Custom Creations in a Game?

[Quertus]

Great topic! I hadn't given it as much thought as it deserves. Lets see...

As the ''rules'' just say the custom things can be made, I'm not sure if the edition matters.

This actually matters quite a bit, as the system often has built in assumptions about how knowledge works, let alone differing systems for character growth.

This won't be the first time that I've said this, but I suspect that you're playing a system that doesn't match your style very well.

1. Do players automatically get access to every custom thing the DM creates? This is a weird question for me, but some players(often, but not always the optimizing roll players) think (''demand'') that before the game even starts that the DM must give all the players full write ups of any custom creations.

The more reasonable players say that spells, magic items, and monsters and mundane custom items can be unknown to the players, but anything else such as feats or classes must be told in detail before the game starts.

So, some players think it's ok for a spellcaster to have a custom made spell or magic item. I guess with the ''in game'' idea that the character can make a spell or item and not tell or share it with anyone. But no one can ''make a feat'', so any feat is know and available to everyone.

As DM I do the more: Players only know about Custom Creations I choose to tell them about. The rest they don't know about, at least until they encounter them in the game. The reasonable players think it's ok for say a Fire Cult to have a secret custom spell, but oddly will say they can't have a secret feat, alternative class feature, or class. Also I don't think the players should just get the rules text of any Custom Creation, unless they gain it in the game. So their characters might encounter the Fire Cult and see the 'Claws of Fire'' spell, but they don't immediately get the rule write up of the spell.

This allows Custom Creations to be another form of treasure. It's something a character must find to be able to use. And this provides a good motivation to adventure. But even doing it the more reasoanable player way would mean no 'treasure like feats', for example.

In D&D 3e, because of builds and trap options and such, yes, there is the expectation that you should either present all custom content* up front, or allow your players to rebuild their characters at will, to utilize this content.

Honestly, what's cooler than having a player build a character around the custom content you made?

In systems that aren't as horrible at locking you into a build as 3e, you might have more leeway to have "treasure feats".

* any that could affect character builds. Which, given gear dependency, prohibited schools, etc, is arguable everything. But definitely feats and prestige classes.

2.Do Players all ways get full Rule Write Ups of Custom Creations This is related to question one. A lot of players seem to think that ''the player'' should know everything ''in the rules'', and they define ''the rules'' as ''whatever they want to know at any moment''. So they think the players should be given the full rules write up text of any custom creation, just like it would be in a rule book. The player does not know when or where in the game it will be used, but they demand to have all the information.

As DM, I'd say all Custom Creations are unknown to a player, unless their character gains it somehow in the game. And a lot of them will remain unknown to the players forever. And that players can encounter something in the game, without knowing the full write up of it.

The demand for the 'full write up'' often feels like a cheep optimizer roll player exploit where they just want to ''use the rules to find an exploit or loophole''. It also ruins any mystery or surprise as it high lights the ''you will encounter this custom creation soon in the game''. This also has the idea that the player will ''pretend'' like the character does not know all the information the player does. So when the player is given the write up of the Spider Sphere of Doom, and then their character encounters ''a large white sphere with black spider designs '' they will have their character act like they don't know what it is. Sometimes. More often then not though they will ''for no reason'' prepare and counter the effects they know are coming as they read the write up. So they will be like ''oh, my character just casts delay poisons for no reason as soon as they see the sphere, as the player knows it summons spiders.

Most games, or at least most of my games, also use lots of rule books. I only ban a couple of them. So that is a ton of things the players are ''free to look up and know about'' (but not at the table, during a game). But the mass of things hides them and does not highlight them, with like two dozen books and hundreds of magic items, few players can remember even a quarter of them. But when the DM hands you a Custom Creation write up, it's a huge ''easy button''.

Well, this one's tricky. Personally, I prefer the 2e air of mystery, and actually using your brain and elbow grease to figure out what things are / do, over the 3e knowledge check mindset. But, in the 3e that you appear to be playing, characters with appropriate knowledges should just know stuff. Those without such knowledge... should probably be given write ups after the fact. What's cooler than having your custom content reused in someone else's game? That, and I prefer to run my characters in multiple games in the first place.

3.Do Players get to approve Custom Creations? This really comes only from the Hostile Adversarial Roll Players. They want to ''check the DM'' and make sure the DM is following the rules and playing right (in their view). And if they, and the other players, don't like something, they think they should be able to veto it.

I would never allow this, and would not even game with such a person.

Well, when you declare something with the stats of an ancient dragon to be CR 1, yes, there's a problem. When you declare something better than a vorpal blade to be worth 2 copper, there's a problem. And I've had plenty of DMs who really were this bad.

Even I can occasionally make calls on custom prices or custom CR that merit review. Having skilled players who are willing to help keep the world consistent and reasonable is a good thing.

Being willing to work with your players makes the game much better.

Still, I'm struggling to come up with anything that would make any sense for the players to outright veto... EDIT: a wizard healing spell in the enchantment school, maybe?

4.How much Custom Creations is too much?

Some players complain that ''we are all playing the same game'' or some nonsense like that, and that means everything in the game must be known to all and by the book. They want to play only the boring, by the book game. Over and over and over and over again. So they say Custom Creations should be ''rare''.

Sadly, lots of otherwise good players also think this...for reasons few can explain..other then the exploiting the rules or such.

And ''rare'' can be ''a couple''(like three?) a game to ''once in a while''(like only one every 2-3 games).

As DM, I think any amount is great and fine. I don't think I've ever done a ''100%'' game, but I've done like ''a goblin wizard with all Custom Spells''.

So, how does everyone else do it?

Quertus invented more custom sensory / detect / information gathering spells than there are published spells in core. I personally love custom / puzzle monsters. There is no such thing as too much.

However, things that are common in your world, and things that are common knowledge in your world, should be "published" to the players in some fashion, to represent their knowledge of these things.