Setting Source Books

Just a quick post for today. Sorry about that, I know I've been kind of content light since September started (work has been seriously sucky lately leaving me with very little energy.)

Anyhow, on to the meat and potatoes. One of the things I like about when a big game has an edition change is that there is this kind of awkward transition phase when it comes to the books. Stores have the books for the previous edition, but those are quickly becoming obsolete with the new edition's release. People aren't usually looking to buy 4th ed material when 5th ed is the new hotness, and people are even less likely to drop big bucks on a book whose rules aren't useful to them.

Now this is just basic marketing. The new version is out, the old version goes on sale in an attempt to clear it out. With RPGs after a few years the old books go back up in value again, but there is still this nice transition. I love it. Why? Well, because it is one of the best time to splurge on a bunch of splat books.

"But Anthony," you say, "didn't you just say those books are obsolete?" Well, yes, yes I did. However, those aren't the books that I like to grab. I like the grab the books that while they have mechanical content focus more on setting and feel. Source books like Emerald Empire for L5R or the Sixth World Almanac are great examples of these. These books aren't resources for how to play the game, they're resources for how to convey the feel of the game, and that is something that doesn't change as drastically.

We're on 4th ed of L5R now and we still bust out the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd ed books every now and then for maps, pictures, and bits of lore. The same is true with the White Wolf games - those are just dripping with lore stuff, really - and of course with Shadowrun.

Hm..maybe that's why I find myself eyeing all those wonderful 4th ed Shadowrun books that are going on sale on Amazon now...