Is TTRPGing an "Expensive Hobby"

[CleverNickName]

I'd argue most of that are utility functions--and part of it has some potentially serious benefits. I haven't primarily bought physical books for 20 years now or more because of space considerations.

And it's not like I bought everything all at once, either. My collection has been growing by 2d4 books per year since the 1980s, and electronic copies didn't really become a thing for me until ~2001, so...yeah. I have a huge collection of books that spans multiple bookshelves, both original prints and PODs, and electronic books in multiple formats, etc., and the grand total for all of it would be a few thousand dollars. But that's spread out over decades. I've never spent more than ~$100/month on my RPG hobby.

 

[R_J_K75]

I last played Warhammer 40k in the late 80s. We only played casual games on the sandtable at my friend's house. We didn't allow unpainted minis because we were insufferable high-school geek snobs that wanted the table to look cool while playing. So I can totally seeing this being a local etiquette/culture thing in some local groups. I have no idea about conventions or organized play and I have no idea if my local group's experiences from over 30 years ago is relevant.

Honestly you kind of hit the nail on the head as far as the vibe I got from that conversation. This guy wasn't a master mini painter or won numerous convention tournaments, he came off as an elitist with more money to spend on an army and painting than the next person. It's been so long I don't remember the conversation too much, but I think it was in a Walden Books maybe, and he was trying to get me play with the caveat that it's going to cost money.

 

[MNblockhead]

There's a "miniature game" called Beer and Pretzels where all units are represented by literal pretzels and cans of beer. Let's normalize that.

Dragon Magazine published war game rules using Play-Doh, written by Zeb Cook, in the late 80s called "Claydonia". We had a lot of fun with it.

 

[MNblockhead]

My two other hobbies are fast women and slow horses. I think I have a problem.

I think I've identified your problem. You are missing younger whiskey.

Tom T. Hall is rolling in his grave.

 

[dragoner]

This is a good example of why this discussion can get complicated. "TTRPGs" can encompass a lot of side hobbies. Collecting dice can become an expensive hobby but it is not required to have expensive or even multiple sets of dice to play. If you stick with just what you need to play, an RPG is quite inexpensive as hobbies go. But for those who get really into TTRPGs, many expand the hobby into many side hobbies. A lot of the expenses I see discussed seem to be more "collector" hobbies. If you buy games that you don't play, you are just collecting them. Just about any TTRPG that you buy and actually play for a few sessions is quite cheap.

As many RPGs, esp. D&D move to more of an on-line and play-by-VTT subscription model, then it becomes more akin to streaming services. I think that changes the calculus.

You can get a TTRPG PDF for free or very cheap and, if it is a popular system, there will be lots of free fan-content online. But I would guess this isn't what most players are doing. I'm not even sure that most players are still playing using only physical books and pencil and paper.

I would be very interested in seeing a poll focused on just D&D that asks how much folks are paying for D&D Beyond and/or VTT subscriptions. Then compare that moving streaming service and video game spend. Also ask whether DMs are fronting all the subscription costs or if their group cost shares.

Players show up to my table without even pencil or paper, so it can be as cheap as one wants, or really really expensive looking at all the specialty stuff at gencon, or online. Which is cool, I don't have a problem with any of it. I remember buying games in zip lock bags, saving my money from being a dishwasher at ponderosa. I still kind of like that stuff, even though I could spend more, cheap gaming is sort of my thing.

 

[MNblockhead]

It is possible to generate money playing TTRPGs. Well, running them to be more precise. You can run paid campaigns on startplaying.games to turn your hobby into a side hustle. If the cost of an TTRPG book is that big of a financial burden on you, then you can turn that burden into an engine of opportunity.

Man, talk about a huge upfront cost in time and a not insignificant upfront cost in subscriptions and digital assets. Compared to other business ventures, sure, it is cheap. But to do this to pay for your hobby, I'm not sure I agree with this advice. First, the professional-DM market is getting rather competitive. Many players who are paying are going to have high expectations. Anyone serious about professional DMing will need to VTT subscription and really good bandwidth. They'll need mastery over the features of the VTT and will likely end up spending a lot of money on official systems supporting their VTT and professional-looking graphics for battlemaps, tokens, and handouts. You need to have all this before you start offering for-pay games.

Then there is the issue that it is no longer a hobby, but a job. Telling someone to run games for pay to pay for a hobby is like telling someone to become a guide to enjoy fishing.

This is especially unhelpful advice for a potential new player. In addition to having professional systems and assets, as a paid DM, your players are going to expect you to have a fairly high level of system mastery. Many professional DMs spend time learning to do voices, curating ambience music, etc. It would be intimidating to me to try to run games for pay even though I've been running games for a decade.

 

[The Sigil]

Just to go back to the original point, the question was not "is TTRPGing Expensive" - what is or is not expensive depends on the individual and their disposable income and available time.

The question was "is TTRPGing an Expensive Hobby?" That's why I looked up other popular hobbies. With most hobbies, there is a way to approach it as a low-cost endeavor if your budget is not huge and there is a way to obsessively engage with it and drop huge amounts of money; however, I would say on average, to those trying to meaningfully engage with their hobby while avoiding extremes in "on the cheap" or "dropping large amounts of money", TTRPGing expenditures are toward the lower end of the scale. Some hobbies (reading, jogging) are naturally less expensive, but many hobbies (working out, cars, travel, crafting) are significantly more expensive on average.

Thus, I do not consider TTRPGing "an expensive hobby" (though taken to extremes, like any other hobby, you can make it expensive). Rather, I would call it a "relatively inexpensive hobby, as hobbies go" though certainly "more expensive than chatting on message forums on the internet."

 

[Maxperson]

This will depend greatly on the group. Generally I don't require my players to buy anything. For D&D my DDB subscription gives them access to everything they need.

For my current Warhammer Fantasy Game they have access to all player-facing material in Foundry VTT.

I don't have time to be a player in a full-time campaign, but most DMs I've played with are same the same. You have access to what you need through the VTT. The only pen and paper games I've been a player in the past few years are one shots run by a friend, usually on a holiday, and they bring all the materials.

For my friends, I think of my game days as hosting an event. When I host a dinner party, I don't require anyone to bring anything.

Yeah. Virtual is a different beast since everyone can access the books at the same time. Sit down, though, multiple people are often sifting through their PHB simultaneously, and one copy doesn't work well for that.

 

[Maxperson]

And it's not like I bought everything all at once, either. My collection has been growing by 2d4 books per year since the 1980s, and electronic copies didn't really become a thing for me until ~2001, so...yeah. I have a huge collection of books that spans multiple bookshelves, both original prints and PODs, and electronic books in multiple formats, etc., and the grand total for all of it would be a few thousand dollars. But that's spread out over decades. I've never spent more than ~$100/month on my RPG hobby.

What do you do in those years where you roll low and more books come out that you want than you can buy?

 

[Dausuul]

My other hobby is ballroom dance.

RPGs are dirt cheap.