Mercurius
Legend
I've been hearing quite an outcry about the cost of D&D 5E which, if we count the three core rulebooks, turns out to be $150 list price (although, more realistically, it will end up costing somewhere in the vicinity of $100-120 on Amazon). Let's take a look at that.
First of all, $150 is about how much money one might spend taking their partner out to dinner or a show, and a few drinks. One night's entertainment. I don't play video games but don't they cost about $50 a piece? That's three video games. $150 is also about three months of a smartphone or a month of Comcast Triple Play. Or it is about 7-8 times at the movie - a ticket, popcorn, and a soda.
OK, so now that we've seen that $150 for hundreds if not thousands of entertainment is good value, let's compare it to other RPGs. We should start with Pathfinder, because it is the most comparable game.
So what is Pathfinder's equivalent to the Holy Trinity? Well it is hard to say. On one hand, the core rulebook is enough to play - but I would say that it includes just about eveything the PHB will have (as far as we can tell), plus a good chunk of the DMG. But it doesn't have a chunk of what the DMG will (allegedly) include--which seems more along the lines of the Gamemastery Guide--nor does it have the monsters. So to get the full span of the Holy Trinity in Pathfinder, you have to buy the core rulebook ($50), the Gamemastery Guide ($40) and at least one Bestiary ($40) - which is $130. Factor in a bit of five-year inflation (the core rulebook and Bestiary came out in 2009, and the GG in 2010), and we're talking more like $140-145.
OK, so the total package is similar in cost.
But to be fair, Pathfinder offers a more complete core rulebook - at least as far as we can tell. We can only assume tha the PHB will not include any rules for DMing or magic items, although we don't know for sure. So with Pathfinder you can get away with just having the core book and the Bestiary, which is $90, or inflated to $100 - the same amount as the 5E PHB and MM. But again, it remains to be seen if the game is complete without the DMG, or how complete. Either way, the difference between the two--if any--isn't that much to inspire too much nerdrage (and if it does, I'm guessing that it is really transferred from some other object of rage).
Now other RPGs have much lower start-up costs, although of course you're usually getting much less material to play with as well. But this isn't new for D&D, nor is it any different than Pathfinder - so if you're pissed off with WotC then you should be pissed off with Paizo, and if you're pissed off with both then maybe another game is in order.
So there we have it. Is 5E over-priced? Not really - not for what you're getting in terms of entertainment value, nor in relation to other RPGs. It is probably on the upper end of cost - maybe even the most expensive (although let's not talk about miniature wargaming) - but this is simply how the market works; Rolex gets to inflate the prices of their watches not only because they're great timepieces (they are) but because they're Rolex, and D&D is the Rolex of the RPG world.
So let it go and move on...and enjoy the excitement of a new edition coming out!
First of all, $150 is about how much money one might spend taking their partner out to dinner or a show, and a few drinks. One night's entertainment. I don't play video games but don't they cost about $50 a piece? That's three video games. $150 is also about three months of a smartphone or a month of Comcast Triple Play. Or it is about 7-8 times at the movie - a ticket, popcorn, and a soda.
OK, so now that we've seen that $150 for hundreds if not thousands of entertainment is good value, let's compare it to other RPGs. We should start with Pathfinder, because it is the most comparable game.
So what is Pathfinder's equivalent to the Holy Trinity? Well it is hard to say. On one hand, the core rulebook is enough to play - but I would say that it includes just about eveything the PHB will have (as far as we can tell), plus a good chunk of the DMG. But it doesn't have a chunk of what the DMG will (allegedly) include--which seems more along the lines of the Gamemastery Guide--nor does it have the monsters. So to get the full span of the Holy Trinity in Pathfinder, you have to buy the core rulebook ($50), the Gamemastery Guide ($40) and at least one Bestiary ($40) - which is $130. Factor in a bit of five-year inflation (the core rulebook and Bestiary came out in 2009, and the GG in 2010), and we're talking more like $140-145.
OK, so the total package is similar in cost.
But to be fair, Pathfinder offers a more complete core rulebook - at least as far as we can tell. We can only assume tha the PHB will not include any rules for DMing or magic items, although we don't know for sure. So with Pathfinder you can get away with just having the core book and the Bestiary, which is $90, or inflated to $100 - the same amount as the 5E PHB and MM. But again, it remains to be seen if the game is complete without the DMG, or how complete. Either way, the difference between the two--if any--isn't that much to inspire too much nerdrage (and if it does, I'm guessing that it is really transferred from some other object of rage).
Now other RPGs have much lower start-up costs, although of course you're usually getting much less material to play with as well. But this isn't new for D&D, nor is it any different than Pathfinder - so if you're pissed off with WotC then you should be pissed off with Paizo, and if you're pissed off with both then maybe another game is in order.
So there we have it. Is 5E over-priced? Not really - not for what you're getting in terms of entertainment value, nor in relation to other RPGs. It is probably on the upper end of cost - maybe even the most expensive (although let's not talk about miniature wargaming) - but this is simply how the market works; Rolex gets to inflate the prices of their watches not only because they're great timepieces (they are) but because they're Rolex, and D&D is the Rolex of the RPG world.
So let it go and move on...and enjoy the excitement of a new edition coming out!
no...no it isn't. Amy and I go out atleast once every other month on a date night... and we could not do that even combined with that cost... I went all out for valentines day... and spent almost that much... as a once a year treat...
