Introducing the Jonstown Compendium: community creator program for Glorantha (RuneQuest/HeroQuest Glorantha)

[Ochoa]

On 9/10/2019 at 5:54 PM, Dan Z said:

And that's why I'm going to have my kids do all the illustrations for me.

DTRPG has a decent profit sharing mechanism that some of my clients have used to send me proceeds.

[Steve]

All five initial titles are up on DTRPG now 

[Dissolv]

I have purchased all 5 and am waiting for the downloads now.  I hesitated and then took a chance on the very expensive Armies and Enemies of Dragon Pass -- for that price I would normally expect a book in print.  I'll know if it was worth it when I am able to read it through.

Edited December 3, 2019 by Dissolv

[soltakss]

13 minutes ago, Dissolv said:

I hesitated and then took a chance on the very expensive Armies and Enemies of Dragon Pass -- for that price I would normally expect a book in print. 

The Print Book is stupendous and cost 60.00 as a Preview Copy. 

[kirinyaga]

wasn't a print-on-demand option available on DTRPG ?

[gochie]

1 hour ago, Dissolv said:

I have purchased all 5 and am waiting for the downloads now.  I hesitated and then took a chance on the very expensive Armies and Enemies of Dragon Pass -- for that price I would normally expect a book in print.  I'll know if it was worth it when I am able to read it through.

You won't get a new 380 page document for 25$, and 60$ for the printed version is a fair price imo (especially considering it's not mass-produced and probably quite expensive to make).

I also happen to think people should charge more than 5$ for their adventures. RQ doesn't exactly have the huge following other games have.

[soltakss]

1 minute ago, gochie said:

60$ for the printed version is a fair price

Sorry, it was 60 pounds sterling, about $80.

[kirinyaga]

Note I printed and bound myself a few PDFs. It's not that complicated and fun to do. Unless DTRPG provides that print-on-demand option, that's what I plan to do with A&EoDP.

[Dissolv]

Quote

You won't get a new 380 page document for 25$, and 60$ for the printed version is a fair price imo (especially considering it's not mass-produced and probably quite expensive to make).

I knew that there would be someone dinging me on this :-(    It isn't a matter of cheapskatedness.

Fact of the matter, the larger works are much harder to read and work with in PDF format.  Nearly impossible in a gaming setting, actually.   I almost always have to print them out and bind them anyway.  That means that I am spending a lot of $$$ over the PDF in the first place to get a substandard product, just so that I can carry it with me, and actually you know.....read it, much less use it dynamically as a storytelling tool.  Even if just to use the pictures to show players not versed in Glorantha, or even just Bronze Age cultures and imagery.  Which most are not.  :-(  

There wasn't an option for print on demand, but I would have immediately jabbed it, even at $80.  That would have been a better value in my opinion.  Not bagging on the work the author did in any way.  I haven't even read it yet.  But I am totally, 100%, into dead tree versions for anything over say, 50 pages.  As an option, I mean.  

[Lordabdul]

5 hours ago, soltakss said:

The Print Book is stupendous and cost 60.00 as a Preview Copy.

I don't see any PoD option on DTRPG. Is it only enabled based on geographical location or something?

[Steve]

8 minutes ago, lordabdul said:

I don't see any PoD option on DTRPG. Is it only enabled based on geographical location or something?

"Cost" was I think intended in the past tense by @soltakss there. Martin had a very limited number of hard copies made up at his own expense and took them to sell at Dragonmeet in London for £60 each, and they were almost all spoken for before he even arrived at the show. I don't think anyone knows what the POD price will be from DTRPG, since that option isn't available yet.

[Jane]

2 hours ago, Dissolv said:

I knew that there would be someone dinging me on this 😞   It isn't a matter of cheapskatedness.

Fact of the matter, the larger works are much harder to read and work with in PDF format.  Nearly impossible in a gaming setting, actually.   I almost always have to print them out and bind them anyway.  That means that I am spending a lot of $$$ over the PDF in the first place to get a substandard product, just so that I can carry it with me, and actually you know.....read it, much less use it dynamically as a storytelling tool.  Even if just to use the pictures to show players not versed in Glorantha, or even just Bronze Age cultures and imagery.  Which most are not.  😞

There wasn't an option for print on demand, but I would have immediately jabbed it, even at $80.  That would have been a better value in my opinion.  Not bagging on the work the author did in any way.  I haven't even read it yet.  But I am totally, 100%, into dead tree versions for anything over say, 50 pages.  As an option, I mean.  

Even if you gave me the hard-copy free, and even if I was primarily playing face-to-face, I still wouldn't want it. Too heavy! No ctrl-F! For this one it might make sense, because I'll be looking at (and for) pictures, and they're harder to search on, but even so, if I want to physically hand some players a picture, I'll print out that picture when I need it. As it is, I'm absolutely happy to request Santa to take £25 or so from my Xmas allowance and spend it on the PDF, because what I saw of previews was detailed, well-researched, and generally wonderful. But £60? Not going to happen. That would send Santa over budget.

[Dissolv]

Well, I'm glad that you have your preferred option.

[gochie]

2 hours ago, Dissolv said:

I knew that there would be someone dinging me on this 😞   It isn't a matter of cheapskatedness.

Fact of the matter, the larger works are much harder to read and work with in PDF format.  Nearly impossible in a gaming setting, actually.   I almost always have to print them out and bind them anyway.  That means that I am spending a lot of $$$ over the PDF in the first place to get a substandard product, just so that I can carry it with me, and actually you know.....read it, much less use it dynamically as a storytelling tool.  Even if just to use the pictures to show players not versed in Glorantha, or even just Bronze Age cultures and imagery.  Which most are not.  😞

There wasn't an option for print on demand, but I would have immediately jabbed it, even at $80.  That would have been a better value in my opinion.  Not bagging on the work the author did in any way.  I haven't even read it yet.  But I am totally, 100%, into dead tree versions for anything over say, 50 pages.  As an option, I mean.  

Not to start a fight, but you got dinged because that's not at all what you said in your first post.

I responded to:

"very expensive" "for that price I would normally expect a book in print."  "I'll know if it was worth it when..." 

Which are all either wrong or insulting to the author imo. Your second comment, though, is very valid and should have been said first.

[Bill the barbarian]

4 hours ago, kirinyaga said:

Note I printed and bound myself a few PDFs. It's not that complicated and fun to do. Unless DTRPG provides that print-on-demand option, that's what I plan to do with A&EoDP.

Thanks for the post kirinyaga! I was wondering if you wold mind providing a bit of data to go with that wonderful thought? Are there any good ’net resources you take advantage of to help an interested individual learn this stuff? 

Cheers

[Dissolv]

Quote

"very expensive" "for that price I would normally expect a book in print."  "I'll know if it was worth it when..." 

Which are all either wrong or insulting to the author imo

We will definitely have to agree to disagree on this one.  I have never spent that much for just a pdf before, and it gave me pause, despite that being the main work that I had been looking forward to.   

Any insult is up to your own imagination. 

[soltakss]

Hey folks, someone might see something as expensive where someone else sees it as reasonable or cheap.

It depends on where people are from, what their jobs are and how old they are, amongst other things.

I have to remind myself every time I buy something that hardcopies don't cost £9.99 nowadays and PDFs don't cost £1.99. They should, but that was when I started RPGing, which was closer to Old Money times than now.

£19 for a PDF is quite expensive, as I am sure that Martin would acknowledge. However, for me, it is worth it. I bought the PDF after I bought the hardcopy, mainly so I won't break the hardcopy by opening it.

[Jane]

2 minutes ago, soltakss said:

Hey folks, someone might see something as expensive where someone else sees it as reasonable or cheap.

It depends on where people are from, what their jobs are and how old they are, amongst other things.

I have to remind myself every time I buy something that hardcopies don't cost £9.99 nowadays and PDFs don't cost £1.99. They should, but that was when I started RPGing, which was closer to Old Money times than now.

£19 for a PDF is quite expensive, as I am sure that Martin would acknowledge. However, for me, it is worth it. I bought the PDF after I bought the hardcopy, mainly so I won't break the hardcopy by opening it.

Yes, it's two factors: what is the author's time, effort, and expertise worth? and what proportion of my disposable income this month do I need to pay to get it? Looking at the first, that looks like a fair price to me: hard copy of small print runs is expensive, and for PDF, yes, that's a LOT of skill and time that I don't have and am happy to pay for.

But as a proportion of my disposable income? Never mind disposable, that £60 would be considerably more than my entire earnings this week, and other than a few crafting commissions, I'm living on savings till January.

[Bill the barbarian]

6 minutes ago, soltakss said:

£19 for a PDF is quite expensive, as I am sure that Martin would acknowledge. However, for me, it is worth it. I bought the PDF after I bought the hardcopy, mainly so I won't break the hardcopy by opening it.

soltakss, you bought the PDF when Swords of Central Genertela was only 10 pages deep. And were trying to sell the rest of us, as well!

[M Helsdon]

Please do not fight over the book, unless you are intending to follow one of the dueling traditions it describes.  

[soltakss]

5 minutes ago, Bill the barbarian said:

soltakss, you bought the PDF when Swords of Central Genertela was only 10 pages deep.

Yes, it was always going to happen, as soon as I saw a line of swords or a page of axes from many moons ago.

6 minutes ago, Bill the barbarian said:

And were trying to sell the rest of us, as well!

Glad to see that you listened!

[Bill the barbarian]

Just now, soltakss said:

Glad to see that you listened!

There are some worthy of lending an ear to around here and you are one such, always. Now that van Gogh, fella...

[Bill the barbarian]

2 hours ago, Bill the barbarian said:

6 hours ago, kirinyaga said:

Note I printed and bound myself a few PDFs. It's not that complicated and fun to do. Unless DTRPG provides that print-on-demand option, that's what I plan to do with A&EoDP.

Thanks for the post kirinyaga! I was wondering if you wold mind providing a bit of data to go with that wonderful thought? Are there any good ’net resources you take advantage of to help an interested individual learn this stuff? 

Just created a DIY topic on the tavern sooo, if you got some good answers can we take it there....

[kirinyaga]

Add the link here : 

 

since I spent a lot of confused time before understanding the "tavern" is actually called an Inn and not in the Chaosium category 😵

[Bill the barbarian]

3 hours ago, kirinyaga said:

since I spent a lot of confused time before understanding the "tavern" is actually called an Inn and not in the Chaosium category 😵

Interesting,, most people get lost after visiting tavern not before.... Sorry about that...