Q: Your games are free?
A: Yes.
Q: That doesn't seem very profitable.
A: That is an astute observation, and I'd say that even if I
were not writing the questions myself. But, no - it is not terribly; I should mention
that while the games are free, they are very much for sale.
Q: What?
A: Sorry, maybe I should be a little more helpful. Yes, the games are free. You can
download them, print them out; maybe bind them with tape or staples or rubber bands or paste or
maybe you've got this wicked hot-glue binding machine at the office and you can make really nice
volumes that way. I hope you do, because that's awesome and advantageous. Download everything and
have a blast - did I mention the games are free?
Q: Several times now! It'd actually be great if you stopped repeating it. But, for sale?
A: Right! If you don't feel like printing stuff, you can also buy professionally-bound
books and whatnot for yourself. It works for you because if you start playing an eurge RPG and
you get your girlfriend into the game (could happen, right?) she doesn't need to drop sixty bucks
for the books - she can download the PDFs onto the mobile device of her choice and go nuts.
Q: What's your angle, wise guy? Every PDF someone downloads is a lost sale.
A: Have you looked at the internet lately? Anyone with the inclination
can torrent an entire roleplaying system (complete with hundreds of supplemental books) in minutes,
without needing to know much more than Google's URL. Small PDF-based houses like Green Ronin are a
little better off, but they're still in the unenviable position of only being protected by their
relative obscurity. DRM is a joke (or a nightmare, really, but that's another talk) and only
punishes the customer - so we're making this simple. Buy the books if you want them. We'd like
it if you did, but so long as you're playing our games that's fine with us.
Q: What about Luminar? Why is that free?
A: Because it's not the sort of thing anyone's going to be happy about
paying for, and because there isn't anything suckier than being invited to a game and needing to shell
out for the privelege. When it comes to your money, we're old fashioned: save it for pizza and nefarious
GM bribery. And maybe a beautifully-bound hardcover rulebook or two.
Q: But the free downloads aren't as good.
A: They're the exact same PDFs we send to the printers. It's the
same product.
Q: What about tangibles like card games, playmats, and so on?
A: Same answer - you'll still be able to get the print-resolution
source files. Good luck getting cards printed, though - it's not fun.
Q: It says on your Minstrel page that the rules are free and anyone can make their own addon materials.
What are the limitations?
A: You'll want to go to the Minstrel site for more information, but
that's pretty accurate - go nuts. You just have to make it blindingly clear that we don't endorse
or publish your product, especially if the material is in some way objectionable.
Q: Should I tell absolutely everyone about this stuff?
A: Heck yes.
