BRP PDF?

[Judas]

Sorry if this has been asked before, but the search won't allow such short terms as "PDF". Has anyone heard if Chaosium will release a PDF version of the new BRP?

Because I would buy a BRP PDF PDQ!

[Triff]

So far no news of pdfs. They are rumoured to look into that market, at least for the monographs, but other than that, nothing have been heard. A pdf version would certainly be nice though.

SGL.

[TrippyHippy]

The best model for me, personally, is a (hardback) hardcopy of the core book, and everything else supplementing it (including different settings) would be in pdf. file. That's just me, of course.

[Judas]

Chaosium could make more dough from a guy like me who would likely buy the hardcopy and the PDF.

Hell, I bought two copies of Stormbringer 5, then cut one up and scanned it so I could have both a book and file.

[Simlasa]

Yeah, I'd take a hardcopy... with nice binding and evocative art... AND a PDF... all tricked out for easy cross-referencing (and without the artwork or other flourishes).

For supplements I'd want the same but for scenarios I'd really prefer PDFs that I can quickly read through with maybe an outline page and a NPC page for printing.

[badcat]

Actually a pdf version sounds nice, as there are chunks of the new book I will never use (like the superpowers and insanity). I could just bind the 'good' parts for my own favorite mix of BRP.

Although it doesn't seem to be working for them, I like the Mongoose idea of printing out books specifically tailored to the individual customer. That just doesn't sound like a Chaosium thing however, for several reasons.

[Jarulf]

Steve Jackson Games release all their hardcover GURPS books as pdfs, with the exception of the two main rulebooks. Until recently there was a delay of three months, they've just changed that as they don't think the PDFs impact the sales of the physical books much. They also release quite a bit of shorter works as PDF-only.

Personally, I prefer to curl up on the couch with a book, but for shorter works PDFs are fine. And once someone invents a dirt cheap and really good ebook reader/tablet pc thing I'm likely to go all digital.

[BigJackBrass]

Personally, I prefer to curl up on the couch with a book, but for shorter works PDFs are fine.

I agree entirely. The trouble with PDFs is that I have to print them out (not having a laptop, nor any desire to use one at the gaming table really), which is fine for an adventure or supplement of perhaps 32 or 48 pages but hardly cost-effective for anything beyond that.

However, I sometimes find it handy to be able to print sections of larger books to use as player handouts or reference materials, so having books available in both formats, perhaps with very short or niche products only in PDF, would be the ideal for me.

[Enpeze]

I would like source books as pdf. Core book dead wood of course (and pdf)

But I would be surprised if Chaosium has the will/skill to do this. It seems they still live in the 80ties of the past century. (see Chaosiums obvious problems of handling email) Well at least they make good games. Thats what really counts.

[Jarulf]

(see Chaosiums obvious problems of handling email) Well at least they make good games. Thats what really counts.

Let's hope BRP becomes a roaring success, selling in the millions making Chaosium (and Jason) really really rich so they can hire full time staff to deal with customers and their on-line presence.:party:

[drohem]

It seems I am of the same mindset: large core books I need in hardcopy, while I can manage with smaller PDFs. Anything under 50 pages is good for a PDF, but trying to read anything longer makes my eyes go fuzzy.

[Zane]

It would be interesting to see them take the route some companies selling Vinyl LP's have started going. Some companies include a code to download the MP3's, and in a couple cases recently I've seen them include the CD with the LP. For those not into such things, Vinyl sales are actually on the rise, while CD sales are plummeting.

I have seen one RPG publisher include codes in their books that allow people to access additional online content.

The problem I see with PDF copies is that they make piracy easier.

[Nightshade]

I'm in the rough bucket with other people; I don't really like _reading_ pdfs, but for reference, and sometimes for smaller products where I'm only going to need access to a bit of it, they're ideal.

[Jarulf]

The fact that PDFs tend to be a bit cheaper than printed books, especially when you count in horrible things like shipping to Europe, doesn't hurt. And you can get the book now.

[Nightshade]

The fact that PDFs tend to be a bit cheaper than printed books, especially when you count in horrible things like shipping to Europe, doesn't hurt. And you can get the book now.

Well, honestly, people charging more than about 50% of physical book costs for .pdfs might as well be posting a sign saying "Please don't buy our .pdfs unless you're an idiot" given how much of the cost of most books the physical printing and shipping is.

[Atgxtg]

Well, honestly, people charging more than about 50% of physical book costs for .pdfs might as well be posting a sign saying "Please don't buy our .pdfs unless you're an idiot" given how much of the cost of most books the physical printing and shipping is.

Yup. That is also why more successful PDF RPGs tend to have lower prices. SotC even had a bundle package where you could buy both the hardcopy and the PDF . That was ideal. That way you could DL the book and read it while waiting for your hardcopy to arrive. THe PDF is also useful if you have a laptop. One thing that I dislike about a lot of RPGs is the sheer number of books a GM needs to lug around. Esepcially in RPGs where each "group" has it's own group book. A player's book, GM's book, beastiary, equipment guide, setting book, and you are halfway to a hernia.

[BigJackBrass]

SotC even had a bundle package where you could buy both the hardcopy and the PDF . That was ideal.

I pre-ordered that game and loved being able to read through the PDF while I awaited the release of the hardcover. Not only that, the PDF included both landscape and portrait formats! Very classy... but I'd never have just bought the PDF without the physical book.

[Atgxtg]

I pre-ordered that game and loved being able to read through the PDF while I awaited the release of the hardcover. Not only that, the PDF included both landscape and portrait formats! Very classy... but I'd never have just bought the PDF without the physical book.

They made me happy. The book even got to me fairly fast.

I wish more companies would bundle the PDF with the hardcopy. Either for free (as SotC does now) or at a slight increase in cost.

[Lord Twig]

Quick question. What is SotC?

[Enpeze]

Quick question. What is SotC?

Shadows of the Century I guess. (one of those new rule systems)

[Atgxtg]

Quick question. What is SotC?

Spirit of the Century. It is a pulp "pickup" RPG, based on the FATE system.

SotC is published by evilhat and available for purchase at several places, especially the evil hat website. Evil Hat Productions » About Evil Hat

But....

Before purchasing anything you can check out both FATE and SotC by going to the fate.com site and downloading the free FATE and SotC PDFs.

The link is FateRPG.Com: Fate: Fantastic Adventures in Tabletop Entertainment

FATE and SotC has a much more abstract nature than BRP. IMO I think it would handle Gloratha better than HeroQuest.

[TrippyHippy]

Going against the popular grain of thought, I actually think that the rule-set used in SotC are actually not the best types of rules to be used for a pulp action game - they are based too much upon heavy characterisation, and the skill system is too detailed. It would actually be better for playing in dramatic, soap opera-style, intrigue games - like Nobilis, which uses the same type of 'aspect' system by another name.

But hey, there always has to be one...

[RMS]

Before purchasing anything you can check out both FATE and SotC by going to the fate.com site and downloading the free FATE and SotC PDFs.

The link is FateRPG.Com: Fate: Fantastic Adventures in Tabletop Entertainment

FATE and SotC has a much more abstract nature than BRP. IMO I think it would handle Gloratha better than HeroQuest.

Definitely check out FATE. It's a very good system and ironically I did convert Glorantha to it once in an attempt to get something midway between RQ and HQ, which FATE did quite nicely. Btw, you can incorporate Fudge elements right back into FATE to make it as concrete and detailed (or more) as RQ, if that's your desire.

[Jason D]

I've got no idea if Chaosium will release a .pdf of BRP, but I certainly hope so.

Up until the beginning of 2007, I was typing up my notes and adventure materials on my desktop, printing them out, and bringing a mini-DVD/CD player with speakers to game sessions to use for musical accompaniment.

Then, after the baby arrived and I lost my office space, I moved primarily onto my laptop. Racked for time, I was often scrambling to type up my notes up to five minutes before leaving for game sessions. Then a switch went off, and I realized:

"Hey, we sit around BSing for the first half-hour waiting for people to arrive.... I end up making notes all over my printouts... and it's a pain in the ass lugging the DVD player, speakers, and all those loose CDs. My laptop holds all my notes, itunes has all my music and integral speakers, the screen doubles as a GM screen, and I can even do stuff like Initiative and HP as simple docs rather than a lot of scratch paper. Plus, I can instantly look up stuff on Wikipedia if there's a real-world question I can't answer on my own!"

So now, I generally do all of my prep on my laptop, and take it to the game. I save the relevant files onto a thumb drive and email them to myself as backup, but it's worked like a charm.

So I buy any rulebook I can in hardcopy and .pdf (if available), if I'm going to be running it more than a half-dozen times.

[threedeesix]

I've got no idea if Chaosium will release a .pdf of BRP, but I certainly hope so.

Up until the beginning of 2007, I was typing up my notes and adventure materials on my desktop, printing them out, and bringing a mini-DVD/CD player with speakers to game sessions to use for musical accompaniment.

Then, after the baby arrived and I lost my office space, I moved primarily onto my laptop. Racked for time, I was often scrambling to type up my notes up to five minutes before leaving for game sessions. Then a switch went off, and I realized:

"Hey, we sit around BSing for the first half-hour waiting for people to arrive.... I end up making notes all over my printouts... and it's a pain in the ass lugging the DVD player, speakers, and all those loose CDs. My laptop holds all my notes, itunes has all my music and integral speakers, the screen doubles as a GM screen, and I can even do stuff like Initiative and HP as simple docs rather than a lot of scratch paper. Plus, I can instantly look up stuff on Wikipedia if there's a real-world question I can't answer on my own!"

So now, I generally do all of my prep on my laptop, and take it to the game. I save the relevant files onto a thumb drive and email them to myself as backup, but it's worked like a charm.

So I buy any rulebook I can in hardcopy and .pdf (if available), if I'm going to be running it more than a half-dozen times.

I do pretty much the same thing. I convert a lot of old adventures over to BRP from other systems. I used to practically rewrite the adventure. Now I find a PDF copy online (yes I know, I know. but they are out there), and use Adobe to create "footnotes" and even link the encounters to an excel sheet that handles the creatures hit points, power points etc, all converted.

After, the encounter is over I get out of excel, and continue the adventure right from the PDF.

I have pretty much no written notes.

Oh, yah. And my laptop is my GM screen as well.

Rod