ParanetOnline

The Dresden Files => DFRPG => Topic started by: Magnus on January 19, 2011, 11:54:38 AM

Title: Buying RPG books for entertainment
Post by: Magnus on January 19, 2011, 11:54:38 AM
Hmm, I think this is the right place to post.

A simple question, is it worth it buying the RPG books just to read them?

(I might be interested in trying out RPG but I don't know any people who would be interested too)
Title: Re: Buying RPG books for entertainment
Post by: Tallyrand on January 19, 2011, 12:01:29 PM
Personally I would say yes, they have a lot of notes in there from the perspective of Harry, Bob and Billy.  In addition you can find a ton of back story of the various characters if that's the type of thing you are interested in.
Title: Re: Buying RPG books for entertainment
Post by: Magnus on January 19, 2011, 12:03:45 PM
:) sounds good.

The reason I asking is due to one of the RPG books being about twice as expensive as a normal hardcover.


But I love details, one of the reason I liked Tolkien for example was due to all his details and backstory in his world.
Title: Re: Buying RPG books for entertainment
Post by: Tallyrand on January 19, 2011, 12:30:23 PM
So if you're looking for details you should go with Our World, You're Story is much more dominated by mechanics.
Title: Re: Buying RPG books for entertainment
Post by: Magnus on January 19, 2011, 12:32:58 PM
I know there was a short story in one of them too, which one had the short story?

And thanks for answering the questions Tallyrand :)
Title: Re: Buying RPG books for entertainment
Post by: Peteman on January 19, 2011, 12:38:53 PM
I know there was a short story in one of them too, which one had the short story?

And thanks for answering the questions Tallyrand :)

There's a writeup of Harry telling some Wardens in training about how he almost botched a phobophage infestation in OW if that's what you mean.
Title: Re: Buying RPG books for entertainment
Post by: Magnus on January 19, 2011, 12:39:58 PM
There's a writeup of Harry telling some Wardens in training about how he almost botched a phobophage infestation in OW if that's what you mean.
yes, AAA Wizardry or something like that is the title I think.
Title: Re: Buying RPG books for entertainment
Post by: Fyrchick on January 19, 2011, 04:20:13 PM

(I might be interested in trying out RPG but I don't know any people who would be interested too)

I have the same issue where I live... not exactly a hotbed of ANYTHING literary. But I have been playing a chat/forum game which is a lot of fun. Keep your eye on the DFRPG threads because people are always looking for games and payers. Also check out the play-by-post area to see how some of the games are going.
Its a new game for everyone so you can learn with the rest of us.
I will warn you... I got Our World thinking I would just read it and keep it as a reference. Now I have been playing a game since oh...August? :D

Good luck!
Title: Re: Buying RPG books for entertainment
Post by: BumblingBear on January 19, 2011, 07:53:18 PM
It's worth buying the books just to read them.

"Your Story" is mostly mechanics, but it's still an enjoyable read and is full to the brim of Dresden Files stuff.

However, if $$ is a concern OP, I suggest checking out "Our World" first.

The only downfall you may have is that without the understanding from YS, the stats in OW may not make much sense.
Title: Re: Buying RPG books for entertainment
Post by: arete on January 19, 2011, 08:30:52 PM
First let me say NEVER PAY FULL PRICE FOR BOOKS.  That is true for the rpg books as well.

If you want to spend 70ish dollars for a the perspective on the universe it might be worth it.
Title: Re: Buying RPG books for entertainment
Post by: Seb Wiers on January 19, 2011, 09:08:19 PM
Hmm, I think this is the right place to post.

A simple question, is it worth it buying the RPG books just to read them?

(I might be interested in trying out RPG but I don't know any people who would be interested too)

It certainly is worth reading if (like me) you simply enjoy reading RPG books to get an appreciation for a wide variety of game styles, mechanics, and plot hooks / settings.  The stuff in DFRPG can inspire a good GM who is running an entirely different RPG.  It might even be useful to some actors or fiction authors.
I can't say what its worth to your typical non-gamer fan Jim Butcher's fiction; pretty much all the folks I know who've read DFRPG are also RPG gamers of some stripe.
Title: Re: Buying RPG books for entertainment
Post by: Magnus on January 19, 2011, 09:13:39 PM
Well, I always wanted to try a RPG sometimes.

The closest I come to that, is doing RP on a forum, with a game based on the real game mafia, with werewolves, instead of mobsters, medieval setting.
Title: Re: Buying RPG books for entertainment
Post by: Richard_Chilton on January 19, 2011, 09:22:39 PM
One choice is physical book verse PDF (the PDF is much cheaper).  If you buy a physical book and send the publisher a picture of you with it, the publishers will send a copy of the PDF (which is a nice thing that Evil Hats does).

A word of warning - I had read all the books up until the end of Small Favor but missed some of the shorts (until Side Jobs came out) and Our World is full of spoilers for everything.  If a character appears in a short story you can expect those events to be touched on in the book.

While the specifics might be hard to understand, you can still get a general feel of the characters without Your Story.  For example, after giving a page or two of details about what Red Court Vampires are they give the game statistics (or game stats) for a typical Red Court Vampire.  Here are the generic Red Court Vampire game:
High Concept: Red Court Vampire
Skills
Alertness: Fair (+2)
Athletics: Fair (+2)
Deceit: Fair (+2)
Discipline: Fair (+2)
Fists: Good (+3)
Endurance: Fair (+2)
Intimidation: Fair (+2)
Stealth: Good (+3)
All other skills vary depending on the abilities and experience the vampire enjoyed in life.
Powers
Addictive Saliva [–1]
Blood Drinker [–1]
Claws [–1]
Echoes of the Beast [–1]
Flesh Mask [–1]
Feeding Dependency [+1] affecting the following powers:
Cloak of Shadows [–1]
Inhuman Strength [–2]
Inhuman Speed [–2]
Inhuman Recover y [–2]
Inhuman Toughness [–2]
The Catch [+2] to both is sunlight, holy stuff; no armor on belly.
Stress
Mental oo Social oo Hunger ooo
Physical ooo(oo), Armor:1
Notes
Fantastic initiative, Good attacks, Good to Great defense. Can do physical stress with Weapon:3 strength & claws, or set aside the weapon bonus to make it a mental stress attack with their narcotic saliva.
Total Refresh Cost: –11

Most of the things there make sense without YS.  The skill all have a description and number (with higher being better).  The powers more or less mean what they say they mean and the minus numbers beside them give you an idea how powerful a power is.  Total Refresh Cost is basically power level, so you can roughly compare power levels by looking at character's refresh costs.

But you won't buy it for the game stats - Our World is basically a reader's guide to the Dresdenverse and as such it is a great reference book.

Richard
Title: Re: Buying RPG books for entertainment
Post by: Magnus on January 19, 2011, 09:25:21 PM
A word of warning - I had read all the books up until the end of Small Favor but missed some of the shorts (until Side Jobs came out) and Our World is full of spoilers for everything.  If a character appears in a short story you can expect those events to be touched on in the book.


Read all published shorts ^^ so no problem there.
Title: Re: Buying RPG books for entertainment
Post by: sinker on January 19, 2011, 09:56:11 PM
Plus I don't think there are any references to Last Call, Even Hand, Love Hurts, or Aftermath so as long as you're semi-up to date you're fine.
Title: Re: Buying RPG books for entertainment
Post by: sjksprocket on January 19, 2011, 10:27:39 PM
First let me say NEVER PAY FULL PRICE FOR BOOKS.  That is true for the rpg books as well.

If you want to spend 70ish dollars for a the perspective on the universe it might be worth it.

I would like to divert the thread a moment and say that this comment is a little offensive to me. I go to gaming store to game for the most part. Brick and mortar game stores need support. This attitude is the death to such stores.  :'( makes me sad. Sorry. Back to topic

These books are a great read whether or not you play games. The comments and info are great. Plus of it gets you into gaming all the better!!! If you want to start up a gaming group try looking at  gaming stores. If you don't have any in your area try comic book stores and such. See if you can post a notice saying your searching for a local group or such.
Title: Re: Buying RPG books for entertainment
Post by: arete on January 20, 2011, 12:55:50 AM
Just so you know I bought my books and my friends books from a store named Wizards Ayslum in Tulsa, OK.  I am very pro-store but I am not willing pay full price when there are cheaper options.     
Title: Re: Buying RPG books for entertainment
Post by: sinker on January 20, 2011, 01:25:52 AM
There is an awesome book (and game and music) store in CO called Black and Read where I pick up most of my stuff. All of their new stuff is 10-20% off and they have all sorts of used stuff (like a whole bookshelf of old AD&D books as well as deadlands and a ton of other things that are out of print). I recommend them to everyone (case in point).
Title: Re: Buying RPG books for entertainment
Post by: Compass Rose on January 20, 2011, 01:26:50 AM
amazon.com has copies available too, if you are willing to buy from them.
Title: Re: Buying RPG books for entertainment
Post by: arete on January 20, 2011, 02:05:23 AM
I think troll and toad is cheaper than amazon right now.  Also scifigenre is usually a good deal.
Title: Re: Buying RPG books for entertainment
Post by: Bruce Coulson on January 21, 2011, 12:14:37 AM
Even if you never intend to play the game...the books provide some nice 'inside information' about the series.  If you're a big fan of the series, then the rpg books add a lot more depth and are a fun read in an of themselves.
Title: Re: Buying RPG books for entertainment
Post by: Compass Rose on January 21, 2011, 11:40:12 PM
Found BOTH books at Borders today! I had held off buying them until now because of cost - but today I saw exactly how big and how thick those books are, and decided the prices for them are well worth it!  But if you're like me and don't have a gaming store near you, and you have a Borders, check the gaming book section, and you may be pleasantly surprised...Whoot!
Title: Re: Buying RPG books for entertainment
Post by: newtinmpls on February 18, 2011, 08:53:43 AM
Well that is the reason I got them. I had no intentions of actually running a campaign, but it just got too interesting not to. Started out as "the other campaign" to allow our usual GM to take a break; at the time, the GM of the original "other campaign" wanted to take a break himself - and we've done a few sessions, still working out the kinks and figuring out the rules, but it's turning out to be more fun than I thought it would be.

Dian
Title: Re: Buying RPG books for entertainment
Post by: kturock on February 23, 2011, 01:52:32 AM
someone online was selling them discouted.. possibly rpg.now . the sale might be over.
also, nobleknightgames always sells things with at least a 10% discount. they sell new and used items, with used items discounted more.
amazon.com sells the rpg books, with competing sellers with different prices.

the books are over-sized, the pages are heavier than most, and the over-all work is higher quality.

also for the truelly cheap out there, the books, all of the books, rpg's and audio books are on torrent sites. [if that's your thing you probally already know that].