Ask the readers: Tools of the trade, RPG book transportation!

Just… don’t. Use a rules light system OR play at home. If you can handle all that crappy logistics AND concentrate on DMing, do it, but I’ve tried and failed (never the right mini and/or book at hand). Or, if you’ve got you’re laptop anyway maybe use e-books exclusively. I never tried that, but I use a PC at home because I loathe all that books… and Pathfinder = Combat Manager by Kyle Olson. There is nothing better.

I used to lug around a whole bunch of books, but then I converted to using a laptop/tablet. And since Pathfinder has PDF versions for many (if not all) of their books, you’d be all set.

a) only carry things that you own uniquely — rely upon the host and other players to have the common things. Yes, you might need to have more than one core rule book at the table, so rely upon multiple players to bring them. You as the GM are not a librarian for everyone to mooch off of. You’re just as much “one of the group”, so spread out the book burden across that group.

b) convert/re-buy as much as you can to PDF and/or ebook, letting you add copious bookmarks and mark-up notes as a bonus. And you can still own the physical copy (at home) for the pleasure of leafing through it. You might even end up being able to ditch the laptop for a tablet (esp. if you can borrow a bluetooth keyboard at your host’s location), lightening your load a bit that way, as well.

c) you don’t need to carry an entire rulebook for 1 or 2 pages of creature/magic-item/etc.. Not even for the books you can’t find in PDF/ebook. All-in-One printers allow you do just photocopy the pages you need for this session, and then scribble your notes on the margins or back-side of that. That’s probably a good 80% of book-bloat right there — carrying 100’s of pages of books when you’ll probably only need 10-20% of them. While it is a little wasteful on the paper, that’s what recycling is for. Though, you may find that you’ll re-use some of those pages a bit, so wait til the campaign is over before you do so.

d) you could always get a small/medium wheeled suitcase (the kind with a telescoping handle), and maybe construct some form of book-case inside it. That gives you some amount of structure and portability. Then you can even put your smaller book-bag on top of that (hugging the telescoping handle) as you’re walking it along.

If you’re willing to spend a bit of cash, Maxpedition makes some good durable bags with lots of modularity and pockets. I use them for my gadget bags. And they DO make 1 of those rolling suitcases (but not with internal shelves, sorry). And they make a couple bags that will slide over its handle, seamlessly. With tons of pockets and organizers for dice, pens, etc. If you go down the “buy a special suitcase” for it, I highly recommend looking at their products (and feel free to contact me for brainstorming about their products). But, like I said, they’re a bit expensive. IMO, they’re also worth it.

If you have internet access when you game, nearly all of the PF stuff is on http://www.d20pfsrd.org. When we play, I let the players have my books for looking stuff up, and I just use the website.

Back when my Dad and I took all our books to conventions with us we both used wheely-cases. I have two, a beat up ballistics nylon one I used at school to carry textbooks, and a nice leather one I used at conventions for gaming books. He has a red one that he still uses, though we have both moved away from carrying so much stuff.

His looks like, roughly: http://i.tfcdn.com/img2/qyVJ0kYAYypq42RILChILErNYcgoKSmw0tcvLy_XK87IT00qrdRLzs_VL8jVL07MLc6HkCZGlqbmlvFmxgaWpvFZSYZ6WQXpAA**/fyVMtP8A but they come in all shapes and sizes. I can give you more details on the three we own if you are interested.

In the distant past we had a room that was exclusively for games in my friends basement. We rarely played anywhere else. There were no distractions other than doritos and mountain dew.

Now I have a duffel bag that carries everything for one game and a small backpack for our other game. The Duffel bag is quite heavy so it tends to be moved only when absolutely necessary.

If you need a lot of space, a hockey duffel might work. For books and miniatures, maybe a mobile tool chest would work. They normally have trays to hold small items and then a large cavity for larger items. Probably on the heavy side of the options though.

What I find works best is I have a normal backpack, and a file box (http://www.organizeit.com/portable-file-box.asp). With Pathfinder, your core books are heavy hard covers, while your supplements are softcover, thinner books. I toss the softcovers, my maps, character sheets, notes, and decks into the File box, and then my hardcovers and my bead case (http://folkandwhimsy.com/craftsupplies.htm) full of miniatures and counters goes into the backpack. Toss on your backpack, carry the box with one hand, and it leaves your other hand to carry lunch, open doors, pick your nose, etc.

Standard backpack on sale at JCPenney’s for $40, File Box was $15 at WalMart, and the Bead Case I got at a craft store for $7, I think.

Thank you ALL for the great comments and ideas. If there are more out there, keep’em coming!

With both Pathfinder and M&M, I’ve found that the combination hard-cover/electronic method worked best for me. Usually that means a laptop with the support PDFs and then hard cover versions of the core books. When last I played M&M I would use support PDFs for prep but then only bring the Pocket Player’s Guide and the Pocket Ultimate Power with me to the table.

I came across this on Google so I thought I would add my two cents: Don’t feel pressured to use digital if you don’t want to. I have found that its much slower to use, even with references. I actually ban the use of electronics as no one EVER has their spells ready and I am constantly waiting for people to find what they want to do on their turn. They are good for references but books are the best way to go. Typically players only need the main player’s book to do anything…everything else should already be on their character sheets to begin with. Leveling is different and they can do that on their on time between sessions.