D&D 5E PDFs and Next

[Dark Mistress]

No PDF's or some other way to allow me to buy digital books, download them and keep them on my PC would likely be a deal breaker for me, least for me buying stuff. Unless 5E just turned out to be the best game ever from my point of view, then I would still buy the books but bitch about no PDF's.

I don't use PDF's at the games but I use them a TON between games especially as a GM. I honestly don't think I would want to run a game where I couldn't have searchable PDF's of all the books I used.

 

[SeRiAlExPeRiMeNtS]

To me is pdfs or no buy, I play and DM RPG only with my iPAD or a notebook.

 

[tlantl]

The nice thing about PDF's is that they make lugging around a dozen books a thing of the past.

They also allow me to store the written copies away so they don't get ruined, and I can still relax in bed or in the arm chair and read a real book when I want to.

I've gotten spoiled by the Pathfinder PDF's I bought. they allow me to own a copy of a book I probably wouldn't have bought otherwise, they reside in my computer where they do the most good and are easy to print portions of when I need to.

I don't really expect WotC to go this route since they are afraid to give away content to the multitude who will down load it for free any way, although a search on line will show that all of their stuff is already there.

I will or won't buy their game depending on whether it fits my needs or not. I might be inclined to purchase electronic copies of the core rules even if i don't see the merits of buying the game to play, that is as long as I can get three or four PDFs for the price of the player's hand book.

I don't see this issue as one that is going to influence my decision to buy into their game, though.

 

[OnlineDM]

For what it's worth, I found this post from Jon Schindehette, the senior creative director for D&D, to be a good sign. He talks at length about his love of reading books on the iPad and the nature of designing covers for both print and electronic books.

It makes me think that the folks at WotC are planning to release electronic versions of the D&D Next books. Here's hoping!

 

[Nikosandros]

I'm curious. Besides WotC, which others RPG companies are not relasing PDFs of their products? Even FGU and Palladium are selling them.

 

[Jorunkun]

Hey, if Paizo can do it (watermarked, with close supervision of the usual piracy channels), so can WotC.

 

[delericho]

IMO, anything that can be sold in electronic form should be sold in electronic form. Additionally, most things should also appear in print (although I can see some value in DDI-exclusives). Finally, they really should find some means of allowing people who purchased the physical version to also get the electronic version at a vastly reduced price - Paizo's model where subscribers get free PDFs being a model here (though not the only option).

Because we're currently in a transition phase, where there are still a very significant number of people who play physical-only, there are also a significant number of people who play electronic-only, and so they should look to bridging that gap. With the next edition (if there is one), they can consider electronic-only distribution.

I do find it amusing that just about the only use I have for an iPad or similar is to easily carry my RPG library, but that isn't (and likely will never be) practical - most of the PDFs just aren't (legally) available, and even if they were, it would be at a cost I wouldn't be willing to pay. Even at $1 a book, that's still too much to duplicate everything.

 

[avin]

It's annoying to carry books from a place to another to play D&D.

This is iPad and Android time.

Books should be available on PDF or some sort of ebooks.

 

[Mattachine]

I don't want just a PDF: I want an interactive, customizable digital book. The new wave of school textbooks are like this.
If it's gonna be digital, it should be functional.

 

[Umbran]

I don't want just a PDF: I want an interactive, customizable digital book. The new wave of school textbooks are like this.
If it's gonna be digital, it should be functional.

But the "new wave" of textbooks are by no means a standard format, yet.

PDF isn't really made for a book on a mobile device, but I have the benefit of ubiquitous and long-term support for the format, even if the company that made the product goes away, I can expect my file to be accessible for years to come.