the content, I’ll usually nix it.

But I’m mindful of balance issues as well: 3rd party spells and caster variants are more likely to be kiboshed, while Martials are more inclined to get some love.

Hasn’t been a major issue, as I keep abreast of the WOTC meta (Silvery Barbs and Dunamancy hasn’t broken any of my games, and I’m about to see how a Twilight cleric fares).

My bigger challenge has been keeping trash classes relevant as higher level play comes on line (Hi Monks and Rangers!), though I often apply the AD&D “gear solves balance issues” approach.

[heavyfuel]

I allow most anything, including UA, Homebrew, and setting specific stuff, as long as the player asks for it beforehand.

5e is simple enough that you can generally look at whatever it is they want in less than 5 minutes and estimate its power-level. If it's too strong, you can say "You can have it, but X is changed" and it's take it or leave it. I'm not going to argue with a player for 30 minutes because they want some OP option. I've done that and don't recommend.

Hell, I do this even for published stuff. Twilight Clerics get "regular" darkvision and the CD no longer heals 1d6. Don't like it? Don't play Twilight Cleric.

My main restriction is stuff that doesn't exist in the world I'm DMing or that is tone-deaf towards the genre. I disallow Warforgeds because they (usually) aren't a thing in my games. I disallow most AI stuff because they're outright silly and I don't run comedy games.

[JLandan]

Do any of you have houserule documents you would be willing to share? Im always looking at the scope of houserules people made and whether they match my own thoughts (not implemented as yet) and scope (not wanting to create another whole book or reinvent the wheel).

This is what I'm currently running:

House Rules

Inspiration Points; No hero points. Instead a new mechanic will be used. Similar to hero points, one point adds a die to any d20 roll; attack, ability check, save, even death saves. A point may also be used to decrease an opponent's save. Multiple targets in an area effect require multiple points; not all targets need be reduced, the player may choose which are.
A character begins play with one point per starting level. A point is gained anytime a character exhibits behavior according to its personality traits, ideal, bond or flaw. The player decides if a point is warranted and gets one on approval from the DM. Abuse will be frowned upon. There is no limit to how many can be held.
The particular die used is variable. It begins at d6. Whenever a 1 is rolled, the die increases to the next die up; up to d12. When a maximum is rolled, the die decreases to the next die down, down to d4.
Only one point may be used per roll with the exception of multiple target save reductions, but multiple points can be used for different rolls in the same turn or round. Inspiration points can only be used to affect d20 die rolls. They are not used to stabilize or auto-succeed death saves.

Powerful Build; This also allows the character to use bigger weapons by decreasing the weight type by one, i.e. a regular weapon is light, a heavy is regular, a large is heavy, a huge is large. This does not affect the one-hand and two-hand requirements, nor any other property.

Druid Beastmaster; This allows a Druid character to have the Ranger archetype Beastmaster as Circle of the Beast. Each feature is available to the Druid at one level lower than the Ranger requirement to match the regular Circle features. The Druid's max CR for the beast is 1/4 of the Druid's class level, minimum CR 1/2.

Ranger Beastmaster; allows the Ranger to have a beast companion max CR equal to 1/4 of the Ranger's class level, minimum CR 1/2.

Sleeping Characters; combat automatically awakens long rest sleepers, no perception check required, but it does impose surprise.

Enlarge/Reduce; x2 weapon dice, not +1d4 for enlarge, but still -1d4 for reduce.

Mithral; -25% weight, acid resistant; armor is +1 max DEX; weapons are +1 damage for slashing and piercing weapons; not inherently magical.

Adamantine; +25% weight, acid resistant; armor has damage reduction against non-magical piercing, slashing, bludgeoning equal to character's proficiency bonus plus any enhancement; weapons have damage bonus equal to proficiency bonus and overcome any damage resistance; not inherently magical.

Charm Spells and Effects; any spell or effect that charms and allows the targets to know it was magically charmed when the duration ends, now does so only if the targets perceived the casting of the spell or imposing the effect.

Sneak Attack Weapons; The weapons useable with Sneak Attack include all weapons with the Finesse property, all Ranged weapons, and simple bludgeoning weapons.

Knock-Out Action; As an action a special attack may be made against a surprised humanoid with any simple bludgeoning weapon, improvised weapon or unarmed strike. Other weapons may be used as improvised weapons. On a successful attack, the target forgoes all damage and makes a Con save (DC 8+proficiency bonus+Str or Dex mod per the weapon used). If the save fails, the target is unconscious for 1+Str or Dex mod rounds.

Clueless; Anytime a character or the party is stuck for a solution, an appropriate saving throw may be attempted. The save may be any of the six abilities, but usually it would be INT or WIS. On a success, the DM will provide the answer, not just a clue. Using this rule exempts or reduces XP at the DM's discretion.

There are others that I'm working on. Boost to basic Human for one.

[Keravath]

Sure.

7) If you go to 0 or get insta-killed (bypassing 0 hp) and raised, you gain 1 level of exhaustion.

15) Soulknife blades stay manifested, and thus can be used for OAs and to gain the benefits of the TWF feat; Feat: Improved Soul Blade: Your blade gains an enhancement bonus equal to PB/2 (rounded down).

17) Sharpshooter and GWM give a flat always-on +2 damage bonus to the respective weapon types. No -5/+10.



A couple of more questions on the house rules.

I assume that the level of exhaustion is given to a character hitting 0 and then healed as well? Is the idea is to reduce yo-yo healing? How well do find it works and does it result in more parties having a cleric or other character capable of substantial healing? Potions aren't a very efficient alternative.

I really like the changes to the Soulknife and the feat.

Do you find that folks still take SS/GWM for the other feat abilities? (ignoring cover with SS is really useful if your DM uses cover for firing into melee or other circumstances). However, +2 damage doesn't seem like much of a motivator otherwise consider the great weapon fighting style is about +1.5 damage for less investment.

[J-H]

I assume that the level of exhaustion is given to a character hitting 0 and then healed as well? Is the idea is to reduce yo-yo healing? How well do find it works and does it result in more parties having a cleric or other character capable of substantial healing? Potions aren't a very efficient alternative.

I really like the changes to the Soulknife and the feat.

Do you find that folks still take SS/GWM for the other feat abilities? (ignoring cover with SS is really useful if your DM uses cover for firing into melee or other circumstances). However, +2 damage doesn't seem like much of a motivator otherwise consider the great weapon fighting style is about +1.5 damage for less investment.
Exhaustion on 0
It's hard as a DM to attack downed PCs (if 3 enemies attack a PC at 0, it's character death with no player ability to stop it).
The level of exhaustion imposes a serious consequence, reducing pop-up healing and incentivizing keeping healthy instead of having everybody but the cleric hover at 10hp and then get it all fixed by Mass Healing Word or whatever. Generally I have only seen one level of exhaustion at a time.

One of my games has a 16th level party, and it's come up a few times. The other's party is 4th level and it's only come up once or twice. I think I've also forgotten it at least once recently that it'd have been relevant.

Soulknife
I did that change because otherwise, the Soulknife class is really just Psychic Rogue with a ranged attack, and 0 incentive to get into melee. Really, you could strip off the mind blade and just call it Psychic Rogue and it'd be an okay subclass. In my view, Astral Self monk is the true Soulknife, summoning its own glowing force-based weapons and armor out of nothing.

-5/+10 feats
My 16th level party has a zealot barbarian who does OMGWTFBBQ levels of damage with reckless attack GWM and 1d6+8 radiant damage on top of everything else, and a kensei monk who recently took Sharpshooter to go with his Cragtop longbow (he's now shooting things at 1200'). I have not made these houserules retroactive, but they will apply to future games I start.

The barbarian is actually wielding said shortsword (+2d12 acid/poison damage is rather good), and still benefits regularly from the GWM bonus attack. I'd say it's probably worth about 1 extra attack every 2-3 turns for 1d6+3wpn+5str+4rage+2d12wpn (average total around 28) damage. I think it's still a useful feat with the change, and I'm not comfortable with how, with a big weapon, he was doing literally double the average damage of any two other party members. Keep in mind that we also use big crits, so +10 damage becomes +20 damage on a crit, and Reckless Attack nearly doubles his crit chance. There were several times around level 9-10 that he cleared 100 damage in a single round with some good dice and a +1 big weapon.

Sharpshooter removes disadvantage for shooting at long range. This campaign is not dungeony (large hexcrawl, plenty of flying enemies) so being able to engage targets without disadvantage at 600', or now with the bow, 1200', is pretty huge. A dashing Aaracokra can only move 100' per round, so that's 12 rounds of fire (24 arrows at +12ish to hit) before they can get into melee range. Even without his +2 Cragtop bow, he'd still have 6 rounds of fire any time he could see the flying human-sized enemies in the distance during the daytime - which, as long as there are no obstacles, is entirely plausible most of the time. He doesn't reliably remember the -5/+10 unless reminded.

The best counter-tactic I've come up for this is having them fly very high overhead and then power-dive @ 500'/rd... but this still takes two rounds, and the tactic requires abandoning their low-flying air-skiffs, so it's not one I've used often.
It's very campaign-dependent (not useful in a cave/dungeon setting), but the ability to fire at targets 600' away without disadvantage is pretty powerful in an open area. I think that exceeds anything a caster can do aside from perhaps a Spell Sniper Eldritch Lance Warlock.

[Witty Username]

Books I own, yes.
Books I don't own, no.
This does have some foibles, for example I generally don't go for digital and some content is more interesting for my players than me so they go out to get it. But the general rule stands.

[herrhauptmann]

Had our session today.
DM is okay with most sources, and in this case, spouse was already arguing for Silvery Barbs. Didn't have much combat, partly from what ended up being a 7 person party; almost all very new.
However, we'll be leveling up to 4 for the next session. What I should've checked previously was the point spread, if it's point buy, it must be like 40 points. Instead we get a spread of stats to allocate: 8,10,12,14,16,18.
Ended up ditching the healing potion spell anyway.

[Kane0]

How common is it to accept sources beyond phb, and maybe Bolo/Tasha? In 3.5 you had to specify acceptable sources for obvious reasons, and I should just ask the dm, but don't have their contact info.

I'm working on a wizard and found two spells I like, but worried I'm wasting my time on them.

Healing Elixer from UA36.
Silvery Barbs from strixhaven.

Are either of these sources in common use like say the Complete Series was? Closer to Dragon Magazine content, or perhaps even unofficial third party?

For future reference, my general experience is:

Core books: perfectly fine, though check what if any DMG variant rules are in play
Volo's, Mordenkainen's, Fizban's: Usually fine
Xanathar's and Tasha's: Should check (especially if DM doesnt own them), but generally safe to assume fine in isolation
Setting specific (Sword Coast/Eberron/Critical Role/Magic the Gathering): err on the side of caution, often but not always OK
Unearthed Arcana/Homebrew: always verify, assume no unless specified otherwise

If something is published in multiple different books always err on the most recent one (Eg Green Flame Blade, Bladesinger, Warforged, Artificer)

And in my experience DMs will operate on either a blacklist or whitelist. Blacklist DMs will be pretty permissive as long as they own the books or can sight stuff they dont, whitelist DMs are more cautious, unfamiliar or have a particular vision in mind for that game.