Your opinion about very small PDFs

[Ellie_the_Elf]

I've bought a ton of pdfs since I started using my laptop to DM - including loads of short $1-2 ones. If I want a lot of options/variation on a subject I'll look for a big pdf. The short ones, for me, fill their purpose of providing a few interesting ideas in one specialised area, and as Psychic Warrior says the fact you know exactly what you'll be getting and that the smaller pdfs tend to be very focussed is a huge bonus.

Ronin's short pdfs are my favourites- my players have had a lot of items from the Dozens series (which I enjoy, because they tend to have 12 separate ideas, which I can expand on or alter as I see fit- better that than hundreds of items many of which are just variations on one or two themes, which I could have come up with myself if I'd just had the original idea) and love the more player-orientated ones (they especially liked Higher Level Fighter Feats- any chance of another volume?)

I also really liked the one Big Finger games made with the dragon and hoard (which was filled with interesting stuff, rather than the standard DMG treasure the ones in the Draconomicon have)- the Draconomicon is (in my opinion) an amazing book, but it was nice to have a pre-done hoard which was a bit more unusual when my players headed off to find the portal guarded by said dragon a few weeks earlier than I intended.

And there are subjects I'd buy a short pdf on that I wouldn't find useful/important enough to spend the money for a full sized book if it were available- book titles for example. If I can spend a couple of dollars and get a few to throw in there on the off chance the players ask, great. But I wouldn't buy a $10-20 book with hundreds of examples because I wouldn't need or use them.

Ellie

 

[Psion]

I wouldn't go so far as to say I prefer smaller PDFs -- some large, comprehensive takes on a subject are just what I need. But sometimes, a few little tidbits are just what I need to spice up a campaign.

Spice. There is an apt analogy. The question is like "do you prefer complete meals or seasonings." Complete meals are great. But sometimes, I already have the meal prepared; all I need is a dash of oregano or some chili powder.

 

[reveal]

Small PDFs are cheap. Usually less than $5. If a PDF has useful, quality information, I'll buy it. It doesn't matter if it's 4 pages or 400 pages. If it's useful, it's worth buying. If it's not useful, it's not worth buying.

 

[Turanil]

Ah, many interesting answers that will help me next time I do review a PDF.

Thanks.

 

[philreed]

Ah, many interesting answers that will help me next time I do review a PDF.

Here's a question that will help everyone to better understand your reviews.

Did you regularly buy PDFs before you started receiving free ones for review?

If so, what kind of PDFs did you buy?

If not, what led you to joining Crothian's review project?

 

[Turanil]

Did you regularly buy PDFs before you started receiving free ones for review?

I don't remember exactly, but I did purchase more than a dozen PDFs on RPGnow. Then this came to an end when it appeared that my credit card wouldn't operate anymore online when ordering oversea. (Nobody, bank included, couldn't understand the problem and fix it.)

If so, what kind of PDFs did you buy?

Everything that would call my fancy. Off the top of my head I do remember: Power Gamer 3.5, Guidebook to Honorable Knights, 1001 Futuristic Weapons, Darklore CS, as well as two single class PDFs of Chaos spellcasters who were disappointing. Most of the time I had in interest in classes, though (I must say that I am much difficult to please in this regard).

If not, what led you to joining Crothian's review project?

Honestly? Well, until I get a new credit card that accepts to work oversea I must find new ways to get PDFs. For one thing I sometime propose my services as cartographer and artist in exchange for products; then there was this Crothian's proposal... However, in any case I try to be fair and honest (both for the author and customers) when writing a review. However, by definition a review is subjective. This is the reason I started this thread and poll: to see whether I was unduly biased about short PDFs. Okay, I am glad that today I know different.

 

[Rodrigo Istalindir]

I generally look to PDFs for short, focused takes on specific subjects. If it's long, complicated, or heavily weighted towards fluff v. crunch, I prefer hardcopy. So long as the description of the PDF is accurate, I can't imagine being too disappointed.

If a PDF is 6 pages for $2, but it gives me exactly what I want, I am perfectly happy. I'd much rather that than a 100 page book for $10 that I only use 6 pages out of.

Compilations of stuff I've liked are good, too, because then I've got a very good idea of what I'm getting. If I go looking for 'Gnomish Gizmos' and see it in a compilation along with 'Gnomish Gizmos II' and 'Gnome Gone Wild' for $10, I'll probably just grab it instead of the singleton.

Although there was this one time, when I bought something called 'A Dozen Something or Other' and was really disappointed to discover it only had 12 things in it....

 

[jerichothebard]

If a PDF is 6 pages for $2, but it gives me exactly what I want, I am perfectly happy. I'd much rather that than a 100 page book for $10 that I only use 6 pages out of.

Ding ding ding ding! We have a winner! Or at any rate, someone who summed up my thoughts on it exactly.

 

[Andre]

I generally prefer small to mid-size pdf's simply because printing a large pdf can be a pain and not terribly cost effective. If I really want a large pdf, I'll try to find it in print. That said, there is one type of small pdf I never buy - the "single item" pdf.

A single class. A single monster. A single location. If I pay a couple bucks (give or take) and don't like that one topic, whether because of the author's spin, the mechanics, the author's flavor, the writing style, etc., I've completely wasted my money. If, OTOH, I purchase a small pdf with several items- a dozen dungeon hazards, several magic swords, a few city locations - I'm far more likely to find one or two items that I'll actually use.

I can understand why some author's feel that a single item can be worth the buck or two they charge, but from my perspective, I'm rolling the dice with the odds stacked against me. Give me several items, and the odds shift in my favor.

PS - Also, small pdf's rarely provide a free sample of their content. This makes the buying decision even more difficult.

 

[PJ-Mason]

On the surface of things i would say that i don't care too much about the length of the pdf myself. Looking at my list of purchases, however, says something different. The pdfs i have payed money for aren't very short at all. The shortest i have is 24 pages (101 spell components. But that was part of PJR's 101 compilation so it doesn't really count. $1 woot!). I haven't bought tons of pdfs, but i have bought enough to realize that the short pdfs don't seem to interest me. Even though it seems like they should. Maybe the right short pdfs haven't come along. Or more likely, stuff that short (especially a couple pages) i can write myself and have been doing so for 20 years now. I have no idea if i am the average pdf customer, though. I'm not sure the pdf industry is established enough to even have an "average customer" yet.