the overall website is great, its really helpful when creating characters and keeping up on new content. I own the DM's guide, the Monster Manual, and Acc. Inc. I want to use those on this website but I would have to buy the online version. I think that something should be done about this because I don't need to spend money on something I already own. anyone else thinks the same?
Whilst I completely agree that it is a shame that you do have to buy stuff again, the thing to understand is that D&D Beyond are not the same entity as Wizards of the Coast - there are people on here that can explain the business ins-and-outs way better than I can but essentially, they're different companies and the staff on this site do not work for Wizards.
I try and get round it by thinking of paying for the books as having the convenience of having someone else do the hard work coding all the official stuff without myself having to put that hard work of homebrewing everything. There are discount codes running all the time and, if you spread the books between your players, your DM can enable 'Content Sharing' so that everyone can access the books (specifically in that campaign I should add).
I get the frustration, but in my humble opinion, spreading the cost and having access to digital tools that do the hard work for me beats the excessive printing I was doing before!
Sorry if that wasn't the answer you were hoping for; this is an often asked question - however it's a newbie asked question that has been answered MANY times before on this site.
Happy gaming!
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#Open D&D
Have the Physical Books? Confused as to why you're not allowed to redeem them for free on D&D Beyond? Questions answered here at the Hardcover Books, D&D Beyond and You FAQ
Looking to add mouse-over triggered tooltips to such things like magic items, monsters or combat actions? Then dash over to the How to Add Tooltips thread.
Bit you don't own the version of the books that are connected to all the tools and accessibility of DDB, and you should be expected to pay for that. Especially since DDB didn't get paid for your physical purchase.
You can just buy the monsters and items you need and not buy the compendium (the readable transcription of the book).
the overall website is great, its really helpful when creating characters and keeping up on new content. I own the DM's guide, the Monster Manual, and Acc. Inc. I want to use those on this website but I would have to buy the online version. I think that something should be done about this because I don't need to spend money on something I already own. anyone else thinks the same?
D&D Beyond is not owned by Wizards of the Coast. They are a separate company. The product they sell is an officially licensed (aka "legal") digital version of the books along with the useful tools like a character builder, etc.
You did not by the game D&D, the ideas of the game, the rules, etc, you bought a collection of paper pages that contain ink, and the hard covers that bind them. That's the thing you own. No company is obligated to provide you with more than what was promised for the money you spent.
I own old vinyl records. Am I entitled to free digital copies of those vinyl records?
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"Orcs are savage raiders and pillagers with stooped postures, low foreheads, and piggish faces with prominent lower canines that resemble tusks." MM p245 (original printing) You don't OWN your books on DDB: WotC can change them any time. What do you think will happen when OneD&D comes out?
I'd just like to bump this as... while I've seen it posted many times in the last few years, I do feel its nonetheless important.
Do I think a revenue sharing agreement between DnD Beyond and Wizards is likely... perhaps not. Is there a business case for it? I mean, I'm a strategy analyst for my day job and frankly I'm astounded it hasn't happened yet.
To further mjoctober's analogy about vinyl records not entitling you to a digital copy of the music, they're absolutely correct... but this was also a huge advantage of CD's when they came out and completely overthrew the record industry.
When people express this frustration I think they're really saying 'can we please move out of the vinyl/stone age of music and into the modern/digital era? I'd like to buy a CD and download the songs from it to my computer.'
This could even be done in terms of a coupon code in all physical books for DnD Beyond...
I'd just like to bump this as... while I've seen it posted many times in the last few years, I do feel its nonetheless important.
Do I think a revenue sharing agreement between DnD Beyond and Wizards is likely... perhaps not. Is there a business case for it? I mean, I'm a strategy analyst for my day job and frankly I'm astounded it hasn't happened yet.
To further mjoctober's analogy about vinyl records not entitling you to a digital copy of the music, they're absolutely correct... but this was also a huge advantage of CD's when they came out and completely overthrew the record industry.
When people express this frustration I think they're really saying 'can we please move out of the vinyl/stone age of music and into the modern/digital era? I'd like to buy a CD and download the songs from it to my computer.'
This could even be done in terms of a coupon code in all physical books for DnD Beyond...
Anyway, just some thoughts :)
Your analogy is skewed. Yes, you can rip a CD, that does not entitle you to download the songs pre-ripped online for no extra cost. The producer of the music is under no obligation to do that for you.
And just like you can rip a CD, you can scan your physical book, or homebrew whatever you like from the books in to DDB to use. They've already said this is okay. You put in the work, you get it for free, just like ripping your own CD yourself.
Just because a company can offer a digital version for free does not mean they are morally obligated to do it. They own the IP, not you. Buying the book does not grant ownership over the content of the book, just the physical book.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"Orcs are savage raiders and pillagers with stooped postures, low foreheads, and piggish faces with prominent lower canines that resemble tusks." MM p245 (original printing) You don't OWN your books on DDB: WotC can change them any time. What do you think will happen when OneD&D comes out?
You can also input anything from a hardcover book in as homebrew. As long as you don't publish it to the public and only keep it for your private campaign's use, this is fine and actually encouraged. As it was said above, you're not buying the book twice, you're paying for the work that goes into inputting the data from the book. You can bypass this payment by inputting that information yourself.
Although apparently that's only for the essentials kit, and not the player's handbook or DMG. So not great.
The Essential's kit you linked comes codes for the other 3 short adventures from that story, and a 50% discount coupon for the PHB on dndbeyond. Not terrible, definitely what I'd recommend to anyone newer and wanting to get some digital content as well as physical.
Although apparently that's only for the essentials kit, and not the player's handbook or DMG. So not great.
The Essential's kit you linked comes codes for the other 3 short adventures from that story, and a 50% discount coupon for the PHB on dndbeyond. Not terrible, definitely what I'd recommend to anyone newer and wanting to get some digital content as well as physical.
The Essentials kit is the only product to ever have that code included, if they were able to go forward with more like this it would require work and agreements wit both WotC and D&DB. I myself would like that but I am at a point where I just buy the books here. With the addition of the Beyond D&D app having offline access on an apple or android device is easy. With the money saved purchasing all the books online here, I purchased a decent chrome book by Acer and have that for offline access of every book that has been released with out breaking my back lugging them around.
Why do people keep saying it's overpriced here when everytime I go check this is the cheapest place to get them?
Tip: to compare prices look at the "compendium only" prices at the bottom. The compendium only is the digital version of the book. The rest of the other cost is for inclusion of the features into the digital tools.
You can get a sourcebook here, compendium only for like $20, where elsewhere it's $25-$50.
Literally the cheapest place to get books anywhere, but still gets complained it's overpriced. People baffle me. O.o
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Click ✨ HERE ✨ For My Youtube Videos featuring Guides, Tips & Tricks for using D&D Beyond. Need help with Homebrew? Check out ✨ thisFAQ/Guide thread ✨ by IamSposta.
Why do people keep saying it's overpriced here when everytime I go check this is the cheapest place to get them?
Tip: to compare prices look at the "compendium only" prices at the bottom. The compendium only is the digital version of the book. The rest of the other cost is for inclusion of the features into the digital tools.
You can get a sourcebook here, compendium only for like $20, where elsewhere it's $25-$50.
Literally the cheapest place to get books anywhere, but still gets complained it's overpriced. People baffle me. O.o
Because people equivocate Amazon's price to MSRP, or how much the book should cost. You know, because LFGs who charge full price, retail locations, etc don't exist at all, and the Amazon store isn't just WOTC basically cutting out the middle man, allowing them to sell the book for cheaper to a wider audience. Even though the price for most stuff on Amazon is ~$25-30, that possible extra $5 is just too much for some people, it seems
Okay I'm confused... what is the point of buying the digital version of the book through this site... if I can't use the features and digital tools on this site? I might as well just buy a physical copy and call it a day at that point. There's no point in buying a digital version is that doesn't unlock all the benefits of having purchased it HERE, as opposed to anywhere else.
Why do people keep saying it's overpriced here when everytime I go check this is the cheapest place to get them?
Tip: to compare prices look at the "compendium only" prices at the bottom. The compendium only is the digital version of the book. The rest of the other cost is for inclusion of the features into the digital tools.
You can get a sourcebook here, compendium only for like $20, where elsewhere it's $25-$50.
Literally the cheapest place to get books anywhere, but still gets complained it's overpriced. People baffle me. O.o
$20 for a digital copy of a book is not cheap. Also, that's just one book, and in order to fully enjoy the game, you need multiple resources that add up to hundreds of dollars. It's just not affordable, we don't all have hundreds of dollars to throw around.
Okay I'm confused... what is the point of buying the digital version of the book through this site... if I can't use the features and digital tools on this site? I might as well just buy a physical copy and call it a day at that point. There's no point in buying a digital version is that doesn't unlock all the benefits of having purchased it HERE, as opposed to anywhere else.
If you're referring to the compendium content, purchased content will be indexed and searchable, giving you an interactive version of the books including high resolution versions of art and maps.
But the full purchase of each book (which is still cheaper than MSRP) includes the content optimised for the tools
Okay I'm confused... what is the point of buying the digital version of the book through this site... if I can't use the features and digital tools on this site? I might as well just buy a physical copy and call it a day at that point. There's no point in buying a digital version is that doesn't unlock all the benefits of having purchased it HERE, as opposed to anywhere else.
If you're referring to the compendium content, purchased content will be indexed and searchable, giving you an interactive version of the books including high resolution versions of art and maps.
But the full purchase of each book (which is still cheaper than MSRP) includes the content optimised for the tools
I just don't see the purpose of buying that HERE, on THIS website, if it doesn't unlock THESE tools. Just seems silly.
Also what are you basing the MSRP on? The Amazon page IS the publisher's storefront. Why would you argue with their own price?
Okay I'm confused... what is the point of buying the digital version of the book through this site... if I can't use the features and digital tools on this site? I might as well just buy a physical copy and call it a day at that point. There's no point in buying a digital version is that doesn't unlock all the benefits of having purchased it HERE, as opposed to anywhere else.
If you're referring to the compendium content, purchased content will be indexed and searchable, giving you an interactive version of the books including high resolution versions of art and maps.
But the full purchase of each book (which is still cheaper than MSRP) includes the content optimised for the tools
I just don't see the purpose of buying that HERE, on THIS website, if it doesn't unlock THESE tools. Just seems silly.
Also what are you basing the MSRP on? The Amazon page IS the publisher's storefront. Why would you argue with their own price?
The purpose would be access to searchable, digital versions can that can be accessed either online wherever you have internet access, or through the compendium app, meaning no need to carry your books around. It has the same advantages of an ebook over a physical book, or wikipedia over an analogy reference.
Okay I'm confused... what is the point of buying the digital version of the book through this site... if I can't use the features and digital tools on this site? I might as well just buy a physical copy and call it a day at that point. There's no point in buying a digital version is that doesn't unlock all the benefits of having purchased it HERE, as opposed to anywhere else.
If you're referring to the compendium content, purchased content will be indexed and searchable, giving you an interactive version of the books including high resolution versions of art and maps.
But the full purchase of each book (which is still cheaper than MSRP) includes the content optimised for the tools
I just don't see the purpose of buying that HERE, on THIS website, if it doesn't unlock THESE tools. Just seems silly.
Also what are you basing the MSRP on? The Amazon page IS the publisher's storefront. Why would you argue with their own price?
Because DDB is owned by a company that is not WotC selling a product that you absolutely don't need to buy if you don't want to. It is not required to play D&D, you can just buy the physical books and play allllll day long, forever, without ever needing to come back to DDB.
I should like to point out that DDB is not the only place to buy digital versions of the books. For example, you can buy digital versions on Roll20 or Fantasy Grounds. Yup, you would have to buy them again on each of those platforms if you wanted to use them there. The point is that these are all separate companies, and the product they are selling is a digital copy of the books. None of those companies are WotC. That's why you have to pay "again".
Or, you know, just buy digital versions, and don't buy hardcopies.
Also, as far as Amazon is concerned, it is not the digital storefront of WotC. You are not buying those books from WotC with the help of Amazon. Amazon bought those books from WotC and is reselling them just like if you go to a real life bookstore. WotC already has the money for them. Amazon sells them cheaper than game/comic stores because they can, because they have the power to buy in huge bulk discounts, and use that discount to get people onto Amazon to buy lots and lots of peripheral stuff, just like any big chain retailer has "loss leader" items to get you into the store.
Why should you buy digital books here? I don't know, that's up to you, but it sounds like you're asking people here to justify why you should have to "pay again", when that isn't even the issue.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"Orcs are savage raiders and pillagers with stooped postures, low foreheads, and piggish faces with prominent lower canines that resemble tusks." MM p245 (original printing) You don't OWN your books on DDB: WotC can change them any time. What do you think will happen when OneD&D comes out?
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the overall website is great, its really helpful when creating characters and keeping up on new content. I own the DM's guide, the Monster Manual, and Acc. Inc. I want to use those on this website but I would have to buy the online version. I think that something should be done about this because I don't need to spend money on something I already own. anyone else thinks the same?
Whilst I completely agree that it is a shame that you do have to buy stuff again, the thing to understand is that D&D Beyond are not the same entity as Wizards of the Coast - there are people on here that can explain the business ins-and-outs way better than I can but essentially, they're different companies and the staff on this site do not work for Wizards.
I try and get round it by thinking of paying for the books as having the convenience of having someone else do the hard work coding all the official stuff without myself having to put that hard work of homebrewing everything. There are discount codes running all the time and, if you spread the books between your players, your DM can enable 'Content Sharing' so that everyone can access the books (specifically in that campaign I should add).
I get the frustration, but in my humble opinion, spreading the cost and having access to digital tools that do the hard work for me beats the excessive printing I was doing before!
Sorry if that wasn't the answer you were hoping for; this is an often asked question - however it's a newbie asked question that has been answered MANY times before on this site.
Happy gaming!
#Open D&D
Have the Physical Books? Confused as to why you're not allowed to redeem them for free on D&D Beyond? Questions answered here at the Hardcover Books, D&D Beyond and You FAQ
Looking to add mouse-over triggered tooltips to such things like magic items, monsters or combat actions? Then dash over to the How to Add Tooltips thread.
Bit you don't own the version of the books that are connected to all the tools and accessibility of DDB, and you should be expected to pay for that. Especially since DDB didn't get paid for your physical purchase.
You can just buy the monsters and items you need and not buy the compendium (the readable transcription of the book).
D&D Beyond is not owned by Wizards of the Coast. They are a separate company. The product they sell is an officially licensed (aka "legal") digital version of the books along with the useful tools like a character builder, etc.
You did not by the game D&D, the ideas of the game, the rules, etc, you bought a collection of paper pages that contain ink, and the hard covers that bind them. That's the thing you own. No company is obligated to provide you with more than what was promised for the money you spent.
I own old vinyl records. Am I entitled to free digital copies of those vinyl records?
"Orcs are savage raiders and pillagers with stooped postures, low foreheads, and piggish faces with prominent lower canines that resemble tusks." MM p245 (original printing)
You don't OWN your books on DDB: WotC can change them any time. What do you think will happen when OneD&D comes out?
I'd just like to bump this as... while I've seen it posted many times in the last few years, I do feel its nonetheless important.
Do I think a revenue sharing agreement between DnD Beyond and Wizards is likely... perhaps not. Is there a business case for it? I mean, I'm a strategy analyst for my day job and frankly I'm astounded it hasn't happened yet.
To further mjoctober's analogy about vinyl records not entitling you to a digital copy of the music, they're absolutely correct... but this was also a huge advantage of CD's when they came out and completely overthrew the record industry.
When people express this frustration I think they're really saying 'can we please move out of the vinyl/stone age of music and into the modern/digital era? I'd like to buy a CD and download the songs from it to my computer.'
This could even be done in terms of a coupon code in all physical books for DnD Beyond...
Anyway, just some thoughts :)
Simply, no.
If WotC was going to give dndbeyond a cut for digital, they would just do it themselves.
Your analogy is skewed. Yes, you can rip a CD, that does not entitle you to download the songs pre-ripped online for no extra cost. The producer of the music is under no obligation to do that for you.
And just like you can rip a CD, you can scan your physical book, or homebrew whatever you like from the books in to DDB to use. They've already said this is okay. You put in the work, you get it for free, just like ripping your own CD yourself.
Just because a company can offer a digital version for free does not mean they are morally obligated to do it. They own the IP, not you. Buying the book does not grant ownership over the content of the book, just the physical book.
"Orcs are savage raiders and pillagers with stooped postures, low foreheads, and piggish faces with prominent lower canines that resemble tusks." MM p245 (original printing)
You don't OWN your books on DDB: WotC can change them any time. What do you think will happen when OneD&D comes out?
You can also input anything from a hardcover book in as homebrew. As long as you don't publish it to the public and only keep it for your private campaign's use, this is fine and actually encouraged. As it was said above, you're not buying the book twice, you're paying for the work that goes into inputting the data from the book. You can bypass this payment by inputting that information yourself.
It seems like buying anything on here outright is pretty overpriced. But looking here https://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Essentials-Kit-Boxed/dp/0786966831 it does look like purchasing the official stuff does come with at least a discount code to the D&D Beyond stuff.
Although apparently that's only for the essentials kit, and not the player's handbook or DMG. So not great.
The Essential's kit you linked comes codes for the other 3 short adventures from that story, and a 50% discount coupon for the PHB on dndbeyond. Not terrible, definitely what I'd recommend to anyone newer and wanting to get some digital content as well as physical.
Check out my latest homebrew: Mystic Knight (Fighter) v1.31
The Essentials kit is the only product to ever have that code included, if they were able to go forward with more like this it would require work and agreements wit both WotC and D&DB. I myself would like that but I am at a point where I just buy the books here. With the addition of the Beyond D&D app having offline access on an apple or android device is easy. With the money saved purchasing all the books online here, I purchased a decent chrome book by Acer and have that for offline access of every book that has been released with out breaking my back lugging them around.
Why do people keep saying it's overpriced here when everytime I go check this is the cheapest place to get them?
Tip: to compare prices look at the "compendium only" prices at the bottom. The compendium only is the digital version of the book. The rest of the other cost is for inclusion of the features into the digital tools.
You can get a sourcebook here, compendium only for like $20, where elsewhere it's $25-$50.
Literally the cheapest place to get books anywhere, but still gets complained it's overpriced. People baffle me. O.o
Click ✨ HERE ✨ For My Youtube Videos featuring Guides, Tips & Tricks for using D&D Beyond.
Need help with Homebrew? Check out ✨ this FAQ/Guide thread ✨ by IamSposta.
Because people equivocate Amazon's price to MSRP, or how much the book should cost. You know, because LFGs who charge full price, retail locations, etc don't exist at all, and the Amazon store isn't just WOTC basically cutting out the middle man, allowing them to sell the book for cheaper to a wider audience. Even though the price for most stuff on Amazon is ~$25-30, that possible extra $5 is just too much for some people, it seems
Okay I'm confused... what is the point of buying the digital version of the book through this site... if I can't use the features and digital tools on this site? I might as well just buy a physical copy and call it a day at that point. There's no point in buying a digital version is that doesn't unlock all the benefits of having purchased it HERE, as opposed to anywhere else.
$20 for a digital copy of a book is not cheap. Also, that's just one book, and in order to fully enjoy the game, you need multiple resources that add up to hundreds of dollars. It's just not affordable, we don't all have hundreds of dollars to throw around.
If you're referring to the compendium content, purchased content will be indexed and searchable, giving you an interactive version of the books including high resolution versions of art and maps.
But the full purchase of each book (which is still cheaper than MSRP) includes the content optimised for the tools
Find my D&D Beyond articles here
I just don't see the purpose of buying that HERE, on THIS website, if it doesn't unlock THESE tools. Just seems silly.
Also what are you basing the MSRP on? The Amazon page IS the publisher's storefront. Why would you argue with their own price?
The purpose would be access to searchable, digital versions can that can be accessed either online wherever you have internet access, or through the compendium app, meaning no need to carry your books around. It has the same advantages of an ebook over a physical book, or wikipedia over an analogy reference.
And I'm taking the MSRP from Wizard's of the Coast own website. For example, the MSRP for Mythic Odysseys of Theros is $49.95 as can be seen here: https://dnd.wizards.com/products/tabletop-games/rpg-products/mythic-odysseys-theros
And I should probably stress that D&D Beyond is a different company to Wizard's of the Coast, so I'm not arguing with DDBs 'own price'
Find my D&D Beyond articles here
Because DDB is owned by a company that is not WotC selling a product that you absolutely don't need to buy if you don't want to. It is not required to play D&D, you can just buy the physical books and play allllll day long, forever, without ever needing to come back to DDB.
I should like to point out that DDB is not the only place to buy digital versions of the books. For example, you can buy digital versions on Roll20 or Fantasy Grounds. Yup, you would have to buy them again on each of those platforms if you wanted to use them there. The point is that these are all separate companies, and the product they are selling is a digital copy of the books. None of those companies are WotC. That's why you have to pay "again".
Or, you know, just buy digital versions, and don't buy hardcopies.
Also, as far as Amazon is concerned, it is not the digital storefront of WotC. You are not buying those books from WotC with the help of Amazon. Amazon bought those books from WotC and is reselling them just like if you go to a real life bookstore. WotC already has the money for them. Amazon sells them cheaper than game/comic stores because they can, because they have the power to buy in huge bulk discounts, and use that discount to get people onto Amazon to buy lots and lots of peripheral stuff, just like any big chain retailer has "loss leader" items to get you into the store.
Why should you buy digital books here? I don't know, that's up to you, but it sounds like you're asking people here to justify why you should have to "pay again", when that isn't even the issue.
"Orcs are savage raiders and pillagers with stooped postures, low foreheads, and piggish faces with prominent lower canines that resemble tusks." MM p245 (original printing)
You don't OWN your books on DDB: WotC can change them any time. What do you think will happen when OneD&D comes out?