1

(1 replies, posted in LotFP Webstore Forum)

Mostly an FYI for Jim - web store seems to be showing the wrong picture for the printing of Carcosa available (2nd printing instead of third)...unless i'm wrong and you have a stash of 2nd printings with the partial book wrap?

2

(2 replies, posted in LotFP Webstore Forum)

Awesome.  Thank you!

3

(2 replies, posted in LotFP Webstore Forum)

Hi all - can any one confirm or deny if NSFW was printed as both a soft back AND a hard back...or was it hardback only?

4

(9 replies, posted in Crowdfunding Forum)

JimLotFP wrote:

What do you suggest? Even when I did 10000 copies of a Free RPG Day book a few years back and you'd think that would just flood the market with extra copies, people were still selling them and some places are still selling them for exorbitant amounts. Even when the Pay What You Want PDF is promptly uploaded a couple weeks after the event, people are still selling them.

I got nuthing.  My original post was a bit of a knee jerk response to reading multiple posts by folks (not here) on or just after Free RPG day bragging about how they hit multiple stores or recruited friend to get extra copies of VAM knowing that it was quick money.  No disclaimer in the book (such as "Not for Resale" or some variation) will deter people from min/maxing and my overly romantic notion of some kid crying himself to sleep because he didn't get a copy of VAM due to a moustache-twirling resell hoarder in line before him on the day....is a clearly bonkers.

JimLotFP wrote:

(Selling my spare copies of VAM! for 5€ when backers originally paid 20€+ doesn't seem right either. I am bringing copies to conventions, where I will be selling them for 25€ by themselves, or free with 100€ purchase. pprroofffitteerriinnggg)

If anyone should profit off the product it should be you.  $25 seems like the going price.  Tidy.  Love the free copy with $100 purchase idea too.  More than fair.

Hey - since this is related - do you know roughly how many copies of the signed/bookmark ribboned versions of VAM ended up getting printed?

So I FINALLY scored a deluxe boxed set off ebay at a reasonable price (Yes!).  However, once it arrived,  I was disappointed to find  it was missing the Tutorial book. UGH!  I hit up the RPG Now webstore hoping they'd have a PDF copy  - but none to be found.  Was there ever a PDF of this booklet available?  I doubt very much that this single book will ever turn up in an auction or that someone would be willing to break up a Deluxe set.  Am I just out of luck?

Thanks in advance for your help.

CP

6

(9 replies, posted in Crowdfunding Forum)

I'm sure you are not alone. 

Greed gets me down.

7

(9 replies, posted in Crowdfunding Forum)

So I happily backed VAM because I love the idea of promoting gaming (especially if it encourages new gamers), and Jim's products are outstanding.  I was especially keen to a part of something that set the bar higher with the hardback book and that promised to be edgy to boot.  I haven't seen my copy yet (my stuff likely arrived after I left for a thing in Norway that will keep me from my home mail for a month) but I skimmed the PDF and it looks great.  I am proud to have contributed to the campaign to keep these free for others.

You know where this is going...

So, a few days after Free RPG day folks are selling copies of VAM on ebay for over $20!  Clearly some morally flexible folks only hit the gaming stores in order to  grab & resell.  Some apparently hit more than one store to get multiple copies. Ok, I guess the re-sellers of VAM on ebay might simply be VAM backers selling extra copies they ordered to recoup their overall investment....but that seems like a hell of a lot effort and barely covers the investment per book. 

Regardless, this riles me as a backer.

To be honest, I have bought previously released Free RPG day stuff on line (always a few years after it was released).  I also once sold a spare copy Doom-Cave of the Crystal-Headed Children that I got for free mixed in with another order. (That was a good day.)  But especially now....as a VAM backer....I feel pretty pissed off at the profiteering going on out there.

Yes, backing assures that I get a copy - but is there no work around to discourage re-sellers?  Further, does the improved product (hardback) encourage more reselling?  Obviously this isn't a new issue, but coupled with a glut of on-going on line sales for all sorts of "free" products from previous years, is this free rpg game day thing really worth it for anybody?  Wouldn't it make more sense (especially if the item is going to be crowd sourced) to make a "teaser" item for the game store's Free RPG Day crates AND a ridiculously affordable copy of the complete item for sale from the store - in addition to an expanded or special edition made available to backers (who subsidize both the teaser and budget copies).  I guess the logic is that perhaps nobody would be able to sell their "free" copies for $20 if there was a decent volume of the same books available for nearly free (like $5) from the webstore.  I know...shipping.  Perhaps shipping could also subsidized by backers?   

As a backer, I know that I would pay even more next time if there was some kind of effort to help keep free product FREE,   or to make a budget copy available for nearly free....especially if I knew I was getting something special in return as a backer.

Just the nature of the beast I guess.

Does it burn anyone else to see these free products making profits?  What about you Jim?  That could be money in YOUR pocket!...no?

Rant done. 


CP

8

(7 replies, posted in LotFP Gaming Forum)

Yes, yes - this all confirms my gut on how starting values for sneak attacks work (for specialists and everyone) but it still doesn't really address the logic for omitting the (1 in 6) for everybody on pg. 17.  I was thinking I must have missed some reason why it was left off that list that was specific to the specialist (since it appears in that section) - but seeing that the specialist also gets the default (1 in 6) to start with that skill, I guess it might just be a typo (?). 

I guess what really threw me (well, to be honest, still throws me a hair) is the suggestion later on that the specialist might not get that default (1 in 6).  If you keep reading through the sneak attack section it continues, "If a specialist has ANY points in sneak attack, then he also gets a +2 bonus to hit above any other bonuses..."  Sooooo, if they already get the automatic (1 in 6) starting value - then don't they automatically start with that +2 bonus to hit automatically?  Why spell it out...unless it is meant to imply either A) specialist don't start automatically with the (1 in 6) in sneak attack but must invest in it (which doesn't make sense) or B) that this notation is meant to imply that the +2 to hit bonus stacks per point invested.

Again, I'm not losing (much) sleep over this.  I've interpreted it all this way:  everybody gets that initial 1 in 6 for sneak attack.   Specialists get the +2 sneak attack to hit bonus AFTER they have invested at least one additional point into the skill.  The +2 to hit bonus is non-stacking, while the damage bonus stacks.

I guess others do it differently maybe...

Thanks for all the input.  Good stuff. 

CP

9

(7 replies, posted in LotFP Gaming Forum)

Hi there all,

Looking over my 4th ed. Rules & Magic.  The list for skill defaults (pg.17 - specialists) does not have the standard 1 in 6 chance starting value listed beside the sneak attack skill.  However, the character sheet explanation section (pg. 167) notes in point H. "all characters begin with 1 in 6 sneak attack skill."  Everybody starts with a 1 in 6 in this skill....but am I missing something for why that has been omitted from the default list on pg. 17?  I'm not losing sleep over this - mostly curious.

CP