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Why do D&D books have to be so expensive? (hexbear.net)

submitted 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) by TheDoctor@hexbear.net to c/games@hexbear.net

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I just wanna start DMing a game and I need to buy $150 in books to do so? The fuck.

Edit: Lots of people telling me to play other systems. Here’s what’s up:

I want to play a 1-on-1 game with my wife
I’ve never DMed before
She’s never played a TTRPG, so this would be her introduction
She’s been reading a lot of fae-related fantasy, which has me thinking she may want to play roleplay heavy with some fae storylines present
Ideally the system wouldn’t be too crunchy or combat focused

Edit 2: I’ve spoken with her and she actually wants a more modern setting

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[–] jjjalljs@ttrpg.network 6 points 2 months ago

D&D kind of sucks, and especially sucks for what you want to do.

It's not good for 1:1 games. It makes many assumptions about there being a full party
It doesn't offer much advice for DMing, and has a lot of ways to fuck it up.
It has like no rules for roleplay. It has very vague "If you roll a high number maybe they'll do you a favor" suggestions, but for something like "I want to stand up straight, look him in the eye, and tell him he should yield or suffer the wrath of my patron" it leaves it entirely up to the DM how to resolve. Other games provide a lot more guidance
It is entirely combat focused. It is crunchy in annoying ways.

Chronicles of Darkness is modern day occult. it's not very light, but it's closer to what you want. I'm fond of Mage: The Awakening.

Fate is a good general purpose system that's more in line with how I think people imagine RPGs are. It's also free. It cares a lot more about the narrative than D&D. D&D puts most narrative detail squarely in "unimportant flavor". So if your character's story is they were a pirate, that doesn't do anything in the game unless you have the pirate background, and those tend to be very limited. Contrast with Fate that is much more explicit about "Aspects give you permission. If your character has 'Former Pirate' on their sheet, they definitely know some sea shanties and how to move around on a boat". D&D leaves that up to the DM. And then a lot of people are like, if it's leaving so much up to the DM why am I even buying this book.