While you won't ever hear me wag my finger at someone suggesting people pirate D&D books because they are expensive as fuck and you need like three of them at minimum to have the "core game," I think more people should just play other RPGs. While by pirating D&D books you're not directly supporting the cultural behemoth that D&D is, if you have any interest in the hobby in general then I feel it is more productive to actually tangibly support other games.
Cause here's the thing: D&D is actually one of the few games out there where you need to buy three $50 books to play the game, most games will give you a full game at the price of a single book costing $50 or less depending on the game. Paying $150 dollars for the core rules of a game (which you have to buy separately if you want them to be available digitally) is absolutely not the norm. (For an example, Free League's The One Ring RPG costs 518.00 kr which comes out to approximately $50, while something slimmer like Blades in the Dark will only set you back like $30, and that's for the physical editions which come with PDFs included. Most publishers these days are involved in some program where even if you bought the game physically at a brick and mortar store, you can still get the PDF for free.) That's a full game for one-fifth to one-third the price of D&D's core rules, and that's not even taking into account the fact that a lot of these games are available for even cheaper in digital formats.
(Sidenote: one of the large profile D&D alternatives, Pathfinder, also follows the multiple books strategy, but its approach isn't quite as egregious imo as D&D's: firstly, you only need two books, the actual core rulebook and a bestiary, and secondly, all the rules are available online for free, yes you heard that right, all the rules, not just some Basic rules to get you started)
And then of course there are a bunch of indies. There are way too many good indie RPGs out there but here's a little sample:
Hard Wired Island by Paul Matljevic and Freyja Katra ErlingsdĂłttir. Amazing cyberpunk RPG that avoids pretty much all of the common pitfalls of the genre.
Flying Circus by Erica Chappell. Basically Porco Rosso the RPG, air combat in a fantasy setting with an approximately WWI level of technology.
Fellowship by Vel Mini. If you absolutely need your fantasy fix Fellowship is a great twist on the formula that pits a fellowship of heroes against the forces of an evil overlord.
Esoteric Enterprises by Emmy Allen. Modern occult horror which just oozes style and with a system clearly inspired by older editions of D&D.
Wanderhome by Jay Dragon. Pastoral fantasy with anthropomorphic animals this game is so gosh darn wholesome I love it.
Again, all of these games will set you back a fraction of the cost of D&D's core rules, each is a complete game in one book, and you know the money will directly support the author.
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