RPGNow

Thursday, April 27, 2023

Why is There A Lack of Alternative Digital RPG Storefronts to DTRPG?



Many of us have bemoaned the lack of viable alternatives to OneBookShelf/DTRPG for years.

Before OneBookShelf (actually, Roll20 now, if you look at your emails) merged with RPGNow, there WAS competition. Heck, DTRPG used to offer a "Free Game of the Week" (not a bad idea actually) in an attempt to lure customers to their site (some of these PDFs were protected by some weird Adobe security features that were a huge PITA). OBS kept RPGNow as a mirrored storefront of DTRPG for years.

There was also YourGamesNow. Never a huge site and barely used, I'm not sure many noticed its demise.

IndiePressRevolution has been around for years. Not sure how much use it gets from Old School Gamers, but I remember snagging Spirit of the Century from there a number of years back.

Lulu is an alternative, but it is a slog to navigate.

Frog God Games tried to launch a storefront for more than just their own products back at the end of 2015. It didn't go well.

Big Geek Emporium is a newer storefront that launched with minimal fanfare, or if there was fanfare, it missed my attention.

Venger has a post about supporting some alternative digital storefronts. Even if you have problems with the messenger, his message is the correct one - we need alternatives. We need competition. One company should not be the gatekeeper of the world of digital TTRPGs and PODs.



The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. 

DTRPGAmazon, and Humble Bundle are affiliate programs that support The Tavern.  You can catch the daily Tavern Chat cast on AnchorYouTube or wherever you listen to your podcast collection. - Tenkar

1 comment:

  1. itch.io is another source for indie .pdf game books. Pretty easy to navigate too.

    ReplyDelete

Tenkar's Tavern is supported by various affiliate programs, including Amazon, RPGNow,
and Humble Bundle as well as Patreon. Your patronage is appreciated and helps keep the
lights on and the taps flowing. Your Humble Bartender, Tenkar

Blogs of Inspiration & Erudition