I don't have a tabletop group at all, and haven't for years I still keep buying gaming books, and dice, just in case. I have all my really old D&D books, the 3rd ed books, some WW stuff, old Gurps, and the sourcebook for Firefly/Serenity. I'm not a gaming newbie by any stretch, but I am new at this game. So I want opinions on which book is best to get right now, and why, please.
Here's a question:
Do you want to learn about the game or do you want a book about the setting?
Your Story is about the game, plain and simple. It gives you the rules you need.
Our World is the closest thing I've seen to a
Guide To The Dresden Verse. It lists people from all the short stories and novels - not only does it list them and stat them out it also (at times) speculates about them.
Could you understand the stuff in Our World without Your Story? Probably. Here's a stat block for one of the PCs:
Ron Carmichael
High Concept: One Good Cop
Other Aspects: Special Investigations; Skeptical of Harry Dresden; Scruffy-Looking; Put The Pieces Together; Street Smarts
Skills
Alertness: Good (+3)
Burglary: Fair (+2)
Contacts: Good (+3)
Empathy: Fair (+2)
Guns: Fair (+2)
Intimidation: Fair (+2)
Investigation: Great (+4)
Rapport: Good (+3)
Most other skills default to Mediocre, with a few at Average.
Stunts
I Know Just the Guy (Contacts): When using the Gathering Information trapping for Contacts, his effor ts are at a +1, and are 1 time increment faster.
Quick Eye (Investigation): When examining a location for clues, Carmichael’s eye is quick to pick out the visual details. His first Investigation roll to determine deeper details about a scene is two time increments faster than usual.
Scene of the Crime (Investigation):
Carmichael has a practiced eye when combing over a crime scene. In such a circumstance, he gains +1 to his Investigation roll and arrives at his findings one step faster than usual on the time table.
Stress
Mental oo Physical oo Social oo
Notes
He could handle a gun (Weapon:2) pretty well (Fair attacks, Good initiative) but it was his investigative skills that really made him stand out.
Total Refresh Cost: –1 (Pure Mortal)
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If you can make sense of that then you can make sense of Our World without Your Story.
Richard