I love everything about this site except that it seems like I need to purchase content twice to access it here? That is too bad. I really like the character sheet management. I'll keep doing it old way, but I really wish I could pop in some codes to access the books I already have.
I would love to be able to access what I already own and pay a (small - monthly ~ $5.00 - $10.00) subscription fee to use the tools. They took time to develop, test, and deploy. They have value to me as a player and I would like to support the site. But asking me to pay for stuff I have already purchased is a bridge too far.
First, one little correction: you only need to purchase content once to access it here, you just have to buy it here.
DDB is a separate service/company from where you bought your books before. They are not a part of WotC and not only did not get any money for your purchases, but have to pay WotC a fee for you to use those books on this site.
There are no unique codes or ways to confirm purchases of any books. Only 1 product so far (the essentials kit) has come with a code to redeem it on DDB.
There are some work around. Instead of buying whole books you already have, you can buy just the races/subclasses/spells/etc that you need to be used in the builder individually. Alternatively, you can use the homebrew tools to add what you need out of your books for free (just don't publish these).
There are some work around. Instead of buying whole books you already have, you can buy just the races/subclasses/spells/etc that you need to be used in the builder individually. Alternatively, you can use the homebrew tools to add what you need out of your books for free (just don't publish these).
OK - I see your point about the Homebrew stuff. Thanks!
Also keep in mind the time that D&D Beyond had to spend digitizing all of the book, adding in the tool tips, and linking in the Monster / Magic Item listing for searching. Plus ongoing server costs, the licensing fee, etc.
With the coupon codes / sales, you can usually get 20% off at least.
Then D&D beyond needs to be sure purchasers are aware you're not D&D.
Please do not necro threads. It is considered poor etiquette for the vast majority of online forums.
Beyond does not have to do anything. Even if Wizards own Beyond, Wizards is well within their rights to charge physical and digital copies at full price separately without any bundles or deals.
Honestly, in my opinion, expecting some kind of bundle or deal for physical and digital products together is absurd and absolutely unreasonable in this day and age. Consumers of other hobbies and mediums have no issue distinguishing the difference between physical and digital products. No one ever complains about buying Taylor Swift's albums physically but cannot download it for free digitally. No one complains about buying the physical books for A Song of Ice and Fire and having to pay again for the audiobook version of the series. And absolutely no one complains about buying a physical Pokémon game from the Nintendo store and not being able to download the digital version from the Nintendo eShop, despite Nintendo owning both their physical stores and their digital store, and they have been supplying third party stores. Physical and digital products being released side by side have been mainstream for well over ten years now, and it seems like every other group of consumers have grasped the difference between digital and physical products except for a minority of D&D consumers.
This is a complaint that I only see within D&D so far. This is not a branding issue nor business ownership issue. This is a simple product differentiation issue where a vocal minority of D&D consumers for some reason could not grasp when it comes to D&D.
Then D&D beyond needs to be sure purchasers are aware you're not D&D.
Please do not necro threads. It is considered poor etiquette for the vast majority of online forums.
Beyond does not have to do anything. Even if Wizards own Beyond, Wizards is well within their rights to charge physical and digital copies at full price separately without any bundles or deals.
Honestly, in my opinion, expecting some kind of bundle or deal for physical and digital products together is absurd and absolutely unreasonable in this day and age. Consumers of other hobbies and mediums have no issue distinguishing the difference between physical and digital products. No one ever complains about buying Taylor Swift's albums physically but cannot download it for free digitally. No one complains about buying the physical books for A Song of Ice and Fire and having to pay again for the audiobook version of the series. And absolutely no one complains about buying a physical Pokémon game from the Nintendo store and not being able to download the digital version from the Nintendo eShop, despite Nintendo owning both their physical stores and their digital store, and they have been supplying third party stores. Physical and digital products being released side by side have been mainstream for well over ten years now, and it seems like every other group of consumers have grasped the difference between digital and physical products except for a minority of D&D consumers.
This is a complaint that I only see within D&D so far. This is not a branding issue nor business ownership issue. This is a simple product differentiation issue where a vocal minority of D&D consumers for some reason could not grasp when it comes to D&D.
Luckily times are advancing, more and more products and stores are allowing physical purchases of items to be redeemed digitally as well, or in the case of games, even some of the biggest names in the market are scrapping the idea that if you purchase something for a previous-gen or a different platform (say Xbox and pc) that you are limited to only that gen or console unless you re-buy. Now consumers are starting to get free upgrades of their games to the latest gen, can play Xbox games on pc, or get items simply in subscription services. And this is not limited to only video games either.
I personally do not think it is so absurd for people to get better value for the products they buy, in fact, a business model such as what WoTK is doing right now is actually harmful to the various vendors. Let's say someone didn't know about DnD Beyond when they got into the game so they spent bank getting all the physical copies, but now in a time where people are starting to play online more than offline (especially thanks to the current pandemic), they find out about DnD Beyond and realize that they have to spend another $600+ to get everything they already have, it will push them away and make them not want to play using it, and as such, they will either force themselves to wait for an RL group that they might not ever find depending on where they are, or find websites that have a trove of the books in PDF format that they can just download, either that or simply find builders that allow them to add the extra material for character creation without issues.
Have you gone over to Roll20 or Fantasy Grounds and said 'Hey, why do I have to purchase the PHB on your platform if I own the physical book?'. I'm just curious because many people do seem to have a double standard when it comes to DNDBeyond.
I don't love the business model. I think if they had introduced a subscription package from the start, there would be far less of these types of posts. Most people see this as a tool set and psychologically are more happy to pay a fee to use a toolset than to 're-purchase content'.
Something along the lines of:
$10/month to have access to the character builder with all content.
$20/month for character builder and compendium.
$40/month for a DM's subscription so your whole party can access the character builder and you can access the encounter tools.
With the option still open to buy the books and access without a subscription as it is now.
But alas, DDB and WOTC didn't consult me. They agreed to this particular licensing deal. Maybe it was dictated by WOTC, maybe DDB never even thought to bring it up. Maybe they didn't realize that the mindset for so many users would be 'I just want to make characters based on the books I already own.' Because at the end of the day, 90% of these comments come from people who just want a nice automated character builder.
At this point, it almost certainly won't change. So pay for it, don't pay for it. But you complaining and arguing here won't accomplish anything.
Have you gone over to Roll20 or Fantasy Grounds and said 'Hey, why do I have to purchase the PHB on your platform if I own the physical book?'. I'm just curious because many people do seem to have a double standard when it comes to DNDBeyond.
I don't love the business model. I think if they had introduced a subscription package from the start, there would be far less of these types of posts. Most people see this as a tool set and psychologically are more happy to pay a fee to use a toolset than to 're-purchase content'.
Something along the lines of:
$10/month to have access to the character builder with all content.
$20/month for character builder and compendium.
$40/month for a DM's subscription so your whole party can access the character builder and you can access the encounter tools.
With the option still open to buy the books and access without a subscription as it is now.
But alas, DDB and WOTC didn't consult me. They agreed to this particular licensing deal. Maybe it was dictated by WOTC, maybe DDB never even thought to bring it up. Maybe they didn't realize that the mindset for so many users would be 'I just want to make characters based on the books I already own.' Because at the end of the day, 90% of these comments come from people who just want a nice automated character builder.
At this point, it almost certainly won't change. So pay for it, don't pay for it. But you complaining and arguing here won't accomplish anything.
I would never pay that in a million years. A 40$/mo price tag would get nothing but a laugh from me. That’s $480/year. That’s effing ridiculous. I bought the books I wanted to use for a grand total of less than $230, and I have an annual DM’s subscription for $60. I permanently own the rights to use those books. After 5 years, your subscription plan would cost $2,400.00, my purchases and subscription with DDB’s current pricing will be a total of $530.00 if I don’t purchase any more books, (I’ll likely get half of Tasha’s, so $545.00) and I can still use those books for years to come as long as DDB maintains their compendium app. With DDB’s current pricing, my 5-year costs will be only slightly higher than your 1-year subscription plan.
Have you gone over to Roll20 or Fantasy Grounds and said 'Hey, why do I have to purchase the PHB on your platform if I own the physical book?'. I'm just curious because many people do seem to have a double standard when it comes to DNDBeyond.
I don't love the business model. I think if they had introduced a subscription package from the start, there would be far less of these types of posts. Most people see this as a tool set and psychologically are more happy to pay a fee to use a toolset than to 're-purchase content'.
Something along the lines of:
$10/month to have access to the character builder with all content.
$20/month for character builder and compendium.
$40/month for a DM's subscription so your whole party can access the character builder and you can access the encounter tools.
With the option still open to buy the books and access without a subscription as it is now.
But alas, DDB and WOTC didn't consult me. They agreed to this particular licensing deal. Maybe it was dictated by WOTC, maybe DDB never even thought to bring it up. Maybe they didn't realize that the mindset for so many users would be 'I just want to make characters based on the books I already own.' Because at the end of the day, 90% of these comments come from people who just want a nice automated character builder.
At this point, it almost certainly won't change. So pay for it, don't pay for it. But you complaining and arguing here won't accomplish anything.
I would never pay that in a million years. A 40$/mo price tag would get nothing but a laugh from me. That’s $480/year. That’s effing ridiculous. I bought the books I wanted to use for a grand total of less than $230, and I have an annual DM’s subscription for $60. I permanently own the rights to use those books. After 5 years, your subscription plan would cost $2,400.00, my purchases and subscription with DDB’s current pricing will be a total of $530.00 if I don’t purchase any more books, (I’ll likely get half of Tasha’s, so $545.00) and I can still use those books for years to come as long as DDB maintains their compendium app. With DDB’s current pricing, my 5-year costs will be only slightly higher than your 1-year subscription plan.
Yeah, cool. Which is why I said they should also offer the current method.
Have you gone over to Roll20 or Fantasy Grounds and said 'Hey, why do I have to purchase the PHB on your platform if I own the physical book?'. I'm just curious because many people do seem to have a double standard when it comes to DNDBeyond.
I don't love the business model. I think if they had introduced a subscription package from the start, there would be far less of these types of posts. Most people see this as a tool set and psychologically are more happy to pay a fee to use a toolset than to 're-purchase content'.
Something along the lines of:
$10/month to have access to the character builder with all content.
$20/month for character builder and compendium.
$40/month for a DM's subscription so your whole party can access the character builder and you can access the encounter tools.
With the option still open to buy the books and access without a subscription as it is now.
But alas, DDB and WOTC didn't consult me. They agreed to this particular licensing deal. Maybe it was dictated by WOTC, maybe DDB never even thought to bring it up. Maybe they didn't realize that the mindset for so many users would be 'I just want to make characters based on the books I already own.' Because at the end of the day, 90% of these comments come from people who just want a nice automated character builder.
At this point, it almost certainly won't change. So pay for it, don't pay for it. But you complaining and arguing here won't accomplish anything.
I would never pay that in a million years. A 40$/mo price tag would get nothing but a laugh from me. That’s $480/year. That’s effing ridiculous. I bought the books I wanted to use for a grand total of less than $230, and I have an annual DM’s subscription for $60. I permanently own the rights to use those books. After 5 years, your subscription plan would cost $2,400.00, my purchases and subscription with DDB’s current pricing will be a total of $530.00 if I don’t purchase any more books, (I’ll likely get half of Tasha’s, so $545.00) and I can still use those books for years to come as long as DDB maintains their compendium app. With DDB’s current pricing, my 5-year costs will be only slightly higher than your 1-year subscription plan.
Yeah, cool. Which is why I said they should also offer the current method.
Okay, show of hands, who would willingly pay $2,400.00 price tag for a total of 5 years worth of 5e and then never again be able to use it?
Then D&D beyond needs to be sure purchasers are aware you're not D&D.
Please do not necro threads. It is considered poor etiquette for the vast majority of online forums.
Beyond does not have to do anything. Even if Wizards own Beyond, Wizards is well within their rights to charge physical and digital copies at full price separately without any bundles or deals.
Honestly, in my opinion, expecting some kind of bundle or deal for physical and digital products together is absurd and absolutely unreasonable in this day and age. Consumers of other hobbies and mediums have no issue distinguishing the difference between physical and digital products. No one ever complains about buying Taylor Swift's albums physically but cannot download it for free digitally. No one complains about buying the physical books for A Song of Ice and Fire and having to pay again for the audiobook version of the series. And absolutely no one complains about buying a physical Pokémon game from the Nintendo store and not being able to download the digital version from the Nintendo eShop, despite Nintendo owning both their physical stores and their digital store, and they have been supplying third party stores. Physical and digital products being released side by side have been mainstream for well over ten years now, and it seems like every other group of consumers have grasped the difference between digital and physical products except for a minority of D&D consumers.
This is a complaint that I only see within D&D so far. This is not a branding issue nor business ownership issue. This is a simple product differentiation issue where a vocal minority of D&D consumers for some reason could not grasp when it comes to D&D.
Luckily times are advancing, more and more products and stores are allowing physical purchases of items to be redeemed digitally as well, or in the case of games, even some of the biggest names in the market are scrapping the idea that if you purchase something for a previous-gen or a different platform (say Xbox and pc) that you are limited to only that gen or console unless you re-buy. Now consumers are starting to get free upgrades of their games to the latest gen, can play Xbox games on pc, or get items simply in subscription services. And this is not limited to only video games either.
I personally do not think it is so absurd for people to get better value for the products they buy, in fact, a business model such as what WoTK is doing right now is actually harmful to the various vendors. Let's say someone didn't know about DnD Beyond when they got into the game so they spent bank getting all the physical copies, but now in a time where people are starting to play online more than offline (especially thanks to the current pandemic), they find out about DnD Beyond and realize that they have to spend another $600+ to get everything they already have, it will push them away and make them not want to play using it, and as such, they will either force themselves to wait for an RL group that they might not ever find depending on where they are, or find websites that have a trove of the books in PDF format that they can just download, either that or simply find builders that allow them to add the extra material for character creation without issues.
Physical and digital products are generally sold separately. Being bundled is the exception, and it is far from the norm. For every product that you can name with physical and digital versions bundled together, there are far more that are not bundled together. Products that are bundled together in some way, shape, or form are from companies that are small, in industries in decline, or as a one-time promotion to increase the perceived value of their products to help drive sales.
It is not absurd that people want better deals, but it is absolutely absurd that people in this day and age do not grasp that physical and digital products are separate and independent of each other, and buying one does not entitle the buyer to the other version. It is on the buyer to do basic research on the products they are buying, not the seller. It would be absurd if I bought a physical newspaper at a bookstore and then accuse the bookstore that they are ripping me off because I can get the news cheaper buy getting the digital subscription of the newspaper I just bought.
I love everything about this site except that it seems like I need to purchase content twice to access it here? That is too bad. I really like the character sheet management. I'll keep doing it old way, but I really wish I could pop in some codes to access the books I already have.
I would love to be able to access what I already own and pay a (small - monthly ~ $5.00 - $10.00) subscription fee to use the tools. They took time to develop, test, and deploy. They have value to me as a player and I would like to support the site. But asking me to pay for stuff I have already purchased is a bridge too far.
Thanks.
First, one little correction: you only need to purchase content once to access it here, you just have to buy it here.
DDB is a separate service/company from where you bought your books before. They are not a part of WotC and not only did not get any money for your purchases, but have to pay WotC a fee for you to use those books on this site.
There are no unique codes or ways to confirm purchases of any books. Only 1 product so far (the essentials kit) has come with a code to redeem it on DDB.
There are some work around. Instead of buying whole books you already have, you can buy just the races/subclasses/spells/etc that you need to be used in the builder individually. Alternatively, you can use the homebrew tools to add what you need out of your books for free (just don't publish these).
OK - I see your point about the Homebrew stuff. Thanks!
Also keep in mind the time that D&D Beyond had to spend digitizing all of the book, adding in the tool tips, and linking in the Monster / Magic Item listing for searching. Plus ongoing server costs, the licensing fee, etc.
With the coupon codes / sales, you can usually get 20% off at least.
Site Info: Wizard's ToS | Fan Content Policy | Forum Rules | Physical Books | Content Not Working | Contact Support
How To: Homebrew Rules | Create Homebrew | Snippet Codes | Tool Tips (Custom) | Rollables (Generator)
My Homebrew: Races | Subclasses | Backgrounds | Feats | Spells | Magic Items
Other: Beyond20 | Page References | Other Guides | Entitlements | Dice Randomization | Images Fix | FAQ
Then D&D beyond needs to be sure purchasers are aware you're not D&D.
Please do not necro threads. It is considered poor etiquette for the vast majority of online forums.
Beyond does not have to do anything. Even if Wizards own Beyond, Wizards is well within their rights to charge physical and digital copies at full price separately without any bundles or deals.
Honestly, in my opinion, expecting some kind of bundle or deal for physical and digital products together is absurd and absolutely unreasonable in this day and age. Consumers of other hobbies and mediums have no issue distinguishing the difference between physical and digital products. No one ever complains about buying Taylor Swift's albums physically but cannot download it for free digitally. No one complains about buying the physical books for A Song of Ice and Fire and having to pay again for the audiobook version of the series. And absolutely no one complains about buying a physical Pokémon game from the Nintendo store and not being able to download the digital version from the Nintendo eShop, despite Nintendo owning both their physical stores and their digital store, and they have been supplying third party stores. Physical and digital products being released side by side have been mainstream for well over ten years now, and it seems like every other group of consumers have grasped the difference between digital and physical products except for a minority of D&D consumers.
This is a complaint that I only see within D&D so far. This is not a branding issue nor business ownership issue. This is a simple product differentiation issue where a vocal minority of D&D consumers for some reason could not grasp when it comes to D&D.
Check Licenses and Resync Entitlements: < https://www.dndbeyond.com/account/licenses >
Running the Game by Matt Colville; Introduction: < https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-YZvLUXcR8 >
D&D with High School Students by Bill Allen; Season 1 Episode 1: < https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52NJTUDokyk&t >
Luckily times are advancing, more and more products and stores are allowing physical purchases of items to be redeemed digitally as well, or in the case of games, even some of the biggest names in the market are scrapping the idea that if you purchase something for a previous-gen or a different platform (say Xbox and pc) that you are limited to only that gen or console unless you re-buy. Now consumers are starting to get free upgrades of their games to the latest gen, can play Xbox games on pc, or get items simply in subscription services. And this is not limited to only video games either.
I personally do not think it is so absurd for people to get better value for the products they buy, in fact, a business model such as what WoTK is doing right now is actually harmful to the various vendors. Let's say someone didn't know about DnD Beyond when they got into the game so they spent bank getting all the physical copies, but now in a time where people are starting to play online more than offline (especially thanks to the current pandemic), they find out about DnD Beyond and realize that they have to spend another $600+ to get everything they already have, it will push them away and make them not want to play using it, and as such, they will either force themselves to wait for an RL group that they might not ever find depending on where they are, or find websites that have a trove of the books in PDF format that they can just download, either that or simply find builders that allow them to add the extra material for character creation without issues.
Have you gone over to Roll20 or Fantasy Grounds and said 'Hey, why do I have to purchase the PHB on your platform if I own the physical book?'. I'm just curious because many people do seem to have a double standard when it comes to DNDBeyond.
I don't love the business model. I think if they had introduced a subscription package from the start, there would be far less of these types of posts. Most people see this as a tool set and psychologically are more happy to pay a fee to use a toolset than to 're-purchase content'.
Something along the lines of:
$10/month to have access to the character builder with all content.
$20/month for character builder and compendium.
$40/month for a DM's subscription so your whole party can access the character builder and you can access the encounter tools.
With the option still open to buy the books and access without a subscription as it is now.
But alas, DDB and WOTC didn't consult me. They agreed to this particular licensing deal. Maybe it was dictated by WOTC, maybe DDB never even thought to bring it up. Maybe they didn't realize that the mindset for so many users would be 'I just want to make characters based on the books I already own.' Because at the end of the day, 90% of these comments come from people who just want a nice automated character builder.
At this point, it almost certainly won't change. So pay for it, don't pay for it. But you complaining and arguing here won't accomplish anything.
I would never pay that in a million years. A 40$/mo price tag would get nothing but a laugh from me. That’s $480/year. That’s effing ridiculous. I bought the books I wanted to use for a grand total of less than $230, and I have an annual DM’s subscription for $60. I permanently own the rights to use those books. After 5 years, your subscription plan would cost $2,400.00, my purchases and subscription with DDB’s current pricing will be a total of $530.00 if I don’t purchase any more books, (I’ll likely get half of Tasha’s, so $545.00) and I can still use those books for years to come as long as DDB maintains their compendium app. With DDB’s current pricing, my 5-year costs will be only slightly higher than your 1-year subscription plan.
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting
Yeah, cool. Which is why I said they should also offer the current method.
Okay, show of hands, who would willingly pay $2,400.00 price tag for a total of 5 years worth of 5e and then never again be able to use it?
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting
Physical and digital products are generally sold separately. Being bundled is the exception, and it is far from the norm. For every product that you can name with physical and digital versions bundled together, there are far more that are not bundled together. Products that are bundled together in some way, shape, or form are from companies that are small, in industries in decline, or as a one-time promotion to increase the perceived value of their products to help drive sales.
It is not absurd that people want better deals, but it is absolutely absurd that people in this day and age do not grasp that physical and digital products are separate and independent of each other, and buying one does not entitle the buyer to the other version. It is on the buyer to do basic research on the products they are buying, not the seller. It would be absurd if I bought a physical newspaper at a bookstore and then accuse the bookstore that they are ripping me off because I can get the news cheaper buy getting the digital subscription of the newspaper I just bought.
Check Licenses and Resync Entitlements: < https://www.dndbeyond.com/account/licenses >
Running the Game by Matt Colville; Introduction: < https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-YZvLUXcR8 >
D&D with High School Students by Bill Allen; Season 1 Episode 1: < https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52NJTUDokyk&t >