Do you buy new versions of TTRPG games when you haven't had time to play the older version sitting on your shelf?

[Ath'kethin]

It is a breath of fresh air for me to read this. I have the same attitude towards Kickstarters. When did you start backing Kickstarter projects? I think my first was the first or maybe second year after it went live. I think the old ethos is dying out as it is being used more and more (at least with TTRPGs) as a pre-order system, which I think has lead to a whole new cohort of backers who have very different expectations and often toxic reactions when things do go well with a project. I've always treated it as either a self-interested charitable donation or an investment. In the former, I don't really expect or care if I get much out of it and for the later, I don't invest what I can't afford to lose (and "afford" here also means not getting upset enough to doom scroll the updates and comments or waste time with angry comments).

The first Kickstarter I backed was Timothy Brown's "Dragon Kings" in 2014. Since then I've backed 90-someting more.

Out of all of those, there are only two I don't expect to ever fulfill. Both are cases where I backed them to show support to the creators and while it would be nice to actually get the rewards, I don't lose sleep about it. Though it's crazy to read some of the comments where people have lost their minds. Both are cases where the creators just got overwhelmed by the response to their project and just couldn't handle it, but some people are just vicious about the situation.

And that's not counting a couple of long-delayed projects that I'm 99% certain WILL deliver. But folks are especially nasty about one of those, too.

I personally don't have a problem using crowdfunding as a pre-order system, especially if I can get exclusive or discounted stuff that way. But I also don't invest money I can't afford to lose, and in many cases I'll just wait til the project somes to retail and order it from my FLGS. I like doing that because it helps to keep my FLGS in business too.

 

[sabrinathecat]

I'm 30 miles north of San Francisco, so I figured there had to be something... Preferably something that didn't meet in a church (it's a problem for me, don't ask)

 

[sabrinathecat]

I also look kickstarter for ideas and adventures. Plangea not only put together an excellent campaign setting, but also a great soundtrack for back-ground mood music.

 

[Thomas Shey]

The first Kickstarter I backed was Timothy Brown's "Dragon Kings" in 2014. Since then I've backed 90-someting more.

Out of all of those, there are only two I don't expect to ever fulfill. Both are cases where I backed them to show support to the creators and while it would be nice to actually get the rewards, I don't lose sleep about it. Though it's crazy to read some of the comments where people have lost their minds. Both are cases where the creators just got overwhelmed by the response to their project and just couldn't handle it, but some people are just vicious about the situation.

I'll go as far as to say that there are even cases where the creators flat out dropped the ball (and don't want to admit it) where there's at least a few people who's responses have been well beyond excessive.

 

[Ath'kethin]

I'll go as far as to say that there are even cases where the creators flat out dropped the ball (and don't want to admit it) where there's at least a few people who's responses have been well beyond excessive.

Oh, certainly. And I'm not trying to defend cammers and con artists, either, of whom there are moee than a few. And there was a project I backed where the creator turned out to be an absolutely despicable excuse for a human being, some thing I wish I'd have known before giving them money. And I've backed a couple of projects where the creator/company went completely belly-up as a result of the pandemi-era shipping turmoil. I'm don't think there's ever a call for the kind of nastiness and vitriol I see in the comments sections there, though.

 

[Thomas Shey]

Oh, certainly. And I'm not trying to defend cammers and con artists, either, of whom there are moee than a few. And there was a project I backed where the creator turned out to be an absolutely despicable excuse for a human being, some thing I wish I'd have known before giving them money. And I've backed a couple of projects where the creator/company went completely belly-up as a result of the pandemi-era shipping turmoil. I'm don't think there's ever a call for the kind of nastiness and vitriol I see in the comments sections there, though.

I've been fortunate that I stay away from physical product, and I've managed to avoid most really predatory creators so that hasn't been much of an issue to me (I did end up backing some material from a creator who was singularly bad in a real-world way--for all I know its the same one you're referring to--but that didn't come out until after they, fairly promptly delivered).

I just remember one project where the end result was a bit underwhelming (not bad, just not perhaps what they sold you on) that someone utterly stalked the creators and dripped vitriol on them across the course of the material release, well beyond just complaining about their missteps. It just lacked proportion.

 

[Crusadius]

Yes, I do if I like the system or have some nostalgic feeling towards it. With the prevalence of PDFs these days, I can limit myself to an electronic version if I feel purchasing a hard copy is too expensive or one step to far for a game I'm not playing.