frankly, it's also a bit annoying when people are knocking the game because they are not willing to purchase some extra dice.
I haven't actually said anything about the quality of the game. Frankly, it could be the greatest RPG ever. But I'll never know, because I'm not even going to check it out.
However, the use of the funny dice does suggest to me that this is almost certainly not the greatest RPG ever. They're a gimmick - the rules could have been written just as well without them, but they've thrown them in, either to sell a bunch of dice or, more likely, just to be different. My patience with gimmicks is sorely limited these days - IME, a product that has to resort to them is generally lacking in other areas.
DCC may be the exception, of course. As I said, I don't and won't know. But my gut tells me otherwise.
The whole "funny dice" argument is ridiculous coming from this segment of the games market (which is grounded in funny dice).
Funny dice that I already have, and in large numbers.
And that's the thing. Back when D&D was new, the argument that it used funny dice was certainly valid. But at this stage, more than 30 years on, pretty much the entire gamer populace already has those dice, and new players can readily borrow a set until they can get their own - which are available cheaply and easily from a whole bunch of stockists.
The same is not true of the other dice. Some gamers do already own a d7, but the vast majority do not. Even of those who do own a d7, how many of them own a whole bunch of them? Because seldom has there been a gamer who is happy with just one of each type of die.
A new game can use the standard polyhedrals in any combination, and people won't blink an eye - the target audience already have them. But a game that requires other dice is requiring an additional expense and an additional hassle, in a world where disposable income is sorely limited and where there are hundreds of other RPGs to play.
It's a bad decision.
If your country's taxes are through the roof, that should not be a reflection on the game or company, I would hope.
Again, it's nothing to do with the quality of the product. But it
is a factor in my buying decision - just as I've decided against buying "Tome of Horrors Complete" because the $49 shipping is just too much for me.
Yes, I certainly could afford to buy the dice, and I certainly could afford to buy ToHC. I could even do both. But
I have enough RPG material to last me for the rest of my life, so I'd rather spend the money elsewhere.
I also find it funny that the majority of people here will dish out $40 each month for a hardcover and never use 90% of it, or spend hundreds if not thousands on minis and maps and terrain, or get into a subscription where the company sends you every product they make every month... and these same people complain about $10-30 worth of dice :rollseyes:
It's possible that DCC just hit at the wrong time for me. My spending on RPGs has dropped dramatically in the last few years - I won't buy a book unless I know I'm going to use it soon, and I won't buy anything for a game unless I know I'm going to run it.
My only ongoing RPG expense is a subscription to the Pathfinder Adventure Path product, and even that may well be ending with the newest path. (I may buy "Black Crusade" if it is ever released.) I
have spent thousands of pounds on minis and paints and books... but those days are gone now.
I've reached a point where I just don't need more stuff. In fact, I've found that stuff is a distraction - most games play best with one rulebook, character sheets, dice, pencils and spare paper, and nothing else. So Goodman, or WotC, or Paizo, or anyone else really need to sell me on their new game if they want me to buy. In this instance, Goodman successfully unsold me on their product.