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Pen & Paper Roleplaying Central => Pen and Paper Roleplaying Games (RPGs) Discussion => Topic started by: Persimmon on February 04, 2023, 08:12:18 PM

Title: RPG Stuff You Buy Without Intending to Play
Post by: Persimmon on February 04, 2023, 08:12:18 PM
So I've generally tried to avoid purchasing RPG games or supplements I don't intend to play or run, but I still find myself intrigued at times by games, supplements, or systems I know I'll likely never run or play.  Sometimes I'm interested in certain mechanics or setting info that I can crib for games I do play.  I also just like reading games sometimes for fun.  Right now I'm seriously considering forking over some serious cash for the behemoth Guide to Glorantha because the setting and details sound fascinating even though I'm not too keen on what I've seen of the Runequest system.  But I think it might just be fun to read for inspiration.

I have the sense that I'm far from alone in this.  So how much RPG stuff do you buy even though you don't intend to play or run it and why?
Title: Re: RPG Stuff You Buy Without Intending to Play
Post by: Danger on February 04, 2023, 08:50:30 PM
Back when (fill in shit old people say), I'd buy a 3rd ed. GURPS supplement book on a near weekly basis just because.  Never regretted these purchases as usually there was something to mine somewhere.

Personally, I'd say "you do you, boo," when it comes to buying additional rpg items, but I'd put in the caveat that really, really, really try to hew your purchases close to the game(s) that you are actually using/playing just in terms of saving money;  I blew cash on so much scattershot whatnot that it still kinda galls me to this day, so there's my bias.

Salud!
Title: Re: RPG Stuff You Buy Without Intending to Play
Post by: Brand55 on February 04, 2023, 09:03:06 PM
There are certainly a number of games I've bought with no intention to play, but I can't say that I bought any of them without some intent to use them in one way or another. Lots of games get mined for ideas or reworked into house rules in other games. A good example might be Stars Without Number. My current group doesn't care for space/sci-fi games, so there's a good chance I'll never run it. Yet I can still get a lot of use from the GM tools inside, and one of its supplements is basically a book of generating adventure outlines. I've used a number of them by changing them into fantasy adventures instead.
Title: Re: RPG Stuff You Buy Without Intending to Play
Post by: Brad on February 04, 2023, 09:07:01 PM
Basically I collect(ed) RPGs since I was first introduced to them in 7th grade science class. From that time onward, I bought probably everything that looked interesting, with Schick's Heroic Worlds being pretty much my bible. I didn't have much money as a kid, so whenever I saw cool ads at the comic book store for stuff I'd mentally add it to the list of things I wanted to own someday. Bree for MERP (saw an ad in Space Gamer circa 1988 or something) is STILL on the list! Looking for a copy under a billion dollars...anyway, I seriously collected tons and tons of stuff. However, what I played was vastly more limited in scope: D&D, AD&D when I could finally afford it, some GURPS, Palladium Fantasy, Robotech, TMNT, Rifts, DC Heroes, Marvel Super Heroes, Star Wars (my favorite RPG of all time), Champions, Villains and Vigilantes, Chivalry and Sorcery, MERP, Shadowrun, and a few other games, mostly obscure FGU titles (I'm a sucker for overcomplex games, probably due to my Starfleet Battles proclivities).

Fast forward a few years, I finally get all the Traveller books I've been wanting forever. Played it a ton, great game. But that was about it, honestly. Also played a massive amount of D&D 3.X when it came out, but that ship has sailed, done with those newer systems. Same with 5th edition. I play or have played regularly C&C, a variety of similar OSR-type games such as Labyrinth Lord, and other D&D clones, but that's all stuff close enough to the old games as to be indiscernible. FINALLY was able to get The Fantasy Trip, and even got the massive Kickstarter set...and it sat on a shelf. I will probably never play it; why would I when I can play GURPS which is close enough and arguably a more refined version. I kept getting stuff I wanted, like a coffee table Nobilis book, but it sat on a shelf. Multiple copies of DCC (I like it, played it a few times, done with it), Mutant Crawl Classics (Kickstarter, sold it a month later), countless other games. Last year I decided I was done collecting and decided to pare down my library to stuff I actually play or will play, or things that had some sentimental value for me. Well, I took about 30 boxes of stuff to NTRPGCon last summer and donated it all. Complete set of D&D 3.X outside of one or two books, stuff like that. Box after box. Everquest D20! Yeah that was badass when I bought it, and I literally browsed it, put it on a shelf. World of Warcraft D20! Same thing. Shadowrun 5th edition! Goodbye. Etc., etc. Just countless copies of stuff I had spent the better part of almost 30 years collecting I gave away because I literally do not give a fuck anymore. I just don't.

It really wasn't an issue of space (last summer I spent $10k to redo the downstairs with built-ins so plenty of bookshelves now), but more like looking at stuff thinking, why did I even buy this in the first place? Will I EVER play 4th edition D&D? Nope. In fact, that game annoyed me to no end, so good riddance. Now there are a few things that I will never play but sort of just NEED, like my complete set of Thieves Guild. I remember seeing those ads way back when and when I look on the shelf and see all those books, it reminds me of why I got into this hobby in the first place, so they stay forever. But Hackmaster 4th edition is starting to look like it takes up a bit too much space. Same with HERO 6th. And countless other games. The purge part deux might happen again this summer, and I'll eliminate another couple hundred books, but every time it feels good. Yes, I actually was thinking about the Everquest game a few months ago, then I looked at the PDF I have and said, yeah...no thanks.

Sorry for this rambling post, but your question made me reflect on the past year and getting rid of what has been a major part of my life for some time. It's somewhat cathartic to remember WHY I decided to get rid of so much stuff instead of hoarding it and never playing it. I honestly don't think there is any value of having toys or games or things of that nature and never using them. In fact, I am becoming to realize it's actually bad. I bought Magic Realm a few years ago because I always thought it looked neat and it's sat on my shelf ever since. When I look at it I get angry because I WANT to play it, and yet I don't. If I didn't own it I would romanticize about it and probably think about buying it, but now I am just resentful of being lazy and not using the game, if that makes sense. Expunging so many games has actually made me play a lot more than I have in years simply because I have less options and thus can focus on the game and not the fantasy in my head of playing alleged games. I'm going to run Palladium FRP soon simply because I have so many less fantasy options on my shelf, and I actually like that game a lot compared to some crap like Numenera (adios!)

So yeah, I am done collecting outside of a few things. Mostly crap from the 70s.
Title: Re: RPG Stuff You Buy Without Intending to Play
Post by: Eric Diaz on February 04, 2023, 09:11:05 PM
Quote from: Persimmon on February 04, 2023, 08:12:18 PM
So I've generally tried to avoid purchasing RPG games or supplements I don't intend to play or run, but I still find myself intrigued at times by games, supplements, or systems I know I'll likely never run or play.  Sometimes I'm interested in certain mechanics or setting info that I can crib for games I do play.  I also just like reading games sometimes for fun.  Right now I'm seriously considering forking over some serious cash for the behemoth Guide to Glorantha because the setting and details sound fascinating even though I'm not too keen on what I've seen of the Runequest system.  But I think it might just be fun to read for inspiration.

I have the sense that I'm far from alone in this.  So how much RPG stuff do you buy even though you don't intend to play or run it and why?

I've been better at avoiding impulse buys lately, but of the thousands of RPGs in my HD, I've browsed about 10% for more than a few minutes (which I use for inspriation), read about 1% from cover to cover, and actually played about 0.1%.

Even stuff I own in print - I bought half a dozen 5e campaigns, played one and a half, and no longer play 5e.
Title: Re: RPG Stuff You Buy Without Intending to Play
Post by: Bruwulf on February 04, 2023, 09:24:47 PM
I have enough books at this point I don't need books, I've got too many - if there is such a thing  - as it is. These days I don't buy books "just because".

In the past...

I've got a copy of In Nomine, the Big White Book, that I bought basically because EVERYONE WOULDN'T SHUT UP ABOUT IT for a while.  In no way is it even remotely my 'jam', I'll never use it, but I just hate to get rid of it, for... some reason. I've got a copy of the REIGN: Enchiridion that I backed on Kickstarter for about the same reason.

I've got a copy of Burning Wheel: Gold Edition that I bought because I was feeling very pretentious at the time.
Title: Re: RPG Stuff You Buy Without Intending to Play
Post by: Brad on February 04, 2023, 09:27:25 PM
Quote from: Bruwulf on February 04, 2023, 09:24:47 PMIn Nomine

That's one of the few books I have on the shelf I won't get rid of, regardless if I play it or not. Just so many good ideas...and it's originally a French game, so I have to keep it. I was obsessed with French RPGs for a while, going so far as to ask some dudes on the internet who lived in Paris to send me a copy of Scales. Never worked out, still looking for that.
Title: Warhammer stuff
Post by: Ruprecht on February 04, 2023, 09:32:59 PM
Fantasy battles and armies splatbooks. I'm never gonna play Warhammer Fantasy Battles but the fluff they write for the different factions is great stuff. I also found a ton of the splat books in the $1 sale pile at my local, so that was a factor.
Title: Re: RPG Stuff You Buy Without Intending to Play
Post by: Persimmon on February 04, 2023, 11:28:02 PM
Fun hearing these various responses. 

I've actually also done quite a bit or purging and swapping the past few years.  I had nearly the complete run of Warhammer FRP 2e and sold the whole collection to one guy on the Internet.  Also sold all my Cthulhu 5e-6e because I was no longer playing it.  More recently I've bought and flipped or traded a lot of stuff I either knew I wouldn't use or wouldn't use again, mostly due to lack of space.  Sometimes those damn Kickstarters take so long that I lose interest and/or am no longer playing the game by the time I get the stuff.  So I'm trying to be more selective in what I back as well.  Certainly no more unproven creators, not that I backed many of those anyhow.  I'm also leery of those KS that roll out too many add-ons because that usually just means delays.
Title: Re: RPG Stuff You Buy Without Intending to Play
Post by: I on February 05, 2023, 12:23:00 AM
The answer is, "Lots and lots of it."  FFG's Warhammer 40K RPG stuff is a perfect example.  I think those games are ridiculously over-complicated and I'd never run them, but they are very well done and I really enjoy reading them just for the background info, the excellent art, etc.  They take up pretty much an entire bookshelf.  If I get pleasure out of owning and reading a game that I never play, I still don't consider that money wasted.  Like,  I do intend to run "Beyond the Mountains of Madness" for Call of Cthulhu one day, but if I never get around to it I don't much care -- I've gotten so much enjoyment out of reading that supplement, it's paid for itself several times over AFAIC.  Of course, some things I've bought and never played,  but I keep them because they can be mined for resources to fuel other games.
Title: Re: RPG Stuff You Buy Without Intending to Play
Post by: Grognard GM on February 05, 2023, 12:26:52 AM
Quote from: Bruwulf on February 04, 2023, 09:24:47 PMI've got a copy of In Nomine, the Big White Book, that I bought basically because EVERYONE WOULDN'T SHUT UP ABOUT IT for a while.  In no way is it even remotely my 'jam', I'll never use it, but I just hate to get rid of it, for... some reason.

I wish I'd never played In Nomine.

Not because it's a bad game, but one of my friend's had his own apartment, so we got to do gaming weekends. But his place, his rules, and he only ever wanted to cycle Star Wars D6, Vampire: Dark Ages, and In Nomine, every week, for years. I got so burned out on having to play and GM IN Nomine every week, it's mere name gives me 'nam flashbacks.
Title: Re: RPG Stuff You Buy Without Intending to Play
Post by: Grognard GM on February 05, 2023, 12:28:31 AM
For me personally, I intend to play or run every book I buy.

I don't, obviously, but I always delude myself with honeyed whispers.
Title: Re: RPG Stuff You Buy Without Intending to Play
Post by: Fheredin on February 05, 2023, 08:01:05 AM
Genesys.

I will frequently read and mine RPG systems for parts which I have no intention of running as written in the book. I wouldn't say that this is unhealthy, but I also think that you should only have 2-3 reverse engineering reads at a time, and unless you have a very large bookshelf in your gaming room, consider going digital to save on clutter.
Title: Re: RPG Stuff You Buy Without Intending to Play
Post by: Steven Mitchell on February 05, 2023, 08:41:29 AM
Much younger me used to buy things because I could get a deal on them, then try to find a way to use them.  This is probably a leftover from the even younger me that couldn't afford to buy some of the things I would most definitely have used.

For some time now, I seldom buy things unless there is a strong possibility that it will at least make the top 5 list for consideration of what to run next.  Some of those won't actually get run, or will even get pushed down the list later, but you can't learn everything you need to know about some games from reviews.  There's been a couple of instances where I had to lay out some cash to get something later when it made the cut, that would have been easier and cheaper if bought at launch, but I've saved a lot more money this way than I've lost.

The exceptions are the occasional game I buy to support the author, who has in the past or is likely in the future to produce something I will use, even if the current product isn't.

I now own less games than I did 15 years ago.  I have a set, sizable space for all the games that I own, still with some room to grow, but nothing gets bought without a space.  There is room to grow because of all the culling.  I do keep a handful of books that I don't particularly like as reminders and examples of how not to do things, when I'm writing my own rules.  Some games were more educational than fun in the long run, but that does have a kind of value. :D

Title: Re: RPG Stuff You Buy Without Intending to Play
Post by: weirdguy564 on February 05, 2023, 08:48:48 AM
I bought nearly every Jovian Chronicles book, every Heavy Gear book, a pile of GURPS books, a couple ShadowRun and Cyberpunk books, and many Star Wars D6 books including all three main books.

I even own the 3.5 D&D player handbook, Dragonlance, and Forgotten Realms books. 

This week my Dragon Warriors rulebook I had printed on demand arrived.  Previously, I bought Basic Fantasy, as well as it's gear book and combat options book in printed form.

And what do they all have in common?

They're all games I've never played.  With my current situation they will never get played. 

I am ok with this.  All of them have a reason I own them.  Some are because I love the setting, but not the rules.  Others are for adventure ideas.  And all of them are for fun. 

I think the term is called being a collector. 
Title: Re: RPG Stuff You Buy Without Intending to Play
Post by: zircher on February 05, 2023, 01:24:11 PM
One of the reasons that I have jumped on the solo bandwagon is to play games in my library that I could not find a group for.
Title: Re: RPG Stuff You Buy Without Intending to Play
Post by: Cathode Ray on February 05, 2023, 02:02:14 PM
I have a lot of combat games that I intend to play, but don't have the time.
Title: Re: RPG Stuff You Buy Without Intending to Play
Post by: Mishihari on February 05, 2023, 03:59:12 PM
Looking at my gaming bookshelf, I only see a few there that I bought with no intent of playing.  Blue Planet has an intriguing very well developed setting.  Ars Magic, has a great magic system, if you have players that are willing to put a ton of time into it.  Sadly, I don't.  Shadowrun is just fun to read.  I quite like the setting and the shadowtalk sidebars on the early book were very entertaining.  There was a gear book with a selective sound canceller in it, for listening to a target's conversation amid construction noise and the like.  One of the quotes there was from a biker gang looking guy:  "I set these babies to filter my old lady's nagging while I watched the game.  Two heartfelt thumbs up!"  LOL
Title: Re: RPG Stuff You Buy Without Intending to Play
Post by: Bruwulf on February 05, 2023, 04:08:32 PM
I suppose I could include Ars Magica. But it's not that I don't intend to run it... I just know there's zero chance I'll ever find a group to.
Title: Re: RPG Stuff You Buy Without Intending to Play
Post by: ~ on February 05, 2023, 06:09:11 PM
DungeonWorld; I'd mine the setting moves for out of frame world developments, and maybe a few other concepts like "failing forward" and the 2d6 outcome system for skill attempts or wild magic effects

Everthing else so far is way more plausible
Title: Re: RPG Stuff You Buy Without Intending to Play
Post by: Skullking on February 05, 2023, 07:59:53 PM
I pretty much buy any thing sword and sorcery, which has lead to a hard copy of Blade of the Iron Throne sat on my shelf and a hard copy Swords and Sorcery on its way, neither of which I'll get to play. 
Title: Re: RPG Stuff You Buy Without Intending to Play
Post by: Grognard GM on February 05, 2023, 08:49:46 PM
Quote from: Bruwulf on February 05, 2023, 04:08:32 PM
I suppose I could include Ars Magica. But it's not that I don't intend to run it... I just know there's zero chance I'll ever find a group to.

I was fortunate enough to play a few times at the beginning of the 2000's, sadly nothing before or since. It's a game of real quality.
Title: Re: RPG Stuff You Buy Without Intending to Play
Post by: Jam The MF on February 05, 2023, 09:43:20 PM
Quote from: Grognard GM on February 05, 2023, 08:49:46 PM
Quote from: Bruwulf on February 05, 2023, 04:08:32 PM
I suppose I could include Ars Magica. But it's not that I don't intend to run it... I just know there's zero chance I'll ever find a group to.

I was fortunate enough to play a few times at the beginning of the 2000's, sadly nothing before or since. It's a game of real quality.

It's a shame, you don't have a neighbor running a 3 hour weekly game.  I've heard it's an interesting system?
Title: Re: RPG Stuff You Buy Without Intending to Play
Post by: Jam The MF on February 05, 2023, 10:04:35 PM
My honest answer, is that I know full well I will never truly run most of what I've purchased; by the book.  I try to take inspiration from stuff, and spin something off of it.  I was falling asleep in my recliner last night, with 3 monster manuals in my lap.  Now I'm trying to remember, what I was reading in all 3?  It was Tritons, in Volo's Guide; the Steel Predators, in Mordenkainen's Tome; and something else, in the Monster Manual?  Hmm....  I wonder what the hell i was thinking about doing with those?
Title: Re: RPG Stuff You Buy Without Intending to Play
Post by: Bruwulf on February 05, 2023, 10:15:32 PM
Ars Magica has always been a game that has been quasi-mythical to me. More a theoretical game than an actual game. I adore it, I just can't imagine ever finding enough similarly completely broken-in-the-brain-enough-to-find-Ars-Magica-fun people to play a game, and I've always had this secret inner suspicion that nobody actually plays it.

I know that's not true, but I can't help but feel that way sometimes.
Title: Re: RPG Stuff You Buy Without Intending to Play
Post by: Ratman_tf on February 06, 2023, 01:38:19 AM
Quote from: Persimmon on February 04, 2023, 08:12:18 PM
So I've generally tried to avoid purchasing RPG games or supplements I don't intend to play or run, but I still find myself intrigued at times by games, supplements, or systems I know I'll likely never run or play.  Sometimes I'm interested in certain mechanics or setting info that I can crib for games I do play.  I also just like reading games sometimes for fun.  Right now I'm seriously considering forking over some serious cash for the behemoth Guide to Glorantha because the setting and details sound fascinating even though I'm not too keen on what I've seen of the Runequest system.  But I think it might just be fun to read for inspiration.

I have the sense that I'm far from alone in this.  So how much RPG stuff do you buy even though you don't intend to play or run it and why?

Not too much, but some.
I bought the POD version of Heavy Gear 1st edition to replace the one I lost over the years. While I don't think the system is very good, the setting and art are superb.
I read many of the RIFTS books simply to read them.
I bought Cyberpunk Red and the reprints of the WEG d6 Star Wars books in the hopes that I might get to run/play them someday, but the odds were slim. (Ran Star Wars once a few years ago, haven't gotten to run Red yet.)

I have a stack of gaming books near my bed that I read before going to sleep. I like to have hardcopies for that purpose.
Title: Re: RPG Stuff You Buy Without Intending to Play
Post by: Opaopajr on February 06, 2023, 06:22:03 AM
 :D Someone said In Nomine?  8) Wanna talk about it?
Title: Re: RPG Stuff You Buy Without Intending to Play
Post by: Philotomy Jurament on February 06, 2023, 09:03:41 AM
Quote from: Persimmon on February 04, 2023, 08:12:18 PM
...how much RPG stuff do you buy even though you don't intend to play or run it and why?

I only buy RPG material that I intend to use.
Title: Re: RPG Stuff You Buy Without Intending to Play
Post by: ~ on February 06, 2023, 09:43:04 AM
Quote from: Opaopajr on February 06, 2023, 06:22:03 AM
:D Someone said In Nomine?  8) Wanna talk about it?

I'd like to know more!

Edit:
Just saw the summary, looks like an epic campaign.
Djinis would be an interesting option to add, a faction that plays both sides to win (whenever one of them feels invested enough) or whatever.
Title: Re: RPG Stuff You Buy Without Intending to Play
Post by: Grognard GM on February 06, 2023, 10:32:08 AM
Quote from: Opaopajr on February 06, 2023, 06:22:03 AM
:D Someone said In Nomine?  8) Wanna talk about it?

(https://i.imgflip.com/3rd3xq.jpg)
Title: Re: RPG Stuff You Buy Without Intending to Play
Post by: Grognard GM on February 06, 2023, 10:38:06 AM
Quote from: ClusterFluster on February 06, 2023, 09:43:04 AMJust saw the summary, looks like an epic campaign.
Djinis would be an interesting option to add, a faction that plays both sides to win (whenever one of them feels invested enough) or whatever.

In setting, the mythical creatures were genocided by one of the Archangels ages ago. Rare examples hide in sort of Limbo space, afraid angels will find them.

Angels and Demons are alpha predators, any Djinn that still survive are too busy hiding under the bed to be a faction.
Title: Re: RPG Stuff You Buy Without Intending to Play
Post by: THE_Leopold on February 06, 2023, 08:14:54 PM
Anything LotFP related. I've run 2 modules out of the dozen plus i bought. They are fun to read and challenging to run.
Title: Re: RPG Stuff You Buy Without Intending to Play
Post by: Iron_Rain on February 06, 2023, 11:23:02 PM
In a rather wholesome update, I bought many RPG books that my groups at the time weren't interested in:

Exalted 3E (core + GM screen)
Rogue Trader (complete collection + 2 extra core books)
Star Wars Saga Edition (complete collection + 1 extra core book)
Ars Magica 5e (nearly complete collection of ~30 books)

As it turns out, I have run games with my son just about late 2018 to current, using all of these systems, starting around age 11 to currently 14. We get a lot of quality time together this way. Each system has been used for at least 4 or 5 months each.

Would you know that my 14 year old son reads my RPG books about non stop?
Title: Re: RPG Stuff You Buy Without Intending to Play
Post by: Danger on February 07, 2023, 06:18:31 PM
Quote from: Iron_Rain on February 06, 2023, 11:23:02 PM
Cool stuff

Awesome on all fronts!  :)
Title: Re: RPG Stuff You Buy Without Intending to Play
Post by: Zachary The First on February 16, 2023, 09:40:34 AM
I'll buy cool campaign settings for inspiration or if I really enjoy the location/world they create. That's more for mining for ideas than anything.

I never ran a campaign in Shadow World, but found the writing (and those maps!) fascinating.
Title: Re: RPG Stuff You Buy Without Intending to Play
Post by: tenbones on February 16, 2023, 05:27:26 PM
I don't buy anything I don't intend to run.

My problem is everything I buy is in direct competition with the things I run that my players want to play. I have *thousands* of dollars worth of FFG Star Wars books - literally all of them. My players love playing it. But *now* they want to play Savage Worlds Star Wars...

I own all the Free League Aliens books. Which I *really* want to run. But pitching them that campaign in lieu of other stuff they want to play is a high bar. Same with Symbaroum.

So I buy stuff. But I do intend on running it. Yet I end up in the same place as people that "collect" RPG's.

I'm an Incoll. Involuntary Collector.
Title: Re: RPG Stuff You Buy Without Intending to Play
Post by: Persimmon on February 16, 2023, 06:49:17 PM
So what initially sparked this question was my interest in that massive two volume Glorantha sourcebook that somebody referenced in another thread.  I checked out a ton of reviews and videos about Runequest, but just doesn't seem like I'll enjoy the mechanics.  Yet I'm still intrigued by the lore and I'm thinking I could potentially just use the setting, particularly with C&C which has several codices based on real-world ancient civs that I could draw upon as well for the Bronze Age feel.  So I've recently sold a bunch of other things that I've used but no longer wanted which will give me the funds to buy the Glorantha books.  Essentially a trade, but I'll mull it over a couple more days.
Title: Re: RPG Stuff You Buy Without Intending to Play
Post by: Jason Coplen on February 17, 2023, 09:50:48 AM
I buy HarnWorld books. It's almost a guilty pleasure when I know I'll never run a game on Harn, yet there are so many ideas to rip off....I mean borrow. Borrow. I borrow heavily. If one castle has this or that going for it I'll make my own version for my game.

I have DMed HarnMaster, but the world...it needs my touches.  ;D
Title: Re: RPG Stuff You Buy Without Intending to Play
Post by: Baron on February 17, 2023, 07:55:37 PM
I buy things believing that I will run them. At one time (in the 1990s) I had basically everything I wanted. Then my collection was stolen. Subsequently I did a lot of soul-searching. I resolved to be very realistic as I slowly replaced things; if it was unlikely that I'd ever run something, I didn't buy it.

Decades went by. Gradually my standards loosened. I still make purchases now and then, but I've got an unmanageably large collection again. Even my hard drive is groaning. As I scan the shelves I know I'll never get around to using most of it, and those purchases were a colossal waste of money. I should really get started unloading stuff, but there's inertia again. Would I get rid of my Guide to Glorantha? Probably not yet. But I would get rid of my Tekumel collection. At least I read, and ran, most of that.

And I still might pick up a few odds and ends...it's a sickness.
Title: Re: RPG Stuff You Buy Without Intending to Play
Post by: ~ on February 17, 2023, 10:20:30 PM
I do tend to but stuff that I hope to play. The regrets, if any, tend to set in later.

I once bought a slew of OD&D adventures just to sell them all off again a few months later. I kick myself now, but it was what I needed to do at that time.

Other than that, I like to do a little research for an overview of the game rules, but first I'll look at a character sheet first so I have something to reference in my mind while I look at stuff like character creation and combat resolution, though I could have been better at reading stuff like time/movement, magic casting, et cet. RPGs are expensive to buy a bunch of core books and settings just to realize that it's not something I'd really enjoy. It's generally how I got some familiarity with OD&D-AD&D-B/X-RC, which is what switched me to the OSR when 5e failed to deliver my ideas of the modularity that I was hoping for (of course their not mind readers, but given what already existed there were clear steps backwards).

Something like Traveller is different. I don't mind buying a bunch of those books, I can dust them off when the right opportunity comes along, and same for any other old-school games in general. Thankfully, the price point of my wish list demanded holding back just long enough to see Mongoose Publishing standing where I don't want to be, so it looks like I will be buying T5 at some point after all. I wonder where all of those complaints about the complexity and bloat of Marc's newest system came from? The game community around a system was never something I worried about for several years, but I was an entirely different person back then.

I don't mind grimdark settings and rules, but even if FATAL is a really playable system, I'd probably avoid having it just for the shock value. I don't care if other people want it, but that's up to them. I'd really need a good reason to have that to mine some ideas for a toned down version where the dial still sits at 11. The gore and banal (statue) nudity being removed from the Diablo 2 remaster is a good case of going too far the opposite way in a world invaded by man-eating demons.

Edit:
Nope, it definitely has bad editing.
Title: Re: RPG Stuff You Buy Without Intending to Play
Post by: Jam The MF on February 18, 2023, 01:36:00 AM
Quote from: ClusterFluster on February 17, 2023, 10:20:30 PM
I do tend to but stuff that I hope to play. The regrets, if any, tend to set in later.

I once bought a slew of OD&D adventures just to sell them all off again a few months later. I kick myself now, but it was what I needed to do at that time.

Other than that, I like to do a little research for an overview of the game rules, but first I'll look at a character sheet first so I have something to reference in my mind while I look at stuff like character creation and combat resolution, though I could have been better at reading stuff like time/movement, magic casting, et cet. RPGs are expensive to buy a bunch of core books and settings just to realize that it's not something I'd really enjoy. It's generally how I got some familiarity with OD&D-AD&D-B/X-RC, which is what switched me to the OSR when 5e failed to deliver my ideas of the modularity that I was hoping for (of course their not mind readers, but given what already existed there were clear steps backwards).

Something like Traveller is different. I don't mind buying a bunch of those books, I can dust them off when the right opportunity comes along, and same for any other old-school games in general. Thankfully, the price point of my wish list demanded holding back just long enough to see Mongoose Publishing standing where I don't want to be, so it looks like I will be buying T5 at some point after all. I wonder where all of those complaints about the complexity and bloat of Marc's newest system came from? The game community around a system was never something I worried about for several years, but I was an entirely different person back then.

I don't mind grimdark settings and rules, but even if FATAL is a really playable system, I'd probably avoid having it just for the shock value. I don't care if other people want it, but that's up to them. I'd really need a good reason to have that to mine some ideas for a toned down version where the dial still sits at 11. The gore and banal (statue) nudity being removed from the Diablo 2 remaster is a good case of going too far the opposite way in a world invaded by man-eating demons.


It would have been nice, if you could have kept a few of those OD&D modules.  Instead of having a total selloff, you could have told yourself you were being "selective"; to help ease the pain of loss, a little.  But, many of us have been there before.....
Title: Re: RPG Stuff You Buy Without Intending to Play
Post by: Persimmon on February 18, 2023, 08:47:14 AM
Quote from: ClusterFluster on February 17, 2023, 10:20:30 PM
I do tend to but stuff that I hope to play. The regrets, if any, tend to set in later.

Other than that, I like to do a little research for an overview of the game rules, but first I'll look at a character sheet first so I have something to reference in my mind while I look at stuff like character creation and combat resolution, though I could have been better at reading stuff like time/movement, magic casting, et cet. RPGs are expensive to buy a bunch of core books and settings just to realize that it's not something I'd really enjoy. It's generally how I got some familiarity with OD&D-AD&D-B/X-RC, which is what switched me to the OSR when 5e failed to deliver my ideas of the modularity that I was hoping for (of course their not mind readers, but given what already existed there were clear steps backwards).


This has become more or less my default means of deciding if I (and my players) will like a game.  If the character sheet is too long or too busy or seems too complex, it generally means the game will be too crunchy for us.  I don't want to be flipping through a 4-5 page character sheet all the time.  Nor do I want every situation to be decided by a dice roll from a raft of skills.
Title: Re: RPG Stuff You Buy Without Intending to Play
Post by: Brad on February 18, 2023, 08:55:47 PM
I am so stupid...I sold some stuff (finally) and cleaned out my closet a bit, and went around and just used that money to buy some HERO 6 books I WILL NEVER USE. I mean, they are interesting to read I suppose. But yeah.
Title: Re: RPG Stuff You Buy Without Intending to Play
Post by: Aglondir on February 19, 2023, 09:12:01 PM
Sometimes it's legit (I'll buy this thing but run it with another system) and other times...  it's LOTR.

How many editions of LOTR do I have to buy before I realize I will never run it, in ANY system?
Title: Re: RPG Stuff You Buy Without Intending to Play
Post by: ~ on February 19, 2023, 09:18:03 PM
Quote from: Grognard GM on February 06, 2023, 10:38:06 AM
Quote from: ClusterFluster on February 06, 2023, 09:43:04 AMJust saw the summary, looks like an epic campaign.
Djinis would be an interesting option to add, a faction that plays both sides to win (whenever one of them feels invested enough) or whatever.

In setting, the mythical creatures were genocided by one of the Archangels ages ago. Rare examples hide in sort of Limbo space, afraid angels will find them.

Angels and Demons are alpha predators, any Djinn that still survive are too busy hiding under the bed to be a faction.

Fair enough, thanks
Title: Re: RPG Stuff You Buy Without Intending to Play
Post by: ~ on February 19, 2023, 09:21:30 PM
Quote from: Persimmon on February 18, 2023, 08:47:14 AM
This has become more or less my default means of deciding if I (and my players) will like a game.  If the character sheet is too long or too busy or seems too complex, it generally means the game will be too crunchy for us.  I don't want to be flipping through a 4-5 page character sheet all the time.  Nor do I want every situation to be decided by a dice roll from a raft of skills.

Exactly, 3 pages should do at most, with all the stats easy to find with a quick glance.
Title: Re: RPG Stuff You Buy Without Intending to Play
Post by: ~ on February 19, 2023, 09:23:38 PM
Quote from: Jam The MF on February 18, 2023, 01:36:00 AM
It would have been nice, if you could have kept a few of those OD&D modules.  Instead of having a total selloff, you could have told yourself you were being "selective"; to help ease the pain of loss, a little.  But, many of us have been there before.....

Yeah, but there were other issues I needed taking care of. Perhaps I'll try again someday.
Title: Re: RPG Stuff You Buy Without Intending to Play
Post by: Persimmon on February 20, 2023, 12:58:54 AM
Quote from: Aglondir on February 19, 2023, 09:12:01 PM
Sometimes it's legit (I'll buy this thing but run it with another system) and other times...  it's LOTR.

How many editions of LOTR do I have to buy before I realize I will never run it, in ANY system?

The only Middle Earth system I've really run is MERP, and I still own pretty much the whole run of the game.  But I've purchased at least something for every other LOTR system and the only one we really even tried to play was TOR 2e and we just didn't like it.  I sold most of the stuff I got from KS, but I still have Ruins of the Lost Realm and the leatherette core book if you're interested....