I think somebody raised a ‘being complete’ thread somewhere a few weeks ago, but I thought I’d build on the topic in a topical way.
I’m a RPG fan, like most people here I think, who collects games and supplements I like, as I have done for most of my life. I guess it is part of the hobby to get excited by new releases, as much as it is playing, with the evidence being the number of games on my shelf that I haven’t played in any regular way. I get enticed by Most Anticipated lists and frustrated by delays, as much as anyone else. The idea of ‘completeness’ in my collection has been pretty moot - I’ll never be ‘complete' and really, the notion is more to do with game designers or businesses planning their lines.
But times may be a-changing. The impact of things like Covid, Brexit (not making a political statement here, but several RPG companies have directly cited its impact) and various other global trading arrangements becoming more restricted, is massively affecting both the cost and distribution of physical items this year. I think it is a trend much more than a blip, and we will all need to adapt to all sorts of things, including our gaming habits.
Changing trends are already the case, of course. D&D and tabletop gaming in general has actually been positively affected, reportedly, with global lockdowns actually enhancing sales substantially as families get stuck at home and/or gamers get focussed on online playing. PDFs have been around for a while too now, as a cheaper, quicker mode of distribution (although it is nowhere near the total market size of regular physically distributed games). You can always get games - include many that are out of print, brought back to life by POD.
However, for me personally, I am less and less inclined towards getting new games. My thoughts have started to shifting over what games, in my collection, are basically ‘complete’ to play and flatly require no more supplements. For example, I’ve enjoyed buying V5 over the last few years but once they finally get out their pre-orders to me - Sabbat, Book of Nod and Second Inquisition, I can’t really see much more that I want to get. The books I have cover everything I want in my Chronicle - and I can expand on anything else with my own (and my group’s) imagination. Most other games I have are already ‘complete’ to me, for the same reason - I never felt the need to get many physical supplements for D&D outside of the core books. For Traveller, I’m holding out on The Robots Book and possibly The Third Imperium and then, honestly, that is probably enough. Call of Cthulhu has the Gaslight stuff coming out but, along with Delta Green, I can span the entire globe already with what I’ve got. Anniversary Editions, be damned!
At the start of the year, I was aiming to get a few new editions of older games which, aside from Pendragon 6th, have already been ordered/backed. It’s just a waiting game for how long till they come. But new games? The stuff I’ve seen announced - a new Marvel game, Batman: Gotham, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Power Rangers, Blade Runner, etc are interesting as high profile IPs (illustrating how the RPG hobby keeps growing into new markets, currently) but they hold absolutely no interest to me, personally. I can essentially do most of them already with games I already have.
Aside from Pendragon 6th, the only other thing that flickers on my radar is the thought of a Luther Arkwright game.
So, should I bolt down the hatches, and be happy with what I’ve got for the rest of my gaming life, as am I nearly ‘complete’? Are you?
What should all serious RPG collectors/players have in their collection to be ‘complete’?
I’m a RPG fan, like most people here I think, who collects games and supplements I like, as I have done for most of my life. I guess it is part of the hobby to get excited by new releases, as much as it is playing, with the evidence being the number of games on my shelf that I haven’t played in any regular way. I get enticed by Most Anticipated lists and frustrated by delays, as much as anyone else. The idea of ‘completeness’ in my collection has been pretty moot - I’ll never be ‘complete' and really, the notion is more to do with game designers or businesses planning their lines.
But times may be a-changing. The impact of things like Covid, Brexit (not making a political statement here, but several RPG companies have directly cited its impact) and various other global trading arrangements becoming more restricted, is massively affecting both the cost and distribution of physical items this year. I think it is a trend much more than a blip, and we will all need to adapt to all sorts of things, including our gaming habits.
Changing trends are already the case, of course. D&D and tabletop gaming in general has actually been positively affected, reportedly, with global lockdowns actually enhancing sales substantially as families get stuck at home and/or gamers get focussed on online playing. PDFs have been around for a while too now, as a cheaper, quicker mode of distribution (although it is nowhere near the total market size of regular physically distributed games). You can always get games - include many that are out of print, brought back to life by POD.
However, for me personally, I am less and less inclined towards getting new games. My thoughts have started to shifting over what games, in my collection, are basically ‘complete’ to play and flatly require no more supplements. For example, I’ve enjoyed buying V5 over the last few years but once they finally get out their pre-orders to me - Sabbat, Book of Nod and Second Inquisition, I can’t really see much more that I want to get. The books I have cover everything I want in my Chronicle - and I can expand on anything else with my own (and my group’s) imagination. Most other games I have are already ‘complete’ to me, for the same reason - I never felt the need to get many physical supplements for D&D outside of the core books. For Traveller, I’m holding out on The Robots Book and possibly The Third Imperium and then, honestly, that is probably enough. Call of Cthulhu has the Gaslight stuff coming out but, along with Delta Green, I can span the entire globe already with what I’ve got. Anniversary Editions, be damned!
At the start of the year, I was aiming to get a few new editions of older games which, aside from Pendragon 6th, have already been ordered/backed. It’s just a waiting game for how long till they come. But new games? The stuff I’ve seen announced - a new Marvel game, Batman: Gotham, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Power Rangers, Blade Runner, etc are interesting as high profile IPs (illustrating how the RPG hobby keeps growing into new markets, currently) but they hold absolutely no interest to me, personally. I can essentially do most of them already with games I already have.
Aside from Pendragon 6th, the only other thing that flickers on my radar is the thought of a Luther Arkwright game.
So, should I bolt down the hatches, and be happy with what I’ve got for the rest of my gaming life, as am I nearly ‘complete’? Are you?
What should all serious RPG collectors/players have in their collection to be ‘complete’?
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