To get this straight. As far as I understand this, I would have to pay to implement feats for my character when I want to use D&D beyond. Is this correct?
If it is, why would I want to use this online tool. Why would I pay for an additional players handbook just to have a digital version of my character sheet. Don't get me wrong D&D beyond looks cool and I really want to use it but why would I pay additional 30 bucks (when I already purchased a players handbook) just to play a variant human totem barbarian. Please tell me if I get something wrong, because this really doesn't sound right to me. If true you really should reconsider your marketing strategy. I cannot believe some one is willing to pay for this. But I'll bet you'll prove me wrong anyways.
Only you can decide if there's enough value here for you to buy in. I, and a lot of other folks, have decided there is. You can read through this thread to see some of why this is.
I do want to clarify that if all you want at the moment is to create your variant human totem barbarian, you don't have to pay $30. You can purchase variant human and totem barbarian for far less (about $5 total I believe). If you decide later you want everything in the PHB, the price would be discounted by what you already spent on PHB items. Personally, I love that granularity, and I've made use of it myself.
Once homebrew subraces and subclasses are available (expected soon), you could even homebrew the content from the books you own for free.
Just bought all the core rulebooks to d&d 3 weeks ago, and I tell my friends about this site and I now come to find out that we would have to buy the rule books all over again.... what a shame.
True and not true. If you bought them just 3 weeks ago, return them and buy here instead. It would be cheaper anyways. Now as for your friends, here is the really cool part most people are skipping over. If you play as a group, then everyone chip in for the books. Have that person also get a Masters subscription and share out content. Everyone else make a free account. Create a campaign that everyone joins. Now everyone can use the books to create characters. Problem solved, money saved.
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I just want to tell everyone "happy gaming" and actually mean it. Whatever your game is, just have fun with it, it is after all, just a game.
I am wondering things that are in the players handbook are not available unless you buy them. This really sucks that they are being locked behind the paywall, I used to use Orcpub which had all of the classes and races. However once D&D beyond was announced they had to take all that down and make it have the same information as base Beyond.
Public Mod Note
(Stormknight):
Post merged to main discussion thread
Things are "locked behind the paywall" because they are meant to have always been paid-only content. Wizards of the Coast only gives so much of the 5th edition game (which is enough to play it happily for years, but not everything, or even everything found in the first few books available to purchase), and anything beyond that is either A) paid for no matter where you use it or how, or B) illegal and unethical for someone to be providing you.
Orcpub didn't get trimmed down because D&D Beyond was announced - Orcpub got trimmed down for choosing to violate trademarks and infringe upon copyrights.
Just bought all the core rulebooks to d&d 3 weeks ago, and I tell my friends about this site and I now come to find out that we would have to buy the rule books all over again.... what a shame.
True and not true. If you bought them just 3 weeks ago, return them and buy here instead. It would be cheaper anyways. Now as for your friends, here is the really cool part most people are skipping over. If you play as a group, then everyone chip in for the books. Have that person also get a Masters subscription and share out content. Everyone else make a free account. Create a campaign that everyone joins. Now everyone can use the books to create characters. Problem solved, money saved.
Yeah, my DM loves it for that reason alone. He has physical copies of the big 3, but because I wanted access to stuff, I bought all of the other non-adventure books (except MM and Tortle) on DDB and shared them with him and everyone else in the group.
What gets me about all of this having to buy it twice whining, and yes it is whining, is that they dont understand that DDB is a tool. Its like a microwave oven. Sure I can use that microwave to make some homebrew foods that I already purchased, but the microwave becomes really useful when I pair it with a frozen dinner. Suddenly what used to take hours to do is done in minutes. You already own the food (books), what you are paying for is someone to portion and prep it for optimal microwavability (setting the tables, cross references, linking, automation, etc) (OK, crap analogy, but hopefully it gets the point across)
The pricing model is sadly a slap in the face of the existing customers with all the paper books. DNDB provides a benefit to the DM/player I am but I have to repay everything so the same for me I will not pay while I would love to use this tool if Wizards/Twich had found a way to reduce the cost for the paper book owner, not free, but at a reasonnably discounted price e.g. a discount at 50% for a few months, whoever buys.
A great wasted opportunity from Wizards and Twitch in my opinion, both companies allieanatethe players.
Psh, I own all the physical books, most of the spell cards, some of the board games. I am still buying it all through DDB. Why? Because of how useful it is. I no longer have to haul books around. When I am at work, I can just pull up the character created and start making new characters, work on a campaign, etc. no more searching through books to find that one spell or figure out a CR 3 monster from all of them in the MM. I click a link and do a search, copy the link or stat block, move on.
To me the cost is worth the ease. Would you rather use a horse and buggy or a car to get to work everyday? Both are transportation, but one seems easier than the other.
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I just want to tell everyone "happy gaming" and actually mean it. Whatever your game is, just have fun with it, it is after all, just a game.
At this time, all purchases on D&D Beyond are for content on D&D Beyond only. Unfortunately, there is not a way to unlock the digital content if you have purchased the books. We realize and understand the concerns over re-purchasing content, but the material in D&D Beyond is in a different format and platform.
Thank you for the help. If it's possible it would be nice and probably much appreciated amongst the community if it were possible to use the content, provided there was a way to show proof of purchase of a hard copy...
This has by far the best character sheet interaction and interface!
I think a decent idea would be for WotC to offer a discount coupon for physical books for content you have already purchased on DnDBeyond.
I already bought 2 copies of the PHB (one had some jarring misprints but I have already gotten some autographs in it), MM, DMG, Xolo's, TftYP, and the Starter Kit. Even that modest collection cost $100+ dollars, so it's a little nauseating to have to drop hundreds more to buy the same stuff. That said, I understand the reasoning behind the idea of having to re-buy everything (different companies), if not the reason for it to be full MSRP, but it would lessen the blow somewhat if I could at least save a few bucks on getting the physical versions of the books I don't have.
I do like the physical books; it's a shame to have to choose between paying 2x the cost or giving up one or the other.
I think a decent idea would be for WotC to offer a discount coupon for physical books for content you have already purchased on DnDBeyond.
I already bought 2 copies of the PHB (one had some jarring misprints but I have already gotten some autographs in it), MM, DMG, Xolo's, TftYP, and the Starter Kit. Even that modest collection cost $100+ dollars, so it's a little nauseating to have to drop hundreds more to buy the same stuff. That said, I understand the reasoning behind the idea of having to re-buy everything (different companies), if not the reason for it to be full MSRP, but it would lessen the blow somewhat if I could at least save a few bucks on getting the physical versions of the books I don't have.
I do like the physical books; it's a shame to have to choose between paying 2x the cost or giving up one or the other.
You do not pay 2x the price, as most content here on DDB is already discontinued compared to the price from the WotC store or any physical store.
Different thing if you buy physical from Amazon, as far as I understand, but then for both copies (physical and digital here on DDB) you are paying even less than the physical WotC+DDB combo.
It might sound as trying to find anything to not agree, but it is in truth just a mean for me to try and avoid misinformation. Again, as I said several times, I'd be the first to be happy in seeing codes or discounts between physical and DDB, but let's stop saying you "have to pay double" because: 1) you do not "have" to, you can if you find the rules and content integration where in DDB to be worth the price, Boone has ever said that DDB is the only way to play D&D from now on; 2) you do not pay double, you pay less than physical copy here on DDB.
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Born in Italy, moved a bunch, living in Spain, my heart always belonged to Roleplaying Games
It might sound as trying to find anything to not agree, but it is in truth just a mean for me to try and avoid misinformation. Again, as I said several times, I'd be the first to be happy in seeing codes or discounts between physical and DDB, but let's stop saying you "have to pay double" because: 1) you do not "have" to, you can if you find the rules and content integration where in DDB to be worth the price, Boone has ever said that DDB is the only way to play D&D from now on; 2) you do not pay double, you pay less than physical copy here on DDB.
I know no one is forced to pay twice; I'm saying if you want the functionality of DDB but still enjoy the tactile experience of flipping through a book, there are no package deals or ways to enjoy both other than just buying both.
I was mistaken about the price, but it literally is paying double if you were buying from Amazon before. I love and support my FLGS but not by paying $50 when I could be paying $30 (or less). I will continue to buy minis and paint and dice and spell cards and whatnot from them, but the difference in price on the books is too much. So if I was paying $30 before, and paying $30 on DDB, then that is paying double.
Don't get me wrong; I think DBB is a great value, and I will someday be forking over the money for the bundle. I just think there could be a little more encouragement to those who have already sunk a bunch of money into D&D.
So if I was paying $30 before, and paying $30 on DDB, then that is paying double.
Don't get me wrong; I think DBB is a great value, and I will someday be forking over the money for the bundle. I just think there could be a little more encouragement to those who have already sunk a bunch of money into D&D.
That's a bit of curious logic... so basically, if anyone anywhere ever sells anything at a discount, instead of viewing that as a discount and being happy to have received it, you are saying you view that as the "normal" price and will then ask for even more of a discount because you need "a little more encouragement."
Because you are basically saying that paying $6 on Burger King's 2 for $6 mix and match deal is "paying double" for your whoppers, even though the normal price is actually like $4, so double would be $8 - which means you are actually only paying a little more, and you are getting more (in the case of buying a book on Amazon, then buying it here, you are looking at $60 total compared to the actual normal price of $50, so you are only paying %20 more, and in exchange you are getting a whole lot more than double).
Maybe if you unskewed your perception so that you can see massive discounts as massive discounts, rather than as "normal price", you'd feel like you were getting a better deal?
Aaron already expressed it with more words (thank you), but if you go back and read my point I had already taken into consideration the Amazon option for the physical book.
The normal price is always and only the one imposed by the producing company, anything else is distributor surcharge or discount. At least that's how normal economics work.
OK calm down. Like I said, I understand why it is the way it is. What I'm saying can barely even be considered a complaint, just a suggestion, so there is no need to get defensive on DDB's behalf.
If I'm buying 2 whoppers anyway, then 2 for $6 is a great deal, because normally it would be $8 or whatever. But 2 Whoppers is exactly 2 times the value of 1 Whopper. It is two separate experiences, not 2 ways of enjoying the same experience, so it doesn't exactly translate. Although DDB obviously provides benefits that the book doesn't, there is also obviously tons of overlap. So I would argue that you are not getting "a whole lot more than double" the value.
It's like books and e-books. If you want both, you pay the same price for both, even though it's the same book, and same publisher. As a result, I hardly ever buy physical copies of books anymore, unless I specifically want it for a collection or something. On the other hand, if you buy an e-book on Amazon, they give you a deal to get the Audible version for a discounted price. As a result, there are many books for which I have both an electronic text version and an audiobook version.
If I (as I plan to) get the Legendary Bundle at some point, I will likely stop buying the books altogether, because I'm not paying $60 for what I used to get for $30 (yes, that is double, sorry if you don't see it that way. 30 * 2 = 60). In fact, I'm probably done buying books as of now, because I know in the future I'll be buying the DDB version.
So Curse's electronic version wins out, and WotC loses future book sales. If they had a deal where, say, you could buy a physical copy for full MSRP, and that also gets you DDB access, I would do that for sure. That way, Curse gets paid, WotC gets paid (probably more from the sale than they do from Amazon), and I get to enjoy a book and online access without feeling like I just bought the same thing twice. And I'd even probably end up paying more than what the bundle would save me.
If you don't like my suggestion or are offended by it, then I guess I will have to find some way to cope with that. But I do like the products these companies are offering and only wanted to suggest a possible way to get a win for everyone.
Ok, so lets say that you can get the physical book from Amazon at $30, and the digital book here for $20, would that work for you? I mean, it does add up to the cost of what it would be for the Physical if you were to buy it at retail price after all.
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I just want to tell everyone "happy gaming" and actually mean it. Whatever your game is, just have fun with it, it is after all, just a game.
I am enjoying the ability to buy individual subclasses and races for $2 a pop. Easier than buying the full books, especially since I already own them all in hardcover. However, I wish there was a better way to search for them. I had to track down where the pact for the Undying was and it sidewinded my character creation meeting.
OK calm down. ...there is no need to get defensive on DDB's behalf.
Don't do that. You are assigning emotion to my statements made in a format which does not convey emotion, and that is only useful as a tool by which to attack me as a person rather than my arguments. It is not a way to have a civil discussion. And ascribing to me the motive of being "defensive on DDB's behalf" is similarly non-civil. Saying I'm doing something other than expressing my opinions just the same as you is an attempt to paint me as doing something I'm not supposed to be doing.
...I would argue that you are not getting "a whole lot more than double" the value.
Then I would ask that quantify exactly how much more benefit you do feel is gained, since you are rejecting my assessment of the situation as Object A) a readable source of game content, and Object B) a readable source of game content, digitally searchable, aids in character generation to the point of even filling out a sheet, filterable and reorganize-able, with more functionality to come, and also incorporates errata alterations into the game content instead of having to go without or find those separately. Which is "more than double" because two of Object A (read: two of the same book) would be exactly double.
If you don't think that's an exact translation to whoppers for some reason, just imagine that you are looking at the $2 for 6 deal when you aren't actually positive that you're hungry enough to eat both whoppers, since that should put you in roughly the same frame of mind as not seeing a second copy of a book you already have as being as useful as the first copy.
...a possible way to get a win for everyone.
For a quantity of "everyone" that does not include anyone who is supposed to be getting a pay check from the work they put into which ever part of this whole D&D deal you feel should be eating the losses caused by lowering the price even more because you want a "win" you can't see you already have in the multiple ways to get your D&D stuff ~40% off actual price (yes, that is way less than double, sorry if you don't see it that way: 0.6+0.6 = 1.2, not 2).
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Trying to Decide if DDB is for you? A few helpful threads: A Buyer's Guide to DDB; What I/We Bought and Why; How some DMs use DDB; A Newer Thread on Using DDB to Play
Helpful threads on other topics: Homebrew FAQ by IamSposta; Accessing Content by ConalTheGreat;
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I just want to tell everyone "happy gaming" and actually mean it. Whatever your game is, just have fun with it, it is after all, just a game.
I am wondering things that are in the players handbook are not available unless you buy them. This really sucks that they are being locked behind the paywall, I used to use Orcpub which had all of the classes and races. However once D&D beyond was announced they had to take all that down and make it have the same information as base Beyond.
Things are "locked behind the paywall" because they are meant to have always been paid-only content. Wizards of the Coast only gives so much of the 5th edition game (which is enough to play it happily for years, but not everything, or even everything found in the first few books available to purchase), and anything beyond that is either A) paid for no matter where you use it or how, or B) illegal and unethical for someone to be providing you.
Orcpub didn't get trimmed down because D&D Beyond was announced - Orcpub got trimmed down for choosing to violate trademarks and infringe upon copyrights.
Didnt think about that. Thanks for the tip!
The pricing model is sadly a slap in the face of the existing customers with all the paper books.
DNDB provides a benefit to the DM/player I am but I have to repay everything so the same for me I will not pay while I would love to use this tool if Wizards/Twich had found a way to reduce the cost for the paper book owner, not free, but at a reasonnably discounted price e.g. a discount at 50% for a few months, whoever buys.
A great wasted opportunity from Wizards and Twitch in my opinion, both companies allieanatethe players.
Psh, I own all the physical books, most of the spell cards, some of the board games. I am still buying it all through DDB. Why? Because of how useful it is. I no longer have to haul books around. When I am at work, I can just pull up the character created and start making new characters, work on a campaign, etc. no more searching through books to find that one spell or figure out a CR 3 monster from all of them in the MM. I click a link and do a search, copy the link or stat block, move on.
To me the cost is worth the ease. Would you rather use a horse and buggy or a car to get to work everyday? Both are transportation, but one seems easier than the other.
I just want to tell everyone "happy gaming" and actually mean it. Whatever your game is, just have fun with it, it is after all, just a game.
I own phb, dmg, mm (hardcopies) is there anyway that I am able to use the content for my characters
At this time, all purchases on D&D Beyond are for content on D&D Beyond only. Unfortunately, there is not a way to unlock the digital content if you have purchased the books. We realize and understand the concerns over re-purchasing content, but the material in D&D Beyond is in a different format and platform.
Thank you for the help. If it's possible it would be nice and probably much appreciated amongst the community if it were possible to use the content, provided there was a way to show proof of purchase of a hard copy...
This has by far the best character sheet interaction and interface!
Can't wait to see what else is planned
I think a decent idea would be for WotC to offer a discount coupon for physical books for content you have already purchased on DnDBeyond.
I already bought 2 copies of the PHB (one had some jarring misprints but I have already gotten some autographs in it), MM, DMG, Xolo's, TftYP, and the Starter Kit. Even that modest collection cost $100+ dollars, so it's a little nauseating to have to drop hundreds more to buy the same stuff. That said, I understand the reasoning behind the idea of having to re-buy everything (different companies),
if not the reason for it to be full MSRP, but it would lessen the blow somewhat if I could at least save a few bucks on getting the physical versions of the books I don't have.I do like the physical books; it's a shame to have to choose between paying 2x the cost or giving up one or the other.
Edit: mistaken about price
Born in Italy, moved a bunch, living in Spain, my heart always belonged to Roleplaying Games
Was mistaken about price
Aaron already expressed it with more words (thank you), but if you go back and read my point I had already taken into consideration the Amazon option for the physical book.
The normal price is always and only the one imposed by the producing company, anything else is distributor surcharge or discount. At least that's how normal economics work.
Born in Italy, moved a bunch, living in Spain, my heart always belonged to Roleplaying Games
OK calm down. Like I said, I understand why it is the way it is. What I'm saying can barely even be considered a complaint, just a suggestion, so there is no need to get defensive on DDB's behalf.
If I'm buying 2 whoppers anyway, then 2 for $6 is a great deal, because normally it would be $8 or whatever. But 2 Whoppers is exactly 2 times the value of 1 Whopper. It is two separate experiences, not 2 ways of enjoying the same experience, so it doesn't exactly translate. Although DDB obviously provides benefits that the book doesn't, there is also obviously tons of overlap. So I would argue that you are not getting "a whole lot more than double" the value.
It's like books and e-books. If you want both, you pay the same price for both, even though it's the same book, and same publisher. As a result, I hardly ever buy physical copies of books anymore, unless I specifically want it for a collection or something. On the other hand, if you buy an e-book on Amazon, they give you a deal to get the Audible version for a discounted price. As a result, there are many books for which I have both an electronic text version and an audiobook version.
If I (as I plan to) get the Legendary Bundle at some point, I will likely stop buying the books altogether, because I'm not paying $60 for what I used to get for $30 (yes, that is double, sorry if you don't see it that way. 30 * 2 = 60). In fact, I'm probably done buying books as of now, because I know in the future I'll be buying the DDB version.
So Curse's electronic version wins out, and WotC loses future book sales. If they had a deal where, say, you could buy a physical copy for full MSRP, and that also gets you DDB access, I would do that for sure. That way, Curse gets paid, WotC gets paid (probably more from the sale than they do from Amazon), and I get to enjoy a book and online access without feeling like I just bought the same thing twice. And I'd even probably end up paying more than what the bundle would save me.
If you don't like my suggestion or are offended by it, then I guess I will have to find some way to cope with that. But I do like the products these companies are offering and only wanted to suggest a possible way to get a win for everyone.
Ok, so lets say that you can get the physical book from Amazon at $30, and the digital book here for $20, would that work for you? I mean, it does add up to the cost of what it would be for the Physical if you were to buy it at retail price after all.
I just want to tell everyone "happy gaming" and actually mean it. Whatever your game is, just have fun with it, it is after all, just a game.
I am enjoying the ability to buy individual subclasses and races for $2 a pop. Easier than buying the full books, especially since I already own them all in hardcover. However, I wish there was a better way to search for them. I had to track down where the pact for the Undying was and it sidewinded my character creation meeting.
Don't do that. You are assigning emotion to my statements made in a format which does not convey emotion, and that is only useful as a tool by which to attack me as a person rather than my arguments. It is not a way to have a civil discussion. And ascribing to me the motive of being "defensive on DDB's behalf" is similarly non-civil. Saying I'm doing something other than expressing my opinions just the same as you is an attempt to paint me as doing something I'm not supposed to be doing.
Then I would ask that quantify exactly how much more benefit you do feel is gained, since you are rejecting my assessment of the situation as Object A) a readable source of game content, and Object B) a readable source of game content, digitally searchable, aids in character generation to the point of even filling out a sheet, filterable and reorganize-able, with more functionality to come, and also incorporates errata alterations into the game content instead of having to go without or find those separately. Which is "more than double" because two of Object A (read: two of the same book) would be exactly double.If you don't think that's an exact translation to whoppers for some reason, just imagine that you are looking at the $2 for 6 deal when you aren't actually positive that you're hungry enough to eat both whoppers, since that should put you in roughly the same frame of mind as not seeing a second copy of a book you already have as being as useful as the first copy.
For a quantity of "everyone" that does not include anyone who is supposed to be getting a pay check from the work they put into which ever part of this whole D&D deal you feel should be eating the losses caused by lowering the price even more because you want a "win" you can't see you already have in the multiple ways to get your D&D stuff ~40% off actual price (yes, that is way less than double, sorry if you don't see it that way: 0.6+0.6 = 1.2, not 2).