I played before DDB and I’ll play after. Currently, I am entirely put off spending money with a website that seems less and less engaged with its base. Particularly, I do not trust the behavior of DDB enough to invest further in entire digital books that can’t be saved or used offline.
I made this thread to explain what selling points and functions interest me and which don’t. I don’t expect DDB to change to suit me, but here is a free info dump anyway from a DM and player who likes DnD and likes spending money on DnD.
Fundamentally, I think DDB needs to decide if it’s a book shop or a library – two different services with different price points. Book shop: you buy a book, it’s yours, and if the book shop closes tomorrow, you still have the book. Library: the library lets you use the books, but doesn’t let you keep them, and if the library closes tomorrow, you have nothing. The current model essentially charges book shop prices for a (good) library service.
Demographic
I’m in my 30s and have played DnD since 2013. I started with Pathfinder but gravitated towards DnD after reading the Legend of Drizzt novels. I own physical copies of most of the books I’m interested in already. I play games in person as a player and a DM, typically with 4-5 players for around 10 sessions per campaign. These are casual home games, not part of an organized league, and we use homebrew and prewritten campaigns like Waterdeep Dragon Heist. I also own a few books on DDB, which I purchased together with the hardcopies, as well as half a dozen à la carte items and classes.
DDB is supplemental – I don’t need it to play the game, and neither do any of my players. Between us, we have a few copies of the books, and that’s enough!
DDB’s main selling point for me is enjoyment of character building and testing homebrew, not for playing the actual game sessions.
Physical books
I have gradually purchased a lot of the 5e books, I use them to plan characters and campaigns, and just to read for fun. They’re pricey, but I enjoy the quality of them – printing, artwork, general hardcover presentation. However, the recent dabbling with AI art is highly off-putting.
Physical character sheets
I build characters in two stages, referencing the rules online, then filling out a level plan in a table. Then, I copy the values for the starting level into 5e PDF template from the wizards.com site, print it, and go from there with pencil and paper.
More recently, I’ve also collected and printed relevant rules in little class-specific handbooks. I like doing it this way because preparing the booklet also means I brush up on the class before I play it.
DDB has a tool for converting a digital character sheet to PDF, but it’s clunky, and just a straight text dump of the relevant rules.
Digital only
Respectfully, no thank you. DnD is a social hobby I primarily enjoy in person. Digital support is appreciated but secondary. I prefer playing in person partly because it is a break from screentime, and the game is negatively affected by players who get distracted by their devices mid-game.
More fundamentally, if I like a particular DnD book, chances are I'll buy a physical copy because I enjoy having them, and digital only can't compare.
Digital books
Sounds great! But not as part of a compendium you have to be online to access. If DDB made a desktop version of the phone app that allowed you to license and download digital books to read and keep offline, that’d suit me fine, but not online only or phone only. I bought one hardcopy/digital bundle when I was first exploring DDB, but I will not be buying more unless a computer-based means of enduring offline access is provided.
Platform: I like to read the rules on a big screen, not on a phone or tablet. I mainly browse the rules while preparing either as a player or DM, then print what I need for the actual game on paper.
The presentation and interlinking of the books is good and accessible; the floating tooltips are great.
However, (although this feels pointless to say given how long it’s been a requested feature), it’s frustrating to not be able to filter to show only content I already own.
Digital character sheet
I don’t own a tablet and prefer a paper character sheet for in person games.
I enjoy building out potential characters, and the DDB character builder is fun to use to advance or reduce character levels to try out different combinations. It is also useful to crosscheck how the numbers work out.
I like the presentation of the digital character sheets, it’s very appealing. However, they do not convert well to PDF with the current process.
À la carte
I have built several characters with a couple of à la carte purchases for each, and I thought it was an excellent compromise to reduce the price barrier for new players. Collecting the digital books by instalment payments was also an attractive prospect.
With the uncertainty around buying digital books I can’t actually keep a copy of, small à la carte purchases were far more palatable.
Digital dice
Easy access to the numbers is a key draw for me: not for playing the game, but for testing builds and balance. I want to know the minimum, maximum and average rolls.
The current digital dice roller is too limited.
It really needs to show and store a breakdown of the roll. For rolls with many dice, the readout is too narrow to show all results, and the individual dice don’t stay on screen long enough to read them. This makes, for example, the Elemental Adept feat unplayable, as you can’t accurately count 1s to reroll, and the dice roller doesn’t reroll them automatically.
Homebrew
Programming in homebrew is time-consuming but genuinely enjoyable for me, and it’s rewarding to see the intended functionality carry over to the digital character sheet. I’ve made spells, subclasses and items.
The current inability to remove published homebrew is off-putting, so I don’t publish things (anymore).
I like the monster stat block formatting on DDB and it’s useful to be able to print that for an invented creature.
2024 rulebooks
I like the 2014 rules – they suit my purposes, and any issues can easily be addressed with homebrew rulings at the table. I do not plan to buy the 2024 rulebooks. There is not enough wrong with the 2014 rules to make it worth purchasing the new ones.
Maps and Encounters
I haven’t tried these yet, though they sound interesting.
Pricing model
I think individual book purchases and even à la carte items are the wrong model from a customer standpoint because it creates a misconception of ‘owning’ the content you purchase. You don’t have to look hard to find people who thought buying a ‘digital book’ meant they’d receive a PDF or other offline access to it!
Unless DDB intends to provide an equivalent to a PDF download, they aren’t really selling a digital product (a thing that customers can have), but a service (a thing that customers can have access to for as long as the provider exists). It’s currently more akin to a library, not a book shop, and unless that changes, the pricing and marketing should reflect that.
I think DDB could run on a very simple business model akin to Netflix and other digital libraries. Provide a player subscription (monthly fee for access to all character creation options in all books) and a DM subscription (higher monthly fee for all access to all books), and people could sign up for either tier for as long as their game lasts. Throw in microtransactions for dice and character sheet variations (though these don’t appeal to me personally), and for early access to new books.
I don’t mean this kind of subscription model would be better, especially not for people who’ve already invested in sizable digital libraries, but that it would be a more honest representation what DDB offers. I don't want another subscription service, I would much rather buy digital books that I can store on my computer, but that doesn't seem to be on the table with DnD.
Things I would pay for
One microtransaction option I would appreciate is additional character slots outside of a subscription.
I would consider making additional à la carte purchases if they were made available again, but not entire books.
If books were made available offline, I would consider purchasing them.
i know im just responding to literally one thing out of all the points youre making, but you can download the DDB mobile app and get offline access that way. Also works great on PC via a lightweight emulator.
i know im just responding to literally one thing out of all the points youre making, but you can download the DDB mobile app and get offline access that way. Also works great on PC via a lightweight emulator.
It really needs to show and store a breakdown of the roll. For rolls with many dice, the readout is too narrow to show all results, and the individual dice don’t stay on screen long enough to read them.
For this you can click the dice image in the bottom left of the results to see all the dice after rolling, or just mouse over the results for a bit for hover text.
Example:
I primarily play digitally so can't comment on most of this feedback. I personally don't have issue with the value of the digital products. Even though I own a bunch of hardcovers they are mostly shelf decorations lol.
While it didn't affect me since I owned all books here digitally I do agree losing a la carte was bad. I also would like an owned filter for the tools/compendiums and marketplace.
staudd I appreciate that, but for the prices they charge here, I don't want to be stuck reading the book on a tiny phone, or have to muck around with emulators. But it's no problem - they don't support the mode of digital book I'm interested in, so I won't buy them. I hope DDB sticks around, and while the products they're pitching now don't interest me much, I would be delighted if they introduced some of the elements I mentioned. I want digital support for DnD, just not in the ways they're currently focusing on.
ModoStark Good to know!
Jay_Lane I didn't know the mouse over text worked like that, thanks!
The recent 2014 vs 2024 rules conflict thoroughly vindicates my concern that D&D Beyond customers can't rely on the content they purchase having enduring functionality. Specifically, they can't rely on it remaining compatible with the toolset that for many, was the entire point of the purchase. D&D Beyond even said so, tongue-in-cheek, in one of the ads they ran in the Mighty Nein days:
"Now experience the ultimate way to play ... that handles all the tedious math and reference stuff for you, so you can finally unleash the epic quest you've been crafting since middle school on your friends. Or just do what most people use it for, breaking out endless new characters while they're bored at work..." (from the ad that ran in the break of Critical Role, Campaign 2, Episode 110).
The character creator is a (if not the) major selling point of D&D Beyond. Even with today's update that 2014 spells and magic items will be preserved after all, it appears some changes will still go through. "Inspiration" to "Heroic Inspiration" for one, and while that one is mostly harmless (but pointless, in my opinion), the changes to tooltips and background mechanics such as Exhaustion have the potential to be more disruptive.
I don't trust that 2014 content will remain functional as a cohesive whole.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Currently homebrewing the Mistveil Rogue, an elusive infiltrator that can vanish into thin air.
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I like D&D Beyond, but I don’t need D&D Beyond.
I played before DDB and I’ll play after. Currently, I am entirely put off spending money with a website that seems less and less engaged with its base. Particularly, I do not trust the behavior of DDB enough to invest further in entire digital books that can’t be saved or used offline.
I made this thread to explain what selling points and functions interest me and which don’t. I don’t expect DDB to change to suit me, but here is a free info dump anyway from a DM and player who likes DnD and likes spending money on DnD.
Fundamentally, I think DDB needs to decide if it’s a book shop or a library – two different services with different price points. Book shop: you buy a book, it’s yours, and if the book shop closes tomorrow, you still have the book. Library: the library lets you use the books, but doesn’t let you keep them, and if the library closes tomorrow, you have nothing. The current model essentially charges book shop prices for a (good) library service.
Demographic
I’m in my 30s and have played DnD since 2013. I started with Pathfinder but gravitated towards DnD after reading the Legend of Drizzt novels. I own physical copies of most of the books I’m interested in already. I play games in person as a player and a DM, typically with 4-5 players for around 10 sessions per campaign. These are casual home games, not part of an organized league, and we use homebrew and prewritten campaigns like Waterdeep Dragon Heist. I also own a few books on DDB, which I purchased together with the hardcopies, as well as half a dozen à la carte items and classes.
DDB is supplemental – I don’t need it to play the game, and neither do any of my players. Between us, we have a few copies of the books, and that’s enough!
DDB’s main selling point for me is enjoyment of character building and testing homebrew, not for playing the actual game sessions.
Physical books
I have gradually purchased a lot of the 5e books, I use them to plan characters and campaigns, and just to read for fun. They’re pricey, but I enjoy the quality of them – printing, artwork, general hardcover presentation. However, the recent dabbling with AI art is highly off-putting.
Physical character sheets
I build characters in two stages, referencing the rules online, then filling out a level plan in a table. Then, I copy the values for the starting level into 5e PDF template from the wizards.com site, print it, and go from there with pencil and paper.
More recently, I’ve also collected and printed relevant rules in little class-specific handbooks. I like doing it this way because preparing the booklet also means I brush up on the class before I play it.
DDB has a tool for converting a digital character sheet to PDF, but it’s clunky, and just a straight text dump of the relevant rules.
Digital only
Respectfully, no thank you. DnD is a social hobby I primarily enjoy in person. Digital support is appreciated but secondary. I prefer playing in person partly because it is a break from screentime, and the game is negatively affected by players who get distracted by their devices mid-game.
More fundamentally, if I like a particular DnD book, chances are I'll buy a physical copy because I enjoy having them, and digital only can't compare.
Digital books
Sounds great! But not as part of a compendium you have to be online to access. If DDB made a desktop version of the phone app that allowed you to license and download digital books to read and keep offline, that’d suit me fine, but not online only or phone only. I bought one hardcopy/digital bundle when I was first exploring DDB, but I will not be buying more unless a computer-based means of enduring offline access is provided.
Platform: I like to read the rules on a big screen, not on a phone or tablet. I mainly browse the rules while preparing either as a player or DM, then print what I need for the actual game on paper.
The presentation and interlinking of the books is good and accessible; the floating tooltips are great.
However, (although this feels pointless to say given how long it’s been a requested feature), it’s frustrating to not be able to filter to show only content I already own.
Digital character sheet
I don’t own a tablet and prefer a paper character sheet for in person games.
I enjoy building out potential characters, and the DDB character builder is fun to use to advance or reduce character levels to try out different combinations. It is also useful to crosscheck how the numbers work out.
I like the presentation of the digital character sheets, it’s very appealing. However, they do not convert well to PDF with the current process.
À la carte
I have built several characters with a couple of à la carte purchases for each, and I thought it was an excellent compromise to reduce the price barrier for new players. Collecting the digital books by instalment payments was also an attractive prospect.
With the uncertainty around buying digital books I can’t actually keep a copy of, small à la carte purchases were far more palatable.
Digital dice
Easy access to the numbers is a key draw for me: not for playing the game, but for testing builds and balance. I want to know the minimum, maximum and average rolls.
The current digital dice roller is too limited.
It really needs to show and store a breakdown of the roll. For rolls with many dice, the readout is too narrow to show all results, and the individual dice don’t stay on screen long enough to read them. This makes, for example, the Elemental Adept feat unplayable, as you can’t accurately count 1s to reroll, and the dice roller doesn’t reroll them automatically.
Homebrew
Programming in homebrew is time-consuming but genuinely enjoyable for me, and it’s rewarding to see the intended functionality carry over to the digital character sheet. I’ve made spells, subclasses and items.
The current inability to remove published homebrew is off-putting, so I don’t publish things (anymore).
I like the monster stat block formatting on DDB and it’s useful to be able to print that for an invented creature.
2024 rulebooks
I like the 2014 rules – they suit my purposes, and any issues can easily be addressed with homebrew rulings at the table. I do not plan to buy the 2024 rulebooks. There is not enough wrong with the 2014 rules to make it worth purchasing the new ones.
Maps and Encounters
I haven’t tried these yet, though they sound interesting.
Pricing model
I think individual book purchases and even à la carte items are the wrong model from a customer standpoint because it creates a misconception of ‘owning’ the content you purchase. You don’t have to look hard to find people who thought buying a ‘digital book’ meant they’d receive a PDF or other offline access to it!
Unless DDB intends to provide an equivalent to a PDF download, they aren’t really selling a digital product (a thing that customers can have), but a service (a thing that customers can have access to for as long as the provider exists). It’s currently more akin to a library, not a book shop, and unless that changes, the pricing and marketing should reflect that.
I think DDB could run on a very simple business model akin to Netflix and other digital libraries. Provide a player subscription (monthly fee for access to all character creation options in all books) and a DM subscription (higher monthly fee for all access to all books), and people could sign up for either tier for as long as their game lasts. Throw in microtransactions for dice and character sheet variations (though these don’t appeal to me personally), and for early access to new books.
I don’t mean this kind of subscription model would be better, especially not for people who’ve already invested in sizable digital libraries, but that it would be a more honest representation what DDB offers. I don't want another subscription service, I would much rather buy digital books that I can store on my computer, but that doesn't seem to be on the table with DnD.
Things I would pay for
One microtransaction option I would appreciate is additional character slots outside of a subscription.
I would consider making additional à la carte purchases if they were made available again, but not entire books.
If books were made available offline, I would consider purchasing them.
Currently homebrewing the Mistveil Rogue, an elusive infiltrator that can vanish into thin air.
i know im just responding to literally one thing out of all the points youre making, but you can download the DDB mobile app and get offline access that way. Also works great on PC via a lightweight emulator.
To add to this, there is also a way to download the digital content on DnDBeyond into PDFs.
Free Content: [Basic Rules],
[Phandelver],[Frozen Sick],[Acquisitions Inc.],[Vecna Dossier],[Radiant Citadel], [Spelljammer],[Dragonlance], [Prisoner 13],[Minecraft],[Star Forge], [Baldur’s Gate], [Lightning Keep], [Stormwreck Isle], [Pinebrook], [Caverns of Tsojcanth], [The Lost Horn], [Elemental Evil].Free Dice: [Frostmaiden],
[Flourishing], [Sanguine],[Themberchaud], [Baldur's Gate 3], [Lego].For this you can click the dice image in the bottom left of the results to see all the dice after rolling, or just mouse over the results for a bit for hover text.
Example:
I primarily play digitally so can't comment on most of this feedback. I personally don't have issue with the value of the digital products. Even though I own a bunch of hardcovers they are mostly shelf decorations lol.
While it didn't affect me since I owned all books here digitally I do agree losing a la carte was bad. I also would like an owned filter for the tools/compendiums and marketplace.
staudd I appreciate that, but for the prices they charge here, I don't want to be stuck reading the book on a tiny phone, or have to muck around with emulators. But it's no problem - they don't support the mode of digital book I'm interested in, so I won't buy them. I hope DDB sticks around, and while the products they're pitching now don't interest me much, I would be delighted if they introduced some of the elements I mentioned. I want digital support for DnD, just not in the ways they're currently focusing on.
ModoStark Good to know!
Jay_Lane I didn't know the mouse over text worked like that, thanks!
Currently homebrewing the Mistveil Rogue, an elusive infiltrator that can vanish into thin air.
The recent 2014 vs 2024 rules conflict thoroughly vindicates my concern that D&D Beyond customers can't rely on the content they purchase having enduring functionality. Specifically, they can't rely on it remaining compatible with the toolset that for many, was the entire point of the purchase. D&D Beyond even said so, tongue-in-cheek, in one of the ads they ran in the Mighty Nein days:
"Now experience the ultimate way to play ... that handles all the tedious math and reference stuff for you, so you can finally unleash the epic quest you've been crafting since middle school on your friends. Or just do what most people use it for, breaking out endless new characters while they're bored at work..." (from the ad that ran in the break of Critical Role, Campaign 2, Episode 110).
The character creator is a (if not the) major selling point of D&D Beyond. Even with today's update that 2014 spells and magic items will be preserved after all, it appears some changes will still go through. "Inspiration" to "Heroic Inspiration" for one, and while that one is mostly harmless (but pointless, in my opinion), the changes to tooltips and background mechanics such as Exhaustion have the potential to be more disruptive.
I don't trust that 2014 content will remain functional as a cohesive whole.
Currently homebrewing the Mistveil Rogue, an elusive infiltrator that can vanish into thin air.