How "deep" into a setting will you buy?

[AllisterH]

From the 4e thread talking about the current WOTC approach to setting, I'm curious about something...

Assuming you purchase the "core" book/boxed set for that setting, how deep do you go into that setting?

Using myself as an example, when I had free money a.k.a a kid, I used to buy everything for a setting (when Echohawk does his collector guides, I distressingly note that I have a LOT of those products).

Now? Once I buy the core book other than picking up say the City/Kingdom guide for the "starting" area (like Waterdeep and the North for FR or City of Delights for Al-Qadim), I'm not touching anything else.

 

[Shemeska]

If I plan to run campaigns in a given setting, I buy it all (see FR [sans 4e FR], see Planescape). If I don't actively plan to run in it but it inspires me, I buy whatever looks good which usually amounts to 50% or more of the flavor books (see Ravenloft, see Dark Sun, see Scarred Lands, see massive amounts of oWoD).

I buy much more setting/fluff books as a percentage of my gaming budget than I do for crunch or rules heavy books. That has held for me for 2e (bought after it was OOP since it was before my time), 3e, and 3.75/Pathfinder.

 

[Diamond Cross]

Well, I really like the Forgotten Realms and Dark Sun. They are my favorite settings. So I go pretty deep into them. For example, I have most of the books for FR in both 2e and 3.5e. However, I don't go off the deep end to buy every single little book that is published. I will buy all the books that are most useful to me. For example, I have the Campaign Book, Magic Of Faerun, Lost Empires Of Faerun, and Player's Guide. I will also buy novels based on them because I like to read.

But anymore because of how expensive the books can be, I just can't buy every single little thing that comes my way.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Because I'm kind of a self-appointed Game Librarian, I buy more stuff than the average gamer. Exactly how much depends upon the game, the setting and how I plan to use it.

For D&D, I purchased a lot of setting stuff in 2Ed, slightly less in 3Ed. In 4Ed, I've only purchased enough to run PCs, since I don't like the game enough to ever want to run it.

For RIFTS, I bought a lot of stuff because the setting books and the stuff for PCs were the same. But eventually, I stopped running the game, so I stopped buying.

HERO, Deadlands, Paranoia, Space: 1889 and some others also got massive purchases, but because of my love of the games themselves. Of those, HERO continues to get a lot of my money.

And since I don't care for 4Ed, HERO is currently my main RPG purchase, along with some of the 3.X stuff for games like Pathfinder, Arcana Evolved and True20.

 

[IronWolf]

If it is a setting I actually intend to DM in then I will buy a fair amount or collect a fair amount over time. I am not a completionist though, so I tend to only buy the books that I think will prove relevant to me. So for me this has meant Forgotten Realms and Golarion.

For settings I might only play in I consider picking up the core book at least. I was not a huge fan of Eberron, but did play in the setting as my group wanted to. So I picked up the core book, but that's it.

 

[Crothian]

I buy everything; in for a penny in for a pound. I like having the knowledge in front of me to help round out the campaign if I'm a DM or allow my character to know more about the world when I'm a player. I usually know more then the DM and I'm not always the easiest player to DM for as I'm slowly learning now that former DMs seem willing to admit that to me.

 

[JeffB]

In the latter days of 2E I got into a campaign setting frenzy (I had been out of D&D for approx 10 years bypassing 2E's heyday).

I bought dozens of FR books and boxes, the original RL boxed set as well as the hardcover and several supplements, The Karmeikos box and a few other AD&D Mystara items, All of the GH material I could find (every item for late 2E Roger Moore era, as well as FTA, and all associated regional supplements), Planescape boxes and some other supplements, D&D Mystara gaz'es, etc. During 3E I picked up everything GH, and then then every 3.0 FR release as well as many 3rd party settings and supplements. Birthright never interested me, and at the time neither did Dark Sun (which now I find appealing from what I know of it)

I realized at some point, a very large percentage of the TSR era work was pretty bad (i.e not useful gaming material but storybooks written by wannabe novel writers-not to mention full of inconsistencies, and errors-FR was particularly bad for this). And none of the 3P settings did a thing for me. Some of the early 3.0 FR release were good, but quickly became splat/stat books with more overt "here's the plot and a bunch of details you'll never use" like the 2E days.

Nowadays I 'm good with a basic setting book of short to moderate length and a couple of specific supplements that catch my eye (or not). "I'd rather buy the lot, and build the house myself" so to speak. I got more inspiration from the sprinkling of fluff in the rules and supplements for 4E, and in particular the mini-gaz of the Nentir Vale in the 4E DMG, than I have anything since I was a kid.

 

[Stormonu]

Back in 2E, I went all the way down the rabbit hole.

Started doing it for 3E, but there was just too much stuff.

I started to cut back on my buying, letting books slip by (mostly FR) and realized I wasn't even using stuff beyond the core campaign book.

Now, I generally only buy the core campaign book (if it's a campaign world I don't already have a copy of), and any accompanying monster book. I haven't bought any of the 4E campaign books, however - nor have I bought the Pathfinder campaign book for Golarion.

 

[Philotomy Jurament]

Ideally, I want a broad overview in the core product. And that's all I want. I'll fill in the details and "start the clock" on the setting's timeline from there. I'm about as poor a customer as a brand manager could dream up, other than someone who doesn't buy anything at all.

 

[Jhaelen]

If I'm actually using the setting as the setting for my campaign, I'll buy every book. If I'm simply interested in the setting I'll typically buy no more than one or two books.

E.g. when Eberron was released I bought the ECS (which I loved!), the Sharn book (which I hated!), and Secrets of Sarlona (which was okay).

When my players decided they wanted to play the next (4e) campaign in Eberron, I tried to get every (3e) book I could get hold of.