Do you convert new rules to digital format?

[amethal]

Basically anything that isn't in some kind of electronic tool (my copy of eTools, or a spell spreadsheet or SpellGen or in a PDF) doesn't get used. If it's new, and worth the effort, I'll wrangle it into eTools in some form. Monsters, races, items, spells, and feats are all very easy for me to add digitally. New rulesets would be very difficult for me to add.

I don't know how up to date eTools is, but even if for the sake of argument it is 100% up until WotC pulled the plug, surely putting MM V on there will be a lot of work however easy each individual monster is to do?

 

[Merkuri]

I've been slowly trying to put all of my books into a personal wiki for easy reference. It takes a while, and I feel like it's a shame that I can't share my hard work with anyone, but it's fun. To make it easier, I am also guilty of downloading pdfs of books, but I only download those I already own, and I never share them (I delete the "seed" file so my download/upload software can't find them). I figure it just saves me the time of scanning and OCRing them myself, though I know its technically less than legal.

 

[EricNoah]

I don't know how up to date eTools is, but even if for the sake of argument it is 100% up until WotC pulled the plug, surely putting MM V on there will be a lot of work however easy each individual monster is to do?

Indeed. MMIV is not in eTools either. Usually I put monsters (and feats and items and everything else) in one item at a time as I need them.

It is a lot of work. Which is an incentive for me to not buy new gaming material.

 

[Imruphel]

I typically use my laptop when I DM in part because I live in Singapore but game in Australia and it's easier than carrying books. I have practically all my books in PDF format on a portable hard drive.

As much as possible, I try to prepare stat blocks in advance and those stat blocks will contain all the information needed to run a monster/NPC including reprinting feats etc... where needed.

 

[jefgorbach]

I know a guy who illegally downloads PDFs of every D&D book he can find. Sometimes he downloads a book before he buys it, sometimes he buys a book before he downloads it, but in the end he tries to both buy a hard copy of the book and download a PDF.

Why? Because he does all his prep-work on his computer, and it's a hell of a lot easier to juggle around 7 PDFs than it is to juggle around 7 books. Books are great at the game table, but that's it. PDFs are superior to them in every way otherwise.

Of course, despite the fact that he's paying for the dead-tree books, it's still illegal to download these PDFs and you shouldn't do it and he's a bad, bad man.

Not a lawyer (Rule or otherwise ) so i could be mistaken, but IRC standard copywrite law ALLOWS the purchaser to backup a legitmately purchased work for personal use without specifying the backup format, so it wouldnt matter whether he handwrites, xeroxes, scans, or downloads it from someone else -- provided he owns a legally purchased copy of either the dead-wood or ebook version.

 

[Merkuri]

Not a lawyer (Rule or otherwise ) so i could be mistaken, but IRC standard copywrite law ALLOWS the purchaser to backup a legitmately purchased work for personal use without specifying the backup format, so it wouldnt matter whether he handwrites, xeroxes, scans, or downloads it from someone else -- provided he owns a legally purchased copy of either the dead-wood or ebook version.

I don't want to clutter up this thread with arguments over the legality of PDFs, but let me just say that this is debatable. A lot of current copyright law is complicated, and different people interpret it in different ways. I believe it also changes often nowadays as companies try to protect their intellectual property from what they see as pirates and thieves. Personally, I think obtaining a PDF of a book you own does not violate the spirit of copyright law, but I can make no statements about its technical legality.

 

[Laman Stahros]

I typically use my laptop when I DM in part because I live in Singapore but game in Australia and it's easier than carrying books. I have practically all my books in PDF format on a portable hard drive.

As much as possible, I try to prepare stat blocks in advance and those stat blocks will contain all the information needed to run a monster/NPC including reprinting feats etc... where needed.

Now that is a commute! Wow!

 

[Umbran]

Can't say that I do. I haven't found a laptop at the gaming table to be a particular aid to my GMing yet, so I've little desire to render rules into electronic format.

 

[Voadam]

Hello.

I have the SRD on my PC. In fact, I do all my D&D prep on my PC.

Stuff that is in the MM, PHB, etc... that is not in the SRD, I normally just type it in and add it to the Word documents. It's okay when it's just a beholder, some slaad, etc.

Miscellaneous crunchy bits, such as a choice spell (Chasing Perfection) or feat (Extra Rage) or even a prestige class (Frenzied Berserker) are okay to type in.

The problem lies with new spell systems, like Incarnum, ToM stuff, Bo9S stuff. I don't want to spend half a day typing in an entire new system.

Yet I want to use these systems, but I won't use it unless I can get it in digital format.

Does anyone else have this problem?

Yes.

At a face to face game I am likely to use monsters straight out of a book for ease of use at a game. I sometimes have single page printouts from pdfs of stuff I plan to use that night. I also write out or type out whole statblocks for individualized NPCs/monsters.

In an e-mail or pbp game I am likely to use a statblock out of a pdf/srd. Modifying the statblocks are pretty easy electronically for individualized NPCs.

I do most of my gaming by email and pbp now.

I occassionally get D&D books as gifts and have a ton, but I only buy myself pdfs now. Dragonlance CS and Unearthed Arcana were the last ones I bought in print, that was years ago and they were 60% off at the time.

I still use my physical books, but I try to use pdf stuff more for ease of use. I am enjoying reading Tome of Magic though and look forward to the flavor stuff from the fiendish codexes next.

enworld.rpgnow.com has a few 3e books in pdf form from wotc, but they are very expensive. I got the MMII while it was on sale as well as a module, both of which I own in print as well. I was tempted to get Complete Warrior and even Magic of Faerun even though MoF is 3e and I DM 3.5. Even at 30% during the sale though it was expensive though.

They don't have ToM in pdf format yet though, unfortunately.

I only buy pdfs now and I am more likely to use something like Spells and Magic or Arcane Strife for building a spellbook than Tome and Blood or Magic of Faerun now.

 

[Goddess FallenAngel]

My fiancé either buys a PDF version of whatever book, or scans in the appropriate page(s). Then he uses a OCR program to pull the text out and into a word file. Then all he has to do is format it. Of course, the issues with this include the need to buy an OCR program for your PC....