The Sights and Sounds of D&D

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As I ramp back up to writing this blog on a regular weekly basis, here's a few other news items I meant to comment on a while ago.

In recent months, while many players eagerly await the release of "D&D Next", Wizards of the Coast has found numerous other ways to keep our interest in D&D going, including releases guaranteed to appease our eyes and ears.

Recently Wizards has released a number of classic novels in audio book format on Audible.com. Previously only a select number of books (mostly those from the most well known Wizards authors like R. A. Salvatore or Margaret Wies and Tracy Hickman) were released in audio book format, and even then, mostly in abridged format. Now, thanks to the last releases, all in unabridged format, D&D fans can fill their ears with the works of the above mentioned authors, as well as many other books set in the D&D worlds of Dragonlance, Forgotten Realms, Dark Sun, Eberron, Ravenloft, and more.

Just check out the D&D book page on Audible.com for more information.

 Around the same time that I heard about the Audible releases, I was even more pleasantly surprised to learn that after years of NOT releasing any products in PDF format, that D&D in all it's various editions was back on the digital market. In the past, Wizards had it's entire back catalog of product as well as new 4e releases available for purchase, but after rampant pirating, Wizards pulled all product of the virtual shelves, citing a need for better DRM tools. 

The recent re-releases, on a dedicated RPGnow site called Dungeons and Dragons Classics all feature Watermark technology, so while there are no limits to how many machines the document can be on, or printing restrictions, the watermark does at least identify the purchaser, and therefore someone who is liable should the document be shared illegally.

With prices ranging from $4.99 (for Basic and 1e) up to $17.99 (for more recent 4e products), this is a great way to get access to an old sourcebook or module without having to pay collector prices.

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