PDF of core rule book?

[vivsavage]

Is there a pdf available of the Players Handbook? I'd love to have it -- it would allow me to add my house rules to the existing document (using InDesign and other programs I have).

[gideon_thorne]

Not at this time. There's a thread in the general discussion somewhere that wends around to a long reasoning why.
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"We'll go out through the kitchen!" Tanis Half-Elven

Peter Bradley

[TheNewGuy]

vivsavage wrote:
Is there a pdf available of the Players Handbook? I'd love to have it -- it would allow me to add my house rules to the existing document (using InDesign and other programs I have).

Not a full version, no. There's a partial version PDF of the first-printing rules (they're now up to third-printing) for sale HERE -- but for the price, you're really better off just buying the physical books and ensuring you get the current, full, and uncut game rules.

The short version of why there's no full PDF version is that the Troll Chieftans are of the belief that issuing a full PDF version of the C&C rules will merely encourage piracy and cut into sales.

Ironically, the book is -- I am certain -- already scanned to PDF and out there on the bittorrents for anyone who wants to find it badly enough, and who doesn't have any moral qualms about piracy or travelling through the undernet to get it.

But, C&C in PDF is not my call to make, and I know that. Meantime, I'd say buy the physical books. Player's Book (3rd printing) and Monsters & Treasure (2nd printing). Troll Lord Games will sell them to you directly, if you can't find them locally.

Hope this helps,

TheNewGuy

[papercut]

Interesting thing is, there doesn't seem to be any on the usual channels, not even the books that are pdf. Maybe on the dark channels, but I am not a pro at pirating.

I would love to buy the phb in digital format, but I cannot, and I cannot justify the international shipping just yet. Perhaps when the 3rd printing is fully available I'll give it a shot.
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Someone send me some dice!

[boxcornersdiety]

I apologize to the crosspost, but the other thread seems to have drifted off topic...

I don't see an urgent need for a full PDF. What I would *much* prefer, is for the PDF version of C&C condensed to be unlocked. Why? To easily distribute things like the character visualization section--or just the four pages of SIEGE mechanic--to my players without sending them a hundred pages of extraneous information.

It is not my intention to argue what the "proper use" of a PDF should be. My point is, I'm perfectly happy with my PH as print, but I will use my condensed PDF as an aid to get a game started. To do this I will photocopy (or use some KDE/xpdf/pdf2ps tools) to cut out the few pages that I would like prospective players to read in order to figure out whether or not they want to play. So no, I don't need a full version of the PH in PDF. I would just be happier if the condensed PDF I bought were more useful--unlocked--and more complementary to my print version.

By the way, I'm not referrring to the watermark, just the fact that I can't split up the condensed PDF into its component parts (e.g., to remove the adventure, monster stats, etc).