Jan 26, 2009
Waste of Paper
You have a shelf full of rulebooks and you have spent hundreds of pounds/dollars over the years keeping it that way but just how much of what fills your shelf would you honestly buy if you were given the chance to read through it all those years ago? Sure you’ll have the systems and the settings that you’ll have played before as a player or picked up for a quick look while at a friends house but how many have you bought either off your own back or after barely reading a review online or in a magazine?
I’m looking at my shelf at the moment and a lot of it is obscured by the detritus beside my bed but at least 50% of what I can see is settings that I’ve barely used.
- Dragon Mountain – To this day I still have no idea why I bought it. The books have been flicked through maybe twice and then discarded to the bookshelf never to be opened again. In fact I think it was bought at the urging of a few of my players who quickly changed their minds after I’d handed over my hard earned cash and they’d got their grubby mitts of the books for themselves.
- Karameikos – I know why I bought this and I know why it still sits on my shelf and not in a landfill somewhere. For many years I played D&D using the Rules Cyclopedia and was sitting on the edge of my seat when I found out they were releasing the setting for AD&D. Again this setting has never been touched except for the occasional flick through to remind me of what mistakes TSR could make. I think it was still TSR at the time. It’s a lesson in how something right can become so wrong when no thought goes into the process.
- Birthright – This looked very promising when I first got a hold of it. And do you know just how much of the setting and rules I’ve used over the years? I’ve used the map. That’s it. I spent £20 and used a map that I could have made for pennies. This one I have no idea why I keep it on the shelf though. It must be the logo on the side of th ebox as it looks quite impressive.
In fact now I think about it I’m convinced that I keep them just to beef up my collection and make it look more impressive. Does anyone else do this or am I the only one thats so insecure about the size of his collection that I have to buy guff just to make myself feel better?
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hahaha I’ll pay shipping if you want to send me Dragon Mountain
I’ve use most of what I have in the last 5 years. I do crossovers and the like alot so having alot of books from different sets really helps me out. Also, so many were gifts.
Viriathas last blog post..Interlude: Short Takes 01/26/09
If I can get over the shelf envy and everything is still in the box I may just do that.
I could think of some people who could do with being reminded that TSR didn’t shit gold bricks and fart rainbows. You should given them a lend of them
Hammers last blog post..The Curse of Fatal Dissertation!
In later years I think it was something like a 50/50 hit rate for me. Unless it was an established setting there was a good chance it was utter mince.
I’ve “culled the herd” in a big way in relation to my RPG collection. I had a ton of impulse buys from conventions that I had barely cracked open.
Zachary Houghtons last blog post..Whitehall ParaIndustries
I’ve lost that many books over the years I think I’d end up with about 8 books if I went on a cull :s
My game collection is ginormous. I’ve read maybe two thirds of it, actually used only a fraction. There are a couple of entire product lines in there, most notably the full run of WotC’s D&D 3E. There are big games, small games, indie games, licence games, games which use Chinese fortune cookies as a resolution mechanic, games in English, Finnish, Swedish and German. Some of them are made of win and awesome, and I weep tears of joy for owning a copy and being able to read it. A couple are so hideously bad their writers should, if not be shot, then at least be forced into a line of work that is not even remotely creative, lest they pollute the world again with their talentlessness. There are games I do not understand on a conceptual level and can’t pass judgment on their quality. And the collection is growing.
I wouldn’t voluntarily get rid of any of it. My name is NiTessine, and I’m a game junkie.
NiTessines last blog post..Update on Ropecon, Tracon, Other Things
I feel your pain!