Another great source is Free RPG Day. Once a year, several game companies post one of their products as a PDF for free downloading! The files are generally only available for a day or a week, but there is a ton of great material available. I probably downloaded a few thousand pages this year just from this one event. They included everything from a huge monster manual to an extensive swamp setting book and a pirate ship layout. There were other genres and systems represented, too. Totally cool!

Still another suggestion is to use any of the various book or game swapping sites. Maybe you have some old game books or just plain paperback novels that you can part with. Some of these sites allow you to post your books and send them to other members who ask for them. You acquire points that can then be used to request books from others, even if they weren’t your trade partners. You get rid of some of your dust gatherers and get a game book that you might actually use! You’re not likely to find the latest titles, but you can pick up d20 material or other “classics”. It generally costs less than $2 for media mail postage, so trading can be very cost effective.

I could go on, but you get the idea.

Another part of the reason is that you don’t have a computer yet. (So, how are you reading this?) Nothing finds an obscure rule faster than a PDF search of the book, or even a Google Desktop search of your PDF collection.

I just sold off nearly all of my D&D 3.5 collection on eBay, along with some other games I’ll never need the resources for. I’m actually reducing my gamer footprint, and making some nice Christmas cash to help out with presents. Add my voice to the chorus claiming that eBay is the way to go.

Other options are to look for local game shop sales or online sales. The OGL is apparently expiring at the end of the year, and d20 books can be had for pennies on the dollar. (Caveat: I’m not sure exactly what’s happening with the OGL.)

As for actually gaming on the cheap, cardboard minis can save a bundle, and battlemats can be found on eBay. Not everyone needs a copy of the core rulebook, and nobody needs the full collection of supplements to play a game.

Heck, Savage Worlds can be played for $10 a rulebook, and the Wizards and Warriors book that retains some of the D&D feel is a free download, as well.

The only weakness is that handing out rules compilations requires typing them first.

I used to be a collectivist. I’d get into a system and start buying up books for it. I had to have them all. This was when I lived at home and had plenty of disposable income. Strange that I make more money now but have less disposable income. Life is funny like that.

Anyway, I’ve been in the hobby for 27 years and one can build up a lot of stuff. In the past ten years, I have realized that A) I don’t need to keep so much stuff, B) I don’t need to buy so much stuff, and C) The old and never used stuff can often be sold to pave the way for far more selective purchases. Many gaming forums have auction/sales sub-forums and e-bay or Amazon marketplace is not a bad way to go either.

Scott mentioned Legend of the Five Rings. I had the entire 1st Edition line for that game. I loved the artwork and the fluff material about the setting. I never ran the game once in ten years. I never even had the chance to play the game in ten years. It was taking up a full shelf in my bookcase. It had to go. I kept the core rulebook and a setting boxed set, figuring that it would be all I would ever need if I wanted to try the game out. The rest got sold last year.

I’ve tried to adopt a buy only what I will use approach. It has cut my purchases down tremendously. If I don’t use it within a couple of years, I will sell it off. What I am trying to say is that huge collections are nice but they have no value if they aren’t being used at some point. Don’t be a collector for collecting sake. You can game on much less of an investment.

As for buying on a budget, E-Bay is a great place. Gaming forums are a great resource for finding books in the five to ten dollar range. I purchased eleven D&D 3.5 hard covers in new condition for only $50 including shipping. Just make sure that you ask about the condition before you buy. You don’t want stuff that is beat up so badly that it falls apart.

This obviously presupposes that the group is a stable one (likely comprised of good friends) and always games together.

This style of sharing works really well for the group I play in.