Is the cost of Daggerheart books too low?

[Bayushi_seikuro]

A very old rant by game designer John Wick that I thought might be relevant to the discussion. He talks about the nostalgia candle that games used to be cheaper and more complete in the Olden Days.

 

[aramis erak]

Wow! In more than 30 years of gaming, I’ve never even heard of such a thing!

Regardless of the game we are playing, players ALWAYS keep their character sheets between sessions in my experience.

I think I’d actually be more than a little taken aback if a GM asked for my character sheet at the end of the session …

I've been doing so for 35 of my 45 years GMing...

 

[aramis erak]

I mean, it could be that it's just the people I've been gaming with. That said, I have been in what I'd consider 7 more-or-less distinct groups dating back to the late 80s, and it has always been the GM's job to keep the sheets. Sometimes someone has wanted to bring their sheet home, presumably to read up on things, but the norm is that the sheets are part of the game and usually the GM is the one who has all the game stuff. It's just more convenient that way. It eliminates the risk that someone forgets their sheet when stressed after work and stuff like that.

I wonder if this could have its roots in the Swedish RPG market being proportionally more diverse than the US market. Again, it might just be my bias, but pretty much every group I've been a part of except one (which was a fairly short-lived group that only got to play one campaign and it got cut short for reasons) have played multiple RPGs, so usually only the GM has had the book(s) for that game. And it only makes sense that whomever has the books for the game also has the sheets.

It has a lot to do with player forgetfulness.

I started hanging on to sheets in about 91... most of my gaming was at home, most of my gamers found it easier to just leave the sheet in the folder on my shelves. After the campaign, they took them home... usually.

Prior to that, I have had a couple players who asked me to hold their sheets anyway - one because his mother didn't allow him to have D&D in the house, even tho' she didn't mind him playing it. I still had one of AG's sheets 35 years on.

I've one of Mike B's from about 1992 in my Star Warriors box. Mike knew he had trouble keeping sheets, and so Falcon resides in my box. Occasionally broken out as an NPC when I run Star Wars.

 

[Elvish Lore]

“Darrington Press has a moral responsibility to practice price collusion to protect other producers in the industry” is certainly a take.

I'm curious if you got course-corrected in this thread because this response feels unhinged. It doesn't sound like you know what collusion is.

 

[TwoSix]

I'm curious if you got course-corrected in this thread because this response feels unhinged. It doesn't sound like you know what collusion is.

You can keep reading and find out!

 

[VashVet]

Wow! In more than 30 years of gaming, I’ve never even heard of such a thing!

Regardless of the game we are playing, players ALWAYS keep their character sheets between sessions in my experience.

I think I’d actually be more than a little taken aback if a GM asked for my character sheet at the end of the session …

That’s interesting - I’m currently playing a Shadow of the Weird Wizard game, and everyone leaves their character sheet at the DMs place after every game, but I think it’s because the game doesn’t feel like one where you have to pore over your character sheet looking at feats and builds every step of the way.

 

[KYRON45]

When i play we use the character builder so i know whos got what and can build games accordingly. Paper? what year is it?

 

[Incenjucar]

As a GM, the only sheets I'd bring for players were some pregens I made in case they forgot their character sheet or their character died.

 

[Umbran]

This last possibility to my mind reemphasizes that the cards are a cumbersome, unnecessary, and silly thing, but I'm clearly in a small minority on that point.

The cards aren't cumbersome if you buy some cheap trading card sleeve sheets.

With that addition, they become a way to make a sheet modular, without folks having to copy over the choices they've made every level. Nothing silly about that.

 

[Incenjucar]

I'm still working through the Daggerheart rules, but there seems to be inspiration from boardgames. The cards fit right in with the rest of the feel. I can see why it would feel odd to my fellow pen and paper focused gamers, but the extra tactile elements are helpful for some players.