What motivated you to purchase splatbooks for 3e?

[Runestar]

Admitably, this thread was inspired by another discussion on just what wotc meant when they claimed that "Everything is core" with regards to 4e material. One of the reasons theorized is that it is a marketing gimmick aimed at removing players/DM's traditional resistance to any splatbook outside of the 3 core rulebooks.

It seems more and more ludicrious, the more I think about it, yet it seems ridiculous enough that it just may work. Because I have experienced a similar scenario myself. Somewhat of a patch syndrome. If patch V1.10 for D2 was out, I would not play D2 without it. My own reasoning is that the latest patch exists to correct flaws inherent in the existing game, and anything less would be tantamount to using a flawed product (or at least, more flawed than it currently could have been). Why play multiplayer: starcraft only when you have augment it with the Brood War expansion?

Which I just cannot seem to stand for.

I stay in a country where new 3e material was delivered to Borders (the only brick-and-mortar bookstore carrying dnd material) only months after it was released in the US. I did not own a credit card, so no online shopping for me. And so it was that day after day, I would frequent the gleemax forums, and read about how the CO boards would start praising certain new splatbooks for the options they promised to add to the game. And after reading their often eloquently worded essays, I found it hard to resist purchasing a copy of said book when it reached Borders.

For example, after reading a particular treatise on why focused specialist variant (complete mage) was superior to playing a normal wizard, I quickly obtained a copy of CM, tried one and was sold. From that day onwards, I always specialized when playing a wizard, and cannot stomach the idea of playing a normal (ie: unspecialized) wizard ever again. Once I have settled on an "optimized" version of a character concept, I won't (or maybe can't) settle for anything less. And if a new splatbook contains material which lets me improve on this build (within the limits allowed by my DM, so no pun-pun and the like), I just had to get it. For a while, it was like a drug addiction, I tell you (not that I have ever been on drugs, but I imagine the feeling would be similar).

So yeah, ironically, it was the much maligned CO boards that helped wotc sell books. At least to people such as myself. Am I alone? What about you. Were your reasons for purchasing additional dnd splatbooks more sane?

 

[scruffygrognard]

I'll admit to buying the Complete series of class books in order to have access to PrCs that would "ramp up" the power level of my PCs.

It's funny because I NEVER liked prestige classes and felt that the designers should have developed a feat system that allowed characters to build their characters over time. Beginning feats would be simpler feats, with minimal prerequisites and, as you advance, you'd have access to higher power feats with every-increasing levels of prerequisites. Through these you'd specialize your character.

In the end I'd rather play core 3.X at this point and try to patch the game's problems (particularly with multiclassing) without resorting to PrCs.

 

[diaglo]

i bought everything i could find for the game. so i could convert it for possible use in OD&D(1974). since they stopped making material for OD&D in 1979.

i was always hoping i could find some little gem or possible new spin.

and if not at least i had a new game to play. also since no one seemed to want to play D&D.

 

[wedgeski]

It was really only the themed splats that attracted me in 3e: Lords of Madness, Draconomicon, and so-on. A book of pure options doesn't really mean a whole lot to me the DM, although it might mean more if I ever played regularly.

 

[MadMaxim]

I bought them all because I'm a sucker for prestige classes (and crunch in general) and it helped make some of my NPCs more powerful

 

[Nightchilde-2]

I bought 3.x splats for the same reason I (will and do) buy the 4e splats.

New toys.

 

[pawsplay]

Some of the feats and prestige classes made certain concepts easier to realize. I enjoyed them because the books gave me new ways of thinking about things and lots of inspiration. However, I did start becoming more selective after Races of Destiny, which I thought was a disappointment.

 

[Hussar]

Very early on in 3e I realized that I was buying books, reading them once and then letting them gather dust on my shelves.

When 3.5 came out, I scaled WAY back on my purchases.

Now, I buy splats that directly relate to what's going on in my game right now or in the near future. I bough Sandstorm, for example, when I was running a desert theme campaign. I bought Tome of Magic after reading about binders and really wanting to play one. But, as far as the "class splats" go, I think the last one I bought was Masters of the Wild.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

Rules splats I buy for making my character mechanical unique. Find feats, spells or what-else to make my character different from others and to fit his theme. And also for "raw power".

I played a few fighters in 3E, and the longest lasting one was focused on combat maneuvers like trip, disarm and so on. I needed feats that focused on these. Improving the use of them, giving me more options to use it (Defensive Throw or something like that allowed me to trip dodged opponents on a miss). That was cool.

There was also a certain sense of "power-gaming" into it. I found a lot of spell levels didn't offer interesting or useable enough spells. Some levels had combat spells that seemed inferior to lower level spells. In other cases it was just to fill a hole - sometimes to match a theme, sometimes to get versatility. (Okay, so now I have a Fire, a Sonic and an Electricity spell. I need Acid and Cold, what can I find in Complate Arcana?)

In other cases it was just for interesting class concepts. New PrCs and Core classes with an interesting theme. The shifter PrC to have a character focusing entirely on shifting (I didn't really also need a overpowered character, but I got that, too. But the at-will move equivalent shifting was just too cool. Hey, I am a big DS9 fan, I like shapeshifters!). Loremaster for the ultimate Sage. (Okay, that one was Core..)

Unfortunately, I often had the impression there wasn't actually enough new and interesting stuff for me.

 

[Jack99]

I bought 3.x books for the same reason that I bought 1e and 2e books.

Inspiration and options.

It's why I buy 4e books.