Kickstarter - 5E rules or DCC compatible

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No idea if the PDF will be separate. Previous releases in this line have none due to IP issues.

PDF is included in the kickstarter for backers. As I have all the other releases in this line, I'm getting it for completeness.
Unfortunately, I have never played or even seen an original Dark Tower up close and personal. It was released earlier than I jumped on the bandwagon.
I am, however, looking forward to reading the original version when this comes out, as they reprint the original in its entirety.

aia wrote in 5E Dark Tower:Afaik no pdf will ever be released for OAR books... This was one of the main messages at the beginning... If now they changed their minds i wonder whether they will release pdfs even for previous books or not...

Nope. Still no PDFs for the OAR series derived from TSR/Wizards/Hasbro IPs.

As this is a Judge's Guild IP, Goodman is including the PDF along with the print version for Kickstarter backers.
As I got in within the first 48 hours, i am also to receive a print by Jennell Jaquays in both physical and PDF form (who is also involved with the conversion to 5E).

I also remember seeing (somewhere, I forget where) that they also got the blessing to do Caverns of Thracia as an OAR product, as well.

jkason wrote in 5E Dark Tower:No idea if the PDF will be separate. Previous releases in this line have none due to IP issues.

jkason wrote in 5E Dark Tower:Nope. Still no PDFs for the OAR series derived from TSR/Wizards/Hasbro IPs.

As in Original Adventures Reincarnated #1-#6?
They are all available online in PDF. A simple Google search will tell you that much.
And we're not talking kid in a bedroom with a scanner PDF. We're talking original source file PDFs from Goodman Games and/or their supply chain.

Usually the Kickstarter backers publish the PDFs online within an hour or so of the publisher issuing their free PDF. Either that or someone from the publisher or the printer uploads the files online.

Not monetizing or protecting digital IP is the way that companies choose to do business these days. Maybe it's just too much like hard work for them to secure their PDFs, or there's not ROI in securing your IP. Why they decide to do it is something only the publishers know (and I very much doubt they'll disclose their reasons.) Why they allow the release PDFs to occur in the first place (if its meant to be hardcopy only product) is beyond me. It's all free advertising I guess.

They've had close on 20 years to protect their product in the digital space (not GG, but all publishers in the digital RPG space.) They've been aware that PDFs propagate freely for at least 15 years. They known the source of those PDFs is their own employees or the contractors they do business with. I can only conclude that they are happy with their share of the fiscal pie and wish the status quo to remain as is.

If you are the creator of the file, do not secure it, distribute that file to others that you cannot trust or control, and then choose not to protect defend your IP when it is being propagated, that is the very definition of tacit approval in my book.

Besides....
Why spend $200 on a boxed set that in all likelihood you'll never read or play?
The presence of the PDF limits any appreciation in value of common publications. So the only thing you get is well put together book end for the stuff on your bookshelf that you do read and play.
You can download the PDF for free. It takes up substantially less room. Will also never be read or played, and frees up $200 to spend on something you will read and play with, or something that is going to add value to your collection.
If you're

jkason wrote in 5E Dark Tower:Edit - Those PDFs of the OAR series are not exactly....legal/official. While they may have been ripped from a digital file that was used for printing, they have never been offered up for retail sale.

That was the point I was making.
Publishers choose not to secure their digital IP.
They also choose not to protect their IP online.
The PDFs are always released by the PDF creator or one of his colleagues.
You can literally see how much respect a particular publisher/author holds in the marketplace by how quickly his colleagues/employees are willing to stab him in the back.

'Not exactly legal/official' is as close to being legal as these publishers are able to get without undermining their own hardcopy buyers. If they came out and simply said, we'll put the PDF file up for free on the day of purchase, a good 50% of their sales will evaporate. But they create the file none-the-less, and it gets 'leaked' none-the-less. That pattern of behavior, maintained over an extended period of time, can only be a deliberate choice.

This PDF will be available for free for those who seek it within a week or so of it being released by Goodman Games. Some buyers dislike Goodman Games enough that they will spend $50 just to buy the PDF so that they can then upload it to the internet. Will Goodman Games protect themselves of prevent this from happening? Like hell they will. Too much like hard work. No ROI. Whatever excuse best suits the narrative.

I much prefer dead tree products myself. But I never read 95% of my collection. I've never read Yggsburgh or Rappan Athuk or CSIO or most of the other well known products of reasonable quality that have wandered into my collection. With Yggsburgh it was purchased on account of its Author. With CSIO it was a nostalgia thing. With Rappan Athuk is was sheer size I guess. But they all remain unread. I suspect a huge chunk of collectors are the same with their collections. We have disposable income because we work hard and well. That takes up the bulk of our time. We almost all of us have families and life to live, and this hobby is what gets fitted in around all of that. How do you find time to read everything you buy?