So…it seems that the World of Darkness will no longer be available in my Friendly Local Game Store. This saddens me tremendously.

On the one hand – I get it. The production of print books isn’t cheap. Shipping them around the country isn’t cheap either. I get it – I do.

And yet, I had no idea that there even WAS a new World of Darkness until I walked into my Friendly Local game Store (FLGS) some years ago. That’s where I purchase my books. That’s where I ran my very first game. It’s where I run my campaign. It’s where I met the people I game with, all of whom have become very good friends of mine over the years. I have spent hundreds of dollars on World of Darkness books, and the players at my table have snapped them up too. I have run World of Darkness at local conventions, and people have come up to me afterward (at future conventions) and mentioned that they have their own campaigns going now because they had so much fun at my table. It’s what I talk about on Twitter, and the inspiration for this blog. If those books hadn’t been on the shelves at my favorite place I would never have known they existed. I wouldn’t have spent my money on them, my players wouldn’t have spent their money on them, and they wouldn’t have been able to tell other people just how much fun they have playing in this system. Without my FLGS none of that would have been possible.

Now, my understanding is that retailers can get the books – but there’s a catch. The books will wind up costing the retailer more than the cover price. So if my FLGS wants to have World of Darkness books on the shelves they have to lose money on every single book. Alternatively, I suppose they could charge more than the cover price for each book but that’s kind of ridiculous isn’t it?

The whole thing makes me sad.

In the end my loyalty has to go to my Friendly Local Game Store. Will I continue to run my campaign in the World of Darkness? I imagine so, for a while at least. After all, we did buy the books and it is fun. Will I continue to write one-off modules to run at game conventions in the World of Darkness? Not so much. Part of why I run one shot adventures is to support my FLGS. What that store has given me goes beyond the books and dice and GM screens and assorted gaming paraphernalia that I’ve purchased there. That store introduced me to some great people, has provided me with countless hours of fun, and I’ve walked out the door after each session with great stories to tell. If I can help to bring a new customer through the door that’s my way of paying for all those priceless, intangible things the store has given me free of charge. So I’ll be looking for a new game system for my one-shot adventures, and I know just where I’ll find it: on the shelves at my Friendly Local Game Store.