SRD Now in PDF format!!

Mark · May 6, 2003

I bought it. It's incredibly useful and there's no way I could have achieved the same utility by producing the same document on my own for a price as low as $7.00 (well worth it, IMO.)

jgbrowning · May 6, 2003

jmucchiello said:
I'm curious as to why it's over 1000 pages when the 4 hardcovers are less than 1000 and contain a lot of fluff that isn't in the SRD. (Read srdraces.rtf to see an example of "lots of stuff missing".)

One of the things I've noticed while working with the SRD is that the spells are all supposed to be self contained. IE. there isn't any spell that says "like cure light wounds except for this bit" Just adding all that information (which i like by the way, no need to flip around trying to find what you need in other spell descriptions) adds significantly to the size of the spells.

joe b.

annadobritt · May 6, 2003

Re: SRD is $7

IssakThePale said:
Hi all-
How is it that you are able to charge $7 for the SRD? I haven't purchased it, but from the description all that appears to have been done is placing a cover and PDFing it...which allows for you to bookmark it. Or is there more to it, that I didn't gather from RPGNow.com's website?
Thanks.

There's both a table of contents and bookmarks in the pdf, the toc is clickable as well.

You have everything in one place and when new information comes out it will be updated and those who have purchased it will receive the update.

I started working on this the Thursday before Easter and finally finished it this past Sunday. I worked every day on it for at least 4 hours and in some cases 8 hours. The tables were what took the longest.

No one is forcing anyone to buy it.

annadobritt · May 6, 2003

Re: Re: SRD Now in PDF format!!

kingpaul said:
One minor quibble...its the System Reference Document

Ack!!! Sorry about that! I blame lack of sleep!

jgbrowning · May 6, 2003

Re: Re: SRD is $7

annadobritt said:
I started working on this the Thursday before Easter and finally finished it this past Sunday. I worked every day on it for at least 4 hours and in some cases 8 hours. The tables were what took the longest.

No one is forcing anyone to buy it.

Don't let them get to you anna.

I know how much effort is involved in turning the rtf crap into something good. You're doing a great service to all of us, and you deserved to be paid for your efforts. I know you didn't think it was going to be as hard, and as along a process, as it turned out to be. We'll if your anything like me

joe b.

IssakThePale · May 7, 2003

d20M is already PDF'd

Hi all-
I'm not trying to buck the station here, but what besides bookmarking have you done?
I've had a PDF version of the d20 Modern SRD - bookmarked and all - since Nov. 8th 2002. I've attached a copy. It isn't one that I was supposed to buy or part of some illegal PDF trading.
So I realize that maybe I'm killing a possible future sale, but if it's free then it should remain so, as someone else has already done the work.

<edit - I guess the zip file is too big with a size of 3,162K. But I'll gladly email or FTP it someplace if you/ anybody would like to take a look at it.>

Cergorach · May 7, 2003

Why is it that people expect that everything is free? Anna spent a lot of time on layout, bookmarking, indexing, and linking. Asking $7 seems like me as a good deal for those of us that have a shortage of free time, or just hate doing booring stuff.

$7 is about 40 minutes of work during normal working hours, even less if i work during overtime. What Anna did is worth certainly a lot more than 40 minutes of work.

Yes, you can get the SRD for free from the WotC site, even in PDF form from other sources, but does it have the same functionality as the pdf that Anna sells? Do you want that functionality? If Yes, then you have a couple of options, 1.) do it your self, 2.) find someone else to do it, for a.) free, b.) payment (cold hard cash or for sexual favors ;-).

Getting something for free is a privilage, not a bloody right!

Anna, it could be wise to make a list on RPGNOW for your product that has all the added functionality listed. A list that makes clear why people should buy the SRD from you. It might also be nice to post a couple of images that show what the document looks like (one with a page of the index, table, text, etc.).

annadobritt · May 7, 2003

Thanks for the advice, Cergorach. Much appreciated!

IssakThePale · May 7, 2003

Hi all-
I'm not saying that Anna doesn't have the right to charge for PDFing the d20 SRD. It hasn't been done before.
What I am saying is that her future product, d20 Modern SRD has been in PDF format with bookmarks for over six months. Now becuase it was done by a "fan" it might not be as well known as something that is sold at RPGNow.com. As such, since the d20M SRD has already been done in PDF, the product should be free. This is not to say that her version of the d20M SRD is going to be the same. If it is different then of course she'll be able to charge for it. But if the only difference is a new cover and a bookmark or two then no, it should not be sold.
Because as you've stated, that it doesn't say you can't sell the SRD, maybe the original "fan" should begin discussions with RPGNow.com to sell his work.

Again, I'm not against the selling of ones work. I'm not in argument with rights vs. privilages. I'm wondering as to the validity of selling the d20M SRD in PDF when it has been out and in circulation for six months.