Do You Have Too Many Books?

[Dannyalcatraz]

I recently counted my books and found that I had 62 print books for D&D 3.0/3.5E plus another 36 books in PDF form. In addition to that I have a couple of year’s worth of issues of both Dungeon & Dragon Magazines (almost all 3.0E onwards) as well as the Dragon Magazine Archive.

I have Dragon magazine back to issue #44 or so (along with selected Dungeon, Pyramid, Adventurer' Club, Rifter and other mags), and 93 RPGs (about 50 distinct systems). Oh yeah...I also have boardgames, some minis games, and a host of CCGs, including 2 trunks of M:TG.

I don't have too many books...I just don't have enough space.

 

[Lord Mhoram]

umm.. no... I have nowhere near enough books BWAHAHAHAHA.

ahem.. sorry abou that.

D&D/D20 fantasy I have over 150 (40+ of those are just hardcover monster books).
I have a complete run of HERO (1st through all the 5th), V&V, Gurps Supers, Abberant, SAS, M&M, and most of the printed superlink books. Plus a number of other superhero RPG stuff.

Never enough. If any one book gives me even one good idea for a character or game, then it is worth it to me.
But I'm also a collector. *shrug*

 

[Gentlegamer]

Personally, I think it's a combination of a) the cool ideas out there and b) the nature of the d20 rules.

a) speaks for itself. There's a ton of fascinating, cool, intriguing and innovative products on the market right now.

As for b), I prefer HERO to core d20, but have never had a burning desire to buy HERO supplements even though I play both games about the same amount. Ultimately, in an effects-based system, I don't need fifty books to allow me to make a fire elemental spellcaster whose every power is based on his theme, or a really effective shapeshifter who isn't a druid, or a monster-as-PC, or any of the myriad non-D&D-archtype characters out there. Nor do I need fifty books to provide a myriad of possibilities for NPCs.

Indeed, HERO is much more of a toolkit for creating a game than a game itself, in my opinion. As such, the core rules itself provide the tools for creating almost any type of game effect/mechanic/etc without need for rule supplements.

 

[Andor]

Do You Have Too Many Books?

I know what all those words mean... but it doesn't make any sense.

 

[BiggusGeekus]

There is no such thing as "too many books" !!!!!!

 

[Olaf the Stout]

I know a lot of people seem to think that there is no such thing as too many books. I can understande that perspective (although some of the posts were more in jest than anything else).

I just don't understand why it is that I seem to want to get more books, while at the same time I haven't even read some of the books that I own. I feel like I have the attention span of Homer Simpson...."Look, that dog has a puffy tail. Here puff, here puff.".....I'm sorry, what was I saying again?

Am I just attacted by the fact that it is the latest nice, new shiny thing on the block? Do I have some sort of Pokemon disease where I "gotta catch em' all"? Is it that I'm trying to find the perfect book on a topic and this latest one out might just be it?

I think I need help. Hi my name is Olaf and I'm a RPG-book-buying-aholic.

Olaf the Stout

 

[scourger]

Yes, even though I periodically go through and purge the collection, I still have too many books. I have a stack about 2 feet high that I need to get rid of right now. The best explanation I have heard is from these boards: it's like gambling. Gamers keep buying books for the next "win". I use the analogy of panning for gold--you have to go through a lot of dirt to get a few flecks of gold. Same for gaming books--I read a lot of them but play relatively few.

 

[der_kluge]

Really, I'm a minimalist. I prefer to run my game with as few books as I possibly can. KISS

I don't really own that many RPG books. I own probably fewer than 50 d20/3rd edition books.

I own probably as many 2nd edition books/boxed sets.

I have, I think 2 first edition books.

That's it. Most of them I'm not using. I'm seriously considering selling a lot of my Planescape stuff since I could use the money, and I'm deluding myself if I believe I'm ever going to run Planescape again.

 

[Psion]

I'm going through updating my PDFs.

It occurs to me, about half of them, I'll never use.

But then, I feel less bad about that when it comes to PDFs. Cause I pay less than I would have for a book.

Some of my physical book collection could use culling though. Anyone need some 1e Midnight or Exalted books?

 

[BiggusGeekus]

Some of my physical book collection could use culling though. Anyone need some 1e Midnight or Exalted books?

In response to Olaf the Stout ... these are very good books that could launch a campaign or two. Take Psion up on his offer!


That said, if more books were sold as PDF I'd buy more books. This includes comics. I like the idea of comics I just don't want a closet full of magazines.


And by the way, at Origins 2005 I bought a somewhat random assortment of books on discount that is still feuling my imagination. There is no such thing as too many books.

(unless you ask my wife, but never mind that for now)