Hey has anyone else noticed that the entertainer background has been removed from the character builder if you're building a Bard if you are just using this site for free?
the Entertainer background hasn't been changed or restricted - it is still part of the Player's Handbook however and therefore requires that you purchase that sourcebook, or just the background from it.
The website isn't run by Wizards of the Coast, or Hasbro, or any subsidiary. It's a business partner, of sorts, and they still have to make money somehow.
The only backgrounds available for free are the ones in the basic rules: Acolyte, Criminal, Folk Hero, Noble, Sage, and Soldier. Entertainer can be found in the Essential's Kit, which includes a coupon for 50% off the PHB via the website.
You also don't have to pay $29.99 for the whole book; just look up the background you want from your physical copy, and buy only that one background for $1.99. This even counts against the cost of the full digital PHB, so if you ever do decide to purchase the full digital copy, it'll be $29.99 minus whatever you've already spent on parts of it.
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Former D&D Beyond Customer of six years: With the axing of piecemeal purchasing, lack of meaningful development, and toxic moderation the site isn't worth paying for anymore. I remain a free user only until my groups are done migrating from DDB, and if necessary D&D, after which I'm done. There are better systems owned by better companies out there.
I have unsubscribed from all topics and will not reply to messages. My homebrew is now 100% unsupported.
Buy a scanner? But that's not going to unlock content at D&D Beyond.
Folks, I get wanting the initial physical purchase to unlock content here, but there's really no way for ownership to make enough money to keep this site running and not charge for digital content. But digital content here does a lot more than the physical rules - it allows you to generate characters, track data in them, use the "encounter" function, and will hopefully one day integrate into the virtual tabletop a lot better.
VTT sites like Roll20 and Fantasy Grounds also charge for digital content. Heck, owning a physical book does not unlock the e-book or audio book, but it might get you a discount on Amazon.
If all of your gaming is in person, you don't really need this site. If you're running online campaigns, it's pretty good, and worth spending money on to keep the site operational. With that said, there's no guarantee that Wizards won't shutter the site, so money spent here is like money spent on any MMORPG site - you don't get anything back if the site vanishes.
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Hey has anyone else noticed that the entertainer background has been removed from the character builder if you're building a Bard if you are just using this site for free?
Hi there Iprefermactavish,
the Entertainer background hasn't been changed or restricted - it is still part of the Player's Handbook however and therefore requires that you purchase that sourcebook, or just the background from it.
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It has never been free. Was the character in a campaign that might have had it shared?
I own the damn PHB. It is sitting on the desk right next to me. Now they want me to pay another $30.00 to use that content on this site? Ridiculous.
The website isn't run by Wizards of the Coast, or Hasbro, or any subsidiary. It's a business partner, of sorts, and they still have to make money somehow.
The only backgrounds available for free are the ones in the basic rules: Acolyte, Criminal, Folk Hero, Noble, Sage, and Soldier. Entertainer can be found in the Essential's Kit, which includes a coupon for 50% off the PHB via the website.
You also don't have to pay $29.99 for the whole book; just look up the background you want from your physical copy, and buy only that one background for $1.99. This even counts against the cost of the full digital PHB, so if you ever do decide to purchase the full digital copy, it'll be $29.99 minus whatever you've already spent on parts of it.
Former D&D Beyond Customer of six years: With the axing of piecemeal purchasing, lack of meaningful development, and toxic moderation the site isn't worth paying for anymore. I remain a free user only until my groups are done migrating from DDB, and if necessary D&D, after which I'm done. There are better systems owned by better companies out there.
I have unsubscribed from all topics and will not reply to messages. My homebrew is now 100% unsupported.
That's what annoys me too.
Is there a way to scan the copy of the playbook if we ended up buying a physical copy at a store?
Buy a scanner? But that's not going to unlock content at D&D Beyond.
Folks, I get wanting the initial physical purchase to unlock content here, but there's really no way for ownership to make enough money to keep this site running and not charge for digital content. But digital content here does a lot more than the physical rules - it allows you to generate characters, track data in them, use the "encounter" function, and will hopefully one day integrate into the virtual tabletop a lot better.
VTT sites like Roll20 and Fantasy Grounds also charge for digital content. Heck, owning a physical book does not unlock the e-book or audio book, but it might get you a discount on Amazon.
If all of your gaming is in person, you don't really need this site. If you're running online campaigns, it's pretty good, and worth spending money on to keep the site operational. With that said, there's no guarantee that Wizards won't shutter the site, so money spent here is like money spent on any MMORPG site - you don't get anything back if the site vanishes.