Somebody stop me.
By the time you are reading this, I will likely have passed a number at one point I never thought I would ever come close to, let alone breach. What is that record, dear Reader? The number of tabletop roleplaying games I own. This is only counting the physical copies of core rulebooks, mind you, and I am counting games in which I own multiple editions of the same game (“Dungeons & Dragons, “Call of Cthulhu”, and so forth) only once, for the primary title itself, so keep that in mind when you read further on. This is also not counting expansions, supplements, or module books for those games. Just core rulebooks.
By the time you read this, I most likely have more than 200 different TTRPGs on my shelves. Read that again: Two Hundred Core Rulebooks, and more to the point, core games. For example, “Vampire: The Masquerade” 1st edition, 2nd edition, 3rd edition, and “Vampire: The Dark Ages” all count simply as “Vampire: The Masquerade” on my list.
That is, to put it mildly, a bit excessive.
Now if someone told me they had that many games, but they were counting supplements, or different editions, or physical and digital books in their collection, I could see that. Lots of people have more books, especially digital titles, than I do. But for just sheer game titles in physical form? I have to think my collection has left “Impressive” in the dust, and just picked up “Troublesome” along the side of the highway, and is planning to knock over a liquor store with her.
Who do I blame for this? Drive-Thru RPG, for one. Yes, the folks best known for selling digital roleplaying tomes, that DTRPG.
Anyway, they have a print-on-demand service which applies to many of their titles, which has allowed me to replace games I once owned but lost along the way (“Star Frontiers”, for example), and buy other physical games I can’t obtain otherwise (that list is a bit too extensive to cite here). Oh, and to also just grab books I simply want, and that’s where the real problem arises. DTRPG makes it almost too easy to buy these books!
Now, that in itself isn’t a bad thing. Making the process for buying content on your website should be a fast and painless experience, but for people like me who simply don’t know when to stop when it comes to buying games, that simple and convenient website becomes a lodestone. Again, that’s my problem, not DTRPG’s, but still… I’m a bit of a ass, so I can’t really point the blame at myself, can I?
No, of course not!
Speaking of which, I blame crowdfunding sites, as well! Kickstarter, and to a much lesser extent, Gamefound, are also contributing to my TTRPG Delinquency! Collectively, they account for about third of my collection (so far), but with more titles already backed and yet to be delivered, they will easily become half of my collection, in due time. That is, assuming all of these projects deliver, and in some cases, I’m starting to doubt they ever will (“Perilous“, I am looking at you). Regardless, many a physical TTRPG they have delivered, and many more they will, in time.
My current bookshelves are already sagging in anticipation of the added weight.
No, there is literally no way I will ever run or play all of these games, I am aware of that. Most I bought because they sounded cool, or they were ones I once owned, and wanted to replace in my collection. But many were just “good deals” or “highly recommended”, which falls squarely on my shoulders. Let’s be honest here: I am weak, when it comes to my TTRPG collection. I love the games, and I want to have more of them, it is that simple. I am at a stage in my life where I can afford them without worrying if my bills will get paid, so I buy them, just like that. A few weeks later, or perhaps months in the case of crowdfunded games, and they arrive on my doorstep, ready to play.
I need help. My house is too small for so many bookshelves!
