Quote from: Zachary The FirstThe question(s) is (are):

-Have you culled your book collection recently?  

Not so much recently, over the past two years though, yes, heavily.  I am still trying to cull many more, but basically there is no second hand scene in the UK and I lack the time to list over a hundred books on ebay which is making it surprisingly tricky to accomplish (I'd rather not just throw them in the bin when others might enjoy them).

Quote from: Zachary The First-If so, what sort of books did you get rid of, and which did you keep?

Simple, I asked the following questions?  Have I run this and if so am I likely to want to run it again in consequence?  Do I want to run this and credibly expect to be able to run this?  Has this some nostalgic value that makes it worth keeping regardless?

Essentially, although I am a bibliophile with many shelves of books games to me are manuals, operating texts.  They are tools to be used to deliver a game in play, and as such are not items I buy for the pleasure of reading them.  If they haven't seen play and aren't likely to see play then save for a very few exceptions (much like Droog's actually) then they go.

Quote from: Zachary The First-Have your purchasing habits for RPGs changed in the past year or few years?  If so, what was the impetus behind it?

I purchase far less.  A few years ago I bought a copy of Gurps Far Traders, when I got home I discovered I already owned it and had forgotten.  I created a database of rpgs I owned to avoid that happening again, and entered as a field whether each book had seen use in actual play or not.

I hadn't realised how few had, when I saw that fewer than one in ten saw actual play (including one shots), I decided to cull my collection.  As I did so, I came to feel that the very term collection is problematic, games are for play, I am not a collector.

Quote from: Zachary The First-Are you more likely to buy a book/product now for source material, new rules, or for a complete RPG?

Complete rpg.  I can use BRP for most anything so it has to bring something to the party that for me BRP does not do well.

Quote from: Zachary The First-What is the percentage of RPG books you purchase that you'd say you get at least SOME use out of?

Historically less than one in ten, nowadays still less than 50% I suspect.  I have a long way to go yet and intend to cull many more, if I can find somewhere to offload them to.

Quote from: RPGPunditBullshit. I run shitloads of campaigns, and I have long since made it a policy to never get rid of any gaming book, regardless of how little I think I'll use it. I learned one too many times the hard way that getting rid of gaming books always comes back to bite you in the ass, sooner or later.

And whether you get the impulse to play or not has nothing to do with whether you have a lot of accumulated books or not.

RPGPundit

I found that having loads of books I didn't play rather depressed me, and made it harder to come up with ideas as I got distracted by the range of system options instead of thinking about what would happen in actual play.

Also, I've not once regretted getting rid of a single book I decided to get rid of (though I have regretted losing those I left in storage with my parents which I had no intention of getting rid of but which they helpfully disposed of anyway).

I find when speaking of human experience, it is frequently useful to speak of one's own, it is generally not useful to extrapolate from that and then to speak for others.

Quote from: JohnnyWannabeI like books. Period. So all the books in my collection, including RPG books, are here to stay.

I do, however, buy a lot less RPG-related books than I did say 10 years ago.

QFT.

Same here. I just don't see any RPG books that I want to buy anymore. The only thing I might pick up is the upcoming Warhammer 40k RPG (mostly so that I can rip out all the fluff and items to use in another system).

Other than that, the only things I would pick up are old game books that I don't have.

Quote from: SettThe one thing I know is:

The best scratch-build-modellers have the largest collection of commercial plastic model kits.

I think the same is true for RPGs.

Quote from: JohnnyWannabeI like books. Period. So all the books in my collection, including RPG books, are here to stay.

Quote from: RPGPunditAnd whether you get the impulse to play or not has nothing to do with whether you have a lot of accumulated books or not.

I agree with the above posts. I've got no problem, though, if some of you want to cull some books in my general direction. I might have things worth trading (likely the only way I'll willingly be rid of them). Actually, I've got little money after the Christmas season and may seek trading for the first time evar. We'll see.

In terms of my buying habits, I'm a bit of a system buff and a combat monster. Currently hankering for something relatively simple/flexible/non-gimmicky and on the gritty side. I'm currently going through a phase where I'm more into brand new games than sourcebooks and supplements. Still just looking for my go-to game.

Also, what's a guy got to do to find decent pre-published adventures?

I'm planning on lining my coffin with my RPG books. Maybe I'll finally get around to playing Alternity.

Quote from: The Evil DMI'm planning on lining my coffin with my RPG books.

If your collection grows too large, perhaps they can be your cause of death, too, when your shelves collapse and bury you.  Heck, your family could save money on the coffin if they just left you buried beneath the books.

!i!

Quote from: Ian AbsentiaIf your collection grows too large, perhaps they can be your cause of death, too, when your shelves collapse and bury you.  Heck, your family could save money on the coffin if they just left you buried beneath the books.

!i!

they would find me under a pile of books. the only means of identyfying me would be one arm in view, holding a bunch of 6-sided dice.

"He must have been looking for a GURPS supplement."

Quote from: The Evil DMMaybe I'll finally get around to playing Alternity.

I ran Dark*Matter a few times.  It was a pretty cool game.  Very clunky by today's standards, though.