What are your "dumbest" TTRPG costs

[Warpiglet-7]

Man…

I have put 1000s in prepainted minis…and have glass cases to house them.

I bought a Geek Chic gaming table which I like but it’s was several thousand.

Bought all the spell cards for 5e…most of the hardbacks.

In the end I guess I feel some guilt about all the minis. It’s excessive and invested that money would have grown. My friends joke and say when I die my wife will sell them for Pennie’s at a garage sale. Ugh.

For now though I enjoy collecting them and looking at them. It’s probably nuts to work a high stress job and then spend the proceeds like that…

In my defense, if there is one, I don’t have other hobbies. God except for my room of board games I don’t play. Or the gaming consoles in my house. But the worst of all was collecting Star Wars legion and painting. 10th of it only to play once. Shameful!

 

[Wofano Wotanto]

For now though I enjoy collecting them and looking at them. It’s probably nuts to work a high stress job and then spend the proceeds like that…

It really isn't. Miniatures collecting is a perfectly legit hobby even if you never game with them, and hundreds of thousands of people share that interest worldwide. While pre-paints are less popular traditionally than stuff you paint yourself (or pay a mercenary brush to do for you to a higher standard) they're still miniatures, and most of those are made in limited production runs that will eventually increase in value on the collector's market. Even the oldest Mage Knight commons have some value today, although finding a buyer is difficult - but that will change as fewer and fewer are on the market and nostalgia and/or completionist urges drive demand. Heck, there are Dreamblade and Horrorclix figs people were throwing away a decade ago that you'd have to pay through the nose for if you wanted them now - which is pretty annoying for non-collectors like myself who just want them for repainting projects. I'd love to have some more of these sculpts to mess around with, but not at today's collector prices.

You almost have to work at it to not make a profit on minis in the long run, although connecting with buyers can be tricky as the communities for some things can be pretty niche. Might mention that on your deathbed so your wife doesn't dump them for pennies in an estate sale...

 

[Retreater]

Can I count Dungeon Universalis (the hybrid Board Game/TTRPG)? Not that it seems a bad product (I've just started reading it), but the reasoning behind my getting it - I wanted to buy the most ridiculous board game to troll my friends.

 

[Warpiglet-7]

It really isn't. Miniatures collecting is a perfectly legit hobby even if you never game with them, and hundreds of thousands of people share that interest worldwide. While pre-paints are less popular traditionally than stuff you paint yourself (or pay a mercenary brush to do for you to a higher standard) they're still miniatures, and most of those are made in limited production runs that will eventually increase in value on the collector's market. Even the oldest Mage Knight commons have some value today, although finding a buyer is difficult - but that will change as fewer and fewer are on the market and nostalgia and/or completionist urges drive demand. Heck, there are Dreamblade and Horrorclix figs people were throwing away a decade ago that you'd have to pay through the nose for if you wanted them now - which is pretty annoying for non-collectors like myself who just want them for repainting projects. I'd love to have some more of these sculpts to mess around with, but not at today's collector prices.

You almost have to work at it to not make a profit on minis in the long run, although connecting with buyers can be tricky as the communities for some things can be pretty niche. Might mention that on your deathbed so your wife doesn't dump them for pennies in an estate sale...

Omg I have almost two collections of mage knight with my brother…bought a case in early 2000?

Good lord…

 

[Wofano Wotanto]

Omg I have almost two collections of mage knight with my brother…bought a case in early 2000?

I can remember people saying prepainted figs would be the end of the minis hobby and GW would be out of business in no time once MK dropped.

Then again, I can also remember how Warzone and VOR and and War Machine and Deadzone were also going to be GW Killers. Buying any game solely because you expect it to replace the current industry leader in its niche? Now that's a dumb purchase.

 

[MNblockhead]

Can I count Dungeon Universalis (the hybrid Board Game/TTRPG)? Not that it seems a bad product (I've just started reading it), but the reasoning behind my getting it - I wanted to buy the most ridiculous board game to troll my friends.

Trolling your friends is always money well spent.

 

[MNblockhead]

I can remember people saying prepainted figs would be the end of the minis hobby and GW would be out of business in no time once MK dropped.

Then again, I can also remember how Warzone and VOR and and War Machine and Deadzone were also going to be GW Killers. Buying any game solely because you expect it to replace the current industry leader in its niche? Now that's a dumb purchase.

Betting against Warhammer enthusiast's willingness to spend more on minis than most spend on cars is a bad bet.

 

[Jahydin]

Hmmm, I think mine would have to be a Knights of the Dinner Table #1 I picked up off eBay during COVID. Ridiculous amount of money, but I really wanted to complete my collection.

 

[aramis erak]

Not a waste. I printed all of Mike Schleys maps using a large-format printer. Held them down with painters tape. I thought of getting a sheet of plexiglass, but even after all the money I spent on buying the digital art and printing it, I didn't want to spend the money on some cheap plexiglass.

Plexi durable enough is not cheap. Which is why my RV (used as a residence) has boards bolted in place of the broken door window. Sure, you can get 1/25" thick, 11×17" sheets for a bit over $1 each... but that's not gonna hold down a crease.
1/8" 17×22" is around $30-$40 per sheet... MDF in the same size was under $3 per sheet, and the spray paint to seal it cost more. The caulk to ensure no leak was about $4... and the bolts and nuts were also under $5 for the 6...

 

[Spectral Anomaly]

But my opponents don't like it when I slap a sheet of MDF down on top of the maps. Doesn't seem to matter if it's painted and sealed or not...