Shadowrun 5E Update

Although still not available in print, on July 11, 2013, Catalyst Games Lab released the online PDF version of Shadowrun, Fifth Edition RPG for $20.00. Reportedly, the online PDF release doubled the previous launch day sales record of any other title release, and has broken five day sales records at DriveThruRPG and Catalyst's online shop.

Except for preview sales events at Origins and Gen Con, the physical copies of Shadowrun, Fifth Edition RPG will not hit the market until August.  However, Managing Developer for Catalyst Randall N. Bills is not worried that the early release of the PDF might negatively impact sales of the physical copies of Shadowrun, Fifth Edition RPG. According to him,"[w]e have years of data that show without question that the release of a PDF early for a print product ultimately increases sales of that print product."  He also added:

"While there is no way to quantify why that is the case, we believe it has to do with the die-hard fans immediately picking up a title and discussing it in online forums, raising the awareness to the more casual players that a book is out that might interest them.

Not only did Catalys sell four times as many Shadowrun, Fifth Edition at the Origins Game Fair as anyt title in our six year history (and we would've sold significantly more if we hadn't run out), but it more than doubled the sale of any item released at Origins by FASA Corporation (the original creators of Shadowrun) going all the way back to the mid 90s."

To emphasize the release of Shadowrun, Fifth Edition RPG, Catalyst has named this the "Year of Shadowrun".  To celebrate the Year of Shadowrun, Catalyst has planned a multitude of product releases across several platforms, including the deck building game Shadowrun: Crossfire, print novels, and the computer game Shadowrun Returns.

Shadowrun, Fifth Edition RPG is the latest version of the popular cyberpunk RPG that mixes fantasy and technology in a dystopian near-future setting of the Sixth World. Based on the 4th Edition, this new version adds new elements, including faster character creation, tweaking of the magic, increased gear options, and a streamlined matrix hack.  There will be both standard and limited editions available of the Shadowrun, Fifth Edition RPG core rulebook.  MSRP for the standard and limited editions is $59.99 and $99.99, respectively.

 

Dungeons & Dragons Goes PDF: Every Edition Available Again!

I almost entitled this entry How Nostalgia Broke My Credit Card.  The reason is simple, Wizards of the Coast, in association with DriveThruRPG, has made available for download in PDF format over 80 classic adventures and rulebooks.  I think I want to buy more than my credit card limit allows.

I still remember the first time I played Dungeons & Dragons.  It was 1980 and I was in 7^th grade.  I rolled a rogue and we played the adventure included at the end of the blue rulesbook edited by Holmes.  It had to do with a wizard’s tower and the sprawling dungeon he created under the tower, and ended with access to a seaside cave where pirate ships were docked.

While Holmes rulesbook is not available right now, Tom Moldvay’s 1981 Basic Set rulesbook is.  So are a lot of old time/original Dungeons & Dragons modules.  I quickly found some of my favorites: X1 - Isle of Dread, Q-1 Queen of the Demonweb Pits, D-3 Vault of the Drow.  The list goes on…

With this renewed web offering, Wizards of the Coast is attempting to please players of all editions, all six of them.  You can search for your favorite rulesbook, supplement, module or adventure, by name, edition, setting (Eberron, Forgotten Realms, Greyhwak, Planescape and Ravenloft), as well as by product type (sourcebooks, core rulebooks, RPG media).

Many of these products are at very reasonable prices.  You can buy 1^st Edition’s D-3 Vault of the Drow or 3^rd Edition’s Bastion of Broken Souls for $4.99.  Compilations and sourcebooks, like 1^st Edition’s T1-T4 Temple of Elemental Evil or 2^nd Edition’s Greyhawk: The Adventure Begins, are going for $9.99.  Rulebooks are a little more expensive.  For example, be prepared to pay a hefty $19.99 for 3.5 Edition’s Dungeon Master’s Guide II.

Yes, you can find all of the products offered in DnDClassic.com as pirated torrents on the internet.  However, not only is that illegal, many of the pirated reproductions are of bad quality.  Buying them from Wizards of the Coast/DriveThruRPG gives you a high quality scan that has the added bonus of being searchable.  Good luck searching a pirated PDF for a particular NPC or item, particularly if it is several hundred pages long like the aforementioned T1-T4 Temple of Elemental Evil.  More importantly, buying legitimate copies rewards the authors for their work and encourages Wizards of the Coast to make more of their offerings available for download.

Finally, I wish you good luck accessing DnDClassic.com.  Apparently, this untapped market for PDF versions of classic and not so classic products from TSR Hobbies, Inc. and Wizards of the Coast is so large that the servers are frequently overloaded.