What to get for a broke gamer?

[eris404]

Hey all,

I have a gamer friend whose birthday is tomorrow and I was hoping for some suggestions about what to get her. She doesn't have a whole lot of money and I thought that since our group primarily plays D&D, I'd buy her some books. I know she has the core books + the psionics book (+ d20 Modern), but I'm not sure which other books she has already. She is currently a player, but has aspirations to running a game at some point (though it would probably be a d20 Modern or SciFi game, I think). I think she may have a couple of the Complete books, since she has played a Favored Soul and a Swashbuckler recently, though it could be that she borrowed someone else's books. She tends to play "spellcasters" (that is, clerics, wizards and psions) and the Swashbuckler character is new territory for her.

OK, so any suggestions? It doesn't have to be WotC books necessarily, though I'd prefer not to buy PDFs in this case, and it doesn't have to be D&D necessarily either, though d20 would be preferred.

Thanks guys!

 

[Zander]

You could hedge your bets and get The Year's Best d20 compiled by Monte Cook. There's a bit of everything. The spells section is probably the best. Some of them are brilliant.

It just came out, so she probably doesn't have it.

I'm pretty sure you can get it at Games Plus which isn't a million miles from you.

 

[Bobitron]

I would go for Grim Tales or an Amazon Gift Certificate. The Amazon one will get more book for the $, but some people are just adverse to buying GC's.

Grim Tales is a great gift for any one into Modern, and it is such a flexible book that you can really use it in any time period or genre.

 

[Voadam]

Minis and dice are always a safe option for avoiding duplication.

If she wants to run a game for the first time perhaps a module would be appropriate.

Perhaps Complete Book of Eldritch Might for more magic spell options (though I found some things not as well balanced as I would hope and some 3.5 conversions inadequate).

 

[Mista Collins]

If she plans on running a game and you will be playing in it, buy her the Eberron Campaign Setting and convince her that is what everyone in the group wants to do.

But I agree that a nice set of dice is always a good gift.

 

[Keeper of Secrets]

A broke gamer? Wow. Well, they should first get a cheaper hobby - especially if they are a GM. If they are that broke, get them groceries!

Seriously, though if you want to get a nice gift, get them a gift certicate. Gamers' opinions of what they want tend to shift from week to week.

 

[BigFreekinGoblinoid]

I don't own it, but from what I understand, the DMG 2 is a good book for someone learning to be a (better) GM.

Monster books are always a fun read even if they don't get used immediately ( 3.5 Monsternomicon is available! )

I kinda like the Best of d20 idea too, but I need to learn more about it yet...

Dungeon or Dragon subscriptions are nice too

 

[Thanee]

Complete Arcane, Divine and/or Adventurer could be good, because those see a lot of use and are very useful for players of spellcasting characters.

It would help to know, whether she has any of those, but if you can buy books somewhere, where you can return them, if she already has them, that's about as good.

Bye
Thanee

 

[Crothian]

If you are on a tight budget then you want the books that do more then other books. Don't get a monster book, betr Beast Builder it allows one to create monsters and not rely on a finite supply. DMG 2 is another good book that has good advice for doing things yourself.

 

[DaveMage]

This is an easy one:

Fiery Dragon's Battlebox ($19.99).

I use it for every encounter in every game session. I can't imagine D&D combat without it.