[POLL] Multiple RPG Books in Your Group?

[Blue_Kryptonite]

I own all the books. Technically, this means my wife is co-owner, since we don't track whose income is whose, etc. However, she makes me write crib notes on her sheet for what her spells and feats do.

 

[BlueBlackRed]

In our group, both the player AND the DM have to have to book if you want to use the book.

This DM has intentionally stopped buying new books in the hopes that he might get a new one for free

 

[Zudrak]

As DM, I have almost bankrupted myself with new monster books, while we all own a copy of the PHB. The only non-core book that the DM and a player owns is the Epic Level Handbook. My brother is just itching to get to the epic levels...

 

[KB9JMQ]

Well my group consists of me (DM) my wife, another couple and three high-school aged boys.
I have all the books, my wife has her own PHB, the couple has nearly all the books including ECS (which we are currently playing in).
Two of the boys have the PHB and the other barely owns dice

 

[Justin D. Jacobson]

While that may be true, I consider it a laughable position when my experience (and the - now older - WotC marketing survey) is taken into account. IME, the GM out-buys the players by more then 50 to 1. Combined with the fact that for our group, the GM approves all material that enters the game (and the GM must own a copy), it's pointless for the players to just go out an buy player-oriented material for that particular game. And rightfully so.

But, that's just my anecdotal experience.

In my anecdotal experience as well, hence the poll. As a publisher, it seems to me I'd be better off releasing a book I thought almost all GM's would want to get than a book I thought most (but not all) players would want to get.

At any rate, it is in interesting insight into the dynamics of other peoples' playgroups. Thanks for chiming in, everyone.

 

[CRGreathouse]

Lots of copies of all books here, both player and DM books.

 

[ivocaliban]

Yeah, like anyone in my group's going to shovel out cash.

 

[Trickstergod]

Well, one thing I, at least, do, is if I'm interested in a few different books and one of my friends already owns one, I'll probably pick up a book that isn't already owned. Generally speaking.

However, a few books are typically owned by most of my gaming friends. Core rule books obviously, then also generally the core campaign book for any settings we play in and a few other books that have a shared interest among my friends, particularly since we're not always gaming with one another. Heck, I think of the six people in my core group, myself included, we have four copies of the Divine and the Defeated for my own love and pimping of it to them...heh.

 

[ElvishBard]

I guess my experience is odd. I DM and own the DMG, PHB, a few other DM only books, and none of my players own anything. We rely mostly on my books and when someone is using the PHB the other one uses the SRD on the laptop. My players don't even own their own dice or miniatures lol.

 

[Mercule]

Yeah, like anyone in my group's going to shovel out cash.

Ditto.

There are three PHBs between the six of us -- granted, it's all couples, so that's one per household. There are also two DMGs and two MMs (one other player used to DM). There are two copies of MotW. The other DM owns RtToEE and T&B. Otherwise, all the books in the group are mine.

Even when I was a player, I was the one who bought the books. I think there used to be one other player who'd buy a few a the 3.0 splatbooks, but he's moved to a different town.