chuckdee
Welcome To The Terrordome
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- Feb 9, 2020
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DTRPG tries to do that with their previews, and some do with the QuickStarts. I think that those are valid ways to do it and you can get the information you need from it - if it's done right. And that's the rub. I've been convinced by browsing more than one QS or preview to spring for the whole thing. But some are just useless. PWYW is another way of doing that, but most (a) don't value the PDFs at the same rate as the creator and (b) don't come back to buy.1. browsing a book at the store. That has sold me on books (cool, this game looks fun, or cool, this module has some good content) and unsold me (hmm, not enough I can use for the cost). The 5-10 page preview just isn't enough in many cases.
Yeah, that would require DRM and infrastructure. Though not strictly legal, the lack of DRM other than watermark makes it so ethical people (i.e. people that will buy or delete the copy) can do it.2. borrowing a book from a friend because I'm curious how game X handles situation Y
3. getting new players into my game where they used to just come over to my house or wherever I was running the game and read my copy of the game to generate their character and then look up spells or other rules during play
I love cut rate player's guides for this. I think more companies don't do it because of the additional cost, but it's a great idea when it can be done.