Would you buy an RPG with no art?

Yes, mostly.

However, an RPG that was so simple that it needed no illustrations to make sense of the rules would be unlikely to appeal to me. Those illustrations could be rather crude as long as they clearly got the point across, clarifying the text.

Furthermore, there needs to be something to break up the walls of text. In some games, that could be rendering some of the details in charts, to break up the flow. Most games, are almost going to need a least a smattering of art in a few places where nothing else will really work to that purpose.  I suppose trade paperback size with lots of margins serves a similar purpose, though I seldom like that format either.

I guess I can summarize that art per se is not that important to me, but layout is. It's difficult for most games to have a good layout with no art.

Yes if the content, layout and editing is good enough. At this point in my life I can picture fantasy, sci-fi, historical, etc. art.

I don't really need to see generic warrior fighting monster or animals.

Perhaps if it has some theme that I am very interested in, but mostly no. I'm quite visually oriented in many ways. In many cases I feel I can come up with a decent system and setting myself, but good art is a big inspiration. Over time, I have come to recognize the importance of this (to me at least) so I'm thinking more about using art from some favorite RPG/fantasy artists as a springboard for a new campaign.

I'd be fine with that as a free minimalist ruleset (like < 8 pages) or a small supplement tackling one specific aspect of a game (like adding basic hexploration mechanics to a game that is missing them) but not really as a full fledged retail product that I'm expected to pay for.

No art, probably not.
Public Domain art is easy enough to find and free. Even if I've seen the same public domain art in a dozen products it doesn't bother me.

I mean the WhiteHack has no art and I think that RPG is quite good. likewise Maze Rats.

so yes I own and have purchased RPGs with no art before.

Yeah I would.  Art is useful for quickly communicating the tone of the game but that's about it.  Game art in a rule book is fun to look at but doesn't contribute that much.

Quote from: weirdguy564 on April 10, 2025, 07:48:07 AMWould you buy an RPG with no art?

Yea, maybe. It's gotta be a really notable RPG to make up for the lack of art.

There should at least be a few token pieces of art, even if only a few black ink sketches.  Some type of illustration on the front cover, too.

Quote from: weirdguy564 on April 10, 2025, 07:48:07 AMWould you buy an RPG with no art?

No. If a game has no art it should just be a free download.

Definitely.

Think of Knave and Maze Rats, for example. Huge bestsellers.

Personally I dislike the layout of Mork Borg and could only appreciate it when the released a simpler version with no art.

Then again, anyone can buy at least some stock art for the cover to show you're making SOME effort.

Yes, it is was a good game.

Quote from: hedgehobbit on April 10, 2025, 01:09:39 PM

Quote from: weirdguy564 on April 10, 2025, 07:48:07 AMWould you buy an RPG with no art?

No. If a game has no art it should just be a free download.

Why? As you should still be paying for their intellectual property.

Better one with no art, than one with bad art.