D&D 4E Piracy and 4e

[Bugleyman]

Let me admit at this first: I illegally download electronic copies of D&D books I've already purchased.

I have never had a problem getting a book I wanted other than time. Whether or not this will reflect poorly on WotC's sales is an open debate (I'm not switching to 4E, so I guess I won't be an active participant) but I'm pretty sure that as they encourage people to use electronic materials there'll be greater instances of piracy.

A player friend of mine who owns no D&D books only pirates. Several others own a book or two and pirate everything else. The rest buy only the books they need plus one or two other superior offerings.

Based on the dynamic of my group, if they wanted to increase sales, they'd have to make better, rules-heavy books (Spell and Magic Item Compendium, Complete Arcane). Further than that, I don't know.

Regarding downloading PDFs of books you own: I agree that is (probably) illegal, but I wouldn't call it unethical. I think that is a pretty clear case of conceptual fair use, though I don't claim to know (or care to know, for that matter) the specific legality. I follow my conscience. For example, I own a few Paizo hardcopy books that I bought from the FLGS. I actually bought the PDFs of those specifically because I want to support Paizo. I also have PDFs of various WOTC books I own. I would have paid for several of the PDFs, but not at cover price, and so I paid for none. I've even gone so far as to download books to see if I wanted to buy them. If I don't, I delete them, end of story. If I do buy, I keep the PDF. Simple.

And I sleep just fine at night, thank you.

As for keeping and using PDFs of books I don't own, I won't do it, because I consider it unethical. The authors and artists deserve to be paid for their work. I just balk at paying more than once. I *suspect* that if everyone behaved as I do, publishers would do just fine (and probably be fine with it), but of course that will never come to pass, because there will always be those who refuse to pay at all if they can.

Now, as to the topic at hand: I don't see any reason for piracy to be much different under 4E than it was under 3E. If WOTC clues in and sells high-quality, water-marked PDFs of their products at a reasonable price (say, 50% of printed form), then piracy will be less of a factor. I don't think it can be eliminated entirely though, because as I mentioned some people will expend silly amounts of effort to get things for "free."

 

[CleverNickName]

I just read this whole thread, and it was quite interesting. My thoughts:

1. I miss Firefly.

2. Piracy will be just about the same for 4E as it was for 3E, because it isn't the version of the game that pirates care about.

3. Pirates will steal anything, just for the sake of stealing it. Even free stuff. Nobody knows why.

4. This is why DDI and the SRD will have little impact on piracy.

5. Serenity was awesome, and it only made me miss Firefly more.

6. I believe there is a special place in Hell reserved for software pirates and e-mail spammers.

7. I have not bought any new music since the RIAA started filing lawsuits against children. (Now I only buy used CDs from pawn shops and indie record stores.) I am neither a pirate nor a thief; I am just an appalled consumer.

8. If they bring back Firefly, I promise to watch every commercial. Twice. I'll even drink their damn Pepsi.

 

[SSquirrel]

Funny there was a period of time that I was hosting a page full of the 3E splats and such, pretty much all the first year or so books. This wasn't for people to download and say "Screw WoTC!" this was for a group of friends who were all avid gamers and had net access from work and could easily get away with browsing to a web pdf and lookup feats and such. Lasted about 6 months or so before my friend who ran the server saw it and made me take it down heh.

Then again, a friend of mine recently got a torrent downloaded of every 3E and 3.5 WotC book, so obviously it isn't hard to find if you look at all. I don't bother personally tho, if a product is good I'll buy it. mp3s downloaded off torrents and such are either digital copies of things I have in storage or placeholders until I have the spare cash to go buy the disc. Not so much piracy for me as extended at home browsing before purchase

 

[wedgeski]

Those of you who have downloaded pirated PDF's of stuff you own in hardcopy (and I'm not passing judgments here... I did exactly the same when the first PDF's of the 2ed core books arrived on the scene) should ask yourselves if the simple act of being one more download on the pirate radar encourages the pirating of more books in the future, or discourages it. I know what I think it does, and have modified my behaviour accordingly.

To the question at hand, piracy will have, I presume, the same effect on 4ed as it did on 3ed. Only WotC can take an educated guess at those numbers. I will say that roleplayers seem to be natural born collectors, and you can't put OCR'd PDF's on your shelf in defiance of those who think geek is uncool. Just saying.

 

[Gizmoduck5000]

Piracy is so ubiquitous and widespread they might as well just shrug and accept it, it's not really doing the sort of damage they're worried about and attempts to stamp it out just piss people off who will perpetuate it out of spitefullness.

There are parts of the internet that are black, don't show up on search engines or spiders, have no Domain Name or footprint of DNS servers. They can only be accessed with a direct IP connection and an invite,

I think that might be where my old angelfire page disappeared to ; p

 

[Gizmoduck5000]

I've illegally downloaded quite a few PDF's over the years.

See I'm not the type to go out and buy every splatbook with a WoTC logo on it...hence if I'm interested in a sourcebook I'll download the PDF...if I like it then I buy a hard copy, if not I delete the PDF.

I plan on doing this for 4th edition as well, with the exception of the core 3, which I've already pre-ordered.

But I'm going off on a tangent here, back on topic when is Firefly coming back, and will Summer Glau make out with me?

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

Now that I have a job and money, I don't need ... "free" PDFs to check if I want something. I trust a few reviews and go out and just buy it. A lot more satisfying.

But I'm going off on a tangent here, back on topic when is Firefly coming back, and will Summer Glau make out with me?

It doesn't look good on either account, as far as I know.

I still wish this was more then one of my favorite jokes
[sblock]

Source
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Well, at least there is/was Terminator...

 

[arscott]

Okay, yeah. I kinda badmouthed Firefly's advertising capabilities upthread, but it was an excellent advertisement for The Sarah Conner Chronicles.

 

[DeusExMachina]

I musta dmit that when I first found out that the D&D books could be downloaded I went ona bit of a download spree to get all the splat books...
However after a while I found that I actually used barely any of them more than for just a single feat or spell, so I got rid of almost all of them. Also the ones I do use more often (complete warrior, expanded psionics handbook) I have in hardcover, because I want to be able to take then with me to the gaming session. Good books I will buy no matter if I can get them in pdf or not...

 

[Spatula]

7. I have not bought any new music since the RIAA started filing lawsuits against children. (Now I only buy used CDs from pawn shops and indie record stores.) I am neither a pirate nor a thief; I am just an appalled consumer.

I seem to recall years ago, post-CD burners but pre-Napster, the RIAA was trying to outlaw used CD sales, saying that it was basically the same as making illegal copies or something. So in their eyes, you are indeed a thief.