Olaf the Stout
Hero
I was recently thinking about the cost disparity that exists between the DM and players in D&D. It may be different for other groups, but in my group, where I am the DM, I have easily spent many, many times more on our game than than the rest of the group combined.
We are currently playing a 3.5E campaign. I own all the core rulebooks (plus an extra PHB), all of the Complete books plus at least another 20 hardcover books. That just covers the WotC 3.5E books. There's also 50+ copies of both Dungeon and Dragon magazine. On top of that there are 50+ 3rd party books, boxed sets and adventures as well as accessories like D&D pre-painted minis (a couple of thousand), dungeon tiles, flip mats, combat pads, etc. Let's not even get into the number PDF's!
Cost-wise I have easily spent several thousand dollars on RPG products over the last 10+ years. Obviously not every single product is used in the current campaign or the one we just finished, but a fair proportion of it is. My players, on the other hand, have spent hardly anything. Out of my 5 current players, only 3 of them even own a PHB! Now in fairness, one player only just joined the group, and has never played D&D before.
But still, their "buy-in" from a financial perspective is miniscule. One of my players owns the 3 core rulebooks, about half a dozen other WotC 3.xE books and a hundred or so D&D pre-painted minis. Another player has the core rulebooks, and a handful of other WotC 3.xE books.
Now I'm not complaining about my personal expenditure on RPG products. I purchased all of those books, minis, etc. because I wanted to. I didn't buy any of them simply so my players could have access to them. I wanted them for myself. Having said that, I certainly let my players use my books when we game (we play at my house), as I want my books to be used, not just sit on the shelf collecting dust.
The way that D&D is set up though, it seems that the DM is assumed to wear a lot more of the financial burden. Even at a very base level, the DM is expected to buy 3 books (PHB, DMG and MM), whereas the players only have to buy the PHB.
I know that some gaming groups try to share this cost amongst the group, especially for more costly purchases that the whole group will use. However, this doesn't work for all groups. In my previous group I asked about everyone chipping in to buy an extra copy of the PHB as there were only 3 copies at the table between 5 players and 1 DM. Several players baulked at the issue, despite the fact that it would have worked out to about $7 per person. This was a group of employed people aged 25-35, so $7 wasn't exactly a huge amount.
So what do you think? Does the way D&D is set place too much disparity between the DM and the players in terms of cost? How is the cost spread in your group?
Olaf the Stout
We are currently playing a 3.5E campaign. I own all the core rulebooks (plus an extra PHB), all of the Complete books plus at least another 20 hardcover books. That just covers the WotC 3.5E books. There's also 50+ copies of both Dungeon and Dragon magazine. On top of that there are 50+ 3rd party books, boxed sets and adventures as well as accessories like D&D pre-painted minis (a couple of thousand), dungeon tiles, flip mats, combat pads, etc. Let's not even get into the number PDF's!
Cost-wise I have easily spent several thousand dollars on RPG products over the last 10+ years. Obviously not every single product is used in the current campaign or the one we just finished, but a fair proportion of it is. My players, on the other hand, have spent hardly anything. Out of my 5 current players, only 3 of them even own a PHB! Now in fairness, one player only just joined the group, and has never played D&D before.
But still, their "buy-in" from a financial perspective is miniscule. One of my players owns the 3 core rulebooks, about half a dozen other WotC 3.xE books and a hundred or so D&D pre-painted minis. Another player has the core rulebooks, and a handful of other WotC 3.xE books.
Now I'm not complaining about my personal expenditure on RPG products. I purchased all of those books, minis, etc. because I wanted to. I didn't buy any of them simply so my players could have access to them. I wanted them for myself. Having said that, I certainly let my players use my books when we game (we play at my house), as I want my books to be used, not just sit on the shelf collecting dust.
The way that D&D is set up though, it seems that the DM is assumed to wear a lot more of the financial burden. Even at a very base level, the DM is expected to buy 3 books (PHB, DMG and MM), whereas the players only have to buy the PHB.
I know that some gaming groups try to share this cost amongst the group, especially for more costly purchases that the whole group will use. However, this doesn't work for all groups. In my previous group I asked about everyone chipping in to buy an extra copy of the PHB as there were only 3 copies at the table between 5 players and 1 DM. Several players baulked at the issue, despite the fact that it would have worked out to about $7 per person. This was a group of employed people aged 25-35, so $7 wasn't exactly a huge amount.
So what do you think? Does the way D&D is set place too much disparity between the DM and the players in terms of cost? How is the cost spread in your group?
Olaf the Stout
