As all your marketplace content uses USD as the currency, I am unable to purchase any content using my PayPal Credit and I have to pay a currency conversion fee (charged by my bank if I use my Credit Card, or PayPal if I use my PayPal account).
This is also true for my subscription to DDB.
The only two ways I can avoid the currency conversion fee are:
1. Use my bank card and pay the entire balance of any purchase with cleared funds (funds that are instantly debited from my bank account and do not use any kind of credit or pay later methods of payment)
2. Add an additional currency (USD) to my PayPal account, and keep funds stored in that currency on my PayPal account. This allows me to pay in USD but I still ultimately end up paying a conversion fee every time I add PayPal funds to that additional currency.
Therefore; ultimately - for me and I am sure for many others in the UK, using DDB is more expensive than your advertised pricing and this additional cost is actually a hidden one, as you don't realise until AFTER the purchase.
Even after you have realised; if you want to continue to use DDB, you need to continuously absorb this additional cost.
Or; purchasing Content and paying subscriptions at the advertised pricing, requires workarounds such as keeping funds on PayPal, stored in multiple currencies - which doesn't really work out cheaper in the long run, it just means you pay one conversion fee at the time of transfer, instead of many smaller ones at the time of purchase.
This might also be true (not sure) for people using DDB in other countries - other than America.
I would like to suggest that you allow us to make purchases in our local currencies. Even if we have to pay an additional cost for the currency to be converted at your end, this cost could be added to the price for each currency and clearly identified at checkout. Thus, there would be no hidden charges for using DDB in countries other than America.
Of course the best solution is for standardized pricing in all currencies.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
A caffeinated nerd who has played TTRPGs or a number of years and is very much a fantasy adventure geek.
To facilitate purchase in a different currency they need to: upgrade or buy a new e-merchant platform to handle the transaction, implement this while also adding extra code on the site for correct currency display, update and rework their terms and conditions, and pay for the extra currency conversion. This is a lot to ask and gets very expensive all for you to save a small amount. Conversion rates for you to pay in USD through most banks is between 3-3.5%. For hero tier subscription this is £0.09 going with 3% like it is for my bank. For a Legendary Bundle with no discount or previous content purchased this is £13.62. Actually for my bank it's a bit less because the fee is 2.99% because banks. On top of is there may be a set fee of £0.50 (at least with my bank). PayPal is 3.5% (£0.10 for hero tier, £15.90 for the legendary bundle) but no other fees (I don't think, anyway). So, cheaper to use PayPal for smaller transactions and use bank for larger ones.
It is much cheaper and easier for you to pay the piddly amount than for D&D Beyond to introduce another layer of purchasing to its platform. Every transaction they have to convert on their side will be run through a separate system costing them a lot more per-transaction than it costs you, and if they tried to set a baseline charge and include this it would work out more expensive for you. It's actually better, in most cases, for you to pay your bank/PayPal conversions than to pay the extra charge added by a company unless you're talking very large prices which, really, you're not on this site.
Finally, this isn't a hidden cost. A hidden cost is when a company adds charges to the basket you were not clearly advised upfront or includes fees that were buried under pages of fine print. You not understanding how banks and currency conversion work is not a hidden cost - the company are not involved in that, they display the price they charge. Information about making transactions in other currencies is clearly available through your bank/PayPal's websites so they're not hiding the cost from you either.
Since your suggestion will result in us UK customers paying more, I really hope they dismiss your suggestion.
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.
The issue is not really a financial one for me, it is a moral one. Why should I pay more than people in America? Why should you?
We are on the same site, using the same service, purchasing the same content. Why should American users get it cheaper?
So for me, it is more a moral issue.
Also, I knew I would have to pay a currency conversion fee from the start. It didn't bother me.
There are those out there however, who would have a financial issue and there are those who wouldnt know that they need to pay the conversion fee.
You say the conversion fee for purchases is 3.5% on average. Not a lot,.we are talking pennies, to one or two pounds. Those pennies however; let alone the pounds, could result in the less well off not being able to pay their rent this month, because they thought they had 29.99 to spare for a digital book and were charged 31.03 instead.
29.99 by DDB and 1.04 by their bank.
This extra cost could result in those less fortunate than me or you having a failed direct debit. So not only have they been unable to pay their rent, but have now been charged £30 by their bank and thus, can't pay it next month either.
Furthermore, the only reason I don't purchase the legondary bundle, is because I refuse to pay so much more for it than American users.
I am already purchasing some content on DDB for which I already have hard copies. Thus, it's duplicated anyway and I only purchase said content for the quick searches and use in the character builder.
At the very least, it should be made clear (cue red bold paragraph) at the time of purchase,.that you may be charged a currency conversion.
I only knew that this would be the case because I am used to working with different currencies but we can't assume that everyone (especially younger or older people) would actually know or understand that their purchase is not just going to be 29.99.
Thus, even though the conversion fee is not charged by DDB, it is still a hidden cost, because it's not made clear that such a fee may be charged.
Lastly; the PayPal checkout process, which is offered as an option, supports multiple currencies and can be set up to do so, with the minimum of cost and down time.
They already offer the PayPal checkout as a payment option, so why not just make it the only option and set their PayPal account (they clearly have one) to accept transactions in multiple currencies?
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
A caffeinated nerd who has played TTRPGs or a number of years and is very much a fantasy adventure geek.
The issue is not really a financial one for me, it is a moral one. Why should I pay more than people in America? Why should you?
You are choosing to buy an American product, from an American company in American currency while not being in America. There are added conversions to make the transaction possible and legal. When you make this choice either your bank or the company has to pay extra to handle this transaction. It costs the bank/company more to process this transaction that's why there are fees: to mitigate these extra costs. These fees are added based on who is doing this extra processing: the bank (by paying in foreign currency) or the company (by offering a foreign currency price).
There are those out there however, who would have a financial issue and there are those who wouldnt know that they need to pay the conversion fee.
If they see prices in a foreign currency they should check with their bank/payment method what this entails. If they did not check they have no right to complain. The banks etc do not hide their currency fees, their policies are easily findable as is their conversion rates and everything they need to know. If you are down to the line where a few quid determines whether you can pay rent or not then you need to be careful what you pay for things, especially frivolous things you don't need, like this site's services. Your money, your responsibility. Why should the site lose out because somebody didn't have the common sense to go "oh hey, I'm paying in an entirely different company, I should check that that means" - a simple 5 minute search of the bank/paypal/etc site reveals all they need to know to determine if they can make the purchase.
Your bank. Just to clarify this is your bank charges as a customer. D&D Beyond would have to pay more than you per transaction for their side if they implemented the conversion instead of your bank. I could explain but it's nigh 3 am and I cannot be arsed.
At the very least, it should be made clear (cue red bold paragraph) at the time of purchase,.that you may be charged a currency conversion.
<...>
Thus, even though the conversion fee is not charged by DDB, it is still a hidden cost, because it's not made clear that such a fee may be charged.
It is not D&D Beyond's responsibility to tell you if there may or may not be extra charges. You can see it is in a different currency, so it is your responsibility to understand how your bank/paypal/whatever manages foreign currency transactions. D&D Beyond are not the ones charging you. Nor are there banks. Nothing from D&D Beyond or anything is involved in those extra charges: your banks / etc are and they do give you the information about this on their website and in the agreement you signed when you opened the account. Your money, your bank/etc, your choice to make the purchase, your responsibility.
The cost isn't hidden. A hidden cost is when somebody is making the deliberate action to hide it from you. Your (used generally, not specifically you) lack of knowledge on how payments work is not them hiding something.
McDonald's don't make glaring signs that their beef burgers contain meat, it is assumed that since you are choosing to order one you already know that beef is meat. If you choose to make a purchase in a foreign currency from a company that company can assume you know what buying in foreign currency means.
D&D Beyond shouldn't have to remind you that USD transactions are not GBP transactions and may be different. It's fairly obvious. If you do not understand what the difference means either look it up or don't make the payment.
Lastly; the PayPal checkout process, which is offered as an option, supports multiple currencies and can be set up to do so, with the minimum of cost and down time.
They already offer the PayPal checkout as a payment option, so why not just make it the only option and set their PayPal account (they clearly have one) to accept transactions in multiple currencies?
It still costs them money to set up alternate currencies with PayPal and incurs further fees and making it the "only" option is an insanely big mistake. There are a lot of people who do not like PayPal, and while it offers more anonymity, it offers less rights than your bank. Also, for larger values the PayPal conversions are more costly to the end user than most bank conversions. PayPal can be a good option, but it should never be the only option.
As somebody who has seen the set up of alternate currency options (including through PayPal) and what it has involved and resulted in, I can tell you the way it is now still works out easier and cheaper for everyone. Sure, those who don't show common sense could end up paying a tiny amount more than expected but that's their fault.
Sorry, I'm against the idiot-proofing initiative, like "hey, the tap marked Hot will produce Hot water!" warnings. If a person does not understand buying in USD is different than buying in GBP or other currencies then they shouldn't be shopping online in the first place until they understand how payments work. If I, with mental problems, can understand the difference at 10 years old, I'm fairly certain adults can too.
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.
You make a fair argument I suppose. It's just something that agrivates me. Mostly because there is no UK based company that offers a product or service like DDB and I run a game for disadvantaged teens, so I see people on a regular basis who are affected by the small pennies.
Often not being able to afford something because it costs an extra 10p that they don't have.
It agrivates me and makes me sad and I see so much more that companies can do. Especially companies who provide services and content for a game that is supposed to be open and accessable.to everyone and which I have personally seen a difference to people's lives.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
A caffeinated nerd who has played TTRPGs or a number of years and is very much a fantasy adventure geek.
Do you feel the same way about international shipping costs when you order physical products from America?
Actually, when you put it like this - I import games and stuff all the time from Japan and have to not only pay shipping but various taxes as well.
This often makes them more expensive than buying them in the UK but means I get them sooner or with more content or whatever.
So, thinking about it - I actually have no problems with conversion fees and taxes and such at all.
It's really just that I see people who are struggling and d&d is like their outlet. Their escape from the reality of their situation and sometimes their only meaningful social interaction and I find it agrivating and sad that they are often excluded from things, when there is so much more that people and especially businesses and organisations can do to support them.
Though I still think it would be better to pay in local currency, I understand that DDB and it's s parent companies might not be able to absorb the cost of letting us do this.
And you have all made reasonable arguments against it - at least at this time.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
A caffeinated nerd who has played TTRPGs or a number of years and is very much a fantasy adventure geek.
You make a fair argument I suppose. It's just something that agrivates me. Mostly because there is no UK based company that offers a product or service like DDB and I run a game for disadvantaged teens, so I see people on a regular basis who are affected by the small pennies.
Often not being able to afford something because it costs an extra 10p that they don't have.
It agrivates me and makes me sad and I see so much more that companies can do. Especially companies who provide services and content for a game that is supposed to be open and accessable.to everyone and which I have personally seen a difference to people's lives.
As Cyb3rm1nd tried to explain, it is not a fault of DDB or Curse, it is a problem of how international transfers/payments work and Banking policies.
If a service like DDB (or DDB itself) was available in other currencies (be it £ or €) the cost difference would be much higher than the conversion fee we from the old continent are paying now, given taxes, fees and whatnot.
I am sorry you feel this is preventing someone from enjoying the service, but any service is a premium, it's not mandatory to play the game. I understand it can make playing the game easier, but if the pricepoint is an issue, when DDB is already much cheaper than buying physical books, then I can only suggest to look in second-hand shops for the manuals at a discount.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Born in Italy, moved a bunch, living in Spain, my heart always belonged to Roleplaying Games
I feel it's also worth noting that D&D Beyond have worked hard to follow the model that Wizards of the Coast laid out - that playing the Basic game of Dungeons & Dragons is FREE.
It costs nothing to use D&D Beyond, unless you wish to purchase content beyond the Basic Rules. Those Basic Rules have also been updated recently with the latest errata and an improved layout.
It's perfectly possible to create a campaign here and populate it with Fighters, Clerics, Wizards etc and play D&D without spending a penny. :)
If someone wants one of the subclass or race options from one of the more advanced books, but can't afford the whole book, then it's possible to just purchase the single subclass or race. If they later decide to purchase the whole book, the price is discounted by the amount already spent on content from it.
The team here at D&D Beyond are really passionate about Dungeons & Dragons and have fought to make the pricing scheme as fair and reasonable as possible for everyone.
The other alternative, which is what i do, is use Revolut.
in case you're not aware, it is a prepaid mastercard which can be used for foreign currency transactions, either in person on holiday, or via the internet. No extra fees and usually better exchange rates than offered by the banks.
Taking into account what everyone has been saying and re-evaluating my original post, I think I need to withdraw my feedback. Upon considering what I have actually suggested, it would indeed make things more difficult and most probably more expensive in the long run.
So yes, I would like to withdraw my feedback as it came mostly out of the frustration of seeing people, who have little amounts of money to spend on their hobby, struggle to use anything beyond the basic free packs. This however; is not really a business issue, rather its a social and economic issue that goes beyond the ability of DDB to really solve.
Time to become a politician I think ...... who will vote for the Hellfire wielding, Tiefling Warlock/Bard, with a love for dragons LOL.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
A caffeinated nerd who has played TTRPGs or a number of years and is very much a fantasy adventure geek.
Hi, just some feedback from a user in the UK.
As all your marketplace content uses USD as the currency, I am unable to purchase any content using my PayPal Credit and I have to pay a currency conversion fee (charged by my bank if I use my Credit Card, or PayPal if I use my PayPal account).
This is also true for my subscription to DDB.
The only two ways I can avoid the currency conversion fee are:
1. Use my bank card and pay the entire balance of any purchase with cleared funds (funds that are instantly debited from my bank account and do not use any kind of credit or pay later methods of payment)
2. Add an additional currency (USD) to my PayPal account, and keep funds stored in that currency on my PayPal account. This allows me to pay in USD but I still ultimately end up paying a conversion fee every time I add PayPal funds to that additional currency.
Therefore; ultimately - for me and I am sure for many others in the UK, using DDB is more expensive than your advertised pricing and this additional cost is actually a hidden one, as you don't realise until AFTER the purchase.
Even after you have realised; if you want to continue to use DDB, you need to continuously absorb this additional cost.
Or; purchasing Content and paying subscriptions at the advertised pricing, requires workarounds such as keeping funds on PayPal, stored in multiple currencies - which doesn't really work out cheaper in the long run, it just means you pay one conversion fee at the time of transfer, instead of many smaller ones at the time of purchase.
This might also be true (not sure) for people using DDB in other countries - other than America.
I would like to suggest that you allow us to make purchases in our local currencies. Even if we have to pay an additional cost for the currency to be converted at your end, this cost could be added to the price for each currency and clearly identified at checkout. Thus, there would be no hidden charges for using DDB in countries other than America.
Of course the best solution is for standardized pricing in all currencies.
A caffeinated nerd who has played TTRPGs or a number of years and is very much a fantasy adventure geek.
To facilitate purchase in a different currency they need to: upgrade or buy a new e-merchant platform to handle the transaction, implement this while also adding extra code on the site for correct currency display, update and rework their terms and conditions, and pay for the extra currency conversion. This is a lot to ask and gets very expensive all for you to save a small amount. Conversion rates for you to pay in USD through most banks is between 3-3.5%. For hero tier subscription this is £0.09 going with 3% like it is for my bank. For a Legendary Bundle with no discount or previous content purchased this is £13.62. Actually for my bank it's a bit less because the fee is 2.99% because banks. On top of is there may be a set fee of £0.50 (at least with my bank). PayPal is 3.5% (£0.10 for hero tier, £15.90 for the legendary bundle) but no other fees (I don't think, anyway). So, cheaper to use PayPal for smaller transactions and use bank for larger ones.
It is much cheaper and easier for you to pay the piddly amount than for D&D Beyond to introduce another layer of purchasing to its platform. Every transaction they have to convert on their side will be run through a separate system costing them a lot more per-transaction than it costs you, and if they tried to set a baseline charge and include this it would work out more expensive for you. It's actually better, in most cases, for you to pay your bank/PayPal conversions than to pay the extra charge added by a company unless you're talking very large prices which, really, you're not on this site.
Finally, this isn't a hidden cost. A hidden cost is when a company adds charges to the basket you were not clearly advised upfront or includes fees that were buried under pages of fine print. You not understanding how banks and currency conversion work is not a hidden cost - the company are not involved in that, they display the price they charge. Information about making transactions in other currencies is clearly available through your bank/PayPal's websites so they're not hiding the cost from you either.
Since your suggestion will result in us UK customers paying more, I really hope they dismiss your suggestion.
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.
The issue is not really a financial one for me, it is a moral one. Why should I pay more than people in America? Why should you?
We are on the same site, using the same service, purchasing the same content. Why should American users get it cheaper?
So for me, it is more a moral issue.
Also, I knew I would have to pay a currency conversion fee from the start. It didn't bother me.
There are those out there however, who would have a financial issue and there are those who wouldnt know that they need to pay the conversion fee.
You say the conversion fee for purchases is 3.5% on average. Not a lot,.we are talking pennies, to one or two pounds. Those pennies however; let alone the pounds, could result in the less well off not being able to pay their rent this month, because they thought they had 29.99 to spare for a digital book and were charged 31.03 instead.
29.99 by DDB and 1.04 by their bank.
This extra cost could result in those less fortunate than me or you having a failed direct debit. So not only have they been unable to pay their rent, but have now been charged £30 by their bank and thus, can't pay it next month either.
Furthermore, the only reason I don't purchase the legondary bundle, is because I refuse to pay so much more for it than American users.
I am already purchasing some content on DDB for which I already have hard copies. Thus, it's duplicated anyway and I only purchase said content for the quick searches and use in the character builder.
At the very least, it should be made clear (cue red bold paragraph) at the time of purchase,.that you may be charged a currency conversion.
I only knew that this would be the case because I am used to working with different currencies but we can't assume that everyone (especially younger or older people) would actually know or understand that their purchase is not just going to be 29.99.
Thus, even though the conversion fee is not charged by DDB, it is still a hidden cost, because it's not made clear that such a fee may be charged.
Lastly; the PayPal checkout process, which is offered as an option, supports multiple currencies and can be set up to do so, with the minimum of cost and down time.
They already offer the PayPal checkout as a payment option, so why not just make it the only option and set their PayPal account (they clearly have one) to accept transactions in multiple currencies?
A caffeinated nerd who has played TTRPGs or a number of years and is very much a fantasy adventure geek.
If someone has exactly enough money to afford a book and rent, I would hope they'd be wise enough to save some money for emergencies.
If DDB let's their PayPal accept foreign currencies, wouldnt they need to pay the conversion fees then?
Do you feel the same way about international shipping costs when you order physical products from America?
You are choosing to buy an American product, from an American company in American currency while not being in America. There are added conversions to make the transaction possible and legal. When you make this choice either your bank or the company has to pay extra to handle this transaction. It costs the bank/company more to process this transaction that's why there are fees: to mitigate these extra costs. These fees are added based on who is doing this extra processing: the bank (by paying in foreign currency) or the company (by offering a foreign currency price).
If they see prices in a foreign currency they should check with their bank/payment method what this entails. If they did not check they have no right to complain. The banks etc do not hide their currency fees, their policies are easily findable as is their conversion rates and everything they need to know. If you are down to the line where a few quid determines whether you can pay rent or not then you need to be careful what you pay for things, especially frivolous things you don't need, like this site's services. Your money, your responsibility. Why should the site lose out because somebody didn't have the common sense to go "oh hey, I'm paying in an entirely different company, I should check that that means" - a simple 5 minute search of the bank/paypal/etc site reveals all they need to know to determine if they can make the purchase.
Your bank. Just to clarify this is your bank charges as a customer. D&D Beyond would have to pay more than you per transaction for their side if they implemented the conversion instead of your bank. I could explain but it's nigh 3 am and I cannot be arsed.
It is not D&D Beyond's responsibility to tell you if there may or may not be extra charges. You can see it is in a different currency, so it is your responsibility to understand how your bank/paypal/whatever manages foreign currency transactions. D&D Beyond are not the ones charging you. Nor are there banks. Nothing from D&D Beyond or anything is involved in those extra charges: your banks / etc are and they do give you the information about this on their website and in the agreement you signed when you opened the account. Your money, your bank/etc, your choice to make the purchase, your responsibility.
The cost isn't hidden. A hidden cost is when somebody is making the deliberate action to hide it from you. Your (used generally, not specifically you) lack of knowledge on how payments work is not them hiding something.
McDonald's don't make glaring signs that their beef burgers contain meat, it is assumed that since you are choosing to order one you already know that beef is meat. If you choose to make a purchase in a foreign currency from a company that company can assume you know what buying in foreign currency means.
D&D Beyond shouldn't have to remind you that USD transactions are not GBP transactions and may be different. It's fairly obvious. If you do not understand what the difference means either look it up or don't make the payment.
It still costs them money to set up alternate currencies with PayPal and incurs further fees and making it the "only" option is an insanely big mistake. There are a lot of people who do not like PayPal, and while it offers more anonymity, it offers less rights than your bank. Also, for larger values the PayPal conversions are more costly to the end user than most bank conversions. PayPal can be a good option, but it should never be the only option.
As somebody who has seen the set up of alternate currency options (including through PayPal) and what it has involved and resulted in, I can tell you the way it is now still works out easier and cheaper for everyone. Sure, those who don't show common sense could end up paying a tiny amount more than expected but that's their fault.
Sorry, I'm against the idiot-proofing initiative, like "hey, the tap marked Hot will produce Hot water!" warnings. If a person does not understand buying in USD is different than buying in GBP or other currencies then they shouldn't be shopping online in the first place until they understand how payments work. If I, with mental problems, can understand the difference at 10 years old, I'm fairly certain adults can too.
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.
You make a fair argument I suppose. It's just something that agrivates me. Mostly because there is no UK based company that offers a product or service like DDB and I run a game for disadvantaged teens, so I see people on a regular basis who are affected by the small pennies.
Often not being able to afford something because it costs an extra 10p that they don't have.
It agrivates me and makes me sad and I see so much more that companies can do. Especially companies who provide services and content for a game that is supposed to be open and accessable.to everyone and which I have personally seen a difference to people's lives.
A caffeinated nerd who has played TTRPGs or a number of years and is very much a fantasy adventure geek.
Actually, when you put it like this - I import games and stuff all the time from Japan and have to not only pay shipping but various taxes as well.
This often makes them more expensive than buying them in the UK but means I get them sooner or with more content or whatever.
So, thinking about it - I actually have no problems with conversion fees and taxes and such at all.
It's really just that I see people who are struggling and d&d is like their outlet. Their escape from the reality of their situation and sometimes their only meaningful social interaction and I find it agrivating and sad that they are often excluded from things, when there is so much more that people and especially businesses and organisations can do to support them.
Though I still think it would be better to pay in local currency, I understand that DDB and it's s parent companies might not be able to absorb the cost of letting us do this.
And you have all made reasonable arguments against it - at least at this time.
A caffeinated nerd who has played TTRPGs or a number of years and is very much a fantasy adventure geek.
As Cyb3rm1nd tried to explain, it is not a fault of DDB or Curse, it is a problem of how international transfers/payments work and Banking policies.
If a service like DDB (or DDB itself) was available in other currencies (be it £ or €) the cost difference would be much higher than the conversion fee we from the old continent are paying now, given taxes, fees and whatnot.
I am sorry you feel this is preventing someone from enjoying the service, but any service is a premium, it's not mandatory to play the game. I understand it can make playing the game easier, but if the pricepoint is an issue, when DDB is already much cheaper than buying physical books, then I can only suggest to look in second-hand shops for the manuals at a discount.
Born in Italy, moved a bunch, living in Spain, my heart always belonged to Roleplaying Games
I feel it's also worth noting that D&D Beyond have worked hard to follow the model that Wizards of the Coast laid out - that playing the Basic game of Dungeons & Dragons is FREE.
It costs nothing to use D&D Beyond, unless you wish to purchase content beyond the Basic Rules. Those Basic Rules have also been updated recently with the latest errata and an improved layout.
It's perfectly possible to create a campaign here and populate it with Fighters, Clerics, Wizards etc and play D&D without spending a penny. :)
If someone wants one of the subclass or race options from one of the more advanced books, but can't afford the whole book, then it's possible to just purchase the single subclass or race. If they later decide to purchase the whole book, the price is discounted by the amount already spent on content from it.
The team here at D&D Beyond are really passionate about Dungeons & Dragons and have fought to make the pricing scheme as fair and reasonable as possible for everyone.
Pun-loving nerd | Faith Elisabeth Lilley | She/Her/Hers | Profile art by Becca Golins
If you need help with homebrew, please post on the homebrew forums, where multiple staff and moderators can read your post and help you!
"We got this, no problem! I'll take the twenty on the left - you guys handle the one on the right!"🔊
The other alternative, which is what i do, is use Revolut.
in case you're not aware, it is a prepaid mastercard which can be used for foreign currency transactions, either in person on holiday, or via the internet. No extra fees and usually better exchange rates than offered by the banks.
You make some very good points Stormknight.
Taking into account what everyone has been saying and re-evaluating my original post, I think I need to withdraw my feedback. Upon considering what I have actually suggested, it would indeed make things more difficult and most probably more expensive in the long run.
So yes, I would like to withdraw my feedback as it came mostly out of the frustration of seeing people, who have little amounts of money to spend on their hobby, struggle to use anything beyond the basic free packs. This however; is not really a business issue, rather its a social and economic issue that goes beyond the ability of DDB to really solve.
Time to become a politician I think ...... who will vote for the Hellfire wielding, Tiefling Warlock/Bard, with a love for dragons LOL.
A caffeinated nerd who has played TTRPGs or a number of years and is very much a fantasy adventure geek.
Well then, I came just to see what currency D&D used but saw this, geez