So I have the Martial Powers book.

[Shroomy]

Yes, thanks for all the info. I'm not sure I can wait the 1 1/2 weeks for this book now; I may have to upgrade my Amazon shipping.

 

[Shadeydm]

Thanks for taking the time to share Bagpuss!

 

[Lord Mhoram]

I'm not going to comment any more on the content of the book, I think I've provided plenty of spoilers, and some of the questions now are getting more into details about mechanics which I don't think would be fair to release.

I think it's enough now to say I am very happy with the content of the book. I'll recommend it to anyone that plays (or might play in the future) a 4th Ed Martial character.

Thanks for all the info you did give us. I appreciate the time and effort to get us the info. I am planning on getting this right away.

 

[thundershot]

If I didn't know any better, I'd say WOTC sent Bagpuss the book early to help get people excited about it. I know *I* want it now...



Chris

 

[firesnakearies]

Yep, I'll definitely be getting it ASAP.

 

[gamersgambit]

Just a friendly thank you to Bagpuss. As a retail store owner, I am often frustrated by people who get their books early online and post the details leading my customers to order online, believing (mostly falsely) that they'll get the book early if they order from someone other than me.

And a hopeful suggestion to the folks out there who have LGSes near them: support your FLGS, please, and pick up the book there. These are some rough times for everyone, but especially for small specialty retail stores that do gaming stuff primarily, and buying from a retail store is going to make the difference for a lot of us. Yeah, you can buy from an online company, but you can definately *get* the item on the day it comes street-legal from a store and you are buying, most often, from people who actually care about supporting the hobby.

 

[Cadfan]

While I don't give a crap about supporting local gaming stores as some sort of moral or ethical or "the good of the hobby" type issue, I will say that in my experience, buying from a gaming store will usually get you the book earlier than buying online. Once in a while an online store will screw up and give you the book before the release date, but a competent gaming store will give you the book on the release date, every time. Online won't.

 

[Imban]

Bagpuss got his directly from WotC due to special circumstances, too, rather than some sort of early order. The only tried-and-true method I know of for getting early releases of books is to attend conventions, really, and even then only for some companies. Like White Wolf.

 

[firesnakearies]

While I really love the -idea- of supporting the local gaming store, it's really a financial no-go. I have no idea how gaming stores are even going to stay in business now that the Internet is such an easy, cheap means of getting books and other supplies.

Gaming stores are great, but it's not like the old days, where we NEEDED them in order to get the gaming goodies. Buying from a store now when the Internet makes so much more sense would essentially be an act of pure charity.

Now, my FLGS wants me to pay them $29.95 for Martial Power (for example), plus the $10 or so in gasoline to drive there and back, and the hour of my time to run the errand.

Buy.com will ship the book right to my door, and all I pay is $17.79, with shipping for free.

That's a tough sell, there. It's not like my FLGS is saving starving children or something. If I'm going to just give extra money away for no benefit to myself, there are plenty of non-profit organizations that I support.

Now, if these stores move into a business model in which they can offer things the Internet cannot, such as a really cool venue to hang out and game, highly informed and helpful employees and stellar personal service, maybe incorporating coffee/food, or hosting lots of cool events . . . then it becomes a lot more reasonable to ask me to buy my books there.

I mean, if I'm going to the store frequently ANYWAY, if it's an important community locale for me, then I'd feel almost obligated to buy my gaming stuff from them.

But most stores aren't providing much "exclusive content" as far as I've seen. I'm sorry, but I've got to stick with my 50-60% savings for now.

 

[Kobold Avenger]

Now, if these stores move into a business model in which they can offer things the Internet cannot, such as a really cool venue to hang out and game, highly informed and helpful employees and stellar personal service, maybe incorporating coffee/food, or hosting lots of cool events . . . then it becomes a lot more reasonable to ask me to buy my books there.

A lot of stores I've gone to have a gaming room at least, and they do sell comics which I generally buy at least 1 per week, which means I'll be at one at least once per week.

But I agree that more of them should offer more.