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Message: <blockquote data-quote="XO" data-source="post: 2721110" data-attributes="member: 24452">Several Factors of Influence...Yesterday, I packed my laptop and counters and we played a solid 11 hour session over at a friend's. The ongoing now "edge of 15th level" campaign.At some point, I had the following open in PDF, stacked in the same window: - 3.5 PHB- 3E PHB (because Lightning Bolt description in 3.5 really SUCKS for dimensions)- 3.5 DMG- MM2- Libris Mortis- 3.5 MM- Complete Divine (for spell references)- Frostburn (quickly, spell reference)- Player's Guide to Faerûn (more spells)- Book of Eldritch Might- At any given time, a few other titlesDo we own these books? Yes.  Is it feasible to run the same game w/o the PDFs? No! You can't SERIOUSLY be suggesting that I carry my bookcases over, are you ? A book is great to pour over while lying in bed, whereas even AD&D could be unmanageable without a moving van (DMG, PHB, MM, MM2, FF, UA, DSG, WSG and a few other things for good measures).Have I ever downloaded PDFs of books I did NOT own? Yes. Had I not downloaded Scarred Lands titles, I NEVER would have bought Scarred Lands. Will I pay for the PDF version once I've bought the book? No. In my view, I've already paid my "licensing rights". Keep in mind that many PDFs are sold at almost the same price as the book itself (WAY unreasonable) or in some cases, at a small discount. Some 10+ year old titles almost sell for a higher price in PDF form than their original cover price.Take note that for music piracy, the issue of older media is seldom raised: I'm older, a statement applicable to a growing number of gamers (the pertinency of which I will expound upon in a second, bear with me). Being older, I've bought vynil. Lots of it! For Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here", I may have bought as many as THREE vynil copies (1st worn down, 2nd as replacement, 3rd being remastered anniversary edition, or some such). I then bought the CD since those 12" black things really didn;t fit too well in that 3.5" reader  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f600.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":D" title="Big grin    :D"  data-smilie="8"data-shortname=":D" /> No one ever asked me if I already OWNED (had paid for) the royalties on any of these. So I paid.... And paid.... And paid again.... Four times I did! We COULD venture that recording companies, for that title ALONE (and trust me, there were MANY others), owes me THREE albums free of royalty dues.Onwards to the RPG parallel: I bought Greyhawk and Realms when they first came out. For Realms, I cycled through 1st Ed., 2nd. and 3E. Same for Core books, not to mention the TWO original DMGs I purchased (one was getting worn down quickly from heavy use).We COULD consider that a lot of this material is "recycled" from one edition to the next (anyone need Elminster stats for Runequest? Anyone?). Older DMs (and players) reach a point where "another" Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting book, or "another" Waterdeep title are likely to bring very little to our gaming table. I'll let you delve on the significance of that statement relative to whether or not we might purchase the product.Have the likes of me supported the RPG industry over the years? I own roughly 35 cu.ft. of the stuff... Cubic feet? Yes, I might overwhelm smaller local shops. The full capital spent on games and gaming material over a span of 27 years averages over $1200 a year (from which we might extrapolate the following estimate: that 1cu.ft. of RPG books costs roughly $1000 buckolas). It has not been evenly spread over the years.There are less "kids" in North America. Statistically, US demographics show people growing older. It is older than it has ever been (at 36 or 37 on average?). And Canada is WAY ahead in terms of average age (47-48). This will have a direct impact on sales volume and selling titles. We are also becoming poorer (statistically). Debt is growing in the US at a frightening pace. Revenue is not keeping up with inflation. RPG books are probably not a priority for people who find their budget squeezed by an increase in gas prices. The almighty buck MUST stretch further, and many will seek reviews and downloads as a management tool to get some bang for their buck. Gone the days of trial and error at a cost of $20 or $30. Some RPG books reach prices upwards of $50. You want us to give it a shot ?Some publishers do a good job. I have always been well pleased with Malhavoc's products. WotC seems to be the butt of many complaints when we read boards. Necromancer usually has value for the money. Atlas has published some neat titles, and others that merely raised by eyebrow without further attention. The d20 Niagara may eventually be a mere trickle. A lot of the titles for that license have been.... yuck. In number of published pages, D&D / d20 and spin-offs have probably dumped anywhere from 15:1 or even 25:1 (relative to the 80's and early 90's) onto the market.I buy from Amazon. When I can. When they deliver the promised title. I buy from my local retailer, in the following order of my purchase volume: 1) 2nd hand books, 2) sale items and 3) New titles. I buy Dragon and Dungeon from the newsstand. I used to visit my RPG retailer every 2nd week in "Ye Ole Days", now, I go twice a year.The times they are ever achanging...</blockquote>

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