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At what point will you just refuse to buy an RPG?

As mentioned in the episode, lets take out the extreme example of 'my friend made this game and I want to support him and its $200 so I'll buy it'

Also do not include things like "special editions" and other collectors items

This question is really complicated, because I'm not sure I really know what it means to 'buy' a game anymore.

I bought D&D 4E recently. I bought the PH and DMG. Then I noticed the bard class is no longer included with the 1st PH. It looks like they took the best stuff, that used to be in the PH, and broke it into a few different character expansions and handbooks.

So, I've spent over 70$, and still don't have what I got from the original D&D 2nd edition book. I don't feel like I've got the complete game without the bard, but that book was another 30$.

It seems like almost every game I've bought is like this lately. So, maybe this should be broken down into 'how much will you spend on an initial purchase', and 'how much is too much for an expansion'.

Assuming that we're talking about Core Rules only. I'll cap it at about $50 (and look for it on Amazon or online for cheaper). A few factors come into play here too though: size of the book and fullness of the rules. A 600-ish page hardback book in full color of a game that I know I can find players for (like the recent Rogue Trader) is easily worth it's $50 price. Likewise, a giant hardcover book with every possible rule I need for a system (along the lines of the Hero System books) also justifies that $50 tag.

More than $50 REALLY needs to work hard to sell me on it. The only reason I picked up the 4E rules set was finding it for 50% off through Amazon.

I'd have to play a game first before I'd blow more than $50 on a new system, sight unseen.

yeah i can drop $50 on a book but when it's around $60 i dunno... on the other hand depending what game it is i might go over this amount but that's on the extreme case


but i'm a girl and like to spend money... i'd drop hundreds of dollars on games if i won the lottery...or had a sugar daddy.... i need to get on these things

if you dont need to buy any or much more, I have no problem with just under 100$

yeah wizards really sticks ya with those G D expansions. it's like a game book scavenger hunt played with your wallet. find the player's handbook? 40 dollars! now to find the bard you must find the player's hand book part two.

That's what I thought, until I realized that he's actually in some new book that's not even one of the player handbooks!

Serioulsy, WTF? I bought a 10$ psionics book once for a dark sun game I was playing in 1996, and felt then that it should have either been included in the dark sun books, or the basic D&D book.

Now, just to get what I had with two 20$ books with 2nd edition, I need at least four books, with the DMG, two Player Handbooks, and whatever fucking 'mystic powers' bullshit book they put all the wizard and bard stuff in.

and EACH book costs 30$ - 40$

Your next podcast should be 'Is Wizards of the Coast fleecing players and ruining Role Playing?'. They're certainly ruining D&D.

I chose money is not an obstacle. I've spent a lot on some rare out of print stuff and there are a couple things out there I'd be willing to pay more than $100 for if the opportunity to buy them presented itself. Generally how much I will pay depends on how interested I am in the item. I'll spend $20 and under if I'm even the slightest bit interested.

I don't think counting expansions is fair for the $$ listed.

For 4e, 80% of people with a PC can play the game for a year with a $60 DDI subscription, and not a single book.

To *run* the game is a different matter, so that's a bit of a different question, although frankly, you can run the game without the DMG.

The Ptolus book, though...I fee like I got my $$'s worth for $120, even though it was only an accessory, and not even a complete game.

But I picked $60, because that's my hard limit for barrier-of-entry into a new game I've never played, or played once at a con or something.

I love the fact that I can get into most games for <$20 with PDFs, and then buy the paper if I really get excited....after which I am much more likely to spend >$60...