Hello all. I've been lurking here for a few weeks, and I decided to join up and ask a couple of burning questions.
Does anyone know where I could get the faction sourcebooks for a decent price?
I have no problem buying them used, but I was hoping to get them a little cheaper than I've seen on eBay, Barnes & Noble, or Amazon.
Are there any sourcebooks out that are NOT worth getting?
I have the hardcover Atlas Games book, Golden Comeback, and Out for Blood (Thanks, Queex!!). These three books have given me more than enough to work with, but I'm a sucker for more archetypes, powers, and setting info.
[More of an opinion question] I want the first session to have a huge fight through a carnival, do you think I should start that big or save it for a later session?
The only books I've got second-hand were given to me by a friend, so I can't help much. I know that some of them were available as pdfs at some point, but I'm not sure how many or whether they are still available that way. The bring and buy at conventions might bear fruit, I guess. If you're buying second-hand be aware that Atlas republished some older books with revisions, so try to get the newer version if you can.
It's all a matter of taste. Some people didn't like the fluff in Seed of the New Flesh, for example. I've got every book except Burning Shaolin, and the only one I've not used is Four Bastards, mostly because I prefer to come up with my own plots. I'd say perhaps it's better to be guided by where your campaign is going (assuming you have one). If the players dig their interaction with the Hand, search out Blood of the Valiant, say. The faction splatbooks have a good mix of crunch and fluff.
Only save things up until the end of the session. I generally run one story per session, with occasional lip-service to an ongoing plot. So throw down that carnival right now and make it shine. In fact, use it twice. First time have a fight break out during the day, where they players have to worry about civilian casualties and the crowds make everything chaotic. Then use it for the showdown at night, where mooks lurk in every corner and every ride is your enemy.
I have just about everything myself, picked up most of the books used at my local game store. For the most part I have to say I've been pleased with what I've found in them. If nothing else I have found a few characters and stories that have given me ideas for some sessions along with providing me with some characters for sessions I had already thought of.
As for prices I don't know where to tell you to look. I got most of mine at about half off list price because they were used. I doubt you'll do much better than that considering that there are still people looking to buy them and such.
I agree with what Queex said as well, that if you find a particular group interesting yourself and fun to write for or find a particular group is better suited to your particular group I'd go with those for starters, but I find the additional material in the ones I have to be helpful in creating sessions and for other resources.
I suppose it depends on what you consider a decent price. I bought all of what I consider faction books new when they came out (well, not Blood of the Valiant, I bought that at new price at a convention years after it came out), and thought they were worth every penny. They seem to still be in stock at Warehouse 23 at list price. http://www.warehouse23.com/info/fengshui.html You are not looking at the inflated prices you used to see for some books. I remember when a copy of Thorns of the Lotus was more than $100 on Ebay.
As for what faction books are good, the books that I would consider faction books (Seeds of the New Flesh, Elevator to the Netherworld, Seal of the Wheel, Thorns of the Lotus, Gorilla Warfare and Blood of the Valiant) are all excellent, and I am very fond of Friends of the Dragon and Glimpse of the Abyss. As for the others…ask me no questions and I will tell you no lies.
Sweet. Thank you for all the information! I greatly welcome any advice, as I've been scouring websites and Feng Shui RPG links since I found out about the game in 2005.
I asked last night at my local game store and the owner said that he can no longer order anything other than the core rule book for Feng Shui. This maybe why you're seeing the prices the way that they are considering that Atlas themselves may be running low or are out of most of the source books other than the core rule book as well.
I have tried my local gaming store as well. Luckily, I was able to get a copy of Thorns of the Lotus for about 15 on eBay, and Seeds of the New Flesh for 11. The ones I'm really trying to track down are Blood of the Valiant and Glimpse of the Abyss. I want more fu paths and I'm curious as to what that Demon Martial Artist archetype is packing.
Noble Knight Games has in stock Glimpse of the Abyss and Blood of the Valiant the Atlas, edition both are not expensive, you can get them cheper than the cover price. You can get Gorilla Warfare from them at a cheap pric, also.
The only one that is way over priced is Iron and Silk.
