cutsleeve Posted April 22, 2009 Report Share Posted April 22, 2009 I've been thinking about picking up a few more Hero system books with a bit of fortunate cash flow improvement. So I've developed a small dilemma, should I order the dead tree version of the book or should I order the pdf's. The book version is a bit more expensive but its physical and I can take it anywhere. However the PDF version is easy to store, a bit cheaper, goes well with my computer. At the moment I'm not in a gaming group and even then I have a laptop in case I need to look it up. Lastly I don't really have a preference between the two when it comes to The Hero System. I was wondering if anyone else here debated this and if so which way did you go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alibear Posted April 22, 2009 Report Share Posted April 22, 2009 Re: Book or PDF I like dead trees. I do a lot of flicking through the books on the throne and a PDF wouldn't work as well for that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sean Waters Posted April 22, 2009 Report Share Posted April 22, 2009 Re: Book or PDF I do have some .pdf stuff but I find reading a paper version much easier. Maybe if I get a net book.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manic Typist Posted April 22, 2009 Report Share Posted April 22, 2009 Re: Book or PDF Of course, you CAN just print the PDF. If you want to keep it cheap, put it in a binder. If you want something nicer, you can have it bound for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NestorDRod Posted April 22, 2009 Report Share Posted April 22, 2009 Re: Book or PDF I heard a rumor that Hero Games is planning to pul all their PDFs off the market and make it a requirement for purchasing one to sign a contract swearing eternal loyalty and obedience to Steve "I am the Dragon" Long. It's just a rumor, though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snapdragon Posted April 22, 2009 Report Share Posted April 22, 2009 Re: Book or PDF I like dead trees. I do a lot of flicking through the books on the throne and a PDF wouldn't work as well for that. My husband does that too. Sometimes cleaning the bathroom involves moving 5-10 Hero Games books before I can even start cleaning. Maybe Hero should consider publishing books with laminated pages so they are truly humidity proof and safe to take in the tub as well. =) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spence Posted April 22, 2009 Report Share Posted April 22, 2009 Re: Book or PDF I have actually made a major change in the last year or so. I used to despise PDF and would only buy them given no other option. But these days I actually get both for books I use. When creating, nothing works better for me than a physical book in hand. The very act of leafing through the pages helps me think. I use PDF’s for their fast search capability when I am in a hurry. Heck I still like to build things on paper the old fashioned way and later input them to HD for neatness and to double check my math. So to answer the question. If it is a budget thing, I would buy the core books on paper and supplements PDF. If you are heavy in a specific genre I would get that in hard copy too. But that is just me, because of how my creative process is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vondy Posted April 22, 2009 Report Share Posted April 22, 2009 Re: Book or PDF For manuals, including gaming manuals, I prefer .pdf. I generally reference them more than I read them. I do all of my gaming work using word processing and spreadsheet programs so searching files keeps working in the same medium. If I were sitting at a desk with a notepad and pen I'd probably feel the opposite. Its also a question of space. I simply hate clutter. It drives me up the wall. I like an orderly open space. I'm very spartan when it comes to things. In this respect, digital media has been a godsend. I can have entire archives backed up to terabyte sized external drives (multiple backups where possible). Aside from my Torah library I have very little dead tree format. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted April 22, 2009 Report Share Posted April 22, 2009 Re: Book or PDF I've been thinking about picking up a few more Hero system books with a bit of fortunate cash flow improvement. So I've developed a small dilemma, should I order the dead tree version of the book or should I order the pdf's. The book version is a bit more expensive but its physical and I can take it anywhere. However the PDF version is easy to store, a bit cheaper, goes well with my computer. At the moment I'm not in a gaming group and even then I have a laptop in case I need to look it up. Lastly I don't really have a preference between the two when it comes to The Hero System. I was wondering if anyone else here debated this and if so which way did you go. To me the key statement here is "I don't really have a preference between the two when it comes to The Hero System." Most people seem to choose one version or the other simply because they enjoy more having a hard copy or electronic one. If it truly makes no difference to you, and since with your laptop you've minimized the practical obstacles to using a PDF for a game session, or even to taking the books to read elsewhere, the cost saving for the PDF would seem to be the deciding factor. OTOH if it really made no difference to you, I suspect you wouldn't have this dilemma. Of course most of the books in the Hero website store that are on PDF can also be bought as a "bundle" with a hard copy, for much less money than buying them separately... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost-angel Posted April 22, 2009 Report Share Posted April 22, 2009 Re: Book or PDF PDFs are cearchable - which makes them infinitely more useful to me; especially At The Table. Books are nice when I sit down and read them and all, since my comfy reading chair is downstairs away from my computer. But for actual use I prefer PDFs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest steamteck Posted April 22, 2009 Report Share Posted April 22, 2009 Re: Book or PDF I When creating, nothing works better for me than a physical book in hand. The very act of leafing through the pages helps me think. I use PDF’s for their fast search capability when I am in a hurry. Heck I still like to build things on paper the old fashioned way and later input them to HD for neatness and to double check my math. But that is just me, because of how my creative process is. I'm very similar. I prefer to leaf through the book and create on my little 3x5 cards for NPCs. I help write up PCs for my players on the computer for their character sheets and it slows my thought processes down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwiggins Posted May 3, 2009 Report Share Posted May 3, 2009 Re: Book or PDF Maybe Hero should consider publishing books with laminated pages so they are truly humidity proof and safe to take in the tub as well. =) And "Fumble proof" HONEY!! How do I dry out an entire book?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbywolfe Posted May 3, 2009 Report Share Posted May 3, 2009 Re: Book or PDF Maybe Hero should consider publishing books with laminated pages so they are truly humidity proof and safe to take in the tub as well. =) And "Fumble proof" HONEY!! How do I dry out an entire book?! I totally did that with my hard cover copy of American Gods. What a mess. At least I had purchased an old library copy and not a 20some dollar new copy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwiggins Posted May 4, 2009 Report Share Posted May 4, 2009 Re: Book or PDF I totally did that with my hard cover copy of American Gods. What a mess. At least I had purchased an old library copy and not a 20some dollar new copy. I didn't really like American Gods, but didn't hate it either. A friend of mine loaned a book to a guy he knew. The return went something like this.... UHH, just want you to know... I fumbled it and got it wet. That's ok, I've done that too. Friend hands book back. It'd been immersed. "Where did you drop it?" "In the bathroom." (Has a horrable thought ) "just keep it" I NEVER read on the toilet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greywind Posted May 4, 2009 Report Share Posted May 4, 2009 Re: Book or PDF I read in the bathtub, but I've got a holding tray that holds things up out of the water... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbywolfe Posted May 4, 2009 Report Share Posted May 4, 2009 Re: Book or PDF Where do you get one of those? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greywind Posted May 5, 2009 Report Share Posted May 5, 2009 Re: Book or PDF Not entirely sure. Something that belonged to the ex. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lemming Posted May 6, 2009 Report Share Posted May 6, 2009 Re: Book or PDF I've seen them in those catalogs that have all sorts of different stuff in them. Kimball may be the name of one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kjandreano Posted May 27, 2009 Report Share Posted May 27, 2009 Re: Book or PDF PDFs are OK, but they don't replace paper books for me! I don't read in the bathroom but I do tend to have a pile of hero books on the coffee and/or game tables. (much to my wife's dismay, she's a neat-freak!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mkultra Posted May 30, 2009 Report Share Posted May 30, 2009 Re: Book or PDF PDFs are cearchable - which makes them infinitely more useful to me And they have that neat spell-check feature. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vurbal Posted May 30, 2009 Report Share Posted May 30, 2009 Re: Book or PDF I always buy PDFs. I have them on my laptop for convenient reference. Of course it helps that I have a laser printer for cheap printing when I need a copy for other people to reference from time to time. Since my players are also my kids it works out well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest steamteck Posted June 8, 2009 Report Share Posted June 8, 2009 Re: Book or PDF I just work better and am more creative with a book for reference in making characters etc. I just find things easier to find and less trouble on paper but I'm an older guy. Maybe if you're more used to PDFs it works the other way for you. Its also novelwise harder to curl up on the sofa with a good PDF. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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