Do you knowingly buy game books you don't intend to actually play

Morrus · Mar 20, 2015

Kind of. I'll buy them knowing I have little chance of getting to play them, but I always hope I will. I don't think I buy stuff intending not to play it.

SirAntoine · Mar 20, 2015

The best compliment a game product can receive is for someone to use part of it in their campaign.

was · Mar 20, 2015

Very rarely will I buy a book that I don't intend to use. Such a book better be getting some darn good press from sources that I consider reputable.

Umbran · Mar 20, 2015

When I have the disposable income, yes. And that may be part of what folks were keying off of in the other thread.

If the cost of the book isn't a big deal, then sure, why not? But, if the cost is an issue - I can get much, much more interesting reading time out of $50 of paperback novels than out of one $50 game book. Game books are a highly economical investment in entertainment if you use them, and much less economical if you don't use them.

Hand of Evil · Mar 20, 2015

yes, it makes my library grow. I like the concept of some games, I may never play them but that does not make them a less than good read. They are reference material, they may stir my imagination for a house rule or a plot.

Whisper72 · Mar 20, 2015

Well... I guess it depends upon your definition of 'using the book'. I own a great many D&D 3.x books, but never played that edition. I stick to a mix of AD&D1E and AD&D2E. So in a way, I bought (tons and tons I am afraid) of books I will never really use as intended. I DO however mine them for ideas. I love the plethora of fluff and even some rules mechanics (not for the exact rules, but more the ideas behind them) to mine for my own games. And yes, even when I stopped playing (too busy with the combination of married life, jobs and kids and such), I still bought books, just to browse and dream away with...

So... yes, I definately can see someone buying books just to read them, not ever using them in a game...

Wicht · Mar 20, 2015

Umbran said:
When I have the disposable income, yes. And that may be part of what folks were keying off of in the other thread.

If the cost of the book isn't a big deal, then sure, why not? But, if the cost is an issue - I can get much, much more interesting reading time out of $50 of paperback novels than out of one $50 game book. Game books are a highly economical investment in entertainment if you use them, and much less economical if you don't use them.

As I said there, about $30-$35 is my maximum comfortable spot for an impulse buy and I am somewhat offput by the price-point of those particular books. It moves them into another level, mentally, for how I will have to buy them (unless of course I see them at 1/2 Price books sometime) if I do want to buy them. But that doesn't mean I will never buy them; I just have to actually budget them in now. And that means that yes, as a non-essential game purchase (as opposed to something I am actively planning on using and playing) they will not get bought as fast.

For what it's worth - I left the bookstore that day with two books: Monster Hunter Nemesis and Deeply Odd, so I hear you about the novels.

Jhaelen · Mar 20, 2015

Wicht said:
I know I have a small library of such books for a variety of systems, genres, and from a wide assemblage of publishers. I have grown to be comfortable with the fact that I like buying game books, even if I may never use them. I just like reading them and thinking about them. I sorta assumed most gamers were still like this, but maybe the gaming culture has moved on and left me behind, lonely and confused.

It's the same for me. I consider myself a collector of interesting RPG systems. I enjoy analyzing and comparing system. And then there's Ars Magica, my favorite rpg system. It's been over a decade that I last played it, but I still buy every supplement.

delericho · Mar 20, 2015

I guess. I still have a Pathfinder AP subscription, despite never having played the game, and I picked up "Tyranny of Dragons" and will pick up "Princes of the Apocalypse" despite knowing there is virtually no chance of me ever running them.

But these days I do at least try to restrict my buying to only those books I know I'll use (which means the Firefly RPG at present). If for no other reason that I my RPG shelves are now literally collapsing under the weight of books, many of which have never seen any actual use at the table.

Neonchameleon · Mar 20, 2015

Wicht said:
So elsewhere I ask people to convince me to buy the 5e books, and in the course of that thread, I have tried to be upfront that I'm not necessarily interested in playing 5e (at the moment) but am curious about the books. This has caused some confusion on the part of various posters and said confusion has in turn flummoxed me. Many don't seem to understand why I might want books I won't immediately use. I thought it was a fairly normal sort of thing to do.

Meaning... It used to be, that it was generally acknowledged that a good many game related books were bought but never actually used. I know I have a small library of such books for a variety of systems, genres, and from a wide assemblage of publishers. I have grown to be comfortable with the fact that I like buying game books, even if I may never use them. I just like reading them and thinking about them. I sorta assumed most gamers were still like this, but maybe the gaming culture has moved on and left me behind, lonely and confused.

So I am just wondering if my game buying habits have become an outlier, or are there still others out there willing to admit they do this?

I've quite a few books (and a lot of PDFs) for games I'm not going to play. Most of them either for source material or inspiration (hi GURPS) or because I've heard about it and am interested in the design. I have rather more pdfs I doubt I'm going to get round to playing, but that's another matter entirely.