Must you have and use every book for D&D

[Quasqueton]

It amazes me, all this complaining about too many supplement books. People claim they "must" get, have, and use anything WotC puts out for D&D. Some call it "rules bloat."

There is actually a thread on this forum talking about that some think it is good that a new edition of the game is coming out because it will stop the players from having to buy all the previous edition supplement books.

"get off the treadmill" of the seemingly endless supply of splatbooks, supplements, and adventures

I've seen this kind of statement many times on this forum.

This concept is always used to bang the drums of "player entitlement" and "loss of DM power."

This absolutely astonishes me. People actually feel compelled to buy and use supplemental rule books? Enough people that the concept is used as a base of constant complaints?

Quasqueton

 

[DragonLancer]

Not me. I only buy the ones I want and ignore the rest. I for one, have never understood the "must buy it all" mentality. *Shrugs*

 

[boerngrim]

Hi
I don't really fit any of the options above. I would like to ( OK I Must! ) own all the 3.0/3.5 books so that I have access to all the options. One of my players teases me that I'm like a kid with Pokemon, GOTTA GET EM ALL! I own most of the 3.0/3.5 books, but I never feel compelled to use any of the add on rules. My players and I use what fits our game and the rest we don't.
Thanks.

 

[Crothian]

Other

I only get the books I like. I don't care if they fit into my game or improve it. Just the topics that interest me.

 

[Treebore]

Hi
I don't really fit any of the options above. I would like to ( OK I Must! ) own all the 3.0/3.5 books so that I have access to all the options. One of my players teases me that I'm like a kid with Pokemon, GOTTA GET EM ALL! I own most of the 3.0/3.5 books, but I never feel compelled to use any of the add on rules. My players and I use what fits our game and the rest we don't.
Thanks.

This is how I was. I even bought almost a dozen WOTC books after I quit 3E. If you add in GoodmanGreen Ronin, Necromancer, and third party modules/books I have bought considerably more.

So I buy them when I think they have cool ideas, even though I likely will never use the books. Modules are a different story. Modules are pretty much a "Gotta have em all!" addiction of mine.

 

[Pinotage]

I'll be the first to admit that I've bought stuff I never used, and even some stuff I've never read. I buy what interests me, and use what's needed. Sometimes certain books cover rules or topics in more detail than others, and that helps one to sculpt something interesting for your game. I have no real interest in FR or Eberron, so I don't really look at those titles. Then again, my print collection pales in comparison to my pdf collection.

To answer your question, I use stuff that will improve my game. Mostly.

Pinotage

 

[Philotomy Jurament]

I buy what I like (and I run what I like), so I don't have this problem.

Nevertheless, I've seen a lot of people saying it's difficult to find players for anything but the latest edition, and I also think that some players expect that a DM should try to incorporate new material -- especially new material from "official" sources, and especially if the *player* has purchased the book (not at all uncommon, given that many books are marketed squarely at players, these days). So I wouldn't dismiss "there's pressure to buy the latest and greatest," entirely.

 

[rowport]

It amazes me, all this complaining about too many supplement books. People claim they "must" get, have, and use anything WotC puts out for D&D. Some call it "rules bloat."
...This absolutely astonishes me. People actually feel compelled to buy and use supplemental rule books? Enough people that the concept is used as a base of constant complaints?

Quasqueton-

Surely, it is not the same people who are complaining about "rules bloat" that are buying all or most of the supplements, right? If there are two different groups, with diametrially different opinons about supplements, why is that surprising?

For myself, I voted buying "most" supplements. Getting the new crunchy bits of the game is a source of endless entertainment value for me, even outside the gaming table. Most of my gaming buddies think it is hilarious how much time I spend creating characters who will likely never see game time.

Now, I can see the valid complaint of "rules bloat" in adding complexity to the game. I just do not agree with it, because I literally enjoy the process of learning that extra complexity (although I have not grokked some of the new stuff-- I have done nothing with Book of Nine Swords or Tome of Magic, just because I have not wanted to focus on thinking through the new rules mechanics in them).

At some level it comes down to player trust, though. If a player follows the rules, and bothers to understand them fullly, there really is no reason that the GM *must* also own the book. Heck, I put all the relvant class abilities and feat descriptions right on my character sheets so there is no confusion. If the player is not a powergamer looking for loopholes or broken combos, I see no reason why the GM should object to new material in the game.

FWIW, while I like many of the 4e proposed changes, what I like least about it is its removing many player options, such as certain races, psionics, and PC-"monsters". Those options are the fun part for me-- I like the rules allowing me to create the most unique characters that I can, oddball or not!

 

[Voadam]

I buy a lot of stuff. But there is no must have for me, just more along the lines of "would be nice". I don't even own the 3 3.5 core books, I use the srd. I do own literally hundreds of d20, 3e, and 3.5 books though and get more every month. I set my monthly budget and get stuff I want that fits my monthly budget. There is a lot more that I want that does not fit into my budget so I don't get them. I don't think there is any company where I own everything they put out (except a few one product pdf companies), or even any line of D&D products that I own everything for.

 

[Flynn]

I didn't vote for anything, because there's no option really for only getting the things that sound interesting. I'm not really interested in keeping up with the Joneses, and I don't have a problem saying "I'm only using these rules", etc. I guess having a few years of being tight on money brought me to that point, because I couldn't afford to keep up with all the new releases for a while. Life is better now, but I still only get what I think sounds interesting.

Hope That Helps,
Flynn