I thought it might be interesting and fun for some of us to share what we have chosen to buy and why. I also thought it might provide some helpful variety/options for those still deciding what/if to purchase.
Me
DM or Player: Mostly DM, participate in one pbp
Unlocked content: PHB, one subclass from SCAG [Later added a race from Volo's] [Later again bought TOA and a few monsters from the MM]
Subscription: None [Later added Hero Tier]
Reasons: I didn't have the budget to purchase all 3 core books during the sale, so I opted for the PHB because it is the book I reference most at the table, even when I DM. This lets me use DDB for that and make the print PHB "we" own (technically it belongs to my son) available for the players at the table. I purchased the subclass so I could create and manage my pbp character on DDB.
Potential Next Purchases: Mostly I DM AL style games using AL modules, but tonight my kids and I were able to return to a home game that's long been on hiatus. Having the MM on DDB would have been really helpful. So the MM will likely be my next purchase.
Update: Have yet to purchase MM; My PbP DM picked up the Master Tier and turned on content sharing. So I have access to the DMG, MM, Volos, Xanathar's, TOA and Starter Set, at least, at no cost to me. (Can't use those resources in the character builder, but I otherwise have full access to them)
I was bumping up against the 6 character limit, though, so I used Christmas money to buy a year's subscription to the Hero Tier.
Update: The PbP I was involved in bit the dust, and our DM eventually turned off content sharing. I've been DMing TOA for a library group, and while the library bought the hardcover of TOA, I'd been finding DDB access (through content sharing) really helpful for prep and during play. When I lost access to TOA via content sharing, I purchased TOA and a few individual monsters from the MM that I knew I'd need for TOA.
Update (9/2018): Bought the rest of the monsters from the MM. Bought a couple of spells from XGTE that my players use frequently, so I have access to their descriptions. Thinking about purchasing compendium only of the DMG, to save myself from lugging the DMG to the library. My, but do I miss content sharing!
My Son
DM or Player: both
Unlocked content: MM, spells from PHB, one race from Volo's, and one other individual item (either a background or a subclass) [Later added one class from the PHB, Magic Items from Rise of Tiamat, 2 individual magic items from various sources]
Subscription: None
Reasons: He prefers to create characters manually, with all the books around him. (To date, he/we have all the source books in print.) But he wants to use DDB for adventure planning. He was/is hoping to join a pbp, so he got individual items to let him create a character for a game he had his eye on. His new purchases are related to an NPC he developed for our joint run campaign.
Potential Next Purchases: Unsure. I know he wants XGE when it comes out, but I think he's leaning toward a print copy.
My Daughter
DM or Player: mostly DM, but plays occasionally
Unlocked Content: DMG, PHB, MM
Subscription: none
Reasons: She is going off to college and needs "books" of her own. (Most of "ours" belong to her brother). By purchasing on DDB (during the first week sale), she saved a great deal of money, and she can access them from her laptop or tablet instead of hauling books all over campus or finding a spot for them on the shelves in her dorm.
Possible next purchases: None for her at the moment, but she is encouraging her "local" DnD group to sign up for free accounts here and potentially purchase individual items (and for casters--spells from PHB) for the characters from their game. They are hoping to continue playing as they scatter for college, either by Skype, Facetime or play by post. They've had trouble with folks losing their character sheets, having them on DDB would eliminate that problem. None of them have the budget (even pitching in together) for the Master Tier subscription, or that might be a good option for them.
Unlocked content: PHB, DMG, CoS, and MM at first. After a week of playing around with DNDB, I went with the legendary bundle
Subscription: Master Tier - I wanted to be able to share my stuff with all of my players easily. I paid for one month up front and will be paying for a full year before my next billing
Reasons: I wanted to make sure that the product was as good as I expected it to be. After running an in person game using DNDB for 99% of the session, I was sold on the utility for my gaming style. I have to break out the big fold out map from CoS for player reference. I think I might just buy and print full sized maps for future games. I'm going to be trying it out for an upcoming Roll20 game and I expect similar results.
Potential Next Purchases: I think I will be buying Tomb of Annihilation and Xanthers via DNDB and not purchasing the physical books. I guess I will just have to buy more mini's from the FLGS to make up for the lost revenue. :)
I picked up the three core books... kinda wish they allowed for refunds, which they don't lol. I absolutely refuse to buy any kind of subscription just so others can use the books...it smacks of extortion. It should actually just be free to use for anyone in my groups...just like at a Table and I had hard copies to pass around. I Barely touch or use the books to be honest. I actually looked up and got into roll20. Kinda wished I looked them up sooner :(
i suppose this site works for some...if they are new to D&D or just straight up lazy. but really... I can't endorse it. They need to remove the paywall and open up more options. Anyway haha... not as helpful as you guys are looking for, but you guys asked for help on what to purchase for people... I would caution to not be like me. You really don't need the site. The prices are to high for what you are getting. I would say look around, check out other places or even just buy the hard copies and play over a chat server. We do play every week and it's awesome. But for the price - this is a non essential service. Sorry.
DM or Player. Player. In 35 years of D&D and other RPGs, the only game I've ever run was a FASA Star Trek campaign.
Unlocked Content. Initially PHB, DMG, MM, to take advantage of the sale. Added VGtM and SCAG for character options soon after, then broke down and completed the legendary bundle.
Subscriptions. Initially, none, then Hero tier once I discovered there was an annual option.
Reasons. I already use a digital character sheet in play that I prefer to the layout and functionality of DDB's right now, but the compendium is brilliantly done, far better than the PDFs I've been griping about not being able to buy since 5e launched, and the character creator's integration with the compendium is good enough that it's still better to make up a character here before plugging it in to my digital character sheet app. As a player, I don't really need the adventures, but I want to support the site and my usual DM has a Master Tier subscription, so I can always share them with him. I was perfectly fine with the limitations of a free account -- the ads aren't particularly intrusive and I rarely play more than one character at once -- but the price on the annual subscription and my desire to support a quality product that doesn't assume a virtual tabletop was enough to sway me. Then, of course, unlimited character slots became handy as I like the builder so much that absent-mindedly building characters has become a bit of a hobby. Basically, I was in a position where I could manage to get everything and figured I should, out of simplicity, a desire to support the product and show WOTC that I value digital tools, and for the opportunity to share the content with my DM and fellow players.
Potential Next Purchase. I'm telling myself that I'll skip Tomb of Annihilation and just get Xanathar's Guide, but I'm not even really fooling myself with that one. I definitely won't buy a physical copy of Tomb -- the only adventure I bought prior to DDB was Curse of Strahd, as a vote for new settings -- but I'll probably get Xanathar's Guide both physically and digitally. Going forward, I might stop buying physical books entirely.
Unlocked content: PHB, MM, DMG, Tales from the Yawning Portal, Storm King's Thunder, Curse of Strahd. 1 subrace from SCAG.
Subscription: Master
Reasons: I've always used a digital copy of the books I owned physically, because it's just easier for me. I repurchased everything I already owned to have a legitimate digital copy.
Potential Next Purchases: I plan to get the (rest of the) legendary bundle soon, but for now I'm looking at Tomb of Annihilation and Xanthar's Guide
DM or Player: DM/Player. DMing 4 groups, Player in 3.
Unlocked content: All.
Subscription: Master
Reasons: I DM so many games that it makes sense to me to buy all of this. I don't mind paying for quality content AGAIN when it comes with ease.
Potential Next Purchases: Most likely I will continue to purchase player options from various books... or the whole book if it seems worthwhile, buying the IRL SCAG was a waste imo. It is HIGHLY likely that I will now buy adventure modules via DDB instead of my comic book store, because I HATE FLIPPING THROUGH PAGES. HAVING A FEW TABS OPEN IS PREFERABLE!!! Sorry, I just... have a gripe when it comes to how ALL the campaign books are laid out. I am sure any other way would be worse... but I just hate having 3-4 bookmarks in a book at any time. Just a pet peeve.
DM: Adventures in Phandalin [Khessa], The Dread of Strahd[Darya], Dragons of Stormwreck Isle [Rook], Baldur's Gate Mysteries [4-Player] Player: Oona in MO's Icewind Dale Ru's Current Status
Reasons: I prefer to have digital copies of the books I own physically, because it's just easier for me and I want to make use of the DDB site to play and dm, pbp campaigns here and perhaps at some point join a virtual tabletop game of some type. I like the idea of the site to help tie it all together in one place and manage things as a dm.
Potential Next Purchases: Future books or more generic campaign setting guides, as is just don't find the modules very useful so even though I went ahead and bought the legendary bundle with the modules as it stands I don't see much a reason or a need to purchase future modules that come out.
Unlocked content: PHB, DMG, MM, Sword Cost, Volo's
Subscription: None
Reasons: I hate carrying books around when I plan to play. When I am gaming I usually have a tablet with me. The site itself is awesome right now, but once the app comes out it will likely be the goto solution to my 5E needs.
Potential Next Purchases: I don't usually DM so the adventure books aren't terribly important to me, I might pick them up eventually but right now I waiting for release of Xanathar’s Guide to Everything.
Reasons: Got a bonus at work. I was initially planning to buy the core books + Volo's, but due to the bonus I decided not to optimize. Now that I have all the books though - I have gradually switched to only using DDB over the last three sessions. The campaign management tools (the three text boxes) suck, but It's still SUPER helpful to not have a whole bunch of handwritten notes, google docs and other random crap to organize. Took me half a day to pull things together and write it into a list of spoiler-tagged text in the DM Private Notes box. Another reason is that the whole site is searchable - if I want to include a sphinx or a yochlol somewhere, I can search through all the adventures and see how these creatures are presented, some background lore about them, variants through the different books, why they appear in one adventure or another, etc.
Potential next purchases: Tomb of Annihilation and the .. Guide to Everything and probably also whatever comes out after that.
My daughter
DM or Player: player, but planning to DM
Unlocked content: shared campaign with my legendary bundle
Subscription: Hero
Reasons: She loves creating characters. So she joins a campaign I created just for her to get all the content, creates her character and then leaves the campaign again. She's up to 10+ characters with full backstories and on various levels.
Potential next purchases: none - I'm sharing my content through a campaign
I picked up the three core books... kinda wish they allowed for refunds, which they don't lol. I absolutely refuse to buy any kind of subscription just so others can use the books...it smacks of extortion. It should actually just be free to use for anyone in my groups...just like at a Table and I had hard copies to pass around. I Barely touch or use the books to be honest. I actually looked up and got into roll20. Kinda wished I looked them up sooner :(
i suppose this site works for some...if they are new to D&D or just straight up lazy. but really... I can't endorse it. They need to remove the paywall and open up more options. Anyway haha... not as helpful as you guys are looking for, but you guys asked for help on what to purchase for people... I would caution to not be like me. You really don't need the site. The prices are to high for what you are getting. I would say look around, check out other places or even just buy the hard copies and play over a chat server. We do play every week and it's awesome. But for the price - this is a non essential service. Sorry.
I don't mean to sound like a moaning nancy, but i have to agree. I bought the three core books on sale as i figured i'd need them as a dm, but i can't figure what the point is.
All i can figure is it's just digital copies of the hardcover books i and my players have already bought. Why do i need to buy them again? Why the link with Twitch? What do i need to subscribe for? What's the point in any of it?
I thought with the partnership with Twitch that i'd actually be able to play online, but it seems everything i need is already in Roll20. Or if i choose to use Fantasy Grounds i'd have to buy all the material there, so what does this site offer me? I'm genuinely perplexed and can't find an honest answer anywhere. And when i saw their latest video declaring they had no intention to offer any kind of virtual tabletop whatsoever i felt kinda robbed to be honest - what did i just blow £45 for?
Not very constructive i know, but the op did ask for what i bought and why. And i couldn't find anywhere else to get my answers. If i saw the point, or even knew what this site was actually trying to achieve, i might have a more positive opinion (you may not think it but i usually am a pretty positive guy lol). As it stands i'm just confused, £45 down, and no closer to playing a game.
Reasons: I firmly believe in DDB, but I have not had the funds to replace my drowned books with DDB replacements. I am also waiting to see how the Mobile app turns out, as that might mean the difference between the three core books or everything.
Potential Next Purchases: I will be starting up an Eberron game soon, I'll probably try and get the PHB by then, and work on getting the MM and the DMG. The moment some Eberron stuff gets released I will be on it like a fat kid on a large pepperoni pizza!
Unlocked content: Legendary + ToA + XGtE + everything else they come out with forever
Subscription: Master
Reasons: While I would have done it alone, my group got together and all pitched in and now we share everything. It costs us each about $60 for the legendary and master sub for a year. No brainer for our group. In addition to that I wanted to support the product that will be the premier digital tool for D&D. A product that I saw following the same philosophies of WotC in building this system. They listen and they respond, much more so than any other digital toolset I've ever seen.
Potential Next Purchases: Yes
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The most memorable stories always begin with failure.
Reasons: I am sick and tired of carrying 30 pounds of books with me to the game. All that has been replaced with my chromebook. (I still take my three core books with me out of habit.) My first group has not completely come on board yet. We're all in our 40s, and not all of them are ready for the 21st century. Four out of five of my players in my second group are using the character builder to print their sheets. They are all younger. I made the purchases myself because I had the money and I hoped to remove as many barriers to adoption as possible. As soon as a couple wrinkles are ironed out with homebrew and the character builder (particularly warlock things), I will reintroduce my campaign to group one. By then I will have been using it with group two for some time. Primarily, D&D Beyond is a DM tool for me.
Potential Next Purchases: My goal is to purchase any official content that is available. The more options I have, the better.
I picked up the three core books... kinda wish they allowed for refunds, which they don't lol. I absolutely refuse to buy any kind of subscription just so others can use the books...it smacks of extortion. It should actually just be free to use for anyone in my groups...just like at a Table and I had hard copies to pass around. I Barely touch or use the books to be honest. I actually looked up and got into roll20. Kinda wished I looked them up sooner :(
i suppose this site works for some...if they are new to D&D or just straight up lazy. but really... I can't endorse it. They need to remove the paywall and open up more options. Anyway haha... not as helpful as you guys are looking for, but you guys asked for help on what to purchase for people... I would caution to not be like me. You really don't need the site. The prices are to high for what you are getting. I would say look around, check out other places or even just buy the hard copies and play over a chat server. We do play every week and it's awesome. But for the price - this is a non essential service. Sorry.
I don't mean to sound like a moaning nancy, but i have to agree. I bought the three core books on sale as i figured i'd need them as a dm, but i can't figure what the point is.
All i can figure is it's just digital copies of the hardcover books i and my players have already bought. Why do i need to buy them again? Why the link with Twitch? What do i need to subscribe for? What's the point in any of it?
I thought with the partnership with Twitch that i'd actually be able to play online, but it seems everything i need is already in Roll20. Or if i choose to use Fantasy Grounds i'd have to buy all the material there, so what does this site offer me? I'm genuinely perplexed and can't find an honest answer anywhere. And when i saw their latest video declaring they had no intention to offer any kind of virtual tabletop whatsoever i felt kinda robbed to be honest - what did i just blow £45 for?
Not very constructive i know, but the op did ask for what i bought and why. And i couldn't find anywhere else to get my answers. If i saw the point, or even knew what this site was actually trying to achieve, i might have a more positive opinion (you may not think it but i usually am a pretty positive guy lol). As it stands i'm just confused, £45 down, and no closer to playing a game.
There's a difference between the physical books and D&D Beyond, just as there's a difference between Aganazzar's scorcher and flaming sphere. The content is the same, but Beyond is very, very sortable. With Beyond, you have all your unlocked content in one place, and you can sort it by quite a few things that are very useful to be able to sort by. Beyond's value is in its utility. Just go look at the spells listing, the monsters listing, and the magic items listing.
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"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both" -- allegedly Benjamin Franklin
I bought the three core books on sale as i figured i'd need them as a dm, but i can't figure what the point is.
All i can figure is it's just digital copies of the hardcover books i and my players have already bought. Why do i need to buy them again? Why the link with Twitch? What do i need to subscribe for? What's the point in any of it?
I thought with the partnership with Twitch that i'd actually be able to play online, but it seems everything i need is already in Roll20. Or if i choose to use Fantasy Grounds i'd have to buy all the material there, so what does this site offer me? I'm genuinely perplexed and can't find an honest answer anywhere. And when i saw their latest video declaring they had no intention to offer any kind of virtual tabletop whatsoever i felt kinda robbed to be honest - what did i just blow £45 for?
I'm sorry that you have bought into DDB only to discover it is not what you thought, and doesn't help you with your game. I can see how it would be disappointing.
In terms of the questions you asked, I can speak from my own experience and perspective. For me, the advantage and usefulness is several fold:
-I can access the material I have purchased from anywhere; I don't have to have the books with me to consult them when I respond to the play by post I'm a part of. I don't have to haul all of the physical books with me to the library each week for my game.
-I can quickly look up spells, monsters, etc. I can even filter them. For example, I can look up all the first level sorcerer spells that cause cold damage. Or all the undead whose CR is under 3. Or....
-I can quickly build pregenerated characters for new players to use in my weekly game, or I can help newbies create their first character quickly and easily.
The "why do I need to buy the content again" question has been answered many times in these forums, so I won't go into that here.
As for the connection with Twitch, Twitch owns Curse, the company who makes/runs DDB.
Curse has been clear from the beginning that they did not intend to create a VTT. I'm sorry you missed that. There has been some talk about them making it possible to export characters made in DDB to Fantasy Grounds or Roll20, but that has not happened yet, nor is there a stated timetable for that to happen.
For anyone reading this thread because they are trying to decide what to buy, I would encourage them to take your experience to heart and think carefully before they buy in. Anyone considering purchasing should probably spend some time using what's freely available here, to make sure that it provides enough value for them to feel good about purchasing. I was part of the public beta from the very beginning; by the time of launch, I knew without a doubt that it would be of great help to me, because it already had been. That made my buying decision fairly simple.
Myself during that first week I got the PHB,MM,DMG also bought SCAG and Volo's
Me I am a Player thinking about being a DM again, haven't done that since 2nd edition. Back in April before DDB went online I had a very bad Hemoragic stroke and can no longer work so money is tight. When I got home from the hospital near the end of June, when they started going here I started using DDB where I could my stroke screwed upthe left side of my body. I am getting better very slowly. But using the PC is helping my left arm, but not as much as I would like as I cannot feel my left side. But I do love creating characters on here so when the legendary bundle added the prepurchase of Xanathar's in it I got that so now I own it all. I also picked up a year of the Master subscription so I could share and never run out of character creation space. I am so happy about the APP as I am not strong enough to take my books with me but I can take my tablet and my phone with me easy enough.
Unlocked Content: Initially, PHB, DMG, MM and Lost Mine. Quickly added SCAG and SKT , then eventually added Volo's, PotA and Xanathar's. Latest purchase added Yawning Portal and pre-order of Mordenkainen's. "Final" update: pulled the trigger on the last $85 for the Legendary Bundle. I may or may not buy every new book, but will take advantage of the permanent 15% discount on all future purchases.
Subscription: Master - Initially 6 month, went a full yr once that expired.
Reasons: Digital tools and their ease of use. Sure, I own hard copies of many of those, but I can access them on DDB from anywhere. I can search and filter, or easily cross reference. Links to monster stats at a click from the adventure is HUGE. No need to dig through another book. Going forward, it's unlikely I'll purchase another physical book.
I bought the sub so that I can share with my f2f group and enable them to make their characters through an online site where we all have access (no lost or forgotten char sheets), and I can edit and modify the characters too. It's also enabled a pbp game I run for my daughter, brother and nephew, giving them access to all my content as well.
Potential Next Purchases: Certainly any books with new character options. Adventures will be more hit or miss.
Reasons: Started with basic player books till i could afford more. Adding one each payday.
Potential Next Purchases: Tales, then SKT or just get the Bundle.
Edit: ended up getting the LB as i could afford it. now sharing in two campaigns, have yet to DM. Doubt we will use any of the adventures as no one seems interested in them.
I thought it might be interesting and fun for some of us to share what we have chosen to buy and why. I also thought it might provide some helpful variety/options for those still deciding what/if to purchase.
Me
DM or Player: Mostly DM, participate in one pbp
Unlocked content: PHB, one subclass from SCAG [Later added a race from Volo's] [Later again bought TOA and a few monsters from the MM]
Subscription: None [Later added Hero Tier]
Reasons: I didn't have the budget to purchase all 3 core books during the sale, so I opted for the PHB because it is the book I reference most at the table, even when I DM. This lets me use DDB for that and make the print PHB "we" own (technically it belongs to my son) available for the players at the table. I purchased the subclass so I could create and manage my pbp character on DDB.
Potential Next Purchases: Mostly I DM AL style games using AL modules, but tonight my kids and I were able to return to a home game that's long been on hiatus. Having the MM on DDB would have been really helpful. So the MM will likely be my next purchase.
Update: Have yet to purchase MM; My PbP DM picked up the Master Tier and turned on content sharing. So I have access to the DMG, MM, Volos, Xanathar's, TOA and Starter Set, at least, at no cost to me. (Can't use those resources in the character builder, but I otherwise have full access to them)
I was bumping up against the 6 character limit, though, so I used Christmas money to buy a year's subscription to the Hero Tier.
Update: The PbP I was involved in bit the dust, and our DM eventually turned off content sharing. I've been DMing TOA for a library group, and while the library bought the hardcover of TOA, I'd been finding DDB access (through content sharing) really helpful for prep and during play. When I lost access to TOA via content sharing, I purchased TOA and a few individual monsters from the MM that I knew I'd need for TOA.
Update (9/2018): Bought the rest of the monsters from the MM. Bought a couple of spells from XGTE that my players use frequently, so I have access to their descriptions. Thinking about purchasing compendium only of the DMG, to save myself from lugging the DMG to the library. My, but do I miss content sharing!
My Son
DM or Player: both
Unlocked content: MM, spells from PHB, one race from Volo's, and one other individual item (either a background or a subclass) [Later added one class from the PHB, Magic Items from Rise of Tiamat, 2 individual magic items from various sources]
Subscription: None
Reasons: He prefers to create characters manually, with all the books around him. (To date, he/we have all the source books in print.) But he wants to use DDB for adventure planning. He was/is hoping to join a pbp, so he got individual items to let him create a character for a game he had his eye on. His new purchases are related to an NPC he developed for our joint run campaign.
Potential Next Purchases: Unsure. I know he wants XGE when it comes out, but I think he's leaning toward a print copy.
My Daughter
DM or Player: mostly DM, but plays occasionally
Unlocked Content: DMG, PHB, MM
Subscription: none
Reasons: She is going off to college and needs "books" of her own. (Most of "ours" belong to her brother). By purchasing on DDB (during the first week sale), she saved a great deal of money, and she can access them from her laptop or tablet instead of hauling books all over campus or finding a spot for them on the shelves in her dorm.
Possible next purchases: None for her at the moment, but she is encouraging her "local" DnD group to sign up for free accounts here and potentially purchase individual items (and for casters--spells from PHB) for the characters from their game. They are hoping to continue playing as they scatter for college, either by Skype, Facetime or play by post. They've had trouble with folks losing their character sheets, having them on DDB would eliminate that problem. None of them have the budget (even pitching in together) for the Master Tier subscription, or that might be a good option for them.
Edit: fixed some typos
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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Me
DM or Player: Mostly DM
Unlocked content: PHB, DMG, CoS, and MM at first. After a week of playing around with DNDB, I went with the legendary bundle
Subscription: Master Tier - I wanted to be able to share my stuff with all of my players easily. I paid for one month up front and will be paying for a full year before my next billing
Reasons: I wanted to make sure that the product was as good as I expected it to be. After running an in person game using DNDB for 99% of the session, I was sold on the utility for my gaming style. I have to break out the big fold out map from CoS for player reference. I think I might just buy and print full sized maps for future games. I'm going to be trying it out for an upcoming Roll20 game and I expect similar results.
Potential Next Purchases: I think I will be buying Tomb of Annihilation and Xanthers via DNDB and not purchasing the physical books. I guess I will just have to buy more mini's from the FLGS to make up for the lost revenue. :)
I picked up the three core books... kinda wish they allowed for refunds, which they don't lol. I absolutely refuse to buy any kind of subscription just so others can use the books...it smacks of extortion. It should actually just be free to use for anyone in my groups...just like at a Table and I had hard copies to pass around. I Barely touch or use the books to be honest. I actually looked up and got into roll20. Kinda wished I looked them up sooner :(
i suppose this site works for some...if they are new to D&D or just straight up lazy. but really... I can't endorse it. They need to remove the paywall and open up more options. Anyway haha... not as helpful as you guys are looking for, but you guys asked for help on what to purchase for people... I would caution to not be like me. You really don't need the site. The prices are to high for what you are getting. I would say look around, check out other places or even just buy the hard copies and play over a chat server. We do play every week and it's awesome. But for the price - this is a non essential service. Sorry.
DM or Player. Player. In 35 years of D&D and other RPGs, the only game I've ever run was a FASA Star Trek campaign.
Unlocked Content. Initially PHB, DMG, MM, to take advantage of the sale. Added VGtM and SCAG for character options soon after, then broke down and completed the legendary bundle.
Subscriptions. Initially, none, then Hero tier once I discovered there was an annual option.
Reasons. I already use a digital character sheet in play that I prefer to the layout and functionality of DDB's right now, but the compendium is brilliantly done, far better than the PDFs I've been griping about not being able to buy since 5e launched, and the character creator's integration with the compendium is good enough that it's still better to make up a character here before plugging it in to my digital character sheet app. As a player, I don't really need the adventures, but I want to support the site and my usual DM has a Master Tier subscription, so I can always share them with him. I was perfectly fine with the limitations of a free account -- the ads aren't particularly intrusive and I rarely play more than one character at once -- but the price on the annual subscription and my desire to support a quality product that doesn't assume a virtual tabletop was enough to sway me. Then, of course, unlimited character slots became handy as I like the builder so much that absent-mindedly building characters has become a bit of a hobby. Basically, I was in a position where I could manage to get everything and figured I should, out of simplicity, a desire to support the product and show WOTC that I value digital tools, and for the opportunity to share the content with my DM and fellow players.
Potential Next Purchase. I'm telling myself that I'll skip Tomb of Annihilation and just get Xanathar's Guide, but I'm not even really fooling myself with that one. I definitely won't buy a physical copy of Tomb -- the only adventure I bought prior to DDB was Curse of Strahd, as a vote for new settings -- but I'll probably get Xanathar's Guide both physically and digitally. Going forward, I might stop buying physical books entirely.
Dave
DM or Player: Bit of both
Unlocked content: PHB, MM, DMG, Tales from the Yawning Portal, Storm King's Thunder, Curse of Strahd. 1 subrace from SCAG.
Subscription: Master
Reasons: I've always used a digital copy of the books I owned physically, because it's just easier for me. I repurchased everything I already owned to have a legitimate digital copy.
Potential Next Purchases: I plan to get the (rest of the) legendary bundle soon, but for now I'm looking at Tomb of Annihilation and Xanthar's Guide
DM or Player: DM/Player. DMing 4 groups, Player in 3.
Unlocked content: All.
Subscription: Master
Reasons: I DM so many games that it makes sense to me to buy all of this. I don't mind paying for quality content AGAIN when it comes with ease.
Potential Next Purchases: Most likely I will continue to purchase player options from various books... or the whole book if it seems worthwhile, buying the IRL SCAG was a waste imo. It is HIGHLY likely that I will now buy adventure modules via DDB instead of my comic book store, because I HATE FLIPPING THROUGH PAGES. HAVING A FEW TABS OPEN IS PREFERABLE!!! Sorry, I just... have a gripe when it comes to how ALL the campaign books are laid out. I am sure any other way would be worse... but I just hate having 3-4 bookmarks in a book at any time. Just a pet peeve.
DM: Adventures in Phandalin [Khessa], The Dread of Strahd [Darya], Dragons of Stormwreck Isle [Rook], Baldur's Gate Mysteries [4-Player]
Player: Oona in MO's Icewind Dale
Ru's Current Status
DM or Player: Both
Unlocked content: Legendary Bundle (All)
Subscription: Master
Reasons: I prefer to have digital copies of the books I own physically, because it's just easier for me and I want to make use of the DDB site to play and dm, pbp campaigns here and perhaps at some point join a virtual tabletop game of some type. I like the idea of the site to help tie it all together in one place and manage things as a dm.
Potential Next Purchases: Future books or more generic campaign setting guides, as is just don't find the modules very useful so even though I went ahead and bought the legendary bundle with the modules as it stands I don't see much a reason or a need to purchase future modules that come out.
DM or Player: Mostly player
Unlocked content: PHB, DMG, MM, Sword Cost, Volo's
Subscription: None
Reasons: I hate carrying books around when I plan to play. When I am gaming I usually have a tablet with me. The site itself is awesome right now, but once the app comes out it will likely be the goto solution to my 5E needs.
Potential Next Purchases: I don't usually DM so the adventure books aren't terribly important to me, I might pick them up eventually but right now I waiting for release of Xanathar’s Guide to Everything.
DM or Player: DM only (sadly)
Unlocked content: Legendary bundle
Subscription: Master
Reasons: Got a bonus at work. I was initially planning to buy the core books + Volo's, but due to the bonus I decided not to optimize. Now that I have all the books though - I have gradually switched to only using DDB over the last three sessions. The campaign management tools (the three text boxes) suck, but It's still SUPER helpful to not have a whole bunch of handwritten notes, google docs and other random crap to organize. Took me half a day to pull things together and write it into a list of spoiler-tagged text in the DM Private Notes box.
Another reason is that the whole site is searchable - if I want to include a sphinx or a yochlol somewhere, I can search through all the adventures and see how these creatures are presented, some background lore about them, variants through the different books, why they appear in one adventure or another, etc.
Potential next purchases: Tomb of Annihilation and the .. Guide to Everything and probably also whatever comes out after that.
My daughter
DM or Player: player, but planning to DM
Unlocked content: shared campaign with my legendary bundle
Subscription: Hero
Reasons: She loves creating characters. So she joins a campaign I created just for her to get all the content, creates her character and then leaves the campaign again. She's up to 10+ characters with full backstories and on various levels.
Potential next purchases: none - I'm sharing my content through a campaign
DM or Player: DM Multiple games a week
Unlocked content: PHB, DMG,MM, Volos, SCAG and Tales from the Yawning Portal will eventually get the full legendary bundle
Subscription: Master Tier - This way I can share everything I have purchased with the players in my campaign.
Reasons: Was a great option for our setup and while I still own and will purchase all the hardbounds, I am currently going all digital.
Potential Next Purchases: Tomb of Annihilation and Xanathars Guide.
https://twitch.tv/twisteddieroller
I don't mean to sound like a moaning nancy, but i have to agree. I bought the three core books on sale as i figured i'd need them as a dm, but i can't figure what the point is.
All i can figure is it's just digital copies of the hardcover books i and my players have already bought. Why do i need to buy them again? Why the link with Twitch? What do i need to subscribe for? What's the point in any of it?
I thought with the partnership with Twitch that i'd actually be able to play online, but it seems everything i need is already in Roll20. Or if i choose to use Fantasy Grounds i'd have to buy all the material there, so what does this site offer me? I'm genuinely perplexed and can't find an honest answer anywhere. And when i saw their latest video declaring they had no intention to offer any kind of virtual tabletop whatsoever i felt kinda robbed to be honest - what did i just blow £45 for?
Not very constructive i know, but the op did ask for what i bought and why. And i couldn't find anywhere else to get my answers. If i saw the point, or even knew what this site was actually trying to achieve, i might have a more positive opinion (you may not think it but i usually am a pretty positive guy lol). As it stands i'm just confused, £45 down, and no closer to playing a game.
DM or Player: Mostly DM.
Unlocked content: Nothing yet.
Subscription: None.
Reasons: I firmly believe in DDB, but I have not had the funds to replace my drowned books with DDB replacements. I am also waiting to see how the Mobile app turns out, as that might mean the difference between the three core books or everything.
Potential Next Purchases: I will be starting up an Eberron game soon, I'll probably try and get the PHB by then, and work on getting the MM and the DMG. The moment some Eberron stuff gets released I will be on it like a fat kid on a large pepperoni pizza!
DM or Player: Mostly DM, play in occasionall
Unlocked content: Legendary + ToA + XGtE + everything else they come out with forever
Subscription: Master
Reasons: While I would have done it alone, my group got together and all pitched in and now we share everything. It costs us each about $60 for the legendary and master sub for a year. No brainer for our group. In addition to that I wanted to support the product that will be the premier digital tool for D&D. A product that I saw following the same philosophies of WotC in building this system. They listen and they respond, much more so than any other digital toolset I've ever seen.
Potential Next Purchases: Yes
The most memorable stories always begin with failure.
DM or Player: DM
Unlocked content: Legendary, ToA, Tortle Package, pre-ordered XGtE
Subscription: Master
Reasons: I am sick and tired of carrying 30 pounds of books with me to the game. All that has been replaced with my chromebook. (I still take my three core books with me out of habit.) My first group has not completely come on board yet. We're all in our 40s, and not all of them are ready for the 21st century. Four out of five of my players in my second group are using the character builder to print their sheets. They are all younger. I made the purchases myself because I had the money and I hoped to remove as many barriers to adoption as possible. As soon as a couple wrinkles are ironed out with homebrew and the character builder (particularly warlock things), I will reintroduce my campaign to group one. By then I will have been using it with group two for some time. Primarily, D&D Beyond is a DM tool for me.
Potential Next Purchases: My goal is to purchase any official content that is available. The more options I have, the better.
"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both" -- allegedly Benjamin Franklin
Tooltips (Help/aid)
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;
Check your entitlements here. | Support Ticket LInk
I updated my first post above to reflect purchases we've made since I first posted.
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;
Check your entitlements here. | Support Ticket LInk
Myself during that first week I got the PHB,MM,DMG also bought SCAG and Volo's
Me I am a Player thinking about being a DM again, haven't done that since 2nd edition. Back in April before DDB went online I had a very bad Hemoragic stroke and can no longer work so money is tight. When I got home from the hospital near the end of June, when they started going here I started using DDB where I could my stroke screwed upthe left side of my body. I am getting better very slowly. But using the PC is helping my left arm, but not as much as I would like as I cannot feel my left side. But I do love creating characters on here so when the legendary bundle added the prepurchase of Xanathar's in it I got that so now I own it all. I also picked up a year of the Master subscription so I could share and never run out of character creation space. I am so happy about the APP as I am not strong enough to take my books with me but I can take my tablet and my phone with me easy enough.
DM or Player: Some of each.
Unlocked Content: Initially, PHB, DMG, MM and Lost Mine. Quickly added SCAG and SKT , then eventually added Volo's, PotA and Xanathar's. Latest purchase added Yawning Portal and pre-order of Mordenkainen's. "Final" update: pulled the trigger on the last $85 for the Legendary Bundle. I may or may not buy every new book, but will take advantage of the permanent 15% discount on all future purchases.
Subscription: Master - Initially 6 month, went a full yr once that expired.
Reasons: Digital tools and their ease of use. Sure, I own hard copies of many of those, but I can access them on DDB from anywhere. I can search and filter, or easily cross reference. Links to monster stats at a click from the adventure is HUGE. No need to dig through another book. Going forward, it's unlikely I'll purchase another physical book.
I bought the sub so that I can share with my f2f group and enable them to make their characters through an online site where we all have access (no lost or forgotten char sheets), and I can edit and modify the characters too. It's also enabled a pbp game I run for my daughter, brother and nephew, giving them access to all my content as well.
Potential Next Purchases: Certainly any books with new character options. Adventures will be more hit or miss.
UPDATED 3-23-18
DM or Player: Player
Unlocked content: PHB, SCAG,Volo,XGtE (later added DMG, Tortle, MM, ToA, LMoP )
Subscription: None [Added Master Tier later]
Reasons: Started with basic player books till i could afford more. Adding one each payday.
Potential Next Purchases: Tales, then SKT or just get the Bundle.
Edit: ended up getting the LB as i could afford it. now sharing in two campaigns, have yet to DM. Doubt we will use any of the adventures as no one seems interested in them.
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.