Buying to not use

[Ralif Redhammer]

Even if I'm not going to run something, I never know what's going to inspire me. I figure it all goes into the same hopper, and helps expand my creativity. Even if I am never going to run that weird indie RPG, those concepts are going to be floating around in my head when I am running something else. The images or lore in that ultraslick release likewise can inspire without me actually running the game.

I buy as much rpg stuff for inspiration and reading enjoyment as I do for actual use in game. For instance, I buy older edition material still; I buy a few setting and adventure books that I know I'll never use (I'm an inveterate homebrewer); heck, I buy entire games I'll never play because they look or sound interesting (Blue Rose, hello there).

And I am reminded of this in turn:

I have definitely bought stuff that I have not used or read, and this goes beyond RPG material too! I am reminded of this:

 

[Dioltach]

Truly, I probably have enough game material to play for the rest of my life without needing to buy any more.

To be fair, that's probably true if you only have the Mentzer Basic and Expert sets.

 

[Arilyn]

I have far more games than I'll ever play, but I enjoy reading them and poking through them. Also, sometimes I buy a game assuming I'll use it and I don't. Other games I assumed would not get used, have been played extensively. So, I'll continue to let the rpgs pile up. There are worse ways to spend money!

 

[Thomas Shey]

I buy things for theoretical interest, and often because I might use them, but I know a big part of what I buy that will never be true with; the vast majority of my game purchases these days are only in digital form (I only buy physical books, and then only corebooks if I know I'm going to run or play in a game).

 

[dragoner]

To be fair, that's probably true if you only have the Mentzer Basic and Expert sets.

Sure, though I probably have a thousand times that as well.

 

[Bill Zebub]

I buy tons of stuff that I know I'll never use (Alien RPG, for example). Whether or not I buy a physical copy depends on how physically (tactile and aesthetic) desirable I think it is. I'm currently waffling on whether to back Goodman Games' Dark Tower PDF ($50) vs. Physical ($100).

I backed The One Ring 2nd edition but am pretty disappointed in the changes and probably won't play it. However, I'll continue buying all the supplements because: 1) they're gorgeous, 2) they're fun to read even if I don't like the rules, and 3) to support Francesco, who I admire.

 

[Fenris-77]

I frequently buy books I'm at least pretty sure I won't use. For me that probably means either it looked too cool not to own regardless, and that happens a fair bit, or the game in question is in-theme with something I'm running/writing and the main purpose is to mine the book for ideas and evocative bits.

 

[MGibster]

What about you? Do you only buy materials you intend to use at your table? Do you buy materials just to read or just to push the hobby in directions you appreciate?

Before every game purchase, I ask myself how likely it is that I'll actually put the product to use. If I deem it unlikely, I give it a pass, even if I think it's a good game. It's not that I can't afford a bunch of games, I just don't want my house cluttered with games I'll never play.

 

[Voadam]

RPGs are my big hobby. I am interested in a ton of stuff and give myself a monthly RPG budget that has gone up with some professional advancements. I buy almost exclusively PDFs now. For the past decade most physical books I have gotten have been gifts.

I was fine running 3e games off of the SRD. I have played many RPGs where I did not own the books at the time or ever fully figure out the rules (Warhammer FRP, Star Frontiers, GURPS, Shadowrun, Vampire the Masquerade, Rolemaster, etc.) I don't need any products to play my hobby.

However I like RPG books, settings and monsters in particular. I want a lot of them. I use a lot of rulebooks and sourcebooks and modules in my games.

I have tons of stuff now in print and PDF. More than I will ever play. More than I will ever read.

Lots of my RPG books I think of as reference material, there if I have a use for them as things come up. When my last campaign as a player wound down and I was asked to take over as DM I threw together a list of 20 adventure path campaign things I owned that I thought would be fun, each with different themes. The group coalesced fairly hard around the Iron Gods adventure path concept and off I went with conversion materials to run it in 5e D&D, and then looking up Post-Apocalyptic and Sci-Fi RPG stuff I had to go with the themes of the campaign. When two players came up with werewolf and werebear concepts for their characters I pulled out my Werewolf the Apocalypse material and we dove into those concepts in my 5e game.

I keep buying PDFs and bundles from Bundle of Holding and Humble Bundle and Itch Io. Even though I have more than I will ever read, there are more I am still interested in having. I expect more to be produced that I will have an interest in as well.

It is good to be in a position where even though I have broad interests in lots of stuff, nothing is a must have, it is all in the would be nice to have type of category.

 

[J.Quondam]

I buy most RPG books knowing full well I'll never play them. Mainly I get them just to read for inspiration, and/or to support a particular creator or cause.

One thing I'm really trying to avoid lately is kickstarter FOMO, etc. As pretty as so many projects are, I've become a lot more careful about if/how I'll really use such a book before buying in-- especially for projects that will eventually end up on FLGS shelves, anyway.