In a lot of ways The Book of Many Things is an absolutely refreshing focus on Tools for DMs. The direction this book is aimed in is spot on ... bravo! more products like this please!
But the delivery here on DnDBeyond just baffles me as a software product manager.
Issue #1: This book expands the utility of the deck in game and out of game as a prep tool ... then locks that utility it behind a book only physical reference guide.
Using the deck as a random generator is a fantastic new application for DM inspiration! Except I have to flip between a physical reference guide and the BoMT book to really make most of these use cases work. This is just unnecessary grind. Even if y'all didn't bother to cover anything but the original 22 cards in the DMG ... what's it going to take to make a digital deck UX? Are you telling me the same folks who run multiple magic the gathering digital experiences couldn't pull that off?
Spreads are really solid approaches that can help DMs make the most of this random generator approach & the 2 books have 5 core spread use cases:
Three Card
Five Card
Journey
Adventure
Adventure Alternate
These spreads could be fantastic tools for DMs using dndbeyond in between sessions ... if only dndbeyond would bother to help DMs by supporting these spreads with a digital deck experience.
This is fundamentally a failure to deliver on D&D Beyond's value as a tool that makes it easier for DM's to prep their games.
Issue #2: This book is chock full of ways to leverage decks as a DM ... many of which might require a lot of duplicate cards to really pull off well.
Encounter Decks
NPC Decks
Idea Decks
Filler Scene Decks
Custom Decks (Starter, Roleplay, Tone)
Can I plan an adventure, generate encounters, and generate npc's before my session to make session prep easier? Can I improv narrate the journey to the dungeon and make up an NPC when the party arrives at the table? Probably but you'll likely need to build and shuffle the deck fit to purpose each time. Does anything on dydnbeyond make this easier to do or make it simple to reference content I own or could own as a DM? Nope
Can I roll an encounter deck to generate encounters in the DnDBeyond Encounter Builder? Nope
Can I create NPC decks from the hundreds of NPCs included in adventures & sourcebooks on dndbeyond? Nope
Can I create narrative outlines with these decks on dndbeyond? Nope
This is fundamentally a failure to compound DnDBeyond's value to users by connecting the content they buy on dndbeyond.
Issue #3: This book dramatically expands the utility of the core deck of many things but doesn't give DMs the homebrew tools to extend these ideas
BoMT Expands Utility by giving the original 22 card deck utility with ...
single card effects ... turning a card into a magic item
inspiration effects ... for rewarding players in the moment
a unique magic item
Rouge, Sage, Hero, & Knight Destinies ... to inspire NPCs and Players
Charm effects ... adding one time use boons
iconography for puzzels & map tokens
Do the 44 new cards get any of these new things? Nope
Does DnDBeyond make it easier for me as the DM to take on the work of expanding on the new cards to add these kinds of effects to the new cards as homebrew? Nope
Does DnDBeyond make it easier for me as the DM or a player to track single card effects, inspiration effects, destinies, charm effects, or short/long rest effects? Nope
This is fundamentally a failure to deliver on DnDBeyond's value to DMs by making purchased content extendable & customizable with homebrew.
Especially considering the massive portfolio of magic the gathering art that could be bundled up and sold as inspiration packs for locations, items, artifacts, npcs etc ... and upsold alongside adventure & source book content ... it also seems like a missed opportunity for revenue.
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In a lot of ways The Book of Many Things is an absolutely refreshing focus on Tools for DMs. The direction this book is aimed in is spot on ... bravo! more products like this please!
But the delivery here on DnDBeyond just baffles me as a software product manager.
Issue #1: This book expands the utility of the deck in game and out of game as a prep tool ... then locks that utility it behind a book only physical reference guide.
Using the deck as a random generator is a fantastic new application for DM inspiration! Except I have to flip between a physical reference guide and the BoMT book to really make most of these use cases work. This is just unnecessary grind. Even if y'all didn't bother to cover anything but the original 22 cards in the DMG ... what's it going to take to make a digital deck UX? Are you telling me the same folks who run multiple magic the gathering digital experiences couldn't pull that off?
Spreads are really solid approaches that can help DMs make the most of this random generator approach & the 2 books have 5 core spread use cases:
These spreads could be fantastic tools for DMs using dndbeyond in between sessions ... if only dndbeyond would bother to help DMs by supporting these spreads with a digital deck experience.
This is fundamentally a failure to deliver on D&D Beyond's value as a tool that makes it easier for DM's to prep their games.
Issue #2: This book is chock full of ways to leverage decks as a DM ... many of which might require a lot of duplicate cards to really pull off well.
Can I plan an adventure, generate encounters, and generate npc's before my session to make session prep easier? Can I improv narrate the journey to the dungeon and make up an NPC when the party arrives at the table? Probably but you'll likely need to build and shuffle the deck fit to purpose each time. Does anything on dydnbeyond make this easier to do or make it simple to reference content I own or could own as a DM? Nope
Can I roll an encounter deck to generate encounters in the DnDBeyond Encounter Builder? Nope
Can I create NPC decks from the hundreds of NPCs included in adventures & sourcebooks on dndbeyond? Nope
Can I create narrative outlines with these decks on dndbeyond? Nope
This is fundamentally a failure to compound DnDBeyond's value to users by connecting the content they buy on dndbeyond.
Issue #3: This book dramatically expands the utility of the core deck of many things but doesn't give DMs the homebrew tools to extend these ideas
BoMT Expands Utility by giving the original 22 card deck utility with ...
Do the 44 new cards get any of these new things? Nope
Does DnDBeyond make it easier for me as the DM to take on the work of expanding on the new cards to add these kinds of effects to the new cards as homebrew? Nope
Does DnDBeyond make it easier for me as the DM or a player to track single card effects, inspiration effects, destinies, charm effects, or short/long rest effects? Nope
This is fundamentally a failure to deliver on DnDBeyond's value to DMs by making purchased content extendable & customizable with homebrew.
Especially considering the massive portfolio of magic the gathering art that could be bundled up and sold as inspiration packs for locations, items, artifacts, npcs etc ... and upsold alongside adventure & source book content ... it also seems like a missed opportunity for revenue.