I've played in tons of systems that don't have levels as part of their mechanic.
Shadowrun
Savage Worlds
GURPS
HERO System
D6 Star Wars
D6 OGL System (the same system that was used for Star Wars, but in an open format for other settings/uses)
Legend of the Five Rings (L5R)
etc...
You can buy them all on Amazon for much cheaper. I preordered on miniature market and got the book, gm kit and a set of dice for around $60 total. The book is huge, high quality and the artwork is beautiful. Totally worth the price.
Is the dice chart difficult to use? Just by looking at it, it seems like it would really slow things down when you've got a whole pool of dice. Besides, the book uses the symbols, so you'd have to back-convert as well, no? No smartphone unfortunately, so that's out (even if it wasn't, then the price would really be $65 to play).
It's a pity that the recommendation is to get it online; I really want to support my Friendly Local Gaming Store.
I owned a game store for a long time... tell your local FLGS to start doing pre-order discounts or they can expect to cease existing shortly.
Purchased my corebook off amazon for $35 and the dice for $10. Saved quite a bit just by shopping around.
Is the dice chart difficult to use? Just by looking at it, it seems like it would really slow things down when you've got a whole pool of dice. Besides, the book uses the symbols, so you'd have to back-convert as well, no? No smartphone unfortunately, so that's out (even if it wasn't, then the price would really be $65 to play).
It's a pity that the recommendation is to get it online; I really want to support my Friendly Local Gaming Store.
I owned a game store for a long time... tell your local FLGS to start doing pre-order discounts or they can expect to cease existing shortly.
You should ALWAYS support your FLGS. Yes I could have purchased it much cheaper online, but the money spent to keep my local game store open and helping to create the next crop of gamers is invaluable. If we don't support them they will close. If they close, it is much harder to get people interested in table-top gaming. They wander off to MMORPGs and PC RPGs. While I love video games, there really is not comparison from the enjoyment of the company of good friends and creating a story.
For those complaining about the cost of playing, check out miniatures based wargaming sometime. I have units that cost more than $75.
I owned a game store for a long time... tell your local FLGS to start doing pre-order discounts or they can expect to cease existing shortly.Is the dice chart difficult to use? Just by looking at it, it seems like it would really slow things down when you've got a whole pool of dice. Besides, the book uses the symbols, so you'd have to back-convert as well, no? No smartphone unfortunately, so that's out (even if it wasn't, then the price would really be $65 to play).
It's a pity that the recommendation is to get it online; I really want to support my Friendly Local Gaming Store.
You should ALWAYS support your FLGS. Yes I could have purchased it much cheaper online, but the money spent to keep my local game store open and helping to create the next crop of gamers is invaluable. If we don't support them they will close. If they close, it is much harder to get people interested in table-top gaming. They wander off to MMORPGs and PC RPGs. While I love video games, there really is not comparison from the enjoyment of the company of good friends and creating a story.
The vast majority of RPG gamers I know didn't get started in RPGs through a game store. I don't think they are as indispensable as people think they are. If you like your LGS then please support it, but there are valid reasons not to support game stores.
You should ALWAYS support your FLGS.
The vast majority of RPG gamers I know didn't get started in RPGs through a game store.
The debate of local vs. online has been ongoing for about a decade, give or take. I can only add to it my personal experience, which is anecdotal and is in no way a scientific study. (Spoiled for brevity's sake, if you want to skip to the end.)
I got started through a friend, who got started through an older sibling. That's how most gamers got started in my small town. Gaming stores in the 80s really didn't exist in my neck of the woods. There were specialty hobby stores... of which our small town was lucky to have one. Most RPGs were either hand-me-downs or ordered through specialty catalogs (ex. Wargames West).
Then came the 90s, which were the haydays of RPGs (at least in the midwest where I am from). We used to have a lot of LGSes and comic stores in my region. Some of them were even F (Friendly). As time went on, some stores closed and some became less F. Now I have 2.5 LGSes in my town, and sadly the chain hobby store seems more F than the independent. The chain hobby store also discounts stuff. The indepedent store really seems like a club for like-minded gaming friends that happens to sell stuff to other people should they happen to wander in. But the main sales clerk doesn't have "people skills".
But when I want to purchase something that isn't Magic the Gathering, D&D, Pathfinder, Games Workshop, or Warma-Hordes, I can either go to my LGS and ask for it, whereby they tell me they don't have it, can order it from the distributor on Monday or Tuesday, and will have it in stock in about a week... or I can save gas money, order it online, get a great discount even with S/H charges, and have it shipped right to my house in about a week. Considering all my other expenses, option two sounds much better to me.
If all the gaming stores just suddenly closed up shop, it would impact the hobby certainly. But given the advent of online e-tailing, products would still be available to everyone. It really is just returning to its roots, where prodcuts are sold either in (online) specialty hobby stores or via (online) catalogues. Gaming would become a "closet" industry, just like it was before.
Bottom line: I pay where I play... which is in my house. 
Also, +1 to the DaveTheLost's comment. I have played a half-dozen wargames in my lifetime. $75 is a tiny drop in a vast bucket.
Edited by MadcapYes the game is well worth $75.
I paid $250, because I live in South Africa and had to have it all shipped out to me as no gaming store here has copies. (That was for the core book, 6 sets of dice (for all my players) and GM screen). Someone give me a noddy badge. 
Yes the game is well worth $75.
I paid $250, because I live in South Africa and had to have it all shipped out to me as no gaming store here has copies. (That was for the core book, 6 sets of dice (for all my players) and GM screen). Someone give me a noddy badge.
For that price I would probably just wait for the pirated PDF to hit he Internet.
Tabletop gaming is one of the least expensive hobbies out there. That's one of the reasons kids get into it instead of, for example, polo.
Tabletop gaming is one of the least expensive hobbies out there. That's one of the reasons kids get into it instead of, for example, polo.
Well, there's that and the fact that RPGs are a lot more entertaining than polo.
it's true that amazon is often faster and cheaper. But, imo, it's important to have places where gamers can meet and play. Also, local stores are always good for local economy.
But there have been a store or two in my town that struggle to stay open because the demand isn't there. Only one store remains, and if you're not playing Pathfinder or Magic, it's not a very interesting store. But they do have a play area.
I see that the cost of the Edge of the Empire Core Rulebook is $60 (which seems like an awful lot, given that I can buy the incredibly complex Arkham Horror for that amount). However, the unique dice don't come with the core rulebook but are necessary to play and those are an additional $15 (assuming you're all going to share one set, which I'm guessing most won't).
Egads, man - where are you buying your stuff! I wound up with two rule books, two sets of dice, a copy of Beyond the Rim and a couple of GM screens for 140 bucks shipped!
Tabletop gaming is one of the least expensive hobbies out there. That's one of the reasons kids get into it instead of, for example, polo.
Well, there's that and the fact that RPGs are a lot more entertaining than polo.
...especially on horseback.
Definitely going to need the die-rollng app for that...
it's true that amazon is often faster and cheaper. But, imo, it's important to have places where gamers can meet and play. Also, local stores are always good for local economy.
But there have been a store or two in my town that struggle to stay open because the demand isn't there. Only one store remains, and if you're not playing Pathfinder or Magic, it's not a very interesting store. But they do have a play area.
There are tons of places to play. We usually do IHOP or Denny's if we don't or can't meet at someone's place. I rarely play at a game store other than the very rare board game night as what is usually going on there is M:tG, Warhammer (fantasy, 40k), Bloodbowl, etc... Basically things that aren't interesting to me.
While local stores are good for the local economy, if they can't compete, then they won't stay alive. They don't have to compete on pricing directly, but they have to offer something to justify the drive and price.