Ask yourself if you have ever done without or delayed purchasing something you really need because of your RPG hobby.
If the answer is no, you're probably allright.
If the answer is no, you're probably allright.
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I spend way too much on RPG's.
- Thread starter Treebore
- Start date
Olaf the Stout
Hero
This.
Since I didn't switch to 4E my expenditure on RPG's has really dropped away. This has been offset by an increase in expenditure on Blood Bowl minis. I also bought all the trade paperbacks of the KotDT.
I imagine that if I didn't spend some money on that I'd find some other hobby to suck the funds away.
Olaf the Stout
I sometimes spend a fair bit, in fits and starts - one time I'll buy a bunch of 4e stuff, recently I've been buying Pathfinder. But the cost per day is pretty trivial compared to daily work expenses - commuting by Tube (around £7-£8), sandwich & croissant in town (£5.60), etc.
By far my largest RPG expense though is actually playing, at the pub - that means an extra Tube journey to the pub (ca +£2), a meal (avg £10-£11) and around 2 pints of beer or cider, typically ca £8. That's £20 at least once a week, compared to which the cost of RPG books or even minis* is pretty trivial.
*I have been known to spend ca £175 on minis, comparable to buying Ikea furniture, but I only buy minis about every six months, and usually it's less than that.
By far my largest RPG expense though is actually playing, at the pub - that means an extra Tube journey to the pub (ca +£2), a meal (avg £10-£11) and around 2 pints of beer or cider, typically ca £8. That's £20 at least once a week, compared to which the cost of RPG books or even minis* is pretty trivial.
*I have been known to spend ca £175 on minis, comparable to buying Ikea furniture, but I only buy minis about every six months, and usually it's less than that.
Ajar
Explorer
I tend to go on RPG PDF binges, particularly at Christmas for whatever reason. But I've even scaled back on that after buying a ton of d20 content a few years back that I've for the most part barely touched since moving to 4E. Now, aside from ~1 4E book or box a year -- Shadowfell box last year, Menozberranzan this year -- my biggest RPG expenditure is my ENWorld sub for Zeitgeist. But that's clearly worth it, since Zeitgeist is awesome and my players love it. 
Dice4Hire
First Post
My spending goes in fits, too. I bought most of the 4E books, less the planer stuff and a few others, so that was steady expenditures for a couple of years.
A couple of years ago or more like a year and a half ago, I also bought a good amount of minis.
In the last year, I have bought a ton of maps for D&D and recently got a bunch of Star WArs ones as they were ridiculously cheap.
Recently I bought some minis when I went back for a visit to the states.
In the future, i just do not know, as 4E is basically over. Maybe Dungeon Command, the Map pack in December, and ....
Who knows
If I decide I have to spend, I will go for some encounters stuff on Ebay, or Dungeon props stuff.
A couple of years ago or more like a year and a half ago, I also bought a good amount of minis.
In the last year, I have bought a ton of maps for D&D and recently got a bunch of Star WArs ones as they were ridiculously cheap.
Recently I bought some minis when I went back for a visit to the states.
In the future, i just do not know, as 4E is basically over. Maybe Dungeon Command, the Map pack in December, and ....
Who knows
If I decide I have to spend, I will go for some encounters stuff on Ebay, or Dungeon props stuff.
Erekose
Eternal Champion
Unfortunately I think that my buying of RPG books is strongly linked with my need to collect things.
The only purchase that I plan to make in the future are the core 5E books - I can kid myself that I'll wait for positive review but that's just an illusion as the collector in me will force me to make the purchase.
[As a non-fan of 4E clearly this can lead me to regret purchases!]
The only purchase that I plan to make in the future are the core 5E books - I can kid myself that I'll wait for positive review but that's just an illusion as the collector in me will force me to make the purchase.
[As a non-fan of 4E clearly this can lead me to regret purchases!]
Radiating Gnome
Adventurer
I spend plenty on gaming (hell, I just started a column about gadgets and technology in gaming, and the seed for that is actually having spent a lot of money on them). But I don't see my hobby spending as a problem.
1. I can afford it. (double income no kids household, and so on)
2. Compared to other hobbies, like golf or skiing or my wife's bookbinding, the spending seems to be inline with what other committed people spend on their hobbies.
3. It brings me a lot of pleasure.
It's entirely possible to play D&D on a shoestring budget, the same way it's possible to go to the DAV and buy a set of old, used golf clubs and play golf on just a local, municipal golf course because it's cheap. I could afford new state-of-the-art clubs, and could afford travel to play on different, private courses, would it be a problem for me to do so?
And who gets to decide that?
So, anyway, we all live in different circumstances, with different budgets and different priorities. Being less able to spend on the hobby doesn't make anyone more or less committed to it. Just like being able to spend a lot on golf clubs doesn't make a person a better golfer. Moderating your spending is a pretty personal thing, I figure.
-rg
1. I can afford it. (double income no kids household, and so on)
2. Compared to other hobbies, like golf or skiing or my wife's bookbinding, the spending seems to be inline with what other committed people spend on their hobbies.
3. It brings me a lot of pleasure.
It's entirely possible to play D&D on a shoestring budget, the same way it's possible to go to the DAV and buy a set of old, used golf clubs and play golf on just a local, municipal golf course because it's cheap. I could afford new state-of-the-art clubs, and could afford travel to play on different, private courses, would it be a problem for me to do so?
And who gets to decide that?
So, anyway, we all live in different circumstances, with different budgets and different priorities. Being less able to spend on the hobby doesn't make anyone more or less committed to it. Just like being able to spend a lot on golf clubs doesn't make a person a better golfer. Moderating your spending is a pretty personal thing, I figure.
-rg
crazy_monkey1956
First Post
I recently decided that I don't really need most of the supplemental material for most games, at least not in dead-tree form. I'm a die hard collector though, so I fully intend to maintain the collection, just converting everything to digital format (and selling the dead trees) that's available or will be available.
I plan on keeping the core rulebooks of every system I collect in real book format just because and getting a few more to round things out (Dark Heresy and the other Warhammer 40k stuff is the most recent area of interest).
But, yeah, I probably spend too much on RPGs, overall.
I plan on keeping the core rulebooks of every system I collect in real book format just because and getting a few more to round things out (Dark Heresy and the other Warhammer 40k stuff is the most recent area of interest).
But, yeah, I probably spend too much on RPGs, overall.
I think you need to look at both the costs -- including the total cost of ownership -- and the benefits of your purchases.
Spending hundreds of dollars on a family vacation to a game convention might be totally worth it, for instance, while buying miniatures that you won't really use but will have to store could be a waste. Books you read once, think about for a week or so, and then put on the shelf might be somewhere in between. They might be worth it if you then sell them back, even taking a loss.
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