A very pricey game: opinions?

[hamishspence]

While I love my D&D, it as a bit on the pricey side. After spending £1500 approx on books and £150 approx on miniatures, (and choosing to start 4th ed, so thats an extra £70+ so far, I am thinking its a lot of cash spent.

Who else have spent a lot on this very enjoyable hobby?

 

[The Lost Muse]

I've certainly spend a couple grand on RPG stuff in my time... but spread that out over the ten years I've been playing and it amounts to a couple of nights out at a nice restuarant a year.

 

[hamishspence]

my collecting took place over 6 year period

2002-2008. Had basic D&D (black box) and basic AD&D (yellow box) before then, but they were presents and I never bought anything to expand them. But yes, expenditure was not all at once, more monthly. And searching for (or ordering) books that came out a while back but are now hard to find.

 

[hong]

RPGs are cheap. Compare to what people will plonk down on console games.

 

[delericho]

If I count up the raw cost of all those supplements over the last 20 years, then it comes to a very big number.

However, if I divide that total by the amount of time spent playing the game, writing settings and adventures for the game, thinking about the game, and otherwise enjoying the game, it amounts to better value than almost anything else.

And if I compare the money spent on D&D with money spent on almost any hobby over the same period, the game starts to look very good indeed.

Ultimately, this is a cheap hobby.

 

[DeusExMachina]

Yeah. Going out to the pub once a week is more expensive than buying all that roleplay gear, especially if you can spread the costs among all the players of your group for stuff like maps and miniatures...

 

[pogre]

Gasoline makes everything look cheap these days...

 

[smootrk]

It is not so bad when it is considered more of a leisure time activity, and not simply 'just a game'. It isn't like CLUE or MONOPOLY after all. I live in Colorado where lots of folks have leisure activities that are much more costly - climbing, skiing, etc. with respect to equipment necessary, travel, lodging, lift-tickets, or other costs associated with the various activities. In the scheme of things, even if I spent the cash for a new book every single month, the amount pales in comparison. Even 2 or three books would not match up to a trip to Aspen or even one of the second or third rate ski slopes. Go to any sporting goods store and browse through the hunting or even just the camping/hiking sections... you can spend loads to gear up properly.

Anyhow, the whole gaming thing seems rather cheap to me overall.

 

[drothgery]

RPGs are cheap. Compare to what people will plonk down on console games.

Yeah. If you're borderline compulsive like me, you maybe buy one RPG book a month. For about the same price as one meal at a good restaurant, two movie tickets, or half a console game.

Of course, if you're cheap (but not inclined to playing off the SRD or resorting to piracy), you can easily get buy in 3.x with just a PHB, DMG (for magic items), and MM (for summoned monsters and shapeshifting). And in 4e, it looks like you can get by with just a PHB if you're not a DM.

 

[Mr Jack]

Let see: 4th ed, £40. Counter collection, £15. Printable card, £3.... Hours of play for 4-6 people? Many.

No, I just don't buy it. Sure, you can spend a lot of money on it, but you really don't have to.