Update: Malhavoc PDFs no longer available at RPGnow (merged)

[maddman75]

Seriously, I'm not sure you want to do this. It is like if I wrote MicroSoft telling them that I bought Windows on the black market but here is the money for the license. I'm not a layer, but I still think I would be in some serious legal trouble.

eidt: I don't mean anything personal by my comments. I just don't want to see anyone get in trouble.

Not really. Its shady, but not illegal to download pirated materials. What gets people after you is uploading, which I will not do with a PDF.

In any case I'd only be liable for the amount that they believe they have lost by my actions. Which would be the asking price for the product, which I'd already given them. Not to mention how much it would damage the company's reputation.

Its just a way to be a ******

 

[C. Baize]

Found on Monte's Site:



Malhavoc Press

Malhavoc Now Offers eBooks in Two Formats

Fans of our electronic products will be interested and hopefully happy to note that Malhavoc Press electronic products are once again available through the White Wolf/Sword & Sorcery catalog in their original PDF form, in addition to our ebooks sold at DriveThruRPG.com.

We're still thrilled to be working with DriveThru and excited about the prospects of formerly print-only publishers offering their game products there in an electronic format. DriveThru offers a great way to bring both more publishers and more customers into the ebook arena.

But we've also seen that, as a publisher who has offered PDF products for three years, we've built up an audience that would like to see us also continue to use our traditional formats. As the leader in the electronic arena, we want to continue to meet the needs of our customers -- in fact, as always, we want to go beyond that and offer them new products that continue to surprise and innovate. Our upcoming books, including Children of the Rune, Beyond Countless Doorways, Mystic Secrets: The Lore of Word and Rune, and The Book of Iron Might, do just that. We want to make sure that the most customers possible have access to these great products. Further, looking to next year and beyond . . . well, we've got some big and exciting product line plans.

Which eBook Version Do I Want?

If Adobe Reader (6.0) ebooks are a convenient format for you, I encourage you to visit DriveThruRPG.com, where you'll find not only all of Malhavoc's books, but cool stuff from other quality publishers: Necromancer Games, Fantasy Flight, Chaosium, and a lot more. You won't find their offerings in electronic format anywhere else.

If PDFs that use older versions of Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader or non-Adobe software are to your liking, you can find them in our catalog at swordsorcery.com. This is also the format you'll want if you are using Linux or older versions of the Mac OS (prior to 10.2.4).

Direct links to the appropriate pages on both sites can be found on our product pages at montecook.com or Malhavocpress.com.

And, as always, if you would rather own our products in printed form, everything will be available at your favorite local hobby or book retailer.

 

[dcollins]

We're still thrilled to be working with DriveThru and excited about the prospects of formerly print-only publishers offering their game products there in an electronic format. DriveThru offers a great way to bring both more publishers and more customers into the ebook arena.

Has Monte ever given a clear reason why he has moved to DriveThru?

He's restated several times this notion that he's "thrilled to be working with DriveThru..." and that they will bring new publishers into PDFs. But why is that a compelling business case for him? Now I've gotten really curious exactly what benefit there is to him, who was already publishing PDFs profitably before.

It seems that one could speculate as to:
- DriveThru gives him a higher percentage of sales.
- He himself felt more secure with anti-copying measures on PDFs.
- He's contractually obligated through some prior association.
- Or, he's doing it to benefit the greater PDF industry (unlikely).

Seems kind of mysterious, and now I've gotten really curious. Anyone know someplace where he actually stated the reason for his own move?

 

[Henry]

It seems that one could speculate as to:
- DriveThru gives him a higher percentage of sales.
- He himself felt more secure with anti-copying measures on PDFs.
- He's contractually obligated through some prior association.
- Or, he's doing it to benefit the greater PDF industry (unlikely).

While I would speculate a mixture of #2 and #4 (and maybe even #1), #3 has already been said to be false by Monte and (I believe either Steve Weick or Clark P. from Necromancer). For one thing, WW (S&S) and Drive Thru are legally two separate companies, so any agreements would not be binding just because several people hold positions at both companies.

 

[C. Baize]

Heh.... who cares? He's selling non-DRM PDFs again!
When it's all boiled down.... that's really all I care about.
Well... okay...
That and that he keeps producing quality material...

 

[BryonD]

While I would speculate a mixture of #2 and #4 (and maybe even #1), #3 has already been said to be false by Monte and (I believe either Steve Weick or Clark P. from Necromancer). For one thing, WW (S&S) and Drive Thru are legally two separate companies, so any agreements would not be binding just because several people hold positions at both companies.

Honest question:
Can you suggest why he would not be going back to RPGnow?

 

[Monte At Home]

Has Monte ever given a clear reason why he has moved to DriveThru?

Yes, but it seemed to have got lost in all the noise. DriveThru is bringing all kinds of new publishers and new customers into the pdf market. That's good for me as a pdf seller. Simple as that.

 

[dcollins]

Yes, but it seemed to have got lost in all the noise. DriveThru is bringing all kinds of new publishers and new customers into the pdf market. That's good for me as a pdf seller. Simple as that.

Monte, thanks for your response.

I applaud your re-introduction of non-DRM'd PDFs, that's a huge assistance to us already buying PDFs. Any reason you're selling those at swordsorcery.com instead of RPGNow like before?

 

[Monte At Home]

Monte, thanks for your response.

I applaud your re-introduction of non-DRM'd PDFs, that's a huge assistance to us already buying PDFs. Any reason you're selling those at swordsorcery.com instead of RPGNow like before?

The catalog at swordsorcery.com was always my primary source for selling pdfs. The majority of my sales were through that site, which was driven by links from our own website (actually, most of our sales through RPGNow were as well, but that's another matter). I won't be returning to RPGNow, and it actually has nothing to do with DriveThru, DRM or any of that stuff. It's not, however, a matter I feel right in discussing publicly.

In any event, I'm glad the change has made people happy.

 

[cats_claw]

Hmm... you guys ought to visit the Necromancer Games General Discussion board and see the responses to Necro's decision to go the same route with their PDFs. Full price and you get to use your own paper and ink to print them! Talk about a deal... :\

Hmm... I just bought tomb of abysthor, aberrations and morrick mansion for much less than I could find it on ebay.

Also, I have about 2 PCs that I need to read/print it from. One at work and one at home. I have no problem with the DRM, it really hasn't affected me at all. How has it poorly affected those that have actually used it?

catslcaw