I understand that they don't want you to see stuff you haven't paid for, but if you buy the book used, you can't see - or, more importantly - use it for characters. This may be to boost sales, but it still doesn't make sense as the original purchase gave money to Wizards of the Coast. It just lowers customer satisfaction.
If it's not and it's just an oversight, maybe there could be a code that's unique so it can't circulate around the internet, like asking one user "What was the 3rd word of the 2nd sentence of the 451st page of Xanathar's guide?" to grant them access.
Either way, PDFs of the books are on the internet and people still buy the books because they love D&D. It will make people much happier if you let them see the digital content they already have in books.
How would you expect DND Beyond to honor a purchase you made elsewhere on their site? You can pick up the reference material elsewhere...but that is also where you could use them, elsewhere. It doesn't make good business sense for a company to allow you to use a product from a competitor in their business. While I do like having the physical books, I also appreciate the electronic version since that means it is super portable, and can never have anything spilled on them, or damaged while traveling. The individual purchase options as well are a pretty solid approach. I didn't have to buy an entire book to get what I wanted, just a couple of things interested me so that was what I bought. I like that idea, and it's something you don't get elsewhere.
Only you can decide if the services here are worth what they cost; no harm, no foul if you decide that they don’t. I will point out that you can purchase things piecemeal. This is one of the things I love about DDB’s pricing structure. So, if you primarily want to use DDB as a character sheet, and you only have a few characters, you can just purchase the subclasses/races/spells/backgrounds you need for those characters. Those purchases reduce the cost of the full “book” they are from, if you decide later to purchase the whole thing.
Whenyou say that homebrew is not viable, is that because of the time it takes to create, or are you referring to the things that can’t be homebrewed (like warlock invocations, for example)?
There are two main reasons that physical to digital purchase conversion won't/can't happen:
D&D Beyond is not Wizards of the Coast and their products are not the same as the books. When you pay for digital content, what you're paying for is the development work of the site, the conversion of the information in the source books into searchable, indexed content, the tool sets, the character builder, the licenses that Curse has bought etc. It's like the difference between a physical book you may pick up in Waterstones that has been published by Tor, and a kindle version that is being distributed by Amazon. Same content, yes, but whole different company distribution flows. Owning one does not entitle you to the other.
There is no way to validate physical purchases into digital ones. The books do not possess any unique identifier that could let D&D Beyond tell between your PHB and more PHB. There's no way of retroactively introducing a validation system that couldn't be easily abused resulting in a heavy loss of sales for DDB. It's just not viable; like I said, WotC and DDB are different companies, WotC isn't going to change how they print and distribute their books (such as by adding single use code) in order to facilitate redemption on Beyond.
Along with the portability and partial purchase options, you also have "partial credit" toward purchasing that book or bundle (there are 3 bundles available, sourcebook (PHB, DMG, Volo's Modenkeimer"s SCAG, etc.) Adventure, (all modules currently in print) and Complete (all sourcebooks and adventure modules currently in print). It's the best deal out there unless you are collecting hard copies for posterity sake.
If one buys a source book the easiest thing to do I would think is have a QR code inside the book that directly adds it to your library. Adding an owned book to your own bookshelf should really be that easy if there is a printing number or some other way to avoid a group all scanning the same book could be a thing too.
If one buys a source book the easiest thing to do I would think is have a QR code inside the book that directly adds it to your library. Adding an owned book to your own bookshelf should really be that easy if there is a printing number or some other way to avoid a group all scanning the same book could be a thing too.
See this thread (among others) for a discussion of why this is not feasible. Briefly I’ll point out that doing what you propose means that DDB does not get paid for providing this service: how are they supposed to pay their staff under this model?. (And before you suggest that WOTC would pay them, remember that the money goes in the other direction: DDB pays licensing fees to WOTC)
I understand that they don't want you to see stuff you haven't paid for, but if you buy the book used, you can't see - or, more importantly - use it for characters. This may be to boost sales, but it still doesn't make sense as the original purchase gave money to Wizards of the Coast. It just lowers customer satisfaction.
If it's not and it's just an oversight, maybe there could be a code that's unique so it can't circulate around the internet, like asking one user "What was the 3rd word of the 2nd sentence of the 451st page of Xanathar's guide?" to grant them access.
Either way, PDFs of the books are on the internet and people still buy the books because they love D&D. It will make people much happier if you let them see the digital content they already have in books.
How would you expect DND Beyond to honor a purchase you made elsewhere on their site? You can pick up the reference material elsewhere...but that is also where you could use them, elsewhere. It doesn't make good business sense for a company to allow you to use a product from a competitor in their business. While I do like having the physical books, I also appreciate the electronic version since that means it is super portable, and can never have anything spilled on them, or damaged while traveling. The individual purchase options as well are a pretty solid approach. I didn't have to buy an entire book to get what I wanted, just a couple of things interested me so that was what I bought. I like that idea, and it's something you don't get elsewhere.
I understand your dissatisfaction, but d&d beyond is not owned or operated by wizards of the coast, it is a separate entity.
You wouldn't buy a video game from Wal-Mart, then go to gamestop and demand a code for the digital version since you already have a hard copy.
If there are any player options in your book you want to use, you can add them to your character via homebrew.
Oh, sorry for the confusion. I was complaining because I thought Wizards and Beyond were the same.
Also, the homebrew option is sometimes viable, but not always.
Thankyou.
Only you can decide if the services here are worth what they cost; no harm, no foul if you decide that they don’t. I will point out that you can purchase things piecemeal. This is one of the things I love about DDB’s pricing structure. So, if you primarily want to use DDB as a character sheet, and you only have a few characters, you can just purchase the subclasses/races/spells/backgrounds you need for those characters. Those purchases reduce the cost of the full “book” they are from, if you decide later to purchase the whole thing.
Whenyou say that homebrew is not viable, is that because of the time it takes to create, or are you referring to the things that can’t be homebrewed (like warlock invocations, for example)?
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;
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It takes time is what I was referring to, but yes, some things can't be made.
There are two main reasons that physical to digital purchase conversion won't/can't happen:
Find my D&D Beyond articles here
Along with the portability and partial purchase options, you also have "partial credit" toward purchasing that book or bundle (there are 3 bundles available, sourcebook (PHB, DMG, Volo's Modenkeimer"s SCAG, etc.) Adventure, (all modules currently in print) and Complete (all sourcebooks and adventure modules currently in print). It's the best deal out there unless you are collecting hard copies for posterity sake.
If one buys a source book the easiest thing to do I would think is have a QR code inside the book that directly adds it to your library. Adding an owned book to your own bookshelf should really be that easy if there is a printing number or some other way to avoid a group all scanning the same book could be a thing too.
See this thread (among others) for a discussion of why this is not feasible. Briefly I’ll point out that doing what you propose means that DDB does not get paid for providing this service: how are they supposed to pay their staff under this model?. (And before you suggest that WOTC would pay them, remember that the money goes in the other direction: DDB pays licensing fees to WOTC)
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