Preview Copies on PDF - on File piracy

[Darkness]

Wait, are the excerpts actually free? Because I thought when they switched over to digital Dragon, all of that stuff became subscriber only, and I started going to WotC page a lot less often.

I know every time I see a thread on the boards talking about something that sounds cool, when I click on the WotC link it says it's for subscribers only, but maybe I'm erroneously confusing the subscription-required Dragon articles and the free-for-all-to-see previews.

Yeah, there are free previews. The Archlich epic destiny, for example.

 

[ArghMark]

Free RPG Day and many of the participating publishers bank on the idea that quick start rules and previews of games will prompt users to buy the full versions. Is this the sort of thing you mean?

Free RPG Day

Yes, I feel these would be the things that might do it. I mean, I know it stops my friends from pirating games. Do you think if these things were more common in gaming stores or free PDFs online then WOTC might have less troubles with piracy?

The excerpts are interesting for drumming up excitement, I'm sure, but unless I'm really mistaken they don't let you play a small version of the game to get your teeth in.

 

[Shades of Green]

Mongoose Publishing does this, at least for Traveller.

 

[Morrus]

ENP has done this a lot, but it hasn't stopped our stuff being pirated.

 

[Grazzt]

Hello All!

I wonder - if companies produced little free sample rules and adventures, would some of the file piracy stop? I know it would stop people I know, who pirate copies of things just for a sample to see how the game works.

Doubtful it would change anything (at least to any measurable degree). Some peeps are just gonna pirate product (RPG stuff, music, whatever) no matter what. They never intended to be a paying customer at all.