Buying to not use

[payn]

I prefer materials, especially physical products, get actual use at the table…mostly because the price point is often drastically higher than non-gaming materials. If the plan is to only read, I prefer novels or cheaper non-fiction takes on the same material. Such as a paperback or hardback about the lore and world of Legend of Zelda instead of a $60-70 game book set in the LoZ universe. I don’t feel the need for bespoke and custom-designed rules for every world or setting. But I will buy products (or refuse to buy products) that I want to see more (or less) of.

I think the nature of bespoke design has changed for the better. A lot of the Free League stuff has been popular because it delivers an expected experience. In the past, many games were designed to be generic systems. For example, 10,20,30 years ago a Blade Runner RPG would likely have rules for starships, plasma rifles, and body augments. It would try and make rules for every possible thing the IP can cover. Problem is that BR themes are specific experiences in that setting, not that setting itself. So, often these first takes at bespoke missed the mark because they were too general for the target audiences.

 

[Jer]

I think the nature of bespoke design has changed for the better. A lot of the Free League stuff has been popular because it delivers an expected experience. In the past, many games were designed to be generic systems. For example, 10,20,30 years ago a Blade Runner RPG would likely have rules for starships, plasma rifles, and body augments.

You just reminded me that the original Aliens RPG back in the 90s was published by Leading Edge Games and used a "simplified" version of the system they used for Phoenix Command.

I'm now imagining what their version of a Blade Runner RPG would have looked like...

 

[ninjayeti]

I am pretty discriminating these days when it comes to buying physical books. I typically only get a dead tree version if it is something I am likely to actually use. Maybe the one exception here being setting books which I tend to read cover-to-cover so prefer a physical copy.

With PDFs I am pretty liberal in picking up stuff that looks interesting. They are cheaper and don't take up space so I don't feel bad if I drop a few bucks, spend 30 min or so flipping through it, then never look at it again.

 

[Rabulias]

I buy a lot of RPGs for their potential use, i.e. that I might use them in the future. I might not be running a desert campaign now, nor do I plan to anytime in the foreseeable future, but I might someday, and since bestiaries, compendiums of spells and items, environmental supplements, etc. all have a long bookshelf-life (see what I did there?), I figure "why not?"

I have definitely bought stuff that I have not used or read, and this goes beyond RPG material too! I am reminded of this:

We buy books because we believe we're buying the time to read them.

 

[Jer]

I think the nature of bespoke design has changed for the better. A lot of the Free League stuff has been popular because it delivers an expected experience. In the past, many games were designed to be generic systems. For example, 10,20,30 years ago a Blade Runner RPG would likely have rules for starships, plasma rifles, and body augments.

I also just dredged up from the depths of my memory that West End Games towards the end of their corporate life were the kings of licensed games - which they slapped together quickly under either their MasterBook or d6 systems and shoved out the door. The same system to run Tank Girl, Necroscope, Species, Tales from the Crypt, and Indiana Jones. Wild that these were ever RPG properties in the first place, but even more wild that they were published using a system derived from the system created for Torg (of them only Indiana Jones really works as a game - and even then it's just barely).

 

[Dioltach]

I have tons of books and gaming material that I bought purely to read and draw inspiration from. I haven't bought much since the days of 3.X, though: I know I'm most likely never going to switch to a new system now (or get my groups to).

On the subject of Aliens: has anyone ever played the boardgame Nemesis? It's Aliens in all but name, and it has a great cinematic roleplaying feel. (The one time I managed to get it to the table my character was killed within three rounds, but the rest of the game was so compelling that I didn't feel excluded. And yes, everyone else died too.)

 

[payn]

On the subject of Aliens: has anyone ever played the boardgame Nemesis? It's Aliens in all but name, and it has a great cinematic roleplaying feel. (The one time I managed to get it to the table my character was killed within three rounds, but the rest of the game was so compelling that I didn't feel excluded. And yes, everyone else died too.)

Ohhh, Ill have to check that out!

 

[gamerprinter]

I'm certain, I'm not alone that I have made RPG purchases of products I ended up never using, most often RPG game systems due to lack of my own interest, or not being able to find willing players to try it out. However, I am not a collector of anything, other than memories, so I don't share that common activity other gamers seem to have. Because I am a long time freelance cartographer in the game industry, having served many publishers, on those rare occasions one of my past clients release a product I'm interested in, I just ask for a free download link and they comply, though I don't abuse that too often. Since I publish for Starfinder as third party, I often purchase Paizo's first party rules supplements to keep my content up to date. Most of the game material I deal with on a regular basis are projects I have published or am in development to be eventually published - I'm normally immersed in my own projects and publicatons only, or commissions for clients.

 

[Dioltach]

Ohhh, Ill have to check that out!

Shut Up & Sit Down have a very lengthy review of it: Review - Nemesis - Shut Up & Sit Down

 

[dragoner]

I definitely have bought stuff, such as the charity bundles, to support causes with the knowledge I will never use the games. Other times, I buy stuff just to read, esp if it is popular, to see what that is about. Truly, I probably have enough game material to play for the rest of my life without needing to buy any more. Still I like to pick stuff up, even if just to use an idea for a game I am running.