What d20 Purchases to you Regret?

[Kichwas]

Now, if you're going to ask why I bought so much stuff I didn't like, I can only say that I just started playing D&D with the release of 3rd edition. It took me a while to actually know what I liked. Perhaps others are in the same boat. (That doesn't explain Arcana Unearthed, though. I still can't figure out why I bought that one.)

Hype

A lot of stuff that pops up often in this list was way over hyped pre release, and got stellar reviews right as it came out - by people who then shelved it and moved on...

 

[der_kluge]

I think this thread proves one thing - Abraham Lincoln was right.

And, I just love it - I see a post where someone doesn't like Bluffside, and 3 posts later, someone mentions loving it. Funny.

Books I regret (now, this isn't any indication of their quality, mind you, I've just never really used them to the extent that they paid for themselves:

FRCS (WoTC) - yes, it's beautiful, yes, it's really well done, but I don't play in an FR campaign, and the mechanics are generally too powerful (spell prodigy, anyone? Order of the Bow Initiate, anyone?)

Alchemy and Herbalists (Bastion) - yes, it's a well done book, but I've just never used it. I think they could have done *more* with it. As it is, it seems like it is mostly just fluff.

Dungeoncraft (FFG) - It's a perfectly good book, but there's nothing in that I couldnt' have written myself.

Manual of the Planes (WoTC) - I like it, I've just never gotten any use out of it. Fortunately, I got it at Hastings (think Borders, but smaller) for 50% off, so I don't really regret buying it for $15.

Things I've gotten a lot of use:
Book of Templates (pdf/Silverthorne) - just an awesomely useful book, with lots of wicked cool templates. For the most part, these seem culled from other d20 sources, but it's a handy book if you don't have all the other sources. And, at $12, it's a steal.

Requiem for a God (pdf/Malhavoc) - I just love this book. And while I agree with the poster above that some of the stuff should be *more* powerful, it's easy enough to modify. The fluff is quite good, and it's a great idea book. I just wish the OGC were more forgiving (my big complaint about all of Monte's stuff)

Tome of Horrors (Sword and Sorcery) - just a great collection of monsters. Should be on every DM's shelf.

Others that see a lot of use: Bluffside, and Artificer's Handbook, but mostly because I wrote/co-wrote them.

 

[Kichwas]

It's a buyer beware world, and we should all make sure we really want something before we get it.

Don't fall for hype, and don't buy in just because 'that guy online said to'.

That said;

Glad I didn't buy (things I thought about, but gleefully avoided)
Kalamar: Great setting, but very costly to get into.

All you need is the core Campaign Setting. The rest is add on material for those who want more.

Price shouldn't be an issue there.

But again, make sure it really is the right choice for you before you buy it. There's nothing worse than coming online and finding a bunch of people saying how much they regret buying something you like.

Kalamar's a tough read, and it has a certain style - some of us have found that to be just what we wanted, but not everyone will.

Again, buyer beware in all of this. If we didn't buy based on hype, this would be an empty thread.

 

[Remathilis]

All you need is the core Campaign Setting. The rest is add on material for those who want more.

I'll qualify my statement in two ways...

1.) The Core Campaign Setting is great information, and you COULD run a game without it, but you REALLY need the Player's Guide and Atlas to make the most out of it. The Player's Guide esp, because it has the god-domains and race stats, something a campaign setting book SHOULD have, esp if it at all deviates from the norm. (See FRCS, DLCS)

2.) There is SOOOO much history, geography, etc, that it would take more time than I have (currently) to digest it all. Oddly, I didn't feel this way about Realms, which has quite a bit itself.

That said, if I had the time and cash, I'd run Kalamar tommorrow. But I have neither, so I'm glad I didn't get started with it as a setting.

 

[DaveMage]

As a note, even worse than purchasing a book you regret is contributing to one. I've written some really nice stuff for some terribly, terribly uneven books that ended up horrible as a whole. While I can forget about them and go on with my professional life, I then have author copies -- like, five each -- of books I have absolutely no use for and can't even give away to anyone I actually like.

This is a true regret. Ah well.

I think that this is the most depressing thing I've read in this thread.

 

[jaerdaph]

It's been a long time since I've regretted purchasing anything, and I think I make more informed purchase choices now. My regrets go back to the first year or so of the d20 revolution.

I regret buying Champions of Darkness and Heroes of Light for Ravenloft 3e sight unseen, FFE's Encyclopedia of Demons & Devils (although, despite the messy stats, I thought the descriptions were well done), and maybe Creature Collection II (maybe - I felt the Scarred Lands flavor made it less generic than CCI and Relics and Rituals, both of which I liked very much).

I stopped collecting Forgotten Realms 3e about a year and a half ago (finally just lost interest, although I had some fun times in Waterdeep back in the day!), and I've decided to stop collecting Ravenloft after that poorly conceived 3.5 Ravenloft Player's Handbook came out.

As for campaign worlds I do collect, I like Swashbuckling Adventures, Call of Cthulhu and the new Lords of the Night from Bottled Imp Games. And anything d20 Modern!

For me, generic modern or fantasy supplements are my favorite - something I can pull into my own game, and now make up the bulk of my d20 collection.

 

[Yokiboy]

For me, the biggest regret would be AEG's Toolbox. It's been generally well-reviewed, and got a special mention from Monte Cook, but I found it to be very, very badly edited (some of the worst stat blocks I've ever seen) and padded with a lot of utterly useless encounter tables.

I agree with Mr. Patient, AEG's Toolbox had so much potential, but all those stupid encounter tables were just a waste of space, especially as there's no CR or EL listed for any of the entries. The stat blocks are horrible. I would still buy an updated 3.5 version of the book, if it adopted standard stat blocks.

TTFN,

Yokiboy

 

[Michelle Lyons]

I think that this is the most depressing thing I've read in this thread.

It's okay, really. It's just one of the dangers of contributing to multi-author books, especially those that are collections of things.

So, if you /want/ a copy of Rings of Power, Swords of Power, or Wondrous Items of Power, let me know. Mine are the entries with actual stat blocks, and have nothing to do with Drawmij or any faux-Egyptian mythology.

 

[Gundark]

i regret d20.

um....are you one of those anti-d20 people that for some reason frequent d20 boards (the iron kingdoms forum is lousy with them)

 

[Emiricol]

um....are you one of those anti-d20 people that for some reason frequent d20 boards

(the iron kingdoms forum is lousy with them)

Diaglo is quite cheerfully and unapologetically anti-D20 He's also generally a good sport when people hastle him, from what I've seen