|
Well, December was a pretty crazy month for me. I mean, not only was there the usual holiday madness, but of course there was RETURN OF THE KING!!!!! If for some bizarre reason you haven't seen this amazing movie yet, get thee to the movie theater! As if the holidays and an incredible movie weren't enough for one month, there's also the fact that I started Horizons (a new MMORPG which Chris Reid should be reviewing in this issue), and it's been consuming my life.
Because of December's massive amounts of insanity, I'm feeling too worn out and lazy to write about world development or other GM stuff this month (the sooner I write this article, the sooner I can play Horizons!). Instead, I shall do an RP-related rant on a subject which many of you will be familiar with. That subject is...
THERE ARE TOO MANY FRICKIN' D&D BOOKS!!!!
Seriously. There are so many D&D books that my favorite gaming store doesn't even carry them all. I was recently perusing the gaming section at Borders when I found the "Races of Faerun" book, which contained some information I was in need of. Rather than shell out $30 to a giant chain store, I waited to buy it from my locally owned gaming shop... Only to find they didn't have it! This isn't exactly a small shop, either. It's bigger than any other gaming store I've ever seen. My guess is that they simply can't afford to carry so many D&D books. I forgive them, because they have almost all of the EarthDawn books (shameless plug: EarthDawn is the best game out there!!!), but it's a sad state of affairs when you can't get a source book for one of the most popular games out there, from a store specializing in such games.
The worst part is, they lure you into the game with really CHEAP core rule books. To play, all you really need is the Player's Handbook. If you want to run a game, you'll also need the Dungeon Master's Guide and the Monster Manual. Each of these books is only $20, a real bargain compared to $25-40 for most other games. However, like any addiction, the costs keep getting higher and higher until you're in over your head!
So, you want to play a psion? Well, you'll need the Psionic's Handbook, for $28.
Looking for an awesome prestige class for your fighter? I guess you'll want to get the Sword and Fist book for fighters and monks, for $20. You can also get a book for rogues/bards, druids/rangers/barbarians, clerics/paladins, sorcerors/wizards, and psions/psychic warriors. All $20 each.
But what if you want to go higher than 20th level? Why, you'll need the Epic Level Handbook! Yours for only $40! Kindly enough, the good folks at Wizards of the Coast have included the DM info and monsters in this book as well.
Have fond memories of playing Planescape? Well, the best you'll get from Third Edition is the Manual of the Planes for $30.
However, if you're a Forgotten Realms junky, they've got you covered. Oh lord, have they got you covered! Forgotten Realms core rule book, $40. Races of Faerun, $30. Monsters of Faerun, $25. Plus a number of other Forgotten Realms manuals that I can't recall the names or prices of off the top of my head.
For the truly evil and truly good, there's the Book of Vile Darkness and Book of Exalted Deeds, each carrying a mature readers label and a price tag of $33. For the martial arts junkies, there's the Oriental Adventures campaign setting for $35 (plus its own set of accessory books!). And of course, who could forget the Dragonlance setting, for fans of the popular books? $40 and it's yours!
This is just the tip of the iceberg, my friends. While browsing amazon.com to verify the prices on these books, I discovered even more D&D books. There's a book just for traps and puzzles. Another one for gear. Yet another one for building fortresses. Monster Manual 2. The Seafarer's Handbook. A Ravenloft line. Several books on gods. Several books with extra playable races. Lots of books of spells. Some of these books aren't even published by Wizards of the Coast! The d20 system is an "open source" gaming system and other gaming companies can publish books for it.
But wait, there's more! Do you feel that the 3rd Edition rules have too many flaws? Well, D&D 3.5 is for you! Each of the three core rule books can be yours for $30 each. It's only a matter of time before they start updating all the other books for 3.5 rules, I fear.
It's easy to spend hundreds and hundreds of dollars on D&D books over the course of time. However, Momma raised me to shop smart, so I have a few tips on how to feed your D&D addiction on a budget!
- Shop on-line. Sites such as amazon.com and walmart.com have RPG source books at bargain prices. You can also sometimes get them used from amazon and eBay. Now, I of course recommend supporting your local game store when you can afford to, but these are the places to go when you need a good deal.
- Used bookstores are our friends! I got my Epic Level Handbook for only $20 at the local used book store. You may have to wade through tons of 2nd Edition books (and this is after figuring out which corner of the store they're hiding the RPGs in), but it's worth it to get the occasional good deal.
- Ask for gift certificates to book stores for the holidays. Granny will think you're enriching your mind with good books, while you're actually using it to buy The Book of Vile Darkness.
- Plan things out with your fellow gamers. While it's good for everyone in the group to have a Player's Handbook, there's no reason for everyone to buy Sword and Fist and Relics and Rituals and whatnot. Coordinate what you're going to buy, then swap books as needed (it's always a good idea to write your name in the book, though. Books change hands so much in our gaming group that it's hard to remember which belongs to who).
- Get a job at the gaming or book store. Can we say... employee discount???
- Far be it from me to suggest doing something illegal and immoral, but I've heard that many of these books are available in PDF form. Of course, the image quality leaves a lot to be desired, and you have to print them up if you want to take them to the game, but they're good to get an idea of if you really want to buy the book. Er, not that I would know. *cough* Changing the subject now...
- Play a game like EarthDawn which has less books. Who cares if half of them are out of print?
- If you have too much time on your hands, you could always convert things from 2nd edition books into 3rd edition rules.
Well, that's it for this month! Have a great 2004 everyone!
|