1. Do you correctly prefer your RPG materials to be in real, book form, or are you one of those .pdf lovers?
I'm assuming that this is when either print or PDF options are available for a product.
I prefer print for:
- Material where I think I'll enjoy the experience of reading it in print.
- Material that's essential to a game I'm running, so I have a version that doesn't depend on electronics and that I can easily show to players.
I prefer PDF for:
- Material where I'm not sure if I'll like it, but was still interested enough to try.
- Material that I only want for reference purposes, and don't think I'm likely to read (or reread).
- Material that's extremely expensive or difficult to get in print, and the PDF is the practical option.
I should note that for a long time, those last two reasons were the primary reasons; I almost never bought PDFs for pleasure reading. But that changed after I got my Microsoft Surface Pro, which makes it much easier to read PDFs at near full size. (I
can read PDFs on my smartphone, but it's annoying having to swipe and zoom around single multi-column pages.)
However, I only have so many shelves here, and I figure that if you're storing something away, it's a waste of space unless it's essential or has sentimental value. So if I read through a product, and decide I only want to keep it for reference, I'll get it in PDF and get rid of the print copy. Over the years I've gotten rid of a fair number of RPG products this way.
It can also go the other way: very rarely, I'll get a product in print that I only originally intended to have in PDF, and even more rarely, I'll get something print-on-demand sight unseen if it looks extra cool. This has only happened a few times, though.
3. Do you use electronic devices at your table when you are gaming in person (assuming this will ever happen again as it used to in the BEFORE TIMES)?
As GM, I kept my tablet handy, for referencing game materials during an adventure, though I generally had printouts handy as well for the essential details. As player, I would use my smartphone or tablet to look up rules in a pinch, but that's all.