Posted 04/10/09 at 08:15:07 PM by David Murphy

Wizards of the Coast upset a lot of geeks yesterday.  From table-top dice throwers to the online retailers that sell their products, all who dabble in the funny world of Dungeons and Dragons depend on the game's tomes of information to run their fantasy worlds.  Whether you're a twentieth-level enthusiast whose lined his (or her) bookshelves with Player's Handbooks, Dungeon Master's Guides, Monster Manuals, and legions upon printed legions of supplemental adventures...  or you're just a fledgling geek with one 20-sided die to his name, the printed Dungeons and Dragon materials are your bread and butter.

Wizards of the Coast, arbiters of the D&D universe, has been trying to cross over into the digital realm by giving retailers the option to sell downloadable PDFs of core D&D material.  But that's all past-tense now: WotC abruptly pulled the plug on the project yesterday, leaving those who originally purchased the cyber-materials with no available resource, save for going out and buying the tangible, printed books.

The reason?  Piracy.  Which makes about much sense as a Lich Paladin, given that anyone can freely download the requisite D&D materials straight off of WotC's Web site for free.  Yes, WotC's d20 system -- the underlying mechanics behind the company's third-edition D&D product -- is completely open-source.

Click the link to continue your adventure!

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