D&D General I hate pdfs, and I'm happy that WOTC primarily publishes Books

[DeviousQuail]

1. I prefer books even when referencing rules. The pdfs are nice for books that I'm unsure if I'll use at the table (SCAG, Eberron, Theros, etc) but I always have the PHB, DMG, Xanathar's, Tasha's, and whichever Monster book I need for that session on hand.

2. Huey Lewis and the News is already taken as a band name!?

3. I don't use them but I don't stop others from using them unless it's becoming an issue.

 

[Lyxen]

1. I don't like .pdf, for reading I love the physical media, but I will use a .pdf for convenience purpose on a trip, and I love digital searchable bases where I can get direct access to exactly what I'm looking for.

2. I never listened to Huey Lewis, but I seem to remember a few hits which were not bad. But then, I'm French, so...

3. It depends on the electronic device, I like to be able to take notes on my iPad during sessions, and I love having my character sheet in details using the electronic format, but I don't like people rolling dice on their phone and tablet when there are physical dices on the table.

 

[Mort]

I love physical books and prefer them BUT have come to recognize the utility of pdfs etc.

With 5e particularly, the utility of DndBeyond is hard to match - especially over the last 2 years of playing almost exclusively online.

 

[Mort]

3. It depends on the electronic device, I like to be able to take notes on my iPad during sessions, and I love having my character sheet in details using the electronic format, but I don't like people rolling dice on their phone and tablet when there are physical dices on the table.

This is HUGE for me. I greatly prefer physical dice over dice rollers! It just gets me into the game SO much more.

 

[Vaalingrade]

I like books for pleasure reading, but man, a nice, well formatted and bookmarked pdf for a gaming book so you can easily get to the info you need without ruining the world with sticky notes? So good.

 

[Grendel_Khan]

After years of only doing remote gaming, I've settled into a very specific relationship with PDFs.

-If I'm looking for rules during play or learning the core mechanics of a new system, PDFs are fine, and even preferable for me.

-If in-depth, linear reading is required, PDFs are a slog--like Snarf, I can't read a single digital document for long times at a stretch.

For example, the current edition of Delta Green is, to me, something like a masterpiece, and I enjoyed it in bits and pieces as PDFs. Then a friend sent me the slipcase (hardcovers of the Player's book and Handler's guide) and suddenly I was reading it like a novel, devouring stuff like that massive, beautifully-written-and-laid-out timeline of the organization in a way that my brain just couldn't on the screen. With PDF's I start skipping around on autopilot, looking for juicy little tidbits here and there, like some addled, third-act Lovecraft character who can't properly focus on any one damn thing. So to the degree that I sit down and read gaming material for pleasure, rather than straight prep, print is way more fun and efficient, but in a pinch I'll pop around in a PDF for random hits of enlightenment and dopamine.

But when it comes to using rules or adventures, especially while GM-ing, I'm all in on PDFs. These days I have about five different PDFs in minimized windows ready for checking, while my print books are across the room, prettying up the joint.

(And for context I am an old, in my mid-forties)

 

[payn]

#1 I am incorrect in many ways. I prefer PDFs for gaming material, love Bards, and think John Wick is just the millennial generation's Steven Segal. Why do I love PDFs? It has reduced my GM space to a single laptop. No longer do I need a rulebook, setting material, notepads, graph paper, etc.. I can easily find everything I need quickly and get to the good stuff kids go for. PDFs = Sunny D Printed books = Five Alive

#2 Agree on Huey Lewis. Its a damn shame he is nearly deaf now and can no longer perform I still have my '82 Sony direct drive turntable and a fresh copy of Sports like any good crypster should. I also happen to have a complete Sonos system across my entire home. So I can run my vinyl and hear it anywhere. Need a drink in the kitchen? Heart of Rock 'n' Roll is still beatin. Got to use the restroom? I want a new Drug. Down stairs at the gaming table running an 80's themed RPG. If this is it

#3 Already partially answered, but yes as GM I usually use a laptop. I say usually because things like Fiasco and PbtA dont require that level of resource. As a player though, im usually on paper and stones.

 

[el-remmen]

This is HUGE for me. I greatly prefer physical dice over dice rollers! It just gets me into the game SO much more.

My remote group (and when my local group needs to play remotely) still uses actual dice. I have total trust in all my players and them in me - or else I probably wouldn't be playing with them. I don't need to see the roll.

 

[Cadence]

My remote group (and when my local group needs to play remotely) still uses actual dice. I have total trust in all my players and them in me - or else I probably wouldn't be playing with them. I don't need to see the roll.

I think I can trust both my group now, but when we started, one of the 10 year olds in my son's game needed some help to stay on the straight and narrow.

For both games as DM I roll on rolldicewithfriends. In the older group game, when someone grumbles about my having a streak of luck it's nice to be able to offer them to look (they never have).

 

[Mort]

My remote group (and when my local group needs to play remotely) still uses actual dice. I have total trust in all my players and them in me - or else I probably wouldn't be playing with them. I don't need to see the roll.

Even though we've been playing on Roll20, I still prefer physical dice and absolutely trust my players to roll.

Forgetting everything else, I hate how cluttered the side of the screen gets when everyone (usually 6 players plus me) is using the electronic dice roller. It's just way too cluttered and distracting for me.