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While I am interested in the Dragon Compendium, I would be more interested if, along with the book, a .pdf version was available. I've brought this up before with regards to your magazines and was informed that the problem is with WotC's copyright restrictions. The same probably applies here, but perhaps not. Never hurts to bring it up.
Why do I want both?
I find that the hardbound supplements are great to read, tab and have available for games in my house's den. (Along with the massive stack of other books I own.)
But when I travel and when I'm away at other people's houses, trying to lug all those books around is a bear of a task. Having .pdfs allows you to carry your library in your laptop.
Moreover, I play a lot of internet gaming, too. Being able to simply cut and paste a paragraph from a supplement into an e-mail or .jpeg makes gaming so much more manageable.
In the end, hardbounds and .pdfs have their purpose and don't overlap in service. Rather, they complement one another. So, I pose the question again - copy of book and .pdf? (Heck, I'd be willing to pay an extra $10 for a .pdf!)
Last, if there are current contract issues with WotC that provide for such copyright restrictions, there's nothing to stop you from seeking an amendment to the contract. It's not uncommon.
I'll second that. I've called and asked customer service about shipping PDFs with their magazines, and was told that it's something being worked on.
Whatever is holding it up, I think it would be a great value to offer a PDF with your products in some way. A CD might prove too costly, but perhaps a slip with a promo number for a free download would be cool.
I'd personally like to see PDFs available for free to folks who purchase the hardcopy products. I mean, once you have the PDF on a computer, it can be copied infinitely without having to pay a printer.
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A CD might prove too costly, but perhaps a slip with a promo number for a free download would be cool.
I'd personally like to see PDFs available for free to folks who purchase the hardcopy products. I mean, once you have the PDF on a computer, it can be copied infinitely without having to pay a printer.
1. I like the "promo number." It identifies the person who downloads and provides a restriction for access.
2. "Copied infinitely without having to pay a printer," may be what Paizon is concerned about. However, as I understand it, there are ways to restrict opening .pdfs by anyone other than the purchaser.
2. "Copied infinitely without having to pay a printer," may be what Paizon is concerned about. However, as I understand it, there are ways to restrict opening .pdfs by anyone other than the purchaser.
Yeah, there are. And I certainly understand the need to find a way to prevent piracy. But what method is implimented should be chosen carefully. For example, my only experience with DRM files required me to buy Adobe. That was a deal breaker for me, because I shouldn't have to pay more for something I've already bought.
It's akin to buying a book, then having to buy the key to open it because someone put a lock on the cover.
Chief Technical Officer
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For example, my only experience with DRM files required me to buy Adobe. That was a deal breaker for me, because I shouldn't have to pay more for something I've already bought.
Adobe's DRM implementation works with their free Adobe Reader.
Paizo has chosen not to use DRM for protecting commercial PDFs - we use watermarking instead.
Regardless, we have no plans to offer the book in PDF form for a number of reasons, not least of which is that we don't currently have the rights to do so.
-Vic.
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For example, my only experience with DRM files required me to buy Adobe. That was a deal breaker for me, because I shouldn't have to pay more for something I've already bought.Adobe's DRM implementation works with their free Adobe Reader.
Paizo has chosen not to use DRM for protecting commercial PDFs - we use watermarking instead.
Regardless, we have no plans to offer the book in PDF form for a number of reasons, not least of which is that we don't currently have the rights to do so.
-Vic.
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Vic, you must get tired of responding to my posts everytime I bring this up. Sorry to stick you with the burden. Anyhow, thanks for the prompt response ... and hopefully a seed has been planted for exploring the use of .pdfs in the future. Thanks.
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Am I dumb?
You got the right to republish these old Dragon articles. Right?
So what is the difference between
- printing and binding a .pdf and selling it via your flgst and
- selling it directly as a .pdf-file?
I understood that there were problems to re-publish previously published articles (consent of authours), but you passed this obstacle, the Dragon Compendium is the proof. And by what Erik Mona wrote in Dragon Magazine lately, there are to be more of these republishings...
So what is the problem about electronically re-publishing?
As I said before: maybe I am a bit dumb, but is there a difference between re-publishing and re-publishing?
Sorry, to maybe open up an old discussion, but not able yet to understand the problem,
Günther
Its been mentioned in a few different threads, but everything that Paizo publishes for D&D is owned by WOTC, and WOTC has a policy of not publishing new material as PDF, if I understand what has been said in the other thread properly. So first and foremost, its up to WOTC, and the only thing they want in PDFs right now are old edition products and sold out/out of print Dragon/Dungeon Magazines.
Unless I have misunderstood all of these other threads.
So first and foremost, its up to WOTC, and the only thing they want in PDFs right now are old edition products and sold out/out of print Dragon/Dungeon Magazines.
If I'm not mistaken, Fiend Folio is already available as a PDF, and it isn't that old. So, perhaps it will depend on customer demand to make the move.
Fiend Folio and, I think, Lords of Madness, maybe Manual of the Planes came out as PDFs, but all of those were a while ago, and I think that might have been a test program to see about sales figures and such.
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Fiend Folio and, I think, Lords of Madness, maybe Manual of the Planes came out as PDFs, but all of those were a while ago, and I think that might have been a test program to see about sales figures and such.
Drive ThruRPG has a handful of .pdfs of DnD splatbooks. Its website advertises Complete Adventurer, Complete Warrior, Deities & Demigods, Fiend Folio, Frostburn, Lords of Madness , Manual of the Plane and Races of Destiny. A smattering of old and new. All in all, I was pretty excited to see .pdfs available for sale ... until I realized that I can buy the hardbounds for less. If it was a sales run, it looks like it still may be going, i.e., Complete Adventurer is relatively new. But that said, it seems that the price for which they are marked will stifle many purchasers from taking advantage of this growing medium.