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<blockquote data-quote="Tumbler" data-source="post: 3662209" data-attributes="member: 18498">I only spend money on books for myself.&nbsp; It's great if other people get to use the stuff in them, and I'll even bend campaigns to make them want to do so, but ultimately I own the book.&nbsp; I'm not buying books for their enjoyment.&nbsp; I easily get enough fun out of reading a new book to make it worth having, so the game is sort of icing, or gravy, or whatever food metaphor you prefer.Things I kind of buy for the players are board tiles and miniatures and stuff, but I still enjoy having those.&nbsp; I'll admit that I get a kick out of having a new miniature that wows the players, whether I painted it or pulled it out of a box.&nbsp; So what exactly am I buying there.&nbsp; Not so much the product as what it does for my ego I guess.&nbsp; I also just enjoy playing with the stuff, setting up scenarios.&nbsp; Plus my kids play various games will all of it, so that has to count for fun as well.If you spend money on the right things, things that solve problems that your game has, that is where you will get the best increase in fun.&nbsp; Depending on your playstyle, that could be different things.&nbsp; Dungeon tiles and steel squire templates have sped up the boring parts of tactical setups, so I am not spending time drawing maps or counting squares for spell effects or breath weapons.&nbsp; Initiative cards (which I don't use because I can't keep things in my hands at the table) might vastly increase your fun time.&nbsp; We use a markerboard to track initiative and armor class.&nbsp; That keeps me from having to ask questions as a DM.&nbsp; It cost about $20, but I'll take it over asking, &quot;Ok, who's next?&quot;&nbsp; Books might solve problems, as well.&nbsp; The Dragonlance campaign setting book has rules for flying combat, so buying that solved the problem of having a campaign where every character could fly all the time by 8th level.&nbsp; That was well worth the money just for those rules, and using it for a year-long dragonlance campaign was pretty nice, as well.Granted, sometimes I spend money on stuff that doesn't work out (spell cards).&nbsp; But whose to say they won't be useful at some later time.&nbsp; I have piles of 1st and 2nd edition stuff I've never used directly in a game, plus 2 shelves of modern and superhero stuff when my current group hates those things.&nbsp; But I enjoy reading them, so I don't consider it a waste.In your case, though, if I had a group who all really wanted to try out a new system or genre, I'd say they needed to chip in on the purchases.&nbsp; DM's aren't responsible for funding the game.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Tumbler, post: 3662209, member: 18498"] I only spend money on books for myself. It's great if other people get to use the stuff in them, and I'll even bend campaigns to make them want to do so, but ultimately I own the book. I'm not buying books for their enjoyment. I easily get enough fun out of reading a new book to make it worth having, so the game is sort of icing, or gravy, or whatever food metaphor you prefer. Things I kind of buy for the players are board tiles and miniatures and stuff, but I still enjoy having those. I'll admit that I get a kick out of having a new miniature that wows the players, whether I painted it or pulled it out of a box. So what exactly am I buying there. Not so much the product as what it does for my ego I guess. I also just enjoy playing with the stuff, setting up scenarios. Plus my kids play various games will all of it, so that has to count for fun as well. If you spend money on the right things, things that solve problems that your game has, that is where you will get the best increase in fun. Depending on your playstyle, that could be different things. Dungeon tiles and steel squire templates have sped up the boring parts of tactical setups, so I am not spending time drawing maps or counting squares for spell effects or breath weapons. Initiative cards (which I don't use because I can't keep things in my hands at the table) might vastly increase your fun time. We use a markerboard to track initiative and armor class. That keeps me from having to ask questions as a DM. It cost about $20, but I'll take it over asking, "Ok, who's next?" Books might solve problems, as well. The Dragonlance campaign setting book has rules for flying combat, so buying that solved the problem of having a campaign where every character could fly all the time by 8th level. That was well worth the money just for those rules, and using it for a year-long dragonlance campaign was pretty nice, as well. Granted, sometimes I spend money on stuff that doesn't work out (spell cards). But whose to say they won't be useful at some later time. I have piles of 1st and 2nd edition stuff I've never used directly in a game, plus 2 shelves of modern and superhero stuff when my current group hates those things. But I enjoy reading them, so I don't consider it a waste. In your case, though, if I had a group who all really wanted to try out a new system or genre, I'd say they needed to chip in on the purchases. DM's aren't responsible for funding the game. [/QUOTE]

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