I dont like the character creator. My DM lets me use stuff from books A and B, but because I have them irl but not in ddb, I cant make my character as well. Oh, and theres no homebrew races, subraces, et cetera.
If you want more people to use it please improve it by adding homebrew.
Thanks for the feedback, but I hardly think it's fair to state that the character creator is ineffective.
The content you refer to is available to purchase.
It seems your issue is more that you don't wish to pay?
I dont necessarily agree with the OP, but there are definite issues. For example, I tried to roll a cleric just as a test case, and while it said there would be 9 domains to choose from, only Life was available to select. Also, if OP owns the books in print, he shouldn't have to re-purchase them in order to use them in the online tool. There should be a mechanism for redeeming/verifying your purchases to transfer into the online system.
I dont necessarily agree with the OP, but there are definite issues. For example, I tried to roll a cleric just as a test case, and while it said there would be 9 domains to choose from, only Life was available to select. Also, if OP owns the books in print, he shouldn't have to re-purchase them in order to use them in the online tool. There should be a mechanism for redeeming/verifying your purchases to transfer into the online system.
Hi Annath,
the additional cleric domains are all available by purchasing the Player's Handbook, or you can purchase just the specific domain you wish to play.
With regards owning the books in print, that does not equate to owning them digitally on D&D Beyond. If you wish to know more about the commercial reasons for this, search the forums, as it has been discussed at length. The short version is - it costs money to create and run this website - do you not feel that the creators are entitled to charge for this?
I dont necessarily agree with the OP, but there are definite issues. For example, I tried to roll a cleric just as a test case, and while it said there would be 9 domains to choose from, only Life was available to select. Also, if OP owns the books in print, he shouldn't have to re-purchase them in order to use them in the online tool. There should be a mechanism for redeeming/verifying your purchases to transfer into the online system.
Hi Annath,
the additional cleric domains are all available by purchasing the Player's Handbook, or you can purchase just the specific domain you wish to play.
With regards owning the books in print, that does not equate to owning them digitally on D&D Beyond. If you wish to know more about the commercial reasons for this, search the forums, as it has been discussed at length. The short version is - it costs money to create and run this website - do you not feel that the creators are entitled to charge for this?
Thanks for the info. Typically, when a tool/utility website has both a free, ad-supported level, plus a paid tier, then those are how the site is run and maintained. For example, Twitch, Curse, etc. In fact, I, apparently in error, assumed that the whole point of the subscription here was to have access to the various sourcebooks for the duration of the subscription.
However, I have no desire to have a debate on commercial ethics, especially not with a moderator, so I'll just bow out.
Thanks for the feedback, but I hardly think it's fair to state that the character creator is ineffective.
The content you refer to is available to purchase.
It seems your issue is more that you don't wish to pay?
Also, if OP owns the books in print, he shouldn't have to re-purchase them in order to use them in the online tool. There should be a mechanism for redeeming/verifying your purchases to transfer into the online system.
I am a little confused on this statement. If a consumer verifies that they paid Wizards of the Coast for a physical book, why is Curse eating the cost of a discount? If WotC reimburses Curse for the cost of the discount, wouldn't they just raise their prices to mitigate losses to their bottom line? I'm not seeing how paying Company A should allow product/service at Company B, if you could help me understand.
The long version is that it is just plain difficult to do so and that the company that was paid for your previous purchase (Wizards of the Coast) is not the same company that developed D&D Beyond (Curse)
Scanning a Barcode
I could walk into some random local game store, pull out my phone and scan one on the shelf and walk out. Or just find a picture of the back cover online. Having a bar code isn't proof of purchase. And there are no unique codes anywhere in or on the book to make this work. It is impossible for them to verify you own the physical copy.
Unique Code inside Book
The difficulty of that would be great, and probably expensive. They'd have to ensure a way to reduce the risk of stolen codes as well as to charge enough money to be able to compensate Curse for the digital copy and WotC for the physical copy without charging so much that the customer wouldn't pay - just like you not wanting to pay for it again here. And finally, it wouldn't help anyone who has already purchased the books.
Not the same company
Curse isn't producing and selling the physical copies, WotC is. Should WotC have to reimburse Curse for the lost revenue or license fee? Curse is not obligated in any way to provide a discount for something you bought from somebody else.
Not the same product
If you bought a digital copy, should you expect your local game store to provide a discount on the physical copy? No. If you already bought a regular copy, should you expect to get a discount on a special edition? No. Even though the content is the same, you're buying two different products. If that's not something you want to do, you can either continue using your current copy as you have been or sell your current copy to get this. As a sort of incentive, note that the physical book is nothing more than the content between the covers. If all you wanted was the content here, you could just purchase the compendium bundles for less than what the books cost on Amazon - about $20 per book. You even get the beautiful artwork ;) D&D Beyond, however, comes with much more than that for the full price. And more features will continue to come as the developers have time to finish addressing the issues with the full release.
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Thanks for the feedback, but I hardly think it's fair to state that the character creator is ineffective.
The content you refer to is available to purchase.
It seems your issue is more that you don't wish to pay?
I dont necessarily agree with the OP, but there are definite issues. For example, I tried to roll a cleric just as a test case, and while it said there would be 9 domains to choose from, only Life was available to select. Also, if OP owns the books in print, he shouldn't have to re-purchase them in order to use them in the online tool. There should be a mechanism for redeeming/verifying your purchases to transfer into the online system.
I agree it would be great to not have to pay twice, but there's a HUGE amount of potential in DDB. So for me I don't have a problem supporting this product because I know that I will be using it for some time.
You just have to decide for yourself if it's worth it or not. Are you already a couple hundred deep in books, and/or roll20, and/or fantasy grounds? Well maybe it might not be worth it for you to do DDB as well considering that will be the second third or possibly fourth time you'd have to purchase the same content all over again.
Now if you've only purchased the books, DDB might still be worth the purchase. DDB can be updated quickly, books would require you to purchase the up to date version of book requiring you to double the amount of money you spend. DDB might require you to purchase a copy of a book you already have, but they know that this may be the case for some, so they offer this product at a discount instead of charging you the book price.
If you're still on the fence about if you should make this purchase or not, I highly recommend checking out youtube videos that review DDB for what it is. Try to find the newer ones, they're going to have the best understanding of the product because theoretically they should have been investigating DDB during the beta so they can see how well this product is doing.
Thanks for the feedback, but I hardly think it's fair to state that the character creator is ineffective.
The content you refer to is available to purchase.
It seems your issue is more that you don't wish to pay?
Also, if OP owns the books in print, he shouldn't have to re-purchase them in order to use them in the online tool. There should be a mechanism for redeeming/verifying your purchases to transfer into the online system.
I am a little confused on this statement. If a consumer verifies that they paid Wizards of the Coast for a physical book, why is Curse eating the cost of a discount? If WotC reimburses Curse for the cost of the discount, wouldn't they just raise their prices to mitigate losses to their bottom line? I'm not seeing how paying Company A should allow product/service at Company B, if you could help me understand.
The short version is that, prior to this thread, I had no idea Curse was the one running this site. I just got linked here by a group of friends thinking about starting a DnD campaign. I assumed, reasonably I think, that DnD being a WotC property, that this site was built/operated by WotC. I know there used to be an online character builder right on the WotC DnD website, so I assumed this was a natural evolution of that service.
The short version is that, prior to this thread, I had no idea Curse was the one running this site. I just got linked here by a group of friends thinking about starting a DnD campaign. I assumed, reasonably I think, that DnD being a WotC property, that this site was built/operated by WotC. I know there used to be an online character builder right on the WotC DnD website, so I assumed this was a natural evolution of that service.
No worries, we understand the situation. :)
You're not the first and I doubt the last.
Take a look around and see if you like D&D Beyond - if you're after creating a specific character, you can purchase just the sub-class you want and, if you want the full PHB later, it will take your existing purchases as a discount.
I own physical copies of the books. My friends own the books. Why should we have to buy the books again in order to use a digital platform. That is neigh on $600 for me to play a game with my friends and use your service that was supposed to streamline and make things easier. The books are on sale, and you can find them used for next to nothing online or even at a local bookstore.
Or I could do what I've been doing and make it pure pen and pencil. Which at this point is easier. Cheaper and faster. At the very least, paying a montly subscription I expected access to the PHB. I instead have less access to the content of the intital playtest. For more of the cost. I'm not even asking for a digital version of the book, I'm simply asking to able to make characters and test builds with some conent from the books and not have to go through the hassle of mathing everything out on paper, which 55$ a year is more than enough to warrant. I can do all that on another service, Roll 20, and gain access to a way to play and maps and much more content for less money. The 4th edition builder offered more conent for less.
The complaint is the lack of expected content for the price, especially when it seems a majority of users already have the conent in another form.
I own physical copies of the books. My friends own the books. Why should we have to buy the books again in order to use a digital platform. That is neigh on $600 for me to play a game with my friends and use your service that was supposed to streamline and make things easier. The books are on sale, and you can find them used for next to nothing online or even at a local bookstore.
Or I could do what I've been doing and make it pure pen and pencil. Which at this point is easier. Cheaper and faster. At the very least, paying a montly subscription I expected access to the PHB. I instead have less access to the content of the intital playtest. For more of the cost. I'm not even asking for a digital version of the book, I'm simply asking to able to make characters and test builds with some conent from the books and not have to go through the hassle of mathing everything out on paper, which 55$ a year is more than enough to warrant. I can do all that on another service, Roll 20, and gain access to a way to play and maps and much more content for less money. The 4th edition builder offered more conent for less.
The complaint is the lack of expected content for the price, especially when it seems a majority of users already have the conent in another form.
Aside from Monsters, you can get pretty much all of the character builder content (including Magic Items) currently available for about $70 (that's what I paid) one time payment by buying just the bundles. It wouldn't give you the compendium content for those books, but it would give you the streamlined character building experience you're looking for. And then for the other info, you can just open your books.
Because D&D Beyond comes with much more than the content you've already purchased. And more features will continue to come as the developers have time to finish addressing the issues with the full release.
As for homebrew, they will be adding more homebrew features soon.
You just have to decide for yourself if it's worth it or not for the things you'll have not only now, but down the road as well.
If the price is really that concerning for you, you can purchase just the character builder content and that would leave you set. You could also sell your books to pay for the digital counterparts.
I dont like the character creator. My DM lets me use stuff from books A and B, but because I have them irl but not in ddb, I cant make my character as well. Oh, and theres no homebrew races, subraces, et cetera.
If you want more people to use it please improve it by adding homebrew.
Just an average metalhead who plays DnD in his spare time.
PbP Character: Roberta Thalan, Void Beyond the Stars Otherside
PbP Character: Primus Eidolon, Eotha 2
PbP Character: Usmor Illiqai, Tomb of Corrosion
PbP Character: "Templar" Danver, You're the Villains
Homebrew stuff
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D&D Beyond FoundersThanks for the feedback, but I hardly think it's fair to state that the character creator is ineffective.
The content you refer to is available to purchase.
It seems your issue is more that you don't wish to pay?
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!"🔊
Also, if OP owns the books in print, he shouldn't have to re-purchase them in order to use them in the online tool. There should be a mechanism for redeeming/verifying your purchases to transfer into the online system.
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D&D Beyond FoundersPun-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!"🔊
Typically, when a tool/utility website has both a free, ad-supported level, plus a paid tier, then those are how the site is run and maintained. For example, Twitch, Curse, etc.
In fact, I, apparently in error, assumed that the whole point of the subscription here was to have access to the various sourcebooks for the duration of the subscription.
However, I have no desire to have a debate on commercial ethics, especially not with a moderator, so I'll just bow out.
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ModeratorThe long version is that it is just plain difficult to do so and that the company that was paid for your previous purchase (Wizards of the Coast) is not the same company that developed D&D Beyond (Curse)
Scanning a Barcode
I could walk into some random local game store, pull out my phone and scan one on the shelf and walk out. Or just find a picture of the back cover online. Having a bar code isn't proof of purchase. And there are no unique codes anywhere in or on the book to make this work. It is impossible for them to verify you own the physical copy.
Unique Code inside Book
The difficulty of that would be great, and probably expensive. They'd have to ensure a way to reduce the risk of stolen codes as well as to charge enough money to be able to compensate Curse for the digital copy and WotC for the physical copy without charging so much that the customer wouldn't pay - just like you not wanting to pay for it again here. And finally, it wouldn't help anyone who has already purchased the books.
Not the same company
Curse isn't producing and selling the physical copies, WotC is. Should WotC have to reimburse Curse for the lost revenue or license fee? Curse is not obligated in any way to provide a discount for something you bought from somebody else.
Not the same product
If you bought a digital copy, should you expect your local game store to provide a discount on the physical copy? No. If you already bought a regular copy, should you expect to get a discount on a special edition? No. Even though the content is the same, you're buying two different products. If that's not something you want to do, you can either continue using your current copy as you have been or sell your current copy to get this. As a sort of incentive, note that the physical book is nothing more than the content between the covers. If all you wanted was the content here, you could just purchase the compendium bundles for less than what the books cost on Amazon - about $20 per book. You even get the beautiful artwork ;) D&D Beyond, however, comes with much more than that for the full price. And more features will continue to come as the developers have time to finish addressing the issues with the full release.
Homebrew Rules || Homebrew FAQ || Snippet Codes || Tooltips
DDB Guides & FAQs, Class Guides, Character Builds, Game Guides, Useful Websites, and WOTC Resources
You just have to decide for yourself if it's worth it or not. Are you already a couple hundred deep in books, and/or roll20, and/or fantasy grounds? Well maybe it might not be worth it for you to do DDB as well considering that will be the second third or possibly fourth time you'd have to purchase the same content all over again.
If you're still on the fence about if you should make this purchase or not, I highly recommend checking out youtube videos that review DDB for what it is. Try to find the newer ones, they're going to have the best understanding of the product because theoretically they should have been investigating DDB during the beta so they can see how well this product is doing.
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D&D Beyond FoundersPun-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!"🔊
See the problem is this.
I own physical copies of the books. My friends own the books. Why should we have to buy the books again in order to use a digital platform. That is neigh on $600 for me to play a game with my friends and use your service that was supposed to streamline and make things easier. The books are on sale, and you can find them used for next to nothing online or even at a local bookstore.
Or I could do what I've been doing and make it pure pen and pencil. Which at this point is easier. Cheaper and faster. At the very least, paying a montly subscription I expected access to the PHB. I instead have less access to the content of the intital playtest. For more of the cost. I'm not even asking for a digital version of the book, I'm simply asking to able to make characters and test builds with some conent from the books and not have to go through the hassle of mathing everything out on paper, which 55$ a year is more than enough to warrant. I can do all that on another service, Roll 20, and gain access to a way to play and maps and much more content for less money. The 4th edition builder offered more conent for less.
The complaint is the lack of expected content for the price, especially when it seems a majority of users already have the conent in another form.
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ModeratorHomebrew Rules || Homebrew FAQ || Snippet Codes || Tooltips
DDB Guides & FAQs, Class Guides, Character Builds, Game Guides, Useful Websites, and WOTC Resources
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ModeratorThese are all the items you need if all you need is the character builder:
Homebrew Rules || Homebrew FAQ || Snippet Codes || Tooltips
DDB Guides & FAQs, Class Guides, Character Builds, Game Guides, Useful Websites, and WOTC Resources
WHy would I want to buy something I already have? At least add a homebrew so I can use my homebrew stuff without having to pay.
Just an average metalhead who plays DnD in his spare time.
PbP Character: Roberta Thalan, Void Beyond the Stars Otherside
PbP Character: Primus Eidolon, Eotha 2
PbP Character: Usmor Illiqai, Tomb of Corrosion
PbP Character: "Templar" Danver, You're the Villains
Homebrew stuff
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ModeratorBecause D&D Beyond comes with much more than the content you've already purchased. And more features will continue to come as the developers have time to finish addressing the issues with the full release.
As for homebrew, they will be adding more homebrew features soon.
You just have to decide for yourself if it's worth it or not for the things you'll have not only now, but down the road as well.
If the price is really that concerning for you, you can purchase just the character builder content and that would leave you set. You could also sell your books to pay for the digital counterparts.
Homebrew Rules || Homebrew FAQ || Snippet Codes || Tooltips
DDB Guides & FAQs, Class Guides, Character Builds, Game Guides, Useful Websites, and WOTC Resources
Just an average metalhead who plays DnD in his spare time.
PbP Character: Roberta Thalan, Void Beyond the Stars Otherside
PbP Character: Primus Eidolon, Eotha 2
PbP Character: Usmor Illiqai, Tomb of Corrosion
PbP Character: "Templar" Danver, You're the Villains
Homebrew stuff