How Good Are These PDFs?

[Azure Trance]

I took a look at RPGNow last night and was surprised at the wealth of content there, compared to when I last visited a year ago ^__^ Unfortunately most of the interesting PDFs don't have reviews or are even listed in the D20 Review section. If you are familiar with how 'safe' the Forbidden Arcana rule-sets, Buck-A-Batch, or Dark Quest Games Dweomercraft - Familiars are, drop a post. Even though the former two are cheap, if they're broken or mostly useless / rehashes I'd still not want to waste any money on it.

 

[Blacksad]

I took a look at RPGNow last night and was surprised at the wealth of content there, compared to when I last visited a year ago ^__^ Unfortunately most of the interesting PDFs don't have reviews or are even listed in the D20 Review section. If you are familiar with how 'safe' the Forbidden Arcana rule-sets, Buck-A-Batch, or Dark Quest Games Dweomercraft - Familiars are, drop a post. Even though the former two are cheap, if they're broken or mostly useless / rehashes I'd still not want to waste any money on it.

I only know the Forbidden Arcana, those are good.

Forbidden Arcana:

Eater of the Arcane

5 level Magic Addict prestige class, you access it if another addict transfered part of his addiction to you. You need to consume magic items. Interesting as an NPC, might be underpowered for a PC.


Burning Spellbooks

An extract from the book to give you a good idea of what's inside:

"There is a 10% chance that a burning spellbook will release one of the effects described below. If a d% check results in a number of 11 or higher no special effect takes place and the following can be ignored."

"ABJURATION"

"Mid Level Spells (4-6)
Roll 1d6 and consult the following list.
1 – The book explodes, inflicting all within 20 ft. with 2d6 points of [Fire] damage.
2 – The smoke from the burning book acts as an antimagic field, centered on the book, as if cast by a 20th level spellcaster.
3 – The burning book covers all characters and creatures within 10 ft. in a magical aura that grants a +4 enhancement bonus to all attacks, damage rolls, and saves for three hours.
4 – Any summoned creatures within 50 ft. of the book are immediately dismissed. The book burns for a complete hour and this effect remains active for that time.
5 – One random target within 10 ft. of the burning spellbook is permanently shrouded in a magical aura that reduces the target’s Intelligence by 2. Magic of lesser power than a wish cannot remove
this effect.
6 – The book explodes, inflicting all within 100 ft. with 4d6 points of [Fire] damage. There is a 10% chance that the explosion permanently covers the
affected area in a magical fire that cannot be removed by any power less than a minor diety."

 

[Crothian]

My review of Dweomercraft - Familiars should be finished by Saturday, so if you have patience it can help you then.

It's a pretty good book, the best familiar book I've seen. Not that there is much compitition though.

 

[Deamoclese]

The buck-a-batch pdf's are actually pretty cool - I bought them all (a buck a piece heh).

Many of the magic items are quite clever and useful and I plan to put some to good use. However, there are a few questionable one's here and there, so DM discretion should still be applied... overall though I am quite pleased with them and my players were excited when they found a magic ring that was unique rather than just a boring old +1 ring of protection.

 

[Buttercup]

I'll agree with Crothian that Dweomercraft--Familiars is a good book. I own the print copy, and I've gotten some good ideas for the game I DM.

The fact that it was written largely by the DM of the game I play in has no bearing at all on my evaluation.

 

[JoeBlank]

There are two reviews of Dweomercraft: Familiars on the d20 Magazine Rack site.

http://www.d20zines.com/html/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=977

 

[Janx]

Just out of curiosity, how good do they need to be?

What's the minimum a PDF shoud have so people would buy it, like it, and use it?

I've got some material that I could wrap up in a PDF, but what's the least work I need to do, to make it worth buying.

I would assume the following are expected:
price matches length and content
no errors
balanced material
good writing style

Beyond that, what else does it need:
cover art (would you buy it if it looked like the front page of a term paper)
interior art (would you buy it with no art)
fancy fonts (or is times roman/courier sufficient)
watermarks/background (will a white/blank background suffice)
Length (what's the shortest PDF you'll pay $1, $5, $10 for)


Now all this sounds like I'm being lazy, but its really a question all publishers should have the answer to. Personally, I may not publish anything (or release it as "free"), but its worth knowing what people are looking for.

Janx

 

[Crothian]

If you are going to publish something, do not sell yourself short with the minimiums. It doesn't matter if its pdf or print, the product should be the best you can do. If it isn't, it'll show.

Art is a tough thing and there has been a few threads about art in a PDF. Cover art is nice as that's what people see at RPGNow. On that site they have a place for the cover so people can see it before they buy. Dispite the addage, people judge a book, at least partially, by the cover. Interior art is not needed, but a good layout is. I cannot stress the importance of a good layout. There is nothing worse then trying to read a product and not being able to becasue it strains the eyes or confuses them. If you want a fancy font, just make sure it's not annoying and the letters can be recognized.

Price is a tough thing. I've seen things that range from a dollar to about sixteen. I don't think a pdf has broken the twenty dollar mark, but I could be wrong. Some believe in the one dollar per 10 pages, but I don't. But a more expensive item should feel like it was worth the money with art, layout, and good writing. And I've seen many pdfs that I personally thought were underpriced.

But I'm not a pdf publishers so I may just not know what I'm talking about

 

[MerakSpielman]

I've purchased:

Elements of Magic (the original)
Everyone Else
Arcane Strife
Complete Guide to Beholders
Complete Guide to Drow
Dweomercraft: Enchanters

Overall, I've been pleased. The old 2nd edition Drow of the Underdark book was a better Drow handbook, but I absolutely love the Complete Guide to Beholders, and I use Everyone Else in pretty much every game session. The quality of the formatting and art is good, though I've noticed that most pdf publications could have used a bit more editing (it's never been serious, though).

 

[CCamfield]

Eater of the Arcane is a freebie and pretty cool but on rpgnow it and the Necromantic Feats PDF have "NOT VALIDATED FOR SALE" slapped on them. Anyone know why? It seems to be in place of a download link.