Wandering books and sticky fingers

[GuardianLurker]

OK, I'm a fool

Well,

thanks to all of you (Janx and Twofalls, especially) for your help. I found the book. So no thief, this time. Yay. I feel like the Grand Poobah of the Great Order of Doofi, but YAY!

So thanks all. It helped.

 

[Ferret]

What I'm planning on doing is provide the following ultimatum to the group. "Bookcase privileges are revoked. No more examining any of my books, before, during, or after my session. No more handling of my books except at my specific request. Should one more book go wandering, I will disband this group immediately."

Stike the disbanding and I'd totally agree.

 

[Kanegrundar]

Well,

thanks to all of you (Janx and Twofalls, especially) for your help. I found the book. So no thief, this time. Yay. I feel like the Grand Poobah of the Great Order of Doofi, but YAY!

So thanks all. It helped.

That's good that it wasn't a thief. Glad you found the book.

Kane

 

[domino]

Fortunately, no book stolen.

For future, I'd suggest, that if you really do think a book was taken, talk to the players, and offer an amnesty. They return the book, no harm no foul. If not, then you'd have to start taking steps.

 

[twofalls]

I'm glad you found your book, very glad. Friends aren't friends if they can't trust each other. You're welcome for what its worth, I'm just glad it was nothing.

 

[twofalls]

Tough one. I have missplaced books before, suspecting they may have been stolen, only to find it later stuffed inside a lesser used pocket in my widget bag.

I have heard that some DM's who shoulder the cost of new book materials in long standing groups/campaigns institute a small book collection fund from their players on a regular basis, say $5 each a month or so. The players realize they benefit from this situation as it may be unfair for the DM to bear this expense alone. That might be a good idea to try if you plainly tell the group your situation ( without resorting to sit-com trap baiting techniques ) and offer them a non-confronational way to rectify the problem.

I do exactly this. My players donate freely, there is no requirement to pay, but we do $5.00 dontations a month and if a player can't pay that month they give the treasurer a $5 IOU and pay as they can(I donate $10.00 to keep our web page up). We use the money not only to buy books for my use, but to get books for the players as well. For example every player has recieved a copy of Monte Cook's Arcana Unearthed as well as a copy of the Gamma World PHB out of the fund.

 

[Nadaka]

1: store your books away from your players.
2: if one needs to borrow a book, make then sign a check in sheet when borrowed and returned.
3: keep this checkin sheet where you and only you have direct acess, so they have to sign in and out under your supervision.
4: remember to ask for your book when one isn't returned by the end of the session.

 

[WayneLigon]

Back when I used to do a lot of book-loaning and played at the FLGS a lot, books would occassionaly go missing. After the second one, I put small discrete labels in many of my 1E hardbacks, done on paper with postal-grade adhesive; there's no way anyone's peeling that off without risking damage to the book. I put it on the back cover near the spine, then I also put one on page 20 very near the spine. Very easy to overlook in case someone is thinking about taking it. I got one book back that way; the tag on the back cover had been removed very neatly but they missed the one on page 20.

 

[Pip-Boy 2000]

I run mostly private gaming sessions in my home or soneone else's home, and even if I accidentally left a book or three at someone else's place, I'd have no trouble reclaiming them later.

Besides, I always check to make sure I have every book before I leave an area. I'm obsessive that way.

 

[Altalazar]

Back when I used to do a lot of book-loaning and played at the FLGS a lot, books would occassionaly go missing. After the second one, I put small discrete labels in many of my 1E hardbacks, done on paper with postal-grade adhesive; there's no way anyone's peeling that off without risking damage to the book. I put it on the back cover near the spine, then I also put one on page 20 very near the spine. Very easy to overlook in case someone is thinking about taking it. I got one book back that way; the tag on the back cover had been removed very neatly but they missed the one on page 20.

Damn, that's downright nasty - taking a book and deliberately removing an ID label - how did that go when you found the sticker on page 20? Did it turn out that the inside cover label "accidentally" came off? heh.