I picked up the GURPS 3e Basic Set last weekend for 99p in the Forbidden Planet sale. There was a pretty big selection of RPG books for sale at that price. I can't work out if this is a sign of End Times or not - this was obviously a clear-out of a large amount of unsellable stock, which indicates a plummeting market for RPGs, but on the other hand most of the books on sale were of the godawful tripe variety (a shitload of supplements for the Babylon 5 game, for example).
Anyway, I got the one thing that was worth buying, so either way I shouldn't complain.
I also took a gander at the proper RPG shelf, and was surprised to see some relative unknowns well represented on there - Mongoose Traveller, Mouse Guard, a few other rpg.net darlings. D&D 4e has also made its way into Waterstones, which makes it (I think) the first edition of any role playing game to ever be sold in a 'proper' British book shop chain. So perhaps things aren't all bad.
I believe that I bought my first RPG books, the AD&D Monster Manual and Monster Manual II, at a Waterstone's in Edinburgh in 1985.
ReplyDeleteIsn't 3e the previous edition of GURPS? So not current, which would explain the price. Still, the rules should work. ;)
ReplyDeletewhat's the deal with Mousegard? I've heard lots of good things about it... but, is it a game for playing with your kids? My 5 year old is looking at my dice and miniatures lately... before endsup with that nerd'ish coneshaped head, I was thinking I would pick something up. Rory's Story Dice, I have those... tons of fun... but now we are looking for something else.
ReplyDeleteD&D3 was on the shelves at Waterstones in Merry Hill Dudley when it was new and they had quite a large stock of d20 stuff at the time.
ReplyDeleteAnd I bought my Advanced Fighting Fantasy rulebooks in WHSmiths in Stourbridge but I doubt that counts as a "full" RPG!
Picked up the pocket edition of Mongoose Traveller on Saturday (not from a high street bookshop :) ) just flipped through it so far so no real opinion formed on it yet.
Oh well, I suppose I was talking out of my arse about no RPGs in Waterstone's.
ReplyDeleteJohnathan: I wouldn't recommend it for a 5 year old. It's a lot simpler than Burning Wheel but still way more complicated than a lot of other games. I think it's one of those things "for kids" that are really for adults - or at least 13+'s.
Waterstone's! Forbidden Planet! That little shop were I got the alternate version of Froud's Goblin Companion and Discworld Encyclopedia!
ReplyDelete-Sigh-
I sooo miss England.
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Barking Alien
The third edition GURPS hardback is a damn fine gaming investment. I bought mine new and its still in great shape. Should still "work". ;)
ReplyDeleteJust chiming in to say that GURPS is in its 4th edition now, so selling the last edition at a discount price isn't probably a sign of the apocalypse.
ReplyDeleteMongoose Traveller, RPG.NET darling or not, is pretty solid. If you like the original black box Traveller then you'll be charmed by the new edition.
Mouseguard? Love the comic, haven't played the game.
I never got a chance to play GURPS 3e. I started with GURPS 3rd edition revised. I'm not sure how different the editions are. These days I'm really enjoying 4e. When you say that you paid 99p, is that a good deal?
ReplyDeleteFP's bargain bin has been my favoured haunt for a while now. You can find some hidden treasure in among the back issues of The Rifter and the generic Dark, Edgy and Unsellable tosh.
ReplyDeleteI've found Ars Magica modules, En Garde PBM game, Iron Heroes (that must have been there in error), Grimtooths Traps... That shelf is like a dead letterbox with regular dispatches of "stuff Chris will like".
RPGs in Waterstones? They've been pushing GW stuff (mainly WFRP hardbacks and the art books) for yonks now.