So I am a keen D&D player and have a long-standing group of players who have been playing together since back in the days of 2E and before. Yes we're old. We now live all over the country but still have a weekly game. Now we no longer live close enough to sit around the same table we rely on online systems to keep us playing. Our engine of choice is currently Fantasy Grounds - which I have to say is incredible.
So as a DM or Player I want to buy some WotC stuff - whether that be something as simple as the PHB, or my latest purchase which is the Hoard of the Dragon Queen adventure. I want to buy these resources here on D&D Beyond because they are really useful to have access to online and from anywhere. I was lying in bed reading my new module on my phone last night which is simply superb. But I also want to be able to run it at the game table in a few months' time. So I have had to buy it in FG too.
That sucks. Why do I have to buy this stuff twice? Could WotC not do a simple deal whereby I get access to my book/module on D&D Beyond and FG for one price???
This is an issue that has been discussed to death here. See, for example, this thread.
Briefly:
—you don’t “have” to buy anything; it’s always a question of whether or not the benefit to you is worth the cost; it’s just fine if you decide it’s not worth it to you.
-sites like DDB and FG have to pay licensing fees to WOTC, and they have to be able to cover the cost of the work it takes to convert the material an maintain their services. (As a side note, FG’s prices dropped once DDB went live)
-WOTC has no way to recognize/confirm purchases of their hardcovers; if such a system were to be implemented, it could only apply to new books (which would contain the codes) and would probably hike the costs of the physical books.
I completely understand, however, not wanting to pay for two digital services. I don’t use VTTs, so it’s not an issue for me personally, but if I did, I wouldn’t want to buy the content twice, and would be willing to put up with a fair amount of inconvenience to avoid doing so. I don’t know much about FG, or what kinds of content-related features it provides that you use. I do know that there are community created character importers that allow FG and Roll 20 users to import characters built here. It is my understanding that you can upload the maps front the sources here into both VTTs, but I could be in correct about that.
Oh, the one other comment I would make is that I appreciate that here at DDB, one can buy things piece-meal. Depending on what you need, that might (or might not) prove helpful to you.
Oh, the one other comment I would make is that I appreciate that here at DDB, one can buy things piece-meal. Depending on what you need, that might (or might not) prove helpful to you.
Agreed with this. It really helps out. I for example own everything in hardcover. I simply prefer it that way. I enjoy DNDbeyond for the character sheet, so the fact I could purchase the needed stuff for the character builder (classes, spells, etc) without having to repurchase the rest of the stuff I won’t use up here was appreciated.
Could WotC not do a simple deal whereby I get access to my book/module on D&D Beyond and FG for one price???
No, for two reasons (as have been discussed at length)
The quick and easy reason is simple; D&D Beyond is not a WotC site/product. It's a Curse product that licenses WotC content. As such, they need to pay for that licenses and their development costs. None of your money you gave to WotC for your physical books reaches Curse. There's no viable reason for them to give you content for free that they've licensed because you've given money to someone else to own.
The second reason is a little longer; there's no way to validate your purchase. D&D books don't have a unique identifier, ISBNs are the same for each printing of a book, so that's out. Redemption wouldn't work because you'd have no way to prove you didn't just borrow your mates PHB to get the code for free. Very few (if any) players are going to want to have their books marked a fashion permanent enough to prevent multiple redemptions. In short, outside of sealed products such as the Waterdeep: Dragon Heist Platinum Bundle, it's not possible to link physical books to D&D Beyond redemption. The books aren't shipped sealed because people like to look through them. It's just not (currently) viable as they're two completely different ecosystems.
Can anyone point me to a character importer from here to FG?
The character creator on Beyond is really simple, so you shouldn't need an importer, unless you have a lot of characters. I just imported my character from a scan of a physical sheet and it took 10 minutes (which included running OCR on all her background and pasting that over). If you've already got a digital sheet, it should be a fraction of that.
So I am a keen D&D player and have a long-standing group of players who have been playing together since back in the days of 2E and before. Yes we're old. We now live all over the country but still have a weekly game. Now we no longer live close enough to sit around the same table we rely on online systems to keep us playing. Our engine of choice is currently Fantasy Grounds - which I have to say is incredible.
So as a DM or Player I want to buy some WotC stuff - whether that be something as simple as the PHB, or my latest purchase which is the Hoard of the Dragon Queen adventure. I want to buy these resources here on D&D Beyond because they are really useful to have access to online and from anywhere. I was lying in bed reading my new module on my phone last night which is simply superb. But I also want to be able to run it at the game table in a few months' time. So I have had to buy it in FG too.
That sucks. Why do I have to buy this stuff twice? Could WotC not do a simple deal whereby I get access to my book/module on D&D Beyond and FG for one price???
Disappointed.
Blakey
My Author Page: www.peterjblake.com
Novels Published: Reynard's Fate, Kita's Honour, Okoth's War and Callindrill
This is an issue that has been discussed to death here. See, for example, this thread.
Briefly:
—you don’t “have” to buy anything; it’s always a question of whether or not the benefit to you is worth the cost; it’s just fine if you decide it’s not worth it to you.
-sites like DDB and FG have to pay licensing fees to WOTC, and they have to be able to cover the cost of the work it takes to convert the material an maintain their services. (As a side note, FG’s prices dropped once DDB went live)
-WOTC has no way to recognize/confirm purchases of their hardcovers; if such a system were to be implemented, it could only apply to new books (which would contain the codes) and would probably hike the costs of the physical books.
I completely understand, however, not wanting to pay for two digital services. I don’t use VTTs, so it’s not an issue for me personally, but if I did, I wouldn’t want to buy the content twice, and would be willing to put up with a fair amount of inconvenience to avoid doing so. I don’t know much about FG, or what kinds of content-related features it provides that you use. I do know that there are community created character importers that allow FG and Roll 20 users to import characters built here. It is my understanding that you can upload the maps front the sources here into both VTTs, but I could be in correct about that.
Trying to Decide if DDB is for you? A few helpful threads: A Buyer's Guide to DDB; What I/We Bought and Why; How some DMs use DDB; A Newer Thread on Using DDB to Play
Helpful threads on other topics: Homebrew FAQ by IamSposta; Accessing Content by ConalTheGreat;
Check your entitlements here. | Support Ticket LInk
Oh, the one other comment I would make is that I appreciate that here at DDB, one can buy things piece-meal. Depending on what you need, that might (or might not) prove helpful to you.
Trying to Decide if DDB is for you? A few helpful threads: A Buyer's Guide to DDB; What I/We Bought and Why; How some DMs use DDB; A Newer Thread on Using DDB to Play
Helpful threads on other topics: Homebrew FAQ by IamSposta; Accessing Content by ConalTheGreat;
Check your entitlements here. | Support Ticket LInk
Agreed with this. It really helps out. I for example own everything in hardcover. I simply prefer it that way. I enjoy DNDbeyond for the character sheet, so the fact I could purchase the needed stuff for the character builder (classes, spells, etc) without having to repurchase the rest of the stuff I won’t use up here was appreciated.
Can anyone point me to a character importer from here to FG?
My Author Page: www.peterjblake.com
Novels Published: Reynard's Fate, Kita's Honour, Okoth's War and Callindrill
No, for two reasons (as have been discussed at length)
The quick and easy reason is simple; D&D Beyond is not a WotC site/product. It's a Curse product that licenses WotC content. As such, they need to pay for that licenses and their development costs. None of your money you gave to WotC for your physical books reaches Curse. There's no viable reason for them to give you content for free that they've licensed because you've given money to someone else to own.
The second reason is a little longer; there's no way to validate your purchase. D&D books don't have a unique identifier, ISBNs are the same for each printing of a book, so that's out. Redemption wouldn't work because you'd have no way to prove you didn't just borrow your mates PHB to get the code for free. Very few (if any) players are going to want to have their books marked a fashion permanent enough to prevent multiple redemptions. In short, outside of sealed products such as the Waterdeep: Dragon Heist Platinum Bundle, it's not possible to link physical books to D&D Beyond redemption. The books aren't shipped sealed because people like to look through them. It's just not (currently) viable as they're two completely different ecosystems.
The character creator on Beyond is really simple, so you shouldn't need an importer, unless you have a lot of characters. I just imported my character from a scan of a physical sheet and it took 10 minutes (which included running OCR on all her background and pasting that over). If you've already got a digital sheet, it should be a fraction of that.
Find my D&D Beyond articles here
This was posted a ways back; Not sure if or how well it might work, but you're welcome to try:
https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/d-d-beyond-general/general-discussion/15236-tool-to-import-from-dnd-beyond-to-fantasy-grounds