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Lemernis
Senior Scribe
  
378 Posts |
Posted - 27 Oct 2012 : 11:22:00
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Are the following 2nd edition AD&D books all available for free now as downloads in various places out there on the Interweb?:
- Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting - A Grand Tour of the Realms
- 2nd edition AD&D Monstrous Manual
- AD&D Player's Handbook 2nd Edition
- AD&D Core Rulebook - Dungeon Master's Guide
And is there still an official location for people to buy them such that the authors can receive royalties?
Also, for 2e Forgotten Realms books, modules, etc., I recall much (all?) of that was available for free download from WotC years ago. Is that still the case? And is there also a place where those books can be downloaded such that authors might continue to receive a royalty check? Thanking you in advance!
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Edited by - Lemernis on 27 Oct 2012 11:24:31
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Zireael
Master of Realmslore
   
Poland
1190 Posts |
Posted - 27 Oct 2012 : 11:59:46
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I'm afraid the Wizards official site with the downloads has been taken down when they redid their site again. |
SiNafay Vrinn, the daughter of Lloth, from Ched Nasad!
http://zireael07.wordpress.com/ |
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Artemas Entreri
Great Reader
    
USA
3131 Posts |
Posted - 27 Oct 2012 : 14:35:22
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I believe all of the 2E books are out of print so you best bet is used book stores or eBay. |
Some people have a way with words, and other people...oh, uh, not have way. -Steve Martin
Amazon "KindleUnlimited" Free Trial: http://amzn.to/2AJ4yD2
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief

    
USA
36877 Posts |
Posted - 27 Oct 2012 : 17:30:01
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There are no longer any free legal downloads of TSR/WotC products.
They've promised to make back-catalog stuff available again, so this will hopefully include pdfs.
The 2E core rulebooks are available in digital format on the Core Rules CD-ROM, I believe. No idea how much one of those will run you, though... And as I recall, those CDs have RTF files instead of the handier pdfs. |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen!  |
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Kentinal
Great Reader
    
4693 Posts |
Posted - 27 Oct 2012 : 18:04:46
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Core rules did retail at about 60 to 40. It offered Hypertext or RTF format. Indeed does not offer the Pretty Darn Funny space consuming files. |
"Small beings can have small wisdom," the dragon said. "And small wise beings are better than small fools. Listen: Wisdom is caring for afterwards." "Caring for afterwards ...? Ker repeated this without understanding. "After action, afterwards," the dragon said. "Choose the afterwards first, then the action. Fools choose action first." "Judgement" copyright 2003 by Elizabeth Moon |
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Lemernis
Senior Scribe
  
378 Posts |
Posted - 28 Oct 2012 : 07:49:16
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Thanks. It looks like Volo's Guide to the Sword Coast is out of print as well, as I don't see it listed on drivethrurpg.com, rpgnow.com, and rpgshop.com. It looks to me as though if one is purchasing a hard copy of these out-of-print books now it is through small distributors or individuals. I'm assuming that no royalties end up in the hands of the authors for those types of sales, which is the aspect that most concerns me. |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief

    
USA
36877 Posts |
Posted - 28 Oct 2012 : 13:46:15
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quote: Originally posted by Lemernis
Thanks. It looks like Volo's Guide to the Sword Coast is out of print as well, as I don't see it listed on drivethrurpg.com, rpgnow.com, and rpgshop.com. It looks to me as though if one is purchasing a hard copy of these out-of-print books now it is through small distributors or individuals. I'm assuming that no royalties end up in the hands of the authors for those types of sales, which is the aspect that most concerns me.
Anything pre-4E is long out of print, with the exception of the recent, limited-time only releases of the 1E and 3.5 core rulebooks. The 2E core rulebooks are getting that treatment next year. |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen!  |
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Kentinal
Great Reader
    
4693 Posts |
Posted - 28 Oct 2012 : 15:35:38
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Lemernis resales person to person does not result in any income to authors.
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"Small beings can have small wisdom," the dragon said. "And small wise beings are better than small fools. Listen: Wisdom is caring for afterwards." "Caring for afterwards ...? Ker repeated this without understanding. "After action, afterwards," the dragon said. "Choose the afterwards first, then the action. Fools choose action first." "Judgement" copyright 2003 by Elizabeth Moon |
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Brian R. James
Forgotten Realms Game Designer
   
USA
1098 Posts |
Posted - 29 Oct 2012 : 04:10:33
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quote: Originally posted by Lemernis
I'm assuming that no royalties end up in the hands of the authors for those types of sales, which is the aspect that most concerns me.
Game designers do not receive royalties. Freelancers are paid a one-time fee and full time employees receive their salary. Only novelists earn royalties. |
Brian R. James - Freelance Game Designer
Follow me on Twitter @brianrjames |
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Artemas Entreri
Great Reader
    
USA
3131 Posts |
Posted - 29 Oct 2012 : 13:17:33
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quote: Originally posted by Lemernis
I'm assuming that no royalties end up in the hands of the authors for those types of sales, which is the aspect that most concerns me.
I'm not really sure why this concerns you so much. Buying second hand copies of out of print books online or at a used book store is perfectly legal. It's not like someone is buying a new book and printing off copies for resale. |
Some people have a way with words, and other people...oh, uh, not have way. -Steve Martin
Amazon "KindleUnlimited" Free Trial: http://amzn.to/2AJ4yD2
Try Audible and Get 2 Free Audio Books! https://amzn.to/2IgBede |
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Vaeldroth
Acolyte
USA
25 Posts |
Posted - 17 Nov 2012 : 18:50:02
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quote: Originally posted by Lemernis
Thanks. It looks like Volo's Guide to the Sword Coast is out of print as well, as I don't see it listed on drivethrurpg.com, rpgnow.com, and rpgshop.com. It looks to me as though if one is purchasing a hard copy of these out-of-print books now it is through small distributors or individuals. I'm assuming that no royalties end up in the hands of the authors for those types of sales, which is the aspect that most concerns me.
You can wait till 2013 then, and see if Wizards publishes their back catalog in e-book format. I don't know if it'll be January, or if you will gt the products you desire.
You might also want to keep an eye on Wizards' web site. They might just reprint some of the 2e material if there is a demand for it. They're reprinting Unearthed Arcana, which shocked me a bit. |
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crazedventurers
Master of Realmslore
   
United Kingdom
1073 Posts |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief

    
USA
36877 Posts |
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Dalor Darden
Great Reader
    
USA
4211 Posts |
Posted - 18 Nov 2012 : 19:18:00
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Between Wooly and MT...I think there is a Candlekeep book assassin going about torching good books! |
The Old Grey Box and AD&D for me! |
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Vaeldroth
Acolyte
USA
25 Posts |
Posted - 20 Nov 2012 : 22:24:15
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I'm all over this. I have several copies of the PHB, but there never seems to be enough to go around. |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief

    
USA
36877 Posts |
Posted - 21 Nov 2012 : 04:43:14
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quote: Originally posted by Dalor Darden
Between Wooly and MT...I think there is a Candlekeep book assassin going about torching good books!
In my case, it was Talos. My stuff was in storage, and the place was struck by lightning. |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen!  |
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NetDiver
Acolyte
Finland
11 Posts |
Posted - 20 Mar 2013 : 07:57:53
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Wizards very recently opened their back catalog for digital download via DriveThruRPG. They now have their own dedicated subsite, dndclassics.com. It's no longer entirely free (not sure if they've ever been that way), but the download library seems to be growing at a steady rate. Some of the material might have been available previously as there are quite a few very old reviews. Some complain about the scan quality, but it seems WOTC has rescanned most of its newly re-released material. I haven't downloaded any WOTC stuff yet, so I can't comment on the scan quality. Previews seem fine.
There seems to be a divide between the material that might get reprinted and the material that'll be re-release in digital format. So to answer the OP's question, I don't think the core books for AD&D 2nd edition will be available as digital downloads any time soon as I would imagine that Wizards want to sell the coming reprints. There are a few retro clones of 2nd edition available and New Haven Games's Myth & Magic seems to be getting high reviews and seem to regarded as "Pathfinder" of the AD&D 2nd edition. The starter guides for players and GMs are free. |
Edited by - NetDiver on 20 Mar 2013 08:02:16 |
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The Masked Mage
Great Reader
    
USA
2420 Posts |
Posted - 21 Mar 2013 : 04:45:03
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quote: Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote: Originally posted by Dalor Darden
Between Wooly and MT...I think there is a Candlekeep book assassin going about torching good books!
In my case, it was Talos. My stuff was in storage, and the place was struck by lightning.
Who knew Talos and Talona hooked up in our world? |
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Dark Wizard
Senior Scribe
  
USA
830 Posts |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief

    
USA
36877 Posts |
Posted - 28 Mar 2013 : 03:38:01
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I prefered the original, dude-on-horseback (not to be confused with Dûd Onahorz! ) cover for the 2E PHB. I saw a lot of that particular cover, back in the day. |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
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I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen!  |
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9thChapter
Learned Scribe
 
Canada
110 Posts |
Posted - 28 Mar 2013 : 06:20:40
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quote: Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
I prefered the original, dude-on-horseback (not to be confused with Dûd Onahorz! ) cover for the 2E PHB. I saw a lot of that particular cover, back in the day.
I agree. These new covers don't relate to me in the way the originals do. The artwork was beautiful on those covers. Seems a shame to cover it/limit it by black space, |
Fantasy author of The Rithhek Cage series
http://darrentpatrick.com/the-rithhek-cage-trilogy/ |
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Dark Wizard
Senior Scribe
  
USA
830 Posts |
Posted - 30 Mar 2013 : 03:12:27
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I started with the covers these premium reprints were based on. As much as I'm fond of those books, I have to agree the original 2E covers had a certain energy to them. I heard the mid-90s black spine 2E books had better organization and color art which makes the interior appear more modern. Kind of wished they mixed the revision interior with the original cover art. Then it would be something sort of unique. I don't have the books with the original cover and it would be an excuse to get these new reprints. I still have near pristine copies of the mid-90s 2E core books, so these would be redundant. |
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