What d20 Purchases to you Regret?

[megamania]

What is funny is I have books I rarely (or have yet) to us but I won't part with them.

Waste for me
fast Forward's Wonderous Items of Powers. Prime example of why one should preview the book before ordering it.

Starfarer's Handbook. Just didn't do it for me. Dosen't mean its a bad book...I just don't use it.

Dieties and Demigods Fun to look thru but little I will ever use in a game.

Books I will not part with- 1,2nd, 3rd and 3.5 DMG, PHB and Monster books. Anything Darksun. For 3/3.5 The core books, Planes book and FR Campaign book.

Books of special meaning to me- Oath bound. Over the top adventure. Gotta like it.

 

[Corinth]

Most of the d20 stuff I want to get rid wasn't stuff that I bought, but rather stuff that I received as review copies. That said, here's what I regret actually buying:

• Psionics Handbook
• The 3.0 D&D splatbooks
• The OCR edition of the d20 SWRPG

(OTOH, I really dig Spycraft and Shadowforce Archer.)

 

[johnsemlak]

One book that people seem to regret buying that suprises me is the Psionics Handbook. Why?

I don't have it and don't use psionics, so I really don't know one way or the other. It is written by a pretty good writer, Cordell, FWIW.

 

[Bagpuss]

I'm kinda surprised by how much Scarred Lands stuff is getting kicked around. I always hear how great everyone thinks it is. Learn something new everyday...

It is great, but I'ld admit most of it is not that useful for a non-Scarred Lands campaign, so I can see why folks might regret buying the stuff. Since I'm using it as my campaign setting I've found them all useful, except perhaps Relics and Rituals, as that tends to be more useful for players I think. For all its faults Creature Collection I is probably the most used book in my collection (not including the PHB), more so than the Monster Manual and DMG.

Things I wish I hadn't bought.

Witchfire Triology - lovely art and concepts, but bit to plot driven and lets be honest I'm going to be in my retirement home before the Iron Kingdoms campaign setting comes out or has the sort of support to make it decent option for a DM without the time to homebrew everything.

Psionics Handbook - Got it at half-price but I doubt I'll every use it.

Splatbooks - I use them as do my players but I think sticking to just the core rules and setting specific stuff actually makes a better game, gives too many options and leads to a loss of focus and can make for a bland setting.

 

[Buttercup]

I'm kinda surprised by how much Scarred Lands stuff is getting kicked around. I always hear how great everyone thinks it is. Learn something new everyday...

I think there is a difference between 'bad mouthing' something and saying you regret its purchase. Since several people have wondered at the wide regret over Scarred Lands purchases, let me elaborate on my own opinion.

The setting isn't to my taste. However, I don't think it's particularly ill-done. In fact, the Ghelspad campaign setting is very nice. The reason I, personally, regret my Scarred Lands purchases isn't because of quality (although the first RR book does have its problems, mechanically) but because the flavor of the whole setting is so completely different from what I want and need that I can't even successfully use the stuff as an idea mine.

I forgot to mention it in my list up-thread, but I also regret buying Arcana Unearthed. I don't think anyone would argue that it's a mechanically unsound book, or 'bad'. It just doesn't interest me.

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.)

 

[Buttercup]

One book that people seem to regret buying that suprises me is the Psionics Handbook. Why?

I regret it because after having read it closely, I decided I don't want to include psionics in my game. For me it just doesn't fit with traditional D&D. D20 Modern, perhaps....

 

[Buttercup]

I won't ask people to forgive my ire here. I get enough of it else where. So what I will say is grow up people. If you can design better books in the time alotted AND STILL manage a personal life, then do so. Step up and put your money where your mouth is. My point is S&SS might have ups and down but what REALLY sickens me is the amount of bashing I see on mechanics just because people THINK they can do better. I congradulate the freelancers, the authors and the developers, not just of WW, S&SS and it affiliates but ALL d20 products who put their necks out there than try some time. Until I see that from others, I just say keep quiet.

Nightfall, you really need some perspective here. Do me a favor and re-read the paragraph above, but replace the words book or books with car or cars. Here's an example: "If you can design better cars in the time alotted AND STILL manage a personal life then do so. Step up and put your money where your mouth is." Now, do you see how your complaint sounds? A person isn't unreasonable for complaining about something if they're unwilling to make one of their own. Consumers can and should evaluate what they purchase (preferably before they purchase it, but you get my drift), and there is nothing wrong with stating your concerns about a product.

When someone doesn't like Scarred Lands, that doesn't mean they are sending hate your way. It just means they don't like Scarred Lands. I'm going to try to say this as gently as possible, Nightfall. If you would stop being so over-the-top in your drum-pounding for your favorite setting, more people would take you seriously. It's only a game, dude. A leisure activity.

 

[Buttercup]

Gamers are really as diverse as any other group it seems!

Now there's a wise statement.

 

[danzig138]

It's only a game, dude. A leisure activity.

Ayup.

 

[CRGreathouse]

I've decided all posters here can never be pleased with ANYTHING. Well except maybe book of the Righteous. I notice THAT wasn't on anyone's list.

Funny, that's the first thing on my list. I got no use *whatsoever* out of the Book of the Righeous, and I run a campaign with a strong emphasis on the gods. In fact, out of all the D&D books I've ever bought, this is the prchase I regret most. I didn't like the mechanics of the new classes, sapping all flavor out of already tired archetypes; I didn't like the new spells or domains; I thought the creation story was same-old, same-old; I enjoyed reading the evil section, but didn't get any use out of it. I despised their take on alignment, I hated their strongly good-slanted pantheon, I found their gods to be as flat as Greyhawk gods or FR gods -- and for me, that's a horrible comment. I didn't like the stats for the new creatures, which I've never used as a result. The new PrCs weren't good by my standards; they were about at the same level as what I see on our House Rules forum.

The cover art is excellent, the best part of the book; the art on pages 30, 40, 51, 77, 89, 122, 124, 165, 215, 237, and 248 is pretty good, but I disliked the rest pretty strongly. The space wasted on 1Eesque forms of address by level (in paragraphs throughout the book, as well as pages 313-317) isn't too much, but as I'd never consider using them it's just another strike against the book for me.

More random things I didn't like: backward prophecy mechnics (104-105); magic items -- especially since they don't have prices, making treasure valuation hard (even if they're not sold); holy warriors, especially since they're requried to be good even if seving a nongood deity; the perpetuation of the 2E CN alignment myth (96, 218-219, and many more); the enforsed segregation of evil and nonevil members of the same faith (216-219 and elsewhere).


In short, aside from the cover and a tenth of the art, I found the book utterly useless. There's nothing particularly creative in the book, which is perhaps my biggest complaint; if all I had to do was tear out the mechanics by the roots and rewrite them, I'd have something useful after 10 hours of prep. Now I have nothing regardless of preperaion, unless I cut out the pictures I like and use them for props.