Dungeons and Dragons Books

Those things are EXPENSIVE now! Phew!!

I spent the 90s playing other systems like Ars Magica, Bushido, and Deadlands (these being my favorites). It was a great time to explore as TSR was kind of bloated and over-bearing with the AD&D / 2e version of the game.

Actually wish I still had my old PHB.

Ars Magica ... historical fantasy RPG. 

Deadlands, father of the Savage Worlds rule system.

3rd Edition Dungeons and Dragons came about in 2000 and I bought back into it – the intro price for the three core books (Player’s Handbook, Dungeon Master’s Guide, Monster Manual) was $20, later to be raised to $25. By 3.5 Edition the standard was $30. Being a guy of mediocre at best income I always found < $30 to be a good price point for rulebooks needed to enjoy a game you love.

I never bought a 4th Edition D&D book as I did not like the system. I did buy-in to Pathfinder in 2010 and the Core Book was $50. Expensive but it was also a combined Player’s Handbook and Dungeon Master’s Guide to parallel Dungeons and Dragons. Supplemental books were $30-$40 for hardcovers but soft-covers (like fluff books or all-important Adventure Paths) were around $20; though a complete AP was about 6 issues so that’s $120 but that is over time. All in all still quite affordable and I also saved money on PDFs I bought. A $20 was much easier to drop than a $50.

From 3.x through Pathfinder I also, extensively, used SRDs available for free on the net. My sense of honor made it so I was not comfortable doing this unless I bought a core rule book though. I still do this BTW – I’m uncomfortable with using “free” things from the internet unless I have bought the hard copy first. Within reason of course, I’ve got to like the system and want to support the company.

 Further, I want to support brick and mortar stores that sell these books. I like my Friendly Local Game Store… both of them as a matter of fact. I don’t play Magic so that cash stream is closed off from me. Historical miniature war-games are just not very feasible most of the time to stock on shelves. I know enough about business to know the nuances there regarding that and I don’t fault FLGSs not stocking historicals… thus another cash-stream cut off from me.

This year I got back into role playing games after a two year break. I decided to start playing Dungeons and Dragons Next aka 5th Edition*.

*I’ll expand on the actual product sometime later but here is a condensed version of my thoughts on 5e: It’s fine. It’s not the end-all-be-all of Dungeons and Dragons and not ground-breaking in any way. The only thing missing is the ability to tinker with and customize a character and that’s fine. It’s just another way to game.

After Xmas in 2016 I took some money and bought myself a Players Handbook from Guardian Games. It was $49.95 ! Whewww!! That’s some money. After a few months I felt compelled to buy the other two “core” books (Monster Manual and Dungeon Masters Guide) and those, too, are $50 each. Definitely not an impulse buy anymore and, even with a grown-man’s salary, quite a bite into my gaming budget.

Wanting a DMG for months now but not willing to drop a $50 on it I waited for a used one to pop up at Guardian Games with no luck. I was saving it for later this year but I did have a coupon for 20% off a purchase at Red Castle Games as well as $8 in store credit there so I went there last weekend to get a DMG for $32.

Sure, I can find them regularly on Amazon for $36 and I am a huge fan of Amazon. My consumer ethics got in the way of that though and I buy off Amazon what is hard to search for in brick and mortars around me. Rustic iron nails? Amazon. Dungeons and Dragons books? I know of 5 places, without research, that sell them in my city. Still, $50 each is pretty steep for three core rule books. Unless I run across some deal it looks like the only “deal” I can make is Amazon for the Monster Manual though.

I’m glad I own dice and miniatures and tons of other stuff already. A lifetime in the hobby has given me a good collection of usable game aids. If I was a kid or young adult right now trying to get into the hobby? Sheesh… feel bad for you kid.

So, thanks for reading and get off my lawn.

Staycation 2017 Part II

10 days off in a row and what did I do? Not much really. I got some boring and busy stuff done but nothing important or major. I guess that’s an OK staycation then.

Gretchen got a break from dinner-duty and I managed dinner most of the nights. On top of that I did a load of dishes a day if not more so our cupboards and silverware drawers were stocked! I also made some from-scratch horchata for the first time and it was OK. Next batch I make will be better now that I’ve got the mediocre one out of the way. I learned how to make horchata by watching YouTube videos.

I also got a good deal on some new bedding for Gretchen and I but you get what you pay for and the new bedding will take some getting used to. Nice comforter though but it’s still hitting high 90s and 100s outside so enjoying the coziness of a new comforter is off the list right now.

I did not plan to play any video games but I ended up playing my way through the main scenario in Battlefield 1. I’m not a huge video gamer, any kind of button combo perplexes me and I was having some trouble with Battlefield 1 when I first got it last winter, but I set it on easy and figured some things out and worked my way through it. It is both a fun and slightly educating game (in that I looked up some things after getting inspired by fictional and fantastical events in the game).

Speaking of YouTube, video games, TV, and the PS4 I did spend a lot of time trying out some TV shows, getting in some good documentaries, and watching a lot of instructional YouTube videos.

I watched the first episode of Comrade Detective. It was good but did not immediately grab my interest. It is a parody/spoof , the story being Channing Tatum and some other producer found the footage of an old 80s Romanian (Communist-era) TV show. They digitally remastered it and added some dubbing. There was some Cold War nostalgia for me in it and I think it’s very imaginative of the makers of this thing. It’s on Amazon Prime if you are interested.

Most of the documentaries I watched were about music and also on Amazon Prime save the best doc I saw – Who The F**k Is That Guy which was on Netflix. It’s about Michael Alago, the Electra A&R agent that was an under the radar but seminal aspect in the growth of metal as we know it today. A gay Puerto Rican from the Bronx he loved metal and got a job with Electra and signed major acts like Metallica and White Zombie.  The movie is about his trials and tribulations and his importance in the scene. I always heard about him – namely “Did you know a gay Puerto Rican signed Metallica?” – but never saw his full story until the doc.

YouTube watching was 95% instructional videos. Cooking (the horchata up above) was first and foremost. Then there was the obligatory bushcraft and outdoor gear review videos. I also found some basic Western Martial Art videos on basic spear thrusts that I practiced in the living room Monday-Friday morning, about 10 minutes per day. 

I did find some good videos on basic wood carving. I’ve got blocks of bass wood, I’ve got a few carving knives, I’ve never whittled anything “crafty” with it. I still haven’t but seeing some basics videos I know I’ve got all the things I need to give it a good go. I just need to do it outside and outside is just too hot … and as of last Friday too smoky and ash is falling around us from the fires in The Gorge.

One of the more interesting videos I saw was a 50 minute seminar Dave Cantbury did at some expo-show thing. He talked about “tool-heavy sustainability” and, as is the usual for me, I agreed with a lot of what he had to say. I know some have misguided feelings about him and that’s fine but of all the outdoors gurus out there he has taught me the most, surpassing Cody Lundin who is in credibility mode right now (and justly so) in his suit against Discovery and the producers of Dual Survivor.

Some of the big events during my staycation were:

Saga Club Day at Guardian Games on Saturday.
Dungeons and Dragons on Sunday.
Another Dungeons and Dragons game on Wednesday.
Cinema Babylon on the following Saturday – in which I hosted Hardware and Deadly Species. Two great movies if you ask me.
Some beers and bread pudding with my friend Jason.

Things I did not get to but had hoped to do (and my excuse):
2 dozen comic books to get caught up on. (lazy)
Finish my Viking leggings/pants. (lazy and my lack of skill intimidates me still)
A hike in Forest Park. (it was too hot all week really)

Wash truck (lazy … and the forest fires in the Gorge just dumped ash on us so I’m glad I did not waste the time or money)

BUT…
… Yesterday being Labor Day, thus an added day off to my week off, and my last day off before coming back to work, I did:
Get caught up on my current favorite comic book Manifest Destiny.
Finish my Viking shield… well… it is ready to be used on the battle field in rebated steel combat at least. Still have some details to work out and give it a smooth look.

All the above said I’m looking forward to some cooler temps and a bit of rain, we need it. I hope to bust out the old pack this fall and get one good overnighter in and bust some rust off my outdoor skills. Some of the “Adventure Buddy” posts I have planned in the near future are a review on the Terävä Jääkäripuukko knives in 110 carbon and 140 stainless as well as how my 2 transactions from the famed Finnish surplus store Varusteleka have gone.

On the Neo-Grognard side I hope to get a wet palette by end of year and maybe I’ll show my well-painted and skill-heavy 54mm I will have done before Xmas. I do have a Saga Tournament I am organizing coming up in October and that will also be featured here.