Are you going to buy an EXTRA copy of the PHB?

[Zil]

When 3.0 came out (seems like only yesterday), I purchased an extra copy to keep handy for the group in general. Do you guys do the same? Is it a good idea?

jh

With 3.0 and 3.5 (and earlier versions as well), I did buy an extra copy of the PHB for just the reasons stated. It was a good idea for our group because it saved a lot of people from sitting around waiting for the PHB to be passed around to them.

As far as 4E goes, no such plans. I don't expect to be converting to the new version. But if I did, I probably would pick up the second copy of the PHB.

On an aside, is it just me, or are these new books downright ugly? I really don't like the new look of the covers.

 

[Serensius]

i ordered two packs from amazon. costs as much as one package would cost here(dollar/NOK ratio lowest it's been in 30 years now ). Even though i might have to wait 4-8 working days to get it... i don't think i will have any trouble re-selling the second package to my friends for the same price that one splatbook costs.

So i wonder if I'm going to buy a PHB if i can get my hands on it, at a local store.

Go Norway!

I'll be buying a single set of core books myself, and as far as I know most of the players in my group will get their own. My old group never had a problem sharing a single dmg/phb/mm between us though.

 

[kennew142]

I have ordered a complete set of 4e books from Amazon. On the street date, I will buy one for my wife. She'll let me read it first. She doesn't care that much about rules (so long as we stick to one system), but she'll want the book handy when playing.

 

[Jack99]

Since I am a teacher and all my players are in the private sector, hell no, they can pay their own books - in fact, due to the difference of income, they ought to pay for all my books! Oh, now there's an idea.

Cheers

 

[SuperJosh]

I'm getting a boxed set from Amazon and a PHB from my LGS.

Heh, that is EXACTLY what I did. Of course my reasons for buying a 2nd PHB are 2 fold. 1) I do not have to wait on Amazon shipping to starts reading the rules, and 2) my wife needs her own copy anyway.

 

[Mercule]

I've been threatening to buy a copy for my (gamer) wife for years, just so she can reference it at the table when I DM. If 4e turns out to be fun, I just may do that. It isn't something I'm planning on doing, though.

Also, are you serious about buying a "table copy" of a book? I've yet to be in a gaming group where each "household" (i.e. siblings, dorm mates, or married folk) didn't have at least a copy of the PHB of their own. I guess one-off games or during the "checking it out" phase are some exceptions, but I think those are understandable.

If I'm going to buy someone else a book, it'll be a specific gift. And it certainly won't be because they're too lazy/cheap to buy it themselves.

 

[Vaeron]

Considering that all the players powers will be written down on their character sheets, and wizards won't have to rifle through spell lists since they also are limited to the powers on their sheets, I don't see a player without a PHB being at any disadvantage at all. At creation and level up feats and powers can be selected from the PHB on hand, but it seems that a physical copy of the rules is going to be far less important than it was in previous editions.

 

[delericho]

I always find having a second copy of the core rulebook for 'table use' to be very useful. So, for 2nd Edition and 3.0, I had a second PHB for table use. For 3.5e, I had the Mongoose pocket PHB.

I won't buy a second copy for 4e right away (heck, at this point I might not even bother with a first copy). If, however, we adopt the game as our D&D of choice, I will pick up a second copy at that time.

 

[Mercule]

I always find having a second copy of the core rulebook for 'table use' to be very useful.

In what way?

There are six people (including me, the DM) in my group and three copies of the PHB (one per household, again). I'm not sure all have ever been open at the same time. As it is, each person only has to move their hand about four inches to touch one that is owned by them or their spouse -- my wife being the exception.

Before we started pulling SOs and spouses into gaming (high school and much of college), it was almost universal that every player had a copy of at least the PHB and brought it to the game. In the rare case that a player was either too casual or too broke to have their own copy, there were four or five copies at hand they could borrow -- and they probably had a "mentor" who helped them with char gen and advancement, anyway.

I'm really not being snarky. I'm honestly confounded that any group would need a table copy of the PHB (Spell Compendium or Magic Item Compendium I could see, but the question was about the PHB). Is my experience, where people actually spend $15-$30 for an ongoing game, that unusual. Is yours?

 

[Irda Ranger]

I've pre-ordered the 3-pack from Amazon. When the collector's edition comes out I'll consider it if I've decided to go 4E full time. That way my wife and I can each have our own copy.