4e Holiday Crack That Saves You Money
December 6, 2009 by shent_lodge
Filed under 4e
The holidays are here and maybe you want to try the latest version of Dungeons and Dragons, but the books too expensive. Do not let the price of this popular fantasy role-playing game get you down. WotC marketing may want you to feel like you need every book to play the game, but really, you don’t. When I said I wanted to give up on the 4e game, a few people commented that they had found legal ways to reduce cost and still play and be on top of all the latest and greatest 4e crack.
Here are those tips.
If you DM you need:
H1 Keep on Shadowfell because it comes with a quick summary of the rules. This will help you introduce the 4e rules to new players without having to buy any books. You can download it from WotC here.
Buy a subscription to Dungeons and Dragons Insider (DDI) this will get you everything you need to play plus all the updated rules. One year should do, subscription wise. If you have a laptop then you can share this info with your players. You don’t need the books. Note: don’t share you account with your players.
A battle mat. Don’t waste money on the WotC dungeon tiles, draw out the map with wet erase pens and wash away with Windex or water. Be careful with red ink, it is the worst color to leave on the mat for extended periods. Like: days=bad… Paper tiles get ruined after soda and juice spills and don’t travel well, you will lose pieces. I have had the same battle mat since 1989.
Join the RPGA and download free modules and run games from your home or local game store. You can play for years without ever buying a dungeon module this way plus you can travel the country/world and play your same PC everywhere. I have a friend who travels for work and he checks for games on yahoo groups and Warhorn in the area he is traveling to and joins them after he gets done working for the day.
If you are the player:
Buy a subscription to Dungeons and Dragons Insider (DDI)
Start collecting 20oz bottle caps. Use the caps to track conditions. Don’t forget to recycle.
Buy plastic trading card protectors for encounter and at will powers that you print out with the DDI Character Builder. I just print out the character sheet and power cards and leave them intact.
Buy a Miniature figure that represents your Player Character. Be careful if you join the RPGA the WotC minies are common and I sat at a table with three other goliath minies besides mine, we had to wrap them in different colored rubber bands to tell the apart.
You Don’t need:
Dungeon Tiles
Power Cards
DM screen
You have to have:
Dice
A calculator
A computer running Windows OS or an Intel Mac with Parallels running XP-pro SP2
A place to play
If for the holidays, you are trying to convince parents or a significant other that you want to play Dungeons and Dragons these suggestion here could save you $290.00 a year and you don’t have to worry about erratas making your books obsolete almost immediately after purchase.
If you must buy the books, buy them second hand. Check local hobby stores for second hand deals. I found stores in college towns will have a decent collection of these on or around the holidays as students sell them off to pay for trips home.
Thanks Greentiger, Anarkeith & Olfactatron for their comments on the subject
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On my Mac, I have TinyXP installed in Parallels Desktop 5.0 where I can run all the DDI stuff. It works quite nicely and my computer’s a 2007 macbook.
Wyatt´s last blog ..The Unknowable Mind – Spirit Outlook
@Wyatt –TinyXP sounds neat. I use Parallels and XP-pro on a 2008 Macbook pro.
shent_lodge´s last blog ..Map of Central Jelling
You say you’re suggesting ways to save money then recommend at least 2 D&DI years’ subscriptions and a laptop??! Obviously you have a different definition to the words “save money” than I’m used to
Here’s a better suggestion:
Buy the 3 core books. Ignore anything else. Play the game. Keep playing. Just like any other edition of the game, the core rule books (unlike a subscription) last a lifetime and imagination is free. If you have to buy D&D crack, buy a dry wipe board and the D&D Starter Kit – this gives you enough Dungeon Tiles to get started and an excellent lite DMG/Monster Manual for low-level gaming.
Just imho, of course
greywulf´s last blog ..Word of Orcraft
Interesting tips but I think you are ignoring one thing; to read this article you need a PC, if you can afford a PC buying PH1 isn’t going to kill you. I agree about the power cards as them character builder does a much better job and the DM screen needed errata after a very short time. I wouldn’t say you ‘need’ a calculator. As the DM I felt I needed one for dividing XP but that was all that concerned me.
I’d also suggest good websites where you can get good information and ideas and opinions on D&D, I found you by way of http://www.rpgbloggers.com aside from the WotC forums EN World is also interesting as a starting point.
Count me as another person who’d rather buy the core books than DDI. To me, anything that charges subscription fees is automatically more expensive than a product I pay for once, because the cost never ends. For better or for worse, my mental calculations chalk that one up as “infinite.”
@greywolf I forget sometimes that not everyone has a computer. I know DDI works well on XP-pro SP2 in Parallels. I work in a college environment and see a lot of students with Acer and Toshiba mini laptops that are about the same price as a Playstation3. Considering my first laptop cost $4,500.00 in 1998 and had a 11inch display, $350.00 is amazing price for something a zillion times more advanced. I know colleges surplus their computers so you can get those real inexpensive. Craigslist and ebay are another great place to shop for used computers. You can also ham up to that relative that has too many computers, I have given away half a dozen systems to my nieces and nephews over the years. I was able to convince my wife to let me try a subscription after I showed her the DDI demo which works up to 3rd level. DDI is not as personal as the old pen and paper way but when you can get a group of new players up and going with all the right stuff in minutes spanning across many many rule books, it really does payoff. The D&D starter kit and white board is a great idea too.
@Bloodwin You are right, Enworld and WotC forums are excellent resources for the game outside the RPGbloggers network.
@Swordgleam The core books are a great deal and getting them used is even a better one. Though it has been a couple months since I actually played at a table with PHB characters, Most the tables I have been at use either PHBII or DDI access only characters. Once you sit at a table with some of the “non-core” classes and see what they can do, then you will be off buying that book… And the next. Getting the DDI subscription right off can save you money.
shent_lodge´s last blog ..Map of Central Jelling
@shent_lodge: I’m not sure how. I’m the DM – I don’t need those classes, my players do. And if they’re not in a book we can pass around the table, it’s not going to work. Having all my players clustered around my laptop is not my idea of a fun gaming time.