I'm confused: does subscribing unlock everything (Core + Adventurers)? Or do you have to purchase them, then subscribe to actually use them? What if you purchase but don't subscribe?
Someone will probably ninja me, but here goes. Please correct me if I get something wrong. (I will assume by "content" we just mean official WotC content like the books you mention. Homebrew stuff from the rest of the community will be mentioned separately.)
You do not have to pay anything to access the free content here now (SRD and Elemental Evil Player's Guide, I believe).
To get the content (beyond the free stuff here now), you have to pay a one-time fee for each book. You do NOT need a subscription.
You can get a Hero Tier subscription to A) remove ads, B) get more character slots, and C) access to the public homebrew content.
You can get a Master Tier subscription to A) remove ads, B) get more character slots, C) access to the public homebrew content, and D) share any purchased content you have with up to 12 unsubscribed people, and an unknown number of Hero Tier subscribers.
So basically, extra content is bought with one-time fees. Extra site functionality is bought with subscriptions.
Does that help?
One thing, Homebrew is free no matter what.
your personal Homebrew is free, other people's published homebrew is sub only
I'm confused: does subscribing unlock everything (Core + Adventurers)? Or do you have to purchase them, then subscribe to actually use them? What if you purchase but don't subscribe?
Someone will probably ninja me, but here goes. Please correct me if I get something wrong. (I will assume by "content" we just mean official WotC content like the books you mention. Homebrew stuff from the rest of the community will be mentioned separately.)
You do not have to pay anything to access the free content here now (SRD and Elemental Evil Player's Guide, I believe).
To get the content (beyond the free stuff here now), you have to pay a one-time fee for each book. You do NOT need a subscription.
You can get a Hero Tier subscription to A) remove ads, B) get more character slots, and C) access to the public homebrew content.
You can get a Master Tier subscription to A) remove ads, B) get more character slots, C) access to the public homebrew content, and D) share any purchased content you have with up to 12 unsubscribed people, and an unknown number of Hero Tier subscribers.
So basically, extra content is bought with one-time fees. Extra site functionality is bought with subscriptions.
Does that help?
One thing, Homebrew is free no matter what.
your personal Homebrew is free, other people's published homebrew is sub only
Unless you spend the time to copy their published homebrew into your private homebrew. The only thing a subscription does for you is make it as easy as clicking a button to add it.
I'm confused: does subscribing unlock everything (Core + Adventurers)? Or do you have to purchase them, then subscribe to actually use them? What if you purchase but don't subscribe?
Someone will probably ninja me, but here goes. Please correct me if I get something wrong. (I will assume by "content" we just mean official WotC content like the books you mention. Homebrew stuff from the rest of the community will be mentioned separately.)
You do not have to pay anything to access the free content here now (SRD and Elemental Evil Player's Guide, I believe).
To get the content (beyond the free stuff here now), you have to pay a one-time fee for each book. You do NOT need a subscription.
You can get a Hero Tier subscription to A) remove ads, B) get more character slots, and C) access to the public homebrew content.
You can get a Master Tier subscription to A) remove ads, B) get more character slots, C) access to the public homebrew content, and D) share any purchased content you have with up to 12 unsubscribed people, and an unknown number of Hero Tier subscribers.
So basically, extra content is bought with one-time fees. Extra site functionality is bought with subscriptions.
Does that help?
One thing, Homebrew is free no matter what.
your personal Homebrew is free, other people's published homebrew is sub only
Unless you spend the time to copy their published homebrew into your private homebrew. The only thing a subscription does for you is make it as easy as clicking a button to add it.
I'm assuming you're unable to view the published homebrew without a sub
I'm confused: does subscribing unlock everything (Core + Adventurers)? Or do you have to purchase them, then subscribe to actually use them? What if you purchase but don't subscribe?
Someone will probably ninja me, but here goes. Please correct me if I get something wrong. (I will assume by "content" we just mean official WotC content like the books you mention. Homebrew stuff from the rest of the community will be mentioned separately.)
You do not have to pay anything to access the free content here now (SRD and Elemental Evil Player's Guide, I believe).
To get the content (beyond the free stuff here now), you have to pay a one-time fee for each book. You do NOT need a subscription.
You can get a Hero Tier subscription to A) remove ads, B) get more character slots, and C) access to the public homebrew content.
You can get a Master Tier subscription to A) remove ads, B) get more character slots, C) access to the public homebrew content, and D) share any purchased content you have with up to 12 unsubscribed people, and an unknown number of Hero Tier subscribers.
So basically, extra content is bought with one-time fees. Extra site functionality is bought with subscriptions.
Does that help?
One thing, Homebrew is free no matter what.
your personal Homebrew is free, other people's published homebrew is sub only
Unless you spend the time to copy their published homebrew into your private homebrew. The only thing a subscription does for you is make it as easy as clicking a button to add it.
I'm assuming you're unable to view the published homebrew without a sub
I believe you can view it, you just can't add it to your characters/campaigns in the app. It has been mentioned (by mods even) that you can copy it into your own "private" item.
Essentially as they have said several times, they aren't going to take anything away from you -- what you can do right now you will be able to do as long as DNDBeyond exists. You can view others, you just can't add them to your own collection.
That actually raises an interesting question - are people publishing homebrew going to be compensated in any way? I'd personally be more comfortable publishing homebrew for free if people were able to add it without a sub (with the button click, not via painstakingly copying). I'm not saying "pay me every time someone adds my homebrew to their collection" but it would be nice if someone having a particularly popular homebrew receives a discount on digital books or a free month subscription or something. Just something for the Curse team to think about.
I have to say, normally I'm the most sceptical about content publishers in my group of friends, and up to today, I was never quite happy with the payment options publishers provided, but THIS offer... wow... I mean, honestly, this is almost too good to be true.
I can pay nothing, and still have access to the (admittedly free) basic rules, AND all the rules from the rulebooks if I take the time to integrate it all into my campaign! That's awesome!
And if I'm not up to transfer all the rules into my campaign, I can buy the digital copies with this great cross-referencing options for almost half the price of the physical copy (and even less than half the price in the first week!), AND I can pay minimum amounts if I want just a very specific part of any book!
Honestly, I don't get why anyone would complain about this! This is the best offer of ANYTHING I've ever seen on the digital market! (save for totally free products of course - but those have... almost always other problems)
So, unlike some I guess I have no problem paying for these bundles as they are. I understand how others could have difficulty, but this setup appeals to individuals who both have the financial resources to pay more and those that don't. Since this is not necessary to play D&D, but makes it MUCH easier, I can understand how you pay for convenience.
That being said, has there been any discussion about some sort of "ultimate" package at launch. All available in print/digital releases for a discounted price. Obviously buying the 3 core books for $60 is mandatory, but since I am the DM, I would rather just shell out the cost up front, and work with my groups to have people pitch in what they want since I will be holding the master tier.
Also, any word on annual subscriptions?
Awesome product guys, haven't been this excited for a while!
The thing I think a lot of people are missing is that no one is EXPECTING or FORCING anyone to pay for anything they have already bought multiple times.
If you already use r20 or FG and are happy with those products, you are likely not the target customer for this product. I'm not familiar with those platforms, but I assume they offer a similar level of searchability and convenience as DDB. Complaining about DDB is like complaining about a store selling shirts because you already own shirts. Other people might need or just want those shirts. If you don't need or want the shirt or can't afford a new shirt, you don't need to poke your head in the door and shout at the employees and other customers about it.
If you already own the books, well yeah, they do expect you to pay for the new platform for that content. You aren't being forced to buy it, as the books still work as well as they always have by themselves, but the new platform provides convenience. And as other people have exhaustingly said over and over again, you can always pay nothing and put in the work and add everything from your books as homebrew and still get the same end benefits of the new platform.
If your financial situation doesn't allow you to buy new products to aide in your gaming experience, that's unfortunate and I'm sorry for your misfortune. I am not trying trying to be too condescending, but it does get frustrating following this thread and seeing people who don't care to read what's already been discussed ad nauseam chime in with silly complaints or defiant stances that are now honestly obsolete.
EXACTLY! No one is holding a gun to anyone's head going, "Give us money or we will make what you have useless". Honestly unless I end up needing/wanting faster access to the info in the books on here, I will probably just spend a couple nights adding stuff as needed for now through homebrew.
Well, there is a certain degree in which a gun is being held to people's heads: this, roll20, and fantasy grounds are the *only* legal digital resources for d&d 5e. I've stated earlier in this thread that I think a lot of the sticker shock here is due to WotC not providing legal access to reasonably priced pdf or kindle formats. For the player/dm that just wants digital access to the book contents and doesn't care about the character builder, forthcoming DM tools, and twitch integration there is some understandable disappointment, and a lot of that is being directed at the Curse team right now.
There is still no gun.
That analogy implies you can not play D&D without digital tools. A better analogy for someone not giving you quite what you want is WotC being an older kid at school bullying you. He has what you want but is taller and he is holding it juuuuuust out of your reach.
End of the day your life goes on without what he's got. You can still play on the monkey bars without what he has, but it would be cooler and more convenient if he gave it to you.
If all people want is a pdf let's get together and email and tweet WotC en masse requesting they release them! I am sure if they realize the demand is there they will fill the supply role?
The thing I think a lot of people are missing is that no one is EXPECTING or FORCING anyone to pay for anything they have already bought multiple times.
If you already use r20 or FG and are happy with those products, you are likely not the target customer for this product. I'm not familiar with those platforms, but I assume they offer a similar level of searchability and convenience as DDB. Complaining about DDB is like complaining about a store selling shirts because you already own shirts. Other people might need or just want those shirts. If you don't need or want the shirt or can't afford a new shirt, you don't need to poke your head in the door and shout at the employees and other customers about it.
If you already own the books, well yeah, they do expect you to pay for the new platform for that content. You aren't being forced to buy it, as the books still work as well as they always have by themselves, but the new platform provides convenience. And as other people have exhaustingly said over and over again, you can always pay nothing and put in the work and add everything from your books as homebrew and still get the same end benefits of the new platform.
If your financial situation doesn't allow you to buy new products to aide in your gaming experience, that's unfortunate and I'm sorry for your misfortune. I am not trying trying to be too condescending, but it does get frustrating following this thread and seeing people who don't care to read what's already been discussed ad nauseam chime in with silly complaints or defiant stances that are now honestly obsolete.
EXACTLY! No one is holding a gun to anyone's head going, "Give us money or we will make what you have useless". Honestly unless I end up needing/wanting faster access to the info in the books on here, I will probably just spend a couple nights adding stuff as needed for now through homebrew.
Well, there is a certain degree in which a gun is being held to people's heads: this, roll20, and fantasy grounds are the *only* legal digital resources for d&d 5e. I've stated earlier in this thread that I think a lot of the sticker shock here is due to WotC not providing legal access to reasonably priced pdf or kindle formats. For the player/dm that just wants digital access to the book contents and doesn't care about the character builder, forthcoming DM tools, and twitch integration there is some understandable disappointment, and a lot of that is being directed at the Curse team right now.
There is still no gun.
That analogy implies you can not play D&D without digital tools. A better analogy for someone not giving you quite what you want is WotC being an older kid at school bullying you. He has what you want but is taller and he is holding it juuuuuust out of your reach.
End of the day your life goes on without what he's got. You can still play on the monkey bars without what he has, but it would be cooler and more convenient if he gave it to you.
If all people want is a pdf let's get together and email and tweet WotC en masse requesting they release them! I am sure if they realize the demand is there they will fill the supply role?
I have to agree that there is no "demand" to have this product if you play D&D. If you purchased a hardcover sourcebook, and inside was a digital key that gave you access to 50% more information, but you could only have it if you paid $29.99, then I would be singing a different tune.
Here is the reality of it all, the margin for D&D is fairly thin, and the amount of labor put into this requires that people get compensated. Have costs gone up over the years? Yea they have. I remember freaking out at a $29.99 hardcover book. But this tool set allows you a whole bunch of convenience at a reasonable price. If you don't want to pay the money, then don't. Utilize D&D how it was originally designed - pen and paper. If you have the money, or you want to spend your money on this, then do.
DMSguild is a good example of where WotC is moving into the digital age and trying to be financially functional with a continually shrinking market. D&D Beyond is another example. If they (twitch/curse/WotC) don't make money selling this, then they are not going to spend money making it, and making it well. I would rather have a well developed, polished product that provides me various options of purchase over not having ANY options at all.
"Full price" is not being asked for. "Full price" is the MSRP of $49.95 for Tales from the Yawning Portal or the Dungeon Master's Guide - not the discounted prices you can find with D&D Beyond or on Amazon.com.
But yes, "full price" is entirely appropriate for any means by which someone can get all the game-play information from a product because the point of buying the product is to be able to play the game with that information.
What happens if I am in a campaign and I get a magic item from my dm, who owns it but I dont, and then that character plays in a different campaign? Would that character be able to use the magic item or would I then have to purchase the item?
Private homebrew, at present, is freely available to accounts of all levels (Free, Heroic, or Master). So even if you lose it, you can re-create it for yourself.
What about without homebrew? Just want to know. I don't mind one way or the other, I would just like to know
What happens if I am in a campaign and I get a magic item from my dm, who owns it but I dont, and then that character plays in a different campaign? Would that character be able to use the magic item or would I then have to purchase the item?
Private homebrew, at present, is freely available to accounts of all levels (Free, Heroic, or Master). So even if you lose it, you can re-create it for yourself.
What about without homebrew? Just want to know. I don't mind one way or the other, I would just like to know
The answer is unknown at this point (to the community at least). I see what you're asking and telling you "you can just enter it in yourself" isn't answering your question (What happens to the items I have on a character from a campaign that contains material I don't own, when I leave that campaign). The answer isn't "You can add it in to homebrew" the answer would be "it's deleted" or "your character is gone" or "nothing" -- but the current "answer" is nobody seems to know.
A lot of folks seem upset because they are conflating the DDB book content with a PDF. It's not a PDF, but (to my mind) infinitely more useful: a character sheet or monster page with all the spells, feats, rules, etc. just a click or tap away... as opposed to a link to a Chapter or section (or keyword search) with no easy way back to the original page... which isn't all that much better than a book with a few bookmarks.
If you are upset WotC hasn't produced PDFs, then tell them that, no need to complain about something the folks at Curse aren't making and have no control over.
What happens if I am in a campaign and I get a magic item from my dm, who owns it but I dont, and then that character plays in a different campaign? Would that character be able to use the magic item or would I then have to purchase the item?
Private homebrew, at present, is freely available to accounts of all levels (Free, Heroic, or Master). So even if you lose it, you can re-create it for yourself.
What about without homebrew? Just want to know. I don't mind one way or the other, I would just like to know
The answer is unknown at this point (to the community at least). I see what you're asking and telling you "you can just enter it in yourself" isn't answering your question (What happens to the items I have on a character from a campaign that contains material I don't own, when I leave that campaign). The answer isn't "You can add it in to homebrew" the answer would be "it's deleted" or "your character is gone" or "nothing" -- but the current "answer" is nobody seems to know.
That is a good question. I do NOT know, but working on these sorts of things in my day job, I think one graceful way to handle it would be it's still there but it's greyed out and can't be clicked for details or if you do click on details it presents a message saying "This information is no longer available" or something. However, that still leaves open the question if it still impacts your character. Maybe a clearer example would be, say, making a kenku character using your DM's Volo's Guide. Once you leave that campaign (or the DM no longer shares that material, etc.), what happens to that character?
The character is deleted.
The character is no longer accessible.
The character has the race removed and is then an incomplete character until you add a race.
The character appears fine (e.g. racial ability modifiers are still there), but you cannot access any details like the race description or what the "mimicry" ability is (either unclickable or click and get message "content not available"")
The character appears fine but is "locked" and cannot be updated without removing that content. So if you try to level or change anything it warns you that changes cannot be saved until you remove the unpurchased content.
Or lucky you! That character can forever be a kenku without you paying for it, but you can't make any new kenku characters. (aka The "My friend loaded a ton of songs onto this iPod, so now I'm stuck with a decade old iPod unless I want to lose all my music." option. I'm sure we all know someone like that.) :)
Given Curse's general attitude and direction with things, I'd wager the first two are unlikely, especially since you just need to update the race and it's a legit character again. Seems overly harsh for the character to be gone. The last one is a bit too open for abuse, so I think it's unlikely. Depending on the under the hood coding, options 3 or 5 might be easy to implement (i.e. either remove that RaceID from the Character table, or add it into form validation checks). Option 4, in my thinking, might be ideal, and with the right security model might also be very easy to implement. Plus, it also has the added bonus of possibly including a "This content is no longer available to you, but you can purchase it HERE." message to help encourage purchases. Also, I would think it's the least likely to have user frustration or confusion without just giving too much away uncontrolled.
But it'd be interesting to hear what the official solution is or what other options I'm not thinking of.
The thing I think a lot of people are missing is that no one is EXPECTING or FORCING anyone to pay for anything they have already bought multiple times.
If you already use r20 or FG and are happy with those products, you are likely not the target customer for this product. I'm not familiar with those platforms, but I assume they offer a similar level of searchability and convenience as DDB. Complaining about DDB is like complaining about a store selling shirts because you already own shirts. Other people might need or just want those shirts. If you don't need or want the shirt or can't afford a new shirt, you don't need to poke your head in the door and shout at the employees and other customers about it.
If you already own the books, well yeah, they do expect you to pay for the new platform for that content. You aren't being forced to buy it, as the books still work as well as they always have by themselves, but the new platform provides convenience. And as other people have exhaustingly said over and over again, you can always pay nothing and put in the work and add everything from your books as homebrew and still get the same end benefits of the new platform.
If your financial situation doesn't allow you to buy new products to aide in your gaming experience, that's unfortunate and I'm sorry for your misfortune. I am not trying trying to be too condescending, but it does get frustrating following this thread and seeing people who don't care to read what's already been discussed ad nauseam chime in with silly complaints or defiant stances that are now honestly obsolete.
EXACTLY! No one is holding a gun to anyone's head going, "Give us money or we will make what you have useless". Honestly unless I end up needing/wanting faster access to the info in the books on here, I will probably just spend a couple nights adding stuff as needed for now through homebrew.
Well, there is a certain degree in which a gun is being held to people's heads: this, roll20, and fantasy grounds are the *only* legal digital resources for d&d 5e. I've stated earlier in this thread that I think a lot of the sticker shock here is due to WotC not providing legal access to reasonably priced pdf or kindle formats. For the player/dm that just wants digital access to the book contents and doesn't care about the character builder, forthcoming DM tools, and twitch integration there is some understandable disappointment, and a lot of that is being directed at the Curse team right now.
There is still no gun.
That analogy implies you can not play D&D without digital tools. A better analogy for someone not giving you quite what you want is WotC being an older kid at school bullying you. He has what you want but is taller and he is holding it juuuuuust out of your reach.
End of the day your life goes on without what he's got. You can still play on the monkey bars without what he has, but it would be cooler and more convenient if he gave it to you.
If all people want is a pdf let's get together and email and tweet WotC en masse requesting they release them! I am sure if they realize the demand is there they will fill the supply role?
Except in this case WotC isn't the bully in the playground. They own the playground- or actually are the caretakers of the playground, which is owned by Hasbro- and can tell you exactly how and when you can access those monkey bars. The gun in this case is WotC's legal department acting as security guards (likely at Hasbro's direction).
I'm fairly sure Wizards is well aware of the demand for pdfs, as they offered them for past editions until the fear of piracy ended up outweighing the desire for customer satisfaction. Their current policy regarding digital content (published in - house, not the DMGuild material) resembles too much the backward DRM attempts of older AAA game publishers and music companies. And much the same ends up promoting piracy rather than curtailing it- if I so desired, I could have pdfs of all their content for 5e for absolutely free. For people who want legal digital content but don't need all the bells and whistles of this site and others, it is understandably disappointing that WotC hasn't addressed that particular demand.
I'm not one of those people - I like what's being offered here, and (especially as we get more info on bundles) am quite happy with the price. But I can certainly understand how someone can feel that this is just another way WotC is screwing them over.
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How do you get a one-armed goblin out of a tree?
Wave!
That actually raises an interesting question - are people publishing homebrew going to be compensated in any way? I'd personally be more comfortable publishing homebrew for free if people were able to add it without a sub (with the button click, not via painstakingly copying). I'm not saying "pay me every time someone adds my homebrew to their collection" but it would be nice if someone having a particularly popular homebrew receives a discount on digital books or a free month subscription or something. Just something for the Curse team to think about.
I have to say, normally I'm the most sceptical about content publishers in my group of friends, and up to today, I was never quite happy with the payment options publishers provided, but THIS offer... wow... I mean, honestly, this is almost too good to be true.
I can pay nothing, and still have access to the (admittedly free) basic rules, AND all the rules from the rulebooks if I take the time to integrate it all into my campaign! That's awesome!
And if I'm not up to transfer all the rules into my campaign, I can buy the digital copies with this great cross-referencing options for almost half the price of the physical copy (and even less than half the price in the first week!), AND I can pay minimum amounts if I want just a very specific part of any book!
Honestly, I don't get why anyone would complain about this! This is the best offer of ANYTHING I've ever seen on the digital market! (save for totally free products of course - but those have... almost always other problems)
Great. Thats has been a major issue with other apps we have been using.
Billy Davis
So, unlike some I guess I have no problem paying for these bundles as they are. I understand how others could have difficulty, but this setup appeals to individuals who both have the financial resources to pay more and those that don't. Since this is not necessary to play D&D, but makes it MUCH easier, I can understand how you pay for convenience.
That being said, has there been any discussion about some sort of "ultimate" package at launch. All available in print/digital releases for a discounted price. Obviously buying the 3 core books for $60 is mandatory, but since I am the DM, I would rather just shell out the cost up front, and work with my groups to have people pitch in what they want since I will be holding the master tier.
Also, any word on annual subscriptions?
Awesome product guys, haven't been this excited for a while!
How do you get a one-armed goblin out of a tree?
Wave!
A lot of folks seem upset because they are conflating the DDB book content with a PDF. It's not a PDF, but (to my mind) infinitely more useful: a character sheet or monster page with all the spells, feats, rules, etc. just a click or tap away... as opposed to a link to a Chapter or section (or keyword search) with no easy way back to the original page... which isn't all that much better than a book with a few bookmarks.
If you are upset WotC hasn't produced PDFs, then tell them that, no need to complain about something the folks at Curse aren't making and have no control over.
Given Curse's general attitude and direction with things, I'd wager the first two are unlikely, especially since you just need to update the race and it's a legit character again. Seems overly harsh for the character to be gone. The last one is a bit too open for abuse, so I think it's unlikely. Depending on the under the hood coding, options 3 or 5 might be easy to implement (i.e. either remove that RaceID from the Character table, or add it into form validation checks). Option 4, in my thinking, might be ideal, and with the right security model might also be very easy to implement. Plus, it also has the added bonus of possibly including a "This content is no longer available to you, but you can purchase it HERE." message to help encourage purchases. Also, I would think it's the least likely to have user frustration or confusion without just giving too much away uncontrolled.
But it'd be interesting to hear what the official solution is or what other options I'm not thinking of.