Are you required to bring your own books when you game?

[Cbas10]

How do you guys tell your players that they need their own core books? Currently, I supply everything and it's a little bothersome when running npc spellcasters and combat while having to wait for 2 PCs who are both spellcasters themselves.

It is certainly reasonable to require players to bring the basic necessity of a game. You need your own glove for baseball, shoes for football, skis for...well...skiing, etc etc etc.

Besides, without the PHB, how does a player know the rules? How is it THAT expensive? fifty bucks (U.S.) gets you the book, dice, pencils, charsheet copies, and even a good miniature for your PC. That investment can last for months and months of gaming sessions. Now THAT is value! And one of the cheapest hobbies out there.

 

[Acid_crash]

I don't know if many of you have noticed this in some players, especially the ones who don't (or won't) purchase their own books, are also the players that don't try to roleplay as much as the others.

I had one player who refused to buy a book. Period. He wouldn't buy one for anything. He was also the player who expected others to be ready when he was, and he wanted to have me as the DM to explain to him everything that his character would do. He wouldn't even take the time to read what his character could do with my copy. He was a lazy player, a freeloading A** of a player...and I was wondering if many of you also had players like that.

Thankfully, the last time I saw him was at the last gaming session, well, this player wasn't asked to leave...I told him point blank that if he wasn't able to get off his freeloading a** to even write a paragraph background or buy a book then his freeloading punk a** wasn't alowed to play anymore with us.

I'm so happy he's gone.

The sad thing is that this guy made more money than anybody else in the group (of course him spending 1600 a month on alcohol sure did cut into his expenditures, but that's on him).

 

[viscounteric]

If my group is in a serious campaign, all players are required to own the basic rulebook within 2-3 months of joining the group (some have been poor college students, although they did choose rulebooks before beer )

When the group decides to run an extended long shots with an odd system (We're running Star Wars d6 all next month for a breather), we'll type up/photocopy a basic rundown of the system and make sure there are 2-3 rulebooks at the table.

If a player is running a character/using a rule from a splatbook/sourcebook/tattooed Chinchilla, they're required to bring the necessary items to game or they can't use the abilities.

My game collection might look like a library, but I won't run it as such.

--vis
GM, The Burning Trogs

 

[Altalazar]

It has never really been much of an issue. I have the perfect gaming area in my basement and I have all of the books. I also bought a few extra PHB - to give to those players who didn't have one when they were over.

Several of us pitched in and bought a PHB for a new player - partly to entice her to start playing, which she did for quite a while.

So no, it isn't required - though it is recommended, but with all the extra PHB floating around, it probably isn't even needed in my games.

 

[bubbalin]

I don't know if many of you have noticed this in some players, especially the ones who don't (or won't) purchase their own books, are also the players that don't try to roleplay as much as the others.

to some extent this has been my experience too, though it doesn't help that I'm the most into RPGs in the group...
but yeah... it's pretty annoying.

 

[Altalazar]

to some extent this has been my experience too, though it doesn't help that I'm the most into RPGs in the group...
but yeah... it's pretty annoying.

Perhaps it just indicates a general lack of interest in the game. After all, a PHB isn't exactly like investing in Gold.

 

[DarkMaster]

yeah in ye olde dayes i was the only one who had a copy of any books. most of my players didn't even have dice. they just had paper and a pen or pencil.

i don't require the players to have anything except...

a huge imagination and a willingness to have fun and provide fun for the others.

Same here, We all were 10-15 years old and I couldn't afford discriminating player based on their ability to afford books. I spent a fortune for the 1st, 2nd edition and now the third, before buying I make sure I will really find a use for it in my game. I don't ask anything from my players, in the five player only one owns the three core book and that's enough for us.