malraux said:
If I had access to a high quality large page sized color printer and reasonable binding equipment, then the pdfs might negate the need for purchasing the books. And even then, the cost to print and bind on my own wouldn't save me much over the amazon price.
You know, this what what people on both sides of the fence seem to keep forgetting...
In general, a pdf by itself isn't especially useful at the gaming table. For most people, the medium is more trouble than it's worth when compared to an honest-to-goodness book hardcopy. However, converting a pdf file, especially one that's high-resolution, full color and 300+ pages long, into a securely bound paper copy that can stand the rigors of the gaming table usually costs almost as much as it would cost just go out and buy the book to begin with.
Me? I like pdfs for other reasons... the ability to cut and paste from the rules is a godsend for adventure preparation and character creation. On the other hand, I simply can't play a game from an electronic copy of the rules alone.
I admit that on occasion, I've poked through a pirated pdf that was sent to me... I have to say, It's nice as a way to review the material before you commit to a purchase.
But Either way don't keep them long (they take up a lot of valuable drive space)... If I don't like it, it's not worth keeping something I'm never going to use. If I do like it, I want to keep that author and publisher spitting out good stuff, and so I go buy the book or a legitimate pdf at first chance and likewise, the pirated copy's no longer worth keeping.
Of course... I can always pull that same trick by borrowing a copy of the book from a friend who has already bought it. I still get to preview the book, it's a lot less trouble to find a copy to preview, and the end result is the same -- either I buy a legitimate copy or I don't.
In other words, there honestly doesn't seem to be much point to pirating pdfs of game books.
