D&D 4E Are you saving up for 4E or "wing it" financially?

[Numion]

When did homeless people become gamers?

If you live in America and if you are not a student, then you really need some serious career introspection if dropping $100 on game books involves a savings account.

That's not an attack on anyone. That's life advice. I am always stunned (and sickened) by these threads about how penniless gamers seem to be. Dudes, get better jobs. Students, I totally understand, but the rest of y'all?

If you think I'm being harsh, keep in mind that I am a headhunter and I am always stunned to see how many times smart, hard-working educated people suffer crappy jobs for crappy pay when there are FAR better options right around the corner.

QFT.

I've always felt D&D was pretty cheap compared to for example drinking or going on a holiday. On my last holiday in Thailand I averaged 100 euros a day (it adds up during a month long holiday), and however fun that might've been, it's not comparable to countless sessions of D&D you can get from core set. A single holiday day vs. core set.

Repeat after me: Greed is Good.

It's too bad mad skillz in aqcuiring loot in D&D don't seem to translate into real life for the average gamer.

 

[WayneLigon]

I'll wing it. I'll probably get them off Amazon. $70.00 is a bit more than I'd like to pay for three gaming books but it's the cost of two good meals at a nice restaurant or two hardback comic collections, neither of which I'd deny myself.

 

[Jan van Leyden]

Forced saving here.

I just don't buy any 3.5 books from now on. I've got enough of them to last me a lifetime, so any extra one comes with a built in "will never be used" guarantee.

And for the record: I'm working, feeding my wife and two kids and financing a loan for the house. We're not not living miserly, but the cost of the three core books would be beyond my monthly "allowance."

It is very true that RPG-books offer an incredible value for the money, but still you have to have the money to spend. I consider the books worth the price - even with the foreign country surcharge - even if I only read them and keep playing 3.5 or switch systems altogether.

On the other hand, I sympathize with all gamers who cringe at the prospect of spending $100.

---
Huldvoll

Jan van Leyden

 

[WhatGravitas]

I'm with Spinachcat. If you need to start saving to make 69$ in six months you need to clean your economy up.

Sure, but then, people who are saving, may not do so out of necessity, but because they like to keep their economy clean. As I. I'm not saving to get the money (I could easily wing it, even as student, of course living in pounds-and-euro EU helps), but to keep my economy clean and tidy.

After all, whether you're saving or not, it doesn't change your income, just your spending habits.

Cheers, LT.

 

[Imaro]

Not saving, and if I pick them up it will probably be a winging it type thing. And no I won't pre-order them, I don't like buying something without knowing what I'm getting.

Right now I have a son, I and my fiance are planning for our wedding, and I am going back to school in spring...so yeah the corebooks aren't exactly chump change to me...especially when there are other games with cheaper buy in's.

Another thing I wanted to comment on was the whole rpg's vs. other entertainment. I really dislike this type of comparison and don't think it equals out. My fiance and son are not gamers, so telling them we will get more enjoyment for the price out of the corebooks than we will going to the movies or taking a trip just doesn't add up for them. Also seeing as how she has never infringed upon my weekly games, she has every right to expect the same (actually more) time and money devoted to our relationship that I pump into a game.

In my current situation I am actually being drawn more to limited run games like Scion, Blue Rose and Changeling. They have a lower buy in and a lower cost overall. And with diminishing space and money, I gotta seriously ask myself what will 4e bring to the table that I can't get from D&D 3e or it's myriad of d20 and OGL based games, or even other non-d20 games I own. So far I'm not seeing anything that's making me really want 4e. It's "innovations" are things other games have been doing for years and I have a group that will happily play games besides D&D.

 

[mmu1]

When did homeless people become gamers?

If you live in America and if you are not a student, then you really need some serious career introspection if dropping $100 on game books involves a savings account.

That's not an attack on anyone. That's life advice. I am always stunned (and sickened) by these threads about how penniless gamers seem to be. Dudes, get better jobs. Students, I totally understand, but the rest of y'all?

If you think I'm being harsh, keep in mind that I am a headhunter and I am always stunned to see how many times smart, hard-working educated people suffer crappy jobs for crappy pay when there are FAR better options right around the corner.

Repeat after me: Greed is Good.

I'm not sure that it's necessarily an indication that someone needs a better job - there can be a lot of reasons, aside from bad career choices, why people are broke.

However, I do agree that (minors and students aside) topics like these seem a little ridiculous. If putting together $100 for those books is that much of an issue... then you probably shouldn't be thinking about getting sucked into a new edition of D&D in the first place.

I doubt I'll be buying it, but if I change my mind, I expect to "wing it", I guess.

 

[Umbran]

Are you saving up? Is it expensive enough that we NEED to save up?

The problem here is this "we" thing - as if the thousands of registered users and hundreds of really regular posters are all in similar financial situations. Whether or not is seems like you need to save says nothing about whether or not someone else here does.

And, for those of you saying "if you need to save up, you need to clean up your finances" - has it occurred to you that saving up is part of keeping finances clean? Education debt, homes, children, rising health insurance costs, disciplined saving for retirement or other major expense - they can all make for a tight budget. Maybe you shouldn't be telling them they are doing it wrong, when you don't know what they are doing, hm?

 

[Lord Mhoram]

Me, I'm not buying at launch. I'll find a bookstore with a nice comfy chair and read the PH there. If I like what I read, I'll buy it - that is what I did for 3rd.

 

[med stud]

And, for those of you saying "if you need to save up, you need to clean up your finances" - has it occurred to you that saving up is part of keeping finances clean? Education debt, homes, children, rising health insurance costs, disciplined saving for retirement or other major expense - they can all make for a tight budget. Maybe you shouldn't be telling them they are doing it wrong, when you don't know what they are doing, hm?

I realized that my comment might look like an attack but it's more of a case of getting large margins. If you have to save to get 10 disposable dollars per month, what happens if you get a tooth ache or your car breaks down? Some people really are living on the edge with no way to live cheaper but otherwise I think it's dangerous to live so close to zero each month.

I didn't mean disciplined saving when I made my statement above, of course .

 

[Jefe Bergenstein]

Oh, I'll agree with you. Broke gamers seem about as common as gamers who let their SO's dominate their purchasing decisions.

Too many history and english majors, thats why. As for the second. the obvious solution is to marry a gamer. Just dont kill their dire badger animal companion.

Given that not everyone in the group needs PHB and only 1 needs a DMG/MM, even financially strapped groups ought to be able to wing it. Its a fresh chance to go into the game blind as a player without knowing the monster's ac's and what magic items are available. As for getting a PHB, I'm sure pretty much everyone has 30 bucks in unwanted crap they can sell on Ebay.