D&D 4E I'm Not Sure I Can Afford 4e

[Kaodi]

If you count the money I spent on Dragon and Dungeon (which I will not be spending on the DDI), I imagine I will actually be spending less money on D&D this time around. The books will probably look about the same, too, though it may be quite a while before I can afford to really buy in, because I started university in September.

For 3e/v3.5 I have the 3e PHB, DMG, MM, MM2 MotP, D&Dg, SBG, v3.5 Frostburn and Draconomicon, and every Eberron rulebook there is. I use the SRD for Psionics. I suspect that since Eberron is going to be the 2nd year setting, for 4e I am going to want the PHB II, DMG II and MM II (because they will almost certainly have things in them required for Eberron to be run properly) in addition to the PHB I, DMG I and MM I. I will want some of the other books, naturally, but perhaps this time around I will do without them.

 

[Mistwell]

I am turning around some of the same thoughts in my head as well these days.

I have enough D&D 3.5 stuff and d20 stuff and OGL stuff to run adventures for decades. While I'm curious about some of the rules changes in 4e, I'm not sure if I want to get on the train again after I pick up the core books. Of course, they could blow me away and make me mad for more, but....eh. :\

It doesn't help things any that for the first time in my tax-paying career I have to send more than $400 to the Infernal Revenue Service this year. That's pretty much my gaming budget for a year.... :\

Bah. It's looking like you will get make more than that ($600) soon (May) from the IRS with this new stimulus bill they are working on (and no, I am neither bashing nor endorsing that bill, just noting it's existence).

 

[Wolfspider]

Bah. It's looking like you will get make more than that ($600) soon (May) from the IRS with this new stimulus bill they are working on (and no, I am neither bashing nor endorsing that bill, just noting it's existence).

Oh really? Even if I've already filed taxes?

 

[Thaumaturge]

Oh really? Even if I've already filed taxes?

Yes. Here is an explanation of the rebates.

Thaumaturge.

 

[Fallen Seraph]

*sighs* Be nice to get $600, I am actually really envious of Alberta. Since they have gotten stinking rich of the oil-sands and aren't sharing that wealth with the rest of Canada. They gave each tax-payer living in Alberta, $1000 for free.

 

[Kaodi]

Well, most of those taxpayers probably paid over $1000 in taxes to begin with, so they are not exactly getting it for free. However, EN World is not the place for us to get into a debate on the positive and negative externalities that Alberta provides the rest of us with, as much as I would like to.

 

[Spinachcat]

Go make more money. Seriously. People don't realize that SO many great money opportunities exist out there with the talents they already have. More money means that hobby cash means less. When you earn $10/ hour, spending $200 / year on gaming looks extravagant. When you earn $40 / hour, the expense looks minimal.

In the meantime, do the math on the hours of enjoyment for each of your hobbies.
I suspect RPGs will come out among the cheapest.

 

[Angel Tarragon]

3) (I believe the main factor) The huge and sore economical recession that is coming will eventually kill WotC.

As long as WotC remains under the tight grip of Hasbro, I don't see this happening.

 

[pawsplay]

Go make more money. Seriously. People don't realize that SO many great money opportunities exist out there with the talents they already have. More money means that hobby cash means less. When you earn $10/ hour, spending $200 / year on gaming looks extravagant. When you earn $40 / hour, the expense looks minimal.

In the meantime, do the math on the hours of enjoyment for each of your hobbies.
I suspect RPGs will come out among the cheapest.

But if I discover among them, that 4e comes out among the most expensive?

Also, I don't live in NYC. I'll probably be making $50 an hour in a couple of years.... $50 a billable hour, that is. I know I've never made more than $24 an hour in my life, and I don't know of anyone in my social circle who has. $10 an hour hardly seems like the result of underachievement.

I know City of Heroes costs me about $13 a month. If I subscribe to the DI, D&D 4e will definitely not be the cheapest hobby I have.

 

[The Little Raven]

But if I discover among them, that 4e comes out among the most expensive?

I think you're missing his point, which is that 3 books can provide near-infinite hours of entertainment, as opposed to most other forms of entertainment which provide far less man-hours of fun for an equivalent price.