The older i get the less I need.

[Reynard]

I recently went through a move of house, and in the process I eliminated 90% of my physical RPG collection. Since, I have thought a lot about that: am I going to regret the Great Purge? Will I rebuild my collection in the new house? If so, with what games?

I have coupled this process with considering which upcoming Kickstarters I want to back, and why. And somewhere in the meantime I realized that I just don't need this stuff, or most of it.

I need less stuff, as it relates to my TTRPG hobby. I need fewer books, yes,but also fewer pages in the books I do want. I need fewer rules, too, and recoil from games I think are really keen in concept but are (or promise to be) way too rulesy.

I feel like I need three games: Shadowdark for D&D style adventures, Mutants and Masterminds 3E for supers, and SWADE for literally everything else. I like new games and I sometimes want them, but I really struggle being willing to buy or back them knowing that I just need less.

I am going through that with Ashes Without Number right now. I love Crawford's games, and PA is my favorite genre, so it should be a no brainer. But I am have a hell of a time pulling the trigger to back it.

Anyway, just venting.

How about you? How do you feel about the amount of stuff you feel like you need to be happy in the hobby?

 

[payn]

For RPGs, I buy PDFs 90% of the time now. I dont worry anymore if im going to use it or not. PDFs takes no physical space to have. If anything its nice to read when im bored.

At this age im actually starting to really jive with the one shot or the bespoke RPG. I'll get stoked to plan an adventure or even just play for a one night shot at Alien, Bladerunner, DCC funnel, etc...

My go to classics for campaign play are 'goose 2E Traveller and Pathfinder Classic. I wont say never, but im not sure if I will ever get into a another crunchy long term campaign intended RPG again.

Battletech on the other hand, has me printing models and terrain alot. Thats a big part of the fun for me and has replaced RPG stuff like fantasy minis, terrain, maps, etc..

 

[cranberry]

When I moved from my college dorm to my first apartment, I got rid of a lot of D&D stuff. I've regretted it ever since I've seen the prices people are willing to pay on eBay.

 

[aco175]

I purged a lot of my old stuff and the old editions of D&D since we are only playing the newest edition. Some of the old supplements have cool ideas and resources, but I can most everything I need online for that part. I really only play D&D so most everything fits in a briefcase now.

My golf crap on the other hand is getting to where it needs to purge.

 

[Joshua Randall]

You can’t take it with you.

But you can put it on the shelf and run your hands lovingly along the spines while murmuring “My precious!”

I can respect minimalism, but the older and more comfortably middle class I get, the more I enjoy being able to spend my disposable income on nice books. The fact that most of them are elf games , well….

 

[Autumnal]

Right there with you, Reynard. These days, give me something like Loner, Fate Accelerated, or Ironsworn & Starforged, and I’m set. My setting book is more likely to be a novel, history book, or movie/TV show than something published for roleplaying. (Which is kind of a throwback to my earliest gaming days.) I trust in my own powers of invention and a lifetime of vacuuming up many, many ideas.

 

[Reynard]

Right there with you, Reynard. These days, give me something like Loner, Fate Accelerated, or Ironsworn & Starforged, and I’m set. My setting book is more likely to be a novel, history book, or movie/TV show than something published for roleplaying. (Which is kind of a throwback to my earliest gaming days.) I trust in my own powers of invention and a lifetime of vacuuming up many, many ideas.

Vacuumed up, food processed into a slurry, pressure cooked on High, and super-soakered out at the players!

 

[J.Quondam]

I can sympathize. I've always been a minimalist, and gone through a couple major purges. For the most part, i don't really regret anything I've gotten rid of, though I have reacquired a handful of things here and there.

However, what I've found in the last ten years or so, as I've played so much less than before, I've picked up a lot of new rpg stuff in hardcopy, mainly other systems and genres. I think reading games has become a proxy for playing them. Maybe if I ever get back into playing, I'll figure out my updated preferences and have another purge.

 

[Autumnal]

@Reynard - It is the way.

 

[Reynard]

This is a real world issue for me because I run at least 2 mini con-campaigns at conventions every year. I decide on a premise first, usually, and then choose a game to run that premise. It will be 3 or 4 sessions with the game, exploring that premise, usually with substantially the same players for those 3 or 4 sessions.

As it relates to the choosing a game part, I have felt a shift over the years. I used to waffle between something I wanted to try, and something I figured would get folks in chairs. That often meant 5E or some variant, or a game that was a better fit but not as likely to have the pull I felt I needed. Since I run these games at the same couple cons, though, the worry about filling seats has gone away. people know me and the types of games I run and it has been relatively easy to get a full table, often witht he saem players filling every seat of every session of the con-campaign. It isn't always the same players year, butt hey come from the same pool of a couple dozen players usually.

What this did is free me from worrying about game popularity when choosing what to run, and in turn it meant I could just drop 5E from the running. hence my list of the 3 games I do tend to run. But, there are still some games I want to try. My February Total con multi-generational space opera is going to use Stars Without Number because I think it is really great but I have never had a chance to run it for more than a one shot.

But this is the tension. I also don't want to learn yet another ruleset. I do not need more rules. At the same time, i think it is important to be more than proficient with the rules to run these games, because I do a lot of improvising and letting the players lead the game. That means I have to know what to do, rules wise, when the players enact their ridiculous plan. And to a lesser extent, i like to show up to the game well equipped: hard copy rule book(s), screen, good character sheets, etc. And all that is the "stuff" I feel like I don't need anymore.

I almost ran this game with Savage worlds for those reasons. I know the rules, I have the stuff, and SWADE does adventure sci-fi just fine. And the closer to February I get, the more I wish I had done that.

Sorry this is rambling. I am full of pie and turkey.