Gaming on the cheap.

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Sadly in the UK/EU it appears to be illegal to resell non-certified electric goods, so no 2nd hand printers here :sad:
...eh? There are legal safety requirements, but that's all; I think it's more that a lot of shops don't want to take the associated risks / costs to ensure everything is certified, but secondhand printers certainly are available.
 
...eh? There are legal safety requirements, but that's all; I think it's more that a lot of shops don't want to take the associated risks / costs to ensure everything is certified, but secondhand printers certainly are available.

Charity shops have always refused my donations & I never see any electrics on sale in them. Obviously you can buy refurbished printers off amazon etc, but not in 'thrift shops'.
 
Charity shops have always refused my donations & I never see any electrics on sale in them. Obviously you can buy refurbished printers off amazon etc, but not in 'thrift shops'.

This. Charity shops in the UK won't touch electric goods with a barge pole. Its a shame. So much gear in perfect working order ends up in the skip. Perhaps something like freecycle might allow electric goods.
 
Seems to be an UK thing, because people around here both sell and buy second-hand electronics without a second thought. And we're both in the EU, for now.
 
Sadly in the UK/EU it appears to be illegal to resell non-certified electric goods, so no 2nd hand printers here :sad:

I've not tried using my laser printer for cardstock; I have an HP inkjet I use for cardstock glossy colour printing but my ex borrowed it & has not returned it yet *sigh*
My God! Must they force you to live like animals!
 
Illegal?? Wow... that's savage!

Mains AC in the UK is dangerous, safety standards are high.
That seems contradictory with having people assembling their own wall plugs, no?


Thanks for the cardstock/transparency info, folks!
 
This is a purchase that I've been pondering about for a while now. What brand/model did you purchase? Does it seem to work well, especially near the 50 count?
So...what binding are you using for Aces & Scoundrels of the South Seas?
 
Today I invested in a £15.96 long-neck stapler that can do 50 sheets... That means I will soon have the technology to booklet-format print and bind pdfs of 200 page RPG products... Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!!!
I looked...
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.
 
Well, still waiting for my long-arm stapler, but trying out printing various stuff in A5 booklet format on my A4 printer, it looks to me that 128 pp - 32 sheets of paper - is likely to be a practical maximum for saddle-stitch (stapled) binding. 'Skyscrapers & Sorcery' is that size, and I wouldn't want to try anything larger, the pages are already getting very uneven, though I should be able to trim it up a bit with one of those things the terrorists did 9/11 with... boxcutters! :grin:

What does seem to work great is taking something around 144 pages like Swords & Wizardry complete, and printing it out as two docs around 72 pages each (18 sheets). S&W divides nicely into player and GM sections, so that's ideal.
 
I looked...
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.

Well my ex did recently 'borrow' my colour inkjet printer/flatbed scanner, and there's no sign of it coming back, *sigh*
 
Amazon just told me they don't actually have the 50 sheet stapler they sold me! So I've ordered a 20 sheet one from a different supplier, 20 sheet/80pp is about the most that looks good in an A5 booklet anyway I think.
 
I’m not the most frugal gamer in the world, but my number one tip for getting gaming finances under control: explore by buying core rules of interesting games, but only buy supplements for games you are actually playing.
 
You know what we need? A stickied thread with links to every free RPG available online.

Think I'll start one in the resources forum.
 
Usually if you wait long enough, you can find really good coupons on Lulu once or twice a year. I've had coupons for 40% off and free mail shipping.

There's been lots of good stuff mentioned here. I'll always plug Basic Fantasy as one of the best, both in game and community. There's so much great free stuff out there these days.
 
Usually if you wait long enough, you can find really good coupons on Lulu once or twice a year. I've had coupons for 40% off and free mail shipping.

There's been lots of good stuff mentioned here. I'll always plug Basic Fantasy as one of the best, both in game and community. There's so much great free stuff out there these days.
Hey if you ever see those coupons please let folks here know.
 
Hey if you ever see those coupons please let folks here know.

YEah, definitely. I have a Lulu wishlist, would jump on several things with 40% off or free shipping.
 
Piracy is inevitable. So instead of trying to fight it, co-opt it. RPG creators who provide a free version of their game draw would-be pirates to their website, increases awareness of the product, and if they produce high quality dead tree versions, people will buy them. It's Raggi's model for LotFP, that hasn't hurt his sales, and it's the one I'll be using for Feral RPG.

Which you can download the current playtest (for free!) from here: www.feralrpg.com
 
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Amazing game, Feral is. What is the target date so that I can give you my wallet?
 
Amazing game, Feral is. What is the target date so that I can give you my wallet?

Oh thanks! Currently some time in 2019, if things go well. Doing a whole game solo is pretty gargantuan, plus all the illustrations and layout. So it is taking some time. I do have a patreon site here if you're interested https://www.patreon.com/FERALRPG but everything I'm creating will end up in the free playtests.
 
How do you game on the cheap?

I feel like the real question would be: "how do people not game on the cheap?"

Out of all the hobbies I dabbled in at one point or another, it's been the cheapest. It's *collecting* RPGs that can get expensive. I've had over 200 different roleplaying games, tons of supplements.

The list of stuff I have actually gamed with in a productive fashion is surprisingly short. Basic D&D. AD&D's three core books. The Fiend Folio, Deities & Demigods. Harnworld. Over 20 years of campaigning with this. Over 30 years playing the same campaign based on B2 peppered with Harn stuff. D&D 3.0: the three corebooks were used maybe 7 years. I also had a steady group where we used GURPS for a stretch of 8 years. It was the basic book and the two compendium (3rd edition?). I've also used Everway and Story Engine a lot.

Of course, I've had shelves full of other stuff. But it was mostly useless, and I've learned to let go of that. I still keep the entire Forgotten Realms collection for 1st and second edition and have barely touched the box. But if you count only the stuff I have REALLY put to us in the 37 years I have games, it didn't even cost me 10 CAD a year. And I've gamed a motherfucking lot with those 300 bucks!

In the pre-internet/filesharing era, we were at a disadvantage buying music and books blind. So you could have a spending budget just to try things. Today? Anyone can sample products online and buy what they really need. Thing is, a lot of people struggle between buying stuff they need and collecting.
 
Hey if you ever see those coupons please let folks here know.

Will do. There was a G+ group I was in where one of the member's was really good about posting their coupons and what combos would work. Sometimes with Lulu, you can combine coupons- so you can enter in the %discount and then free shipping.
 
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