I may have started something my wallet is going to regret

But come on, how expensive can out-of-print books really be? .. right?

Previously...

Back in August, I started my long-term Paizothon by going through their old GameMastery line of releases.

I only had PDFs to work with, which made it an obvious choice to go fully digital with my play:

• Foundry as the virtual tabletop
• PCGen as a character builder
• d20 SRD as a quick reference
• Obsidian for all my notes
  
• Various online generators
• A second monitor to juggle all the PDFs

Online tools like these are fantastic and really help with organizing several characters over multiple sessions. Automated character sheets and instant access to the wealth of content on the internet should make it perfect for such a long project, right? Well yes, but also no.

Technically, it all worked perfectly fine. I just had that nagging voice in the back of my head that it didn't feel right. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed my time. It's just that the games and characters didn't have any lasting impact on me.

As soon as I finished a session, it's as if every memory vanished with the files I closed. No physical reminder of the adventure remained. No notebook on the table. No book in the shelf. It may seem minor but I really like to have visual reminders of the games I've played. There is nothing better than a folder full of handwritten notes.

With that in mind, I decided to restart the whole thing and go fully analog. Yes, that means replaying a couple of adventures but it'll feel completely different to me. You just can't beat physically rolling your own dice and moving minis around. I miss getting lost in a stack of books, notes, and character sheets.

Analog Ambitions

In the first blog post, I talked about how I wasn't even going to look for the original out-of-print material because I thought they were going to be astronomically expensive. Curiosity got the better of me and left me pleasantly surprised. Not only were some of the prices reasonable, they were within my budget. Not everything I was looking for was available but I'm sure they will turn up at some point.

I wanted to get an original copy of the 3.5 Player's Handbook but the prices were a bit too high for the condition they were in. Instead, I opted for the DrivethruRPG print-on-demand version. It's hardcover and I am very pleased with the quality.

The two Compleat Encounter sets I got from France (which made shipping costs a pain) and they are both in their original packaging. The "Terror in the Chamber of Pain" box has a tear in it but every mini is accounted for.

Closing Thoughts

My other goal with the Paizothon was to only use material that was available at that time. Originally, I was only talking about books, supplements, and other rules-relevant material but now that I'm going full analog, I want to go even further: minis, battlemats, tiles, terrain, and any accessories will follow the same restrictions. This gives me an excuse to explore older parts of the hobby and will create an aesthetic cohesion that would otherwise be disrupted by more modern designs. Old miniatures have a ton of charm and they wouldn't look right beside the extremely detailed models of today.

Another advantage of having the complete physical product is the opportunity to do full reviews. I didn't plan to write about everything I play but I think it would be quite interesting to do a detailed and thorough look at the evolution of their products. That's why I started this whole project in the first place. Why not share my thoughts with the rest of you?

Sadly, there will be releases I can't afford or find. That's just a reality of these older editions. My budget is still very limited so I can only buy one or two things per month anyways. With a little patience, I should be able to gather a sizeable collection over the next few years. This is a long-term project after all. I fully expect this to last at least a decade if not more. Is that an unrealistic timeframe to plan such projects? Yes, yes it is. Does that stop me from trying? No, no it does not.

With solo RPGs, everything is playing and your enjoyment is the only thing that matters.