I have waited for over twenty years for something like D&D Beyond to come along. Ever since the AD&D 2e Core Rules CD-ROM came out and I thought to myself, "Wow... this thing is terrible!" I knew there was a potential for something much greater and that the internet could deliver it. Waiting. Waiting. DDI was great but it still didn't hit the mark for me, primarily due to Silverlight, and after that abomination was done away with, the dawning realisation that it wasn't going to be sustainable. A subscription for everything was never going to be viable over the long term. Every other venture fell short for me in some way, shape or form, as well. Until DDB.
Now, having said that, it ain't what I'd consider perfect. I have my gripes and my wish list. And I've expressed those, probably more than I should, but no more than I want to. I've been waiting and hoping for over twenty years after all. So I can be demanding, sometimes terse, definitely overeager, and I often make failed attempts at humour that I think are hilarious but others think are me being rude.
But, after all is said and done, even in the form DDB is in today, right now, and if no improvements were to ever be made, it's still, in my humble opinion, the best currently available option for digital D&D content, as well as the best one to date in the history of D&D digital content. Short of Amazon going belly-up and that cascading through Twitch and Curse and taking DDB down with it, and me losing access to the hundreds of dollars of content I purchased access to, I regret nothing. And even then, as long as I get at least five years out of it, it will still have been worth it (to me).
So yeah, I believe I speak for a lot of the people who have bought and use DDB when I say this: it's nothing personal. If I criticise and demand and cajole, it's enthusiasm, not hate, not pettiness, or anything else, just love. Lots of love. An overabundance of love. Lots of people tell me I'm full of it. So thanks... and hurry up and give us the character sheet update!
Just started playing D&D a few months ago after wanting to get into it for many years. Never could find anyone to play with, so I married a good woman and had a couple of kids and eventually forced them to let me DM for them (we're having a blast). I cannot imagine playing this game without D&D Beyond. It allowed me to massively simplify character creation and book keeping and so focus on being a better DM. I can run the campaign behind my laptop screen and have tabs open to every character sheet, every location they're exploring, and every monster they might fight. Rules can easily be looked up on the fly without slowing the game down and losing the kids' attention. I can turn the laptop around to show them maps and pictures of the creatures. I can keep track of spell slots, hit points, inventory, everything.
I don't know how you guys did all this in the Dark Ages. Give me an encounter builder (roll all initiative, track monster HP and status), and the whole thing will be perfect.
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I have waited for over twenty years for something like D&D Beyond to come along. Ever since the AD&D 2e Core Rules CD-ROM came out and I thought to myself, "Wow... this thing is terrible!" I knew there was a potential for something much greater and that the internet could deliver it. Waiting. Waiting. DDI was great but it still didn't hit the mark for me, primarily due to Silverlight, and after that abomination was done away with, the dawning realisation that it wasn't going to be sustainable. A subscription for everything was never going to be viable over the long term. Every other venture fell short for me in some way, shape or form, as well. Until DDB.
Now, having said that, it ain't what I'd consider perfect. I have my gripes and my wish list. And I've expressed those, probably more than I should, but no more than I want to. I've been waiting and hoping for over twenty years after all. So I can be demanding, sometimes terse, definitely overeager, and I often make failed attempts at humour that I think are hilarious but others think are me being rude.
But, after all is said and done, even in the form DDB is in today, right now, and if no improvements were to ever be made, it's still, in my humble opinion, the best currently available option for digital D&D content, as well as the best one to date in the history of D&D digital content. Short of Amazon going belly-up and that cascading through Twitch and Curse and taking DDB down with it, and me losing access to the hundreds of dollars of content I purchased access to, I regret nothing. And even then, as long as I get at least five years out of it, it will still have been worth it (to me).
So yeah, I believe I speak for a lot of the people who have bought and use DDB when I say this: it's nothing personal. If I criticise and demand and cajole, it's enthusiasm, not hate, not pettiness, or anything else, just love. Lots of love. An overabundance of love. Lots of people tell me I'm full of it. So thanks... and hurry up and give us the character sheet update!
Just started playing D&D a few months ago after wanting to get into it for many years. Never could find anyone to play with, so I married a good woman and had a couple of kids and eventually forced them to let me DM for them (we're having a blast). I cannot imagine playing this game without D&D Beyond. It allowed me to massively simplify character creation and book keeping and so focus on being a better DM. I can run the campaign behind my laptop screen and have tabs open to every character sheet, every location they're exploring, and every monster they might fight. Rules can easily be looked up on the fly without slowing the game down and losing the kids' attention. I can turn the laptop around to show them maps and pictures of the creatures. I can keep track of spell slots, hit points, inventory, everything.
I don't know how you guys did all this in the Dark Ages. Give me an encounter builder (roll all initiative, track monster HP and status), and the whole thing will be perfect.