But what if you have the paper copy? I feel like there should be a code in the book that you can apply to the website
to get the book
DnD Beyond is not owned by Wizards of the Coast; they have to pay licensing fees to Wizards.
The DnD Beyond staff have spent tons of people-hours (and continue to do so) on turning the files they were given by Wizards into the tools and features you see here. They deserve to be paid for that work.
I don't expect to be able to walk into game store B and say "I bought this book at Gamestore A, you should give me these spell cards, monster cards, and magic items cards for free." So I don't expect to get the tools and features here for free, either.
But what if you have the paper copy? I feel like there should be a code in the book that you can apply to the website
to get the book
I mean, it's still 'locked away in books' even if there was a code in the physical copy.
And like @ArwensDaughter mentioned; the DDB books are not the same product as the physical one, they just contain the same content. Your cinema ticket stub doesn't entitle you to a bluray, even though it's the same movie.
D&D Beyond is not owned or operated by Wizards of the Coast. Wizards charges D&D Beyond a licensing fee for access to the books. Plus there is the cost of digitizing them and getting everything linked together with proper tooltips. And the ongoing server costs to support providing the content after it has been purchased.
What you are asking for is akin to buying a hardcover at Barnes and Noble and then demanding that Audible gives you the audio book for free. Different companies, with separate costs associates with producing the content in a physical vs digital form.
I disagree. I read the rulebooks at work and it makes making characters much quicker and easier, plus I can look up spells, items, monsters (anything really) instantly.
If it had a VTT and dice roller, it would meet 100% of my d&d needs.
I have a different take on it personally. DND Beyond should compliment your physical books not replace them. Unfortunately many are relying on beyond which is seriously unhealthy for the game as a whole. Reason being is it detracts from the LGS which is imperitive to keeping the game running. The LGS hosts/organizes games so its in WOTC best interest to support them. Given this reality some sort of promo code/discount in the printed books for use on dnd beyond would make alot of sense. Doesn't really need to be in the physical books maybe give the codes to the LGS to use as they see fit.
I have a different take on it personally. DND Beyond should compliment your physical books not replace them. Unfortunately many are relying on beyond which is seriously unhealthy for the game as a whole. Reason being is it detracts from the LGS which is imperitive to keeping the game running. The LGS hosts/organizes games so its in WOTC best interest to support them. Given this reality some sort of promo code/discount in the printed books for use on dnd beyond would make alot of sense. Doesn't really need to be in the physical books maybe give the codes to the LGS to use as they see fit.
I believe this is a good way to look at it. I dont have all the physical books, but I plan on getting them eventually. Having everything here and searchable with a few keys and a click is amazingly convenient. Also the builders are all pretty dang useful for keeping track of stuff. I think it would be cool if a discount code could be provided in the books, but then that would mean they'd all have to be wrapped because anyone could just open it up and take it out. In the end, I believe the prices on DnDBeyond are fair for what you get and what it can be used for.
I think the pricing is fair as well but I guess my point is WOTC/DDB needs to tread softly so that it doesn't completely replace printed material. With the changes WOTC has made in how it distributes its products combined with a strictly digital model (DDB) we could see LGS close due to people shopping based on price and not considering service. Personally I would like to see MSRP and wholesale cost drop on the printed books to help the LGS out. I know I would never have gotten into the game without my local store not to mention the LGS is a communal hub for finding new groups to game with.
I have a different take on it personally. DND Beyond should compliment your physical books not replace them. Unfortunately many are relying on beyond which is seriously unhealthy for the game as a whole. Reason being is it detracts from the LGS which is imperitive to keeping the game running. The LGS hosts/organizes games so its in WOTC best interest to support them. Given this reality some sort of promo code/discount in the printed books for use on dnd beyond would make alot of sense. Doesn't really need to be in the physical books maybe give the codes to the LGS to use as they see fit.
I think the pricing is fair as well but I guess my point is WOTC/DDB needs to tread softly so that it doesn't completely replace printed material. With the changes WOTC has made in how it distributes its products combined with a strictly digital model (DDB) we could see LGS close due to people shopping based on price and not considering service. Personally I would like to see MSRP and wholesale cost drop on the printed books to help the LGS out. I know I would never have gotten into the game without my local store not to mention the LGS is a communal hub for finding new groups to game with.
Ok, im going to put this out there. I have no clue what others peoples experiences are, but I have been playing D&D off and on since roughly 1982. I have spent less than 30 hours playing this game in a LGS, thought I have spend perhaps a few hundred hours 25 years ago playing MtG and a few other card games that came out around that time period. And to be fair, a big part of that was due to the fact this was comic shop that also happened to sell RPG's and Card games, so I would go in at the time to get my comics and hang around for a few hours if anyone was around to play MtG or Jihad.
By far, all of my experience has been either with multiple different groups at home games, with a bit of online play(mostly Maptool and a bit a Roll20) over the past 14 years or so. Frankly, "I" personally, have very little care for a LGS one way or the other. My personal bias seems to tell me that the overwhelming majority of players never send a single minute playing at LGS. Granted, I could very well be wrong, but of the several hundred people I have played with over the past 30+ years, less than a dozen of those spend time playing at a LGS and well more than half I know for a fact that they have never done so. Some of those are newish, but most of those are old gronnards from times before LGS were semi common, which really came onto the scene in my are in the mid to late 90s and have more popularity since the early 2000s.
In my area the LGS host and also serve as a way to network with other local player to form groups. They also serve as a safe haven/neutral ground for seeing if the guy from fill in the blank social media page is a wack job or a normal person prior to inviting them into someone's home for a game. So the benefit of the LGS is 2 fold at least in DE.
In my area the LGS host and also serve as a way to network with other local player to form groups. They also serve as a safe haven/neutral ground for seeing if the guy from fill in the blank social media page is a wack job or a normal person prior to inviting them into someone's home for a game. So the benefit of the LGS is 2 fold at least in DE.
As I said, I can only relate my experiences. I first played in the middle of nowhersville for 5 years. I then went to a college town and played for several more years. I had roughly 10 years under my belt before I first first set foot in a store OTHER than a standard book store or general hobby store which sold RPG books and that was a pure comic store that had brought in a few RPG items to sell.
It was around 94, perhaps 95 or so when MtG was really taking off that I noticed people specifcally coming to a comic store(different from several previous I had been going to) to play MtG mostly but other card games and a bit of TTRPG's as well(mostly Vampire since we played Jihad card game quite a bit). For reference this was in a in a three city area. I have no idea how many people were there at the time, but the area now has a big over 2 million people so I would safely say back in the 90's that was likely between 1 and .1.5 million at the most. So not tiny, but not huge either.
Ultimately, I don't think there is a right way. My opinion is that FOR ME, a LGS has zero appeal at all. I could not care in any way if they were gone or not frankly. I personally, purchased DDI when 4E came out and while I did purchase quite a lot of the hard covers, I found that I used them, well for 15-20 at a time... the rest of the time, including while running games and playing, I used my laptop and DDI and NEVER brought physical books to the game host's location.
I understand some people want something to hold in their hand.... thats fine for them, but that's not me. WoTC is in the business of selling content. Honestly, I don't think it should matter to them what form (physical or digital) that comes in, hence their decision to license to DnDBeyond, Roll20, and Fantasy Grounds to name a few.
I'll offer another POV. The FLGS is just another retail outlet, ultimately. It's on them, not thier suppliers (WotC or any other) to find a way to stay in business in these changing times. The books are still for sale, they aren't being replaced by digital content. The stores need to sell other product and provide a space and services that draw customers in. They sell dice, minis, playmats, boardgames, etc, too. I guarantee that Amazon has a far greater detrimental effect on your FLGS than D&D Beyond.
Keep in mind, too, that WotC does not own DDB. They're two different companies and DDB pays them to host the content, not the other way around. If we want the digital content, we have to pay them for it. If you only want to use the tools, you can buy the books at your FLGS and enter anything yourself here as homebrew.
I'll offer another POV. The FLGS is just another retail outlet, ultimately. It's on them, not thier suppliers (WotC or any other) to find a way to stay in business in these changing times. The books are still for sale, they aren't being replaced by digital content. The stores need to sell other product and provide a space and services that draw customers in. They sell dice, minis, playmats, boardgames, etc, too. I guarantee that Amazon has a far greater detrimental effect on your FLGS than D&D Beyond.
Keep in mind, too, that WotC does not own DDB. They're two different companies and DDB pays them to host the content, not the other way around. If we want the digital content, we have to pay them for it. If you only want to use the tools, you can buy the books at your FLGS and enter anything yourself here as homebrew.
you do understand how WOTC controls the LGS right? In order to sell WOTC products you have to follow a ton of rules to determine what level store you are which determines what products and how much of them you are permitted to sell. No one is permitted to sell WOTC products without being a WPN store unless your DDB or a big box store.
Also I am not saying DDB is out to kill the LGS what I am saying is pushing too hard on digital in that it kills the sale of printed media will force the LGS to kill DND as a whole from their stores.
Everyone always goes to the "put a DDB code in the printed books" idea, but I think that is backwards. Personally, I'd prefer it if when you bought content from DDB, a coupon code was emailed to you for a discount on a physical book. Something like 10-25%. It would be much more secure than adding codes to the physical books, as well as supporting sales of physical books on top of digital media. Aside from the PHB and DMG, I'm not likely to buy all the books, twice, at full price, when I have the digital ones at my fingertips. But give me a discount on a physical book when I buy digial and I'm much more likely to walk into a local store and pick up a copy. DDB makes money. LGS makes money. WOTC makes money. I spend less money overall than the current model. Makes sense to me.
...but for some bizarre reason D&D costs a huge amount of money to even get started.
Not true - you get the following stuff for free which is definitely enough to get started (from this thread):
The D&D Basic Rules and the D&D System Reference Document (SRD - link to WotC Website). These rules allow you to play any of the standard races and classes and either DM or play the game of D&D.
Additionally, the Elemental Evil Players Companion is free as well which allows the access to the races of Aarakocra, Deep Gnome, Genasi, and Goliath – with some spells included as well. Active playtest and (certain) Critical Role content are also free to use.
Have the Physical Books? Confused as to why you're not allowed to redeem them for free on D&D Beyond? Questions answered here at the Hardcover Books, D&D Beyond and You FAQ
Looking to add mouse-over triggered tooltips to such things like magic items, monsters or combat actions? Then dash over to the How to Add Tooltips thread.
I think that the issue is really that there is so much content, such as spells and subclasses, that are locked behind huge paywalls. You can play a game, in my example I'll be referencing Bloodborne, and get a good experience for 60 dollars, but for some bizarre reason D&D costs a huge amount of money to even get started. Bloodborne's DLC costed 30 bucks on launch and it came with multiple new areas, new bosses, and a bunch of new weapons and spells. Keep in mind that each sourcebook does that as well, but each and every one of them cost upwards of 40 or 50 dollars (USD). Also considering that 5e is a pretty low effort game compared to video games, in that all that Wizards of the Coast has to do is write some stuff and let the DM's do the dirty work of making the experience, I think that 5e is tragically overpriced. They fill a very large niche, and none of the books are necessary, but it's still pretty stupid that to get the full experience you have to shill out such an insane amount of money.
For some bizarre reason, people still do absolutely no research and complain about D&D locked behind a paywall, despite the fact that all the core rules are FREE and there are plenty of content out there that are also FREE. And no, buying all the official stuff is not necessary for the full D&D experience, and whoever told you that have no experience with D&D at all. I and many others in the community have been hammering home for years now that people can play D&D without spending a single penny. This is not Wizards or Beyond being greedy. This is entitled people who want to use other's hardwork for free or want prices so low that is only possible using sweatshop slave labor. Even when the lunch is freaking free, people still complain about having to pay for lunch despite the free lunch being dangled and waved right in front of them. I feel like I have to spoon feed and shove free food down people's throat because for some bizarre reason they are not able to open their eyes and just type "free D&D" on Google.
Unearthed Arcana, basically unpublished playtest content, are also all completely free straight from Wizard's D&D site. If you cannot afford the paywall version, not only is that not an issue, you have free access to the free beta version that is generally more fun and enjoyable than the paywall version.
If you even bothered to just look around on Beyond, there is more than enough free stuff for beginners to use. And based on personal experience, I can guarantee you that it is not a good idea to shell out $90.00 on the core rulebooks when you and your players are just barely able to digest the free stuff during their first few sessions. There is absolutely no reason to spend money on this hobby until your second or third campaign when you actually know for sure that this hobby is really for you.
Videogames costing only $30 also is not something to brag about, as many developers are overworked, especially in Japan, and there are a ton of scandals going on right now in videogame studios where female employees are being sexually harassed at work, right here in America. Buying a cheap videogame is no more glamorous than buying a cheap tshirt manufactured in Vietnamese sweatshops and made from slave labor cotton sourced from China, not to mention such a shirt would be supporting a Uyghur genocide and political oppression of Hong Kong. You might not be paying the price of cheap products, but somebody else is, and they are not just giving up blood and sweat, in some cases they are paying the price in fingers, political freedom, and personal dignity.
And to quote myself on economy of scale from another thread:
steam is apparently working for little to no pay and with subscription based services that work in spite of your assertion/knee jerk response, Xcloud is doing spectacularly. If this was a fair discussion and not mud flinging, I'd say comparing Xcloud to DnD beyond s not a fair comparison but it's far closer than a restaurant so it's fair lmao.
As I have said previously, a revenue model that works for one business or industry does not necessarily mean that it would work for another business or industry.
Steam and Xcloud are massive distribution platforms with overwhelming power over customers and other business partners. Beyond is under the thumb of Wizards, and Beyond does not seem to have much support from Fandom. Additionally, if the videogame industry is the size of the United States ($78 billion in 2017), the TTRPG industry would be about the size of Delaware ($35 million in 2017). You cannot realistically expect a business the size of Beyond in the tiny TTRPG industry to be able to compete on pricing against massive giants in the vast videogame industry. For every dollar the TTRPG industry gets, the videogame industry gets over two thousand times that amount, and can plough those extra profits back into the business, make operations more efficient, and pass on those savings to customers.
Why is so much stuff locked away in books?
It doesn’t seem logical
Anyway
That my 2 cents
Because you have to pay for things?
Find my D&D Beyond articles here
But what if you have the paper copy? I feel like there should be a code in the book that you can apply to the website
to get the book
DnD Beyond is not owned by Wizards of the Coast; they have to pay licensing fees to Wizards.
The DnD Beyond staff have spent tons of people-hours (and continue to do so) on turning the files they were given by Wizards into the tools and features you see here. They deserve to be paid for that work.
I don't expect to be able to walk into game store B and say "I bought this book at Gamestore A, you should give me these spell cards, monster cards, and magic items cards for free." So I don't expect to get the tools and features here for free, either.
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
I mean, it's still 'locked away in books' even if there was a code in the physical copy.
And like @ArwensDaughter mentioned; the DDB books are not the same product as the physical one, they just contain the same content. Your cinema ticket stub doesn't entitle you to a bluray, even though it's the same movie.
Find my D&D Beyond articles here
D&D Beyond is very disappointing.
D&D Beyond is not owned or operated by Wizards of the Coast. Wizards charges D&D Beyond a licensing fee for access to the books. Plus there is the cost of digitizing them and getting everything linked together with proper tooltips. And the ongoing server costs to support providing the content after it has been purchased.
What you are asking for is akin to buying a hardcover at Barnes and Noble and then demanding that Audible gives you the audio book for free. Different companies, with separate costs associates with producing the content in a physical vs digital form.
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
I disagree. I read the rulebooks at work and it makes making characters much quicker and easier, plus I can look up spells, items, monsters (anything really) instantly.
If it had a VTT and dice roller, it would meet 100% of my d&d needs.
In that they don't give you things for free that you'd otherwise have to pay for?
What was your genuine expectation, that you'd find the content of a $50 book just up for free, legally, on the site?
Find my D&D Beyond articles here
I have a different take on it personally. DND Beyond should compliment your physical books not replace them. Unfortunately many are relying on beyond which is seriously unhealthy for the game as a whole. Reason being is it detracts from the LGS which is imperitive to keeping the game running. The LGS hosts/organizes games so its in WOTC best interest to support them. Given this reality some sort of promo code/discount in the printed books for use on dnd beyond would make alot of sense. Doesn't really need to be in the physical books maybe give the codes to the LGS to use as they see fit.
I believe this is a good way to look at it. I dont have all the physical books, but I plan on getting them eventually. Having everything here and searchable with a few keys and a click is amazingly convenient. Also the builders are all pretty dang useful for keeping track of stuff. I think it would be cool if a discount code could be provided in the books, but then that would mean they'd all have to be wrapped because anyone could just open it up and take it out. In the end, I believe the prices on DnDBeyond are fair for what you get and what it can be used for.
I think the pricing is fair as well but I guess my point is WOTC/DDB needs to tread softly so that it doesn't completely replace printed material. With the changes WOTC has made in how it distributes its products combined with a strictly digital model (DDB) we could see LGS close due to people shopping based on price and not considering service. Personally I would like to see MSRP and wholesale cost drop on the printed books to help the LGS out. I know I would never have gotten into the game without my local store not to mention the LGS is a communal hub for finding new groups to game with.
Ok, im going to put this out there. I have no clue what others peoples experiences are, but I have been playing D&D off and on since roughly 1982. I have spent less than 30 hours playing this game in a LGS, thought I have spend perhaps a few hundred hours 25 years ago playing MtG and a few other card games that came out around that time period. And to be fair, a big part of that was due to the fact this was comic shop that also happened to sell RPG's and Card games, so I would go in at the time to get my comics and hang around for a few hours if anyone was around to play MtG or Jihad.
By far, all of my experience has been either with multiple different groups at home games, with a bit of online play(mostly Maptool and a bit a Roll20) over the past 14 years or so. Frankly, "I" personally, have very little care for a LGS one way or the other. My personal bias seems to tell me that the overwhelming majority of players never send a single minute playing at LGS. Granted, I could very well be wrong, but of the several hundred people I have played with over the past 30+ years, less than a dozen of those spend time playing at a LGS and well more than half I know for a fact that they have never done so. Some of those are newish, but most of those are old gronnards from times before LGS were semi common, which really came onto the scene in my are in the mid to late 90s and have more popularity since the early 2000s.
In my area the LGS host and also serve as a way to network with other local player to form groups. They also serve as a safe haven/neutral ground for seeing if the guy from fill in the blank social media page is a wack job or a normal person prior to inviting them into someone's home for a game. So the benefit of the LGS is 2 fold at least in DE.
As I said, I can only relate my experiences. I first played in the middle of nowhersville for 5 years. I then went to a college town and played for several more years. I had roughly 10 years under my belt before I first first set foot in a store OTHER than a standard book store or general hobby store which sold RPG books and that was a pure comic store that had brought in a few RPG items to sell.
It was around 94, perhaps 95 or so when MtG was really taking off that I noticed people specifcally coming to a comic store(different from several previous I had been going to) to play MtG mostly but other card games and a bit of TTRPG's as well(mostly Vampire since we played Jihad card game quite a bit). For reference this was in a in a three city area. I have no idea how many people were there at the time, but the area now has a big over 2 million people so I would safely say back in the 90's that was likely between 1 and .1.5 million at the most. So not tiny, but not huge either.
Ultimately, I don't think there is a right way. My opinion is that FOR ME, a LGS has zero appeal at all. I could not care in any way if they were gone or not frankly. I personally, purchased DDI when 4E came out and while I did purchase quite a lot of the hard covers, I found that I used them, well for 15-20 at a time... the rest of the time, including while running games and playing, I used my laptop and DDI and NEVER brought physical books to the game host's location.
I understand some people want something to hold in their hand.... thats fine for them, but that's not me. WoTC is in the business of selling content. Honestly, I don't think it should matter to them what form (physical or digital) that comes in, hence their decision to license to DnDBeyond, Roll20, and Fantasy Grounds to name a few.
I'll offer another POV. The FLGS is just another retail outlet, ultimately. It's on them, not thier suppliers (WotC or any other) to find a way to stay in business in these changing times. The books are still for sale, they aren't being replaced by digital content. The stores need to sell other product and provide a space and services that draw customers in. They sell dice, minis, playmats, boardgames, etc, too. I guarantee that Amazon has a far greater detrimental effect on your FLGS than D&D Beyond.
Keep in mind, too, that WotC does not own DDB. They're two different companies and DDB pays them to host the content, not the other way around. If we want the digital content, we have to pay them for it. If you only want to use the tools, you can buy the books at your FLGS and enter anything yourself here as homebrew.
you do understand how WOTC controls the LGS right? In order to sell WOTC products you have to follow a ton of rules to determine what level store you are which determines what products and how much of them you are permitted to sell. No one is permitted to sell WOTC products without being a WPN store unless your DDB or a big box store.
Also I am not saying DDB is out to kill the LGS what I am saying is pushing too hard on digital in that it kills the sale of printed media will force the LGS to kill DND as a whole from their stores.
Everyone always goes to the "put a DDB code in the printed books" idea, but I think that is backwards. Personally, I'd prefer it if when you bought content from DDB, a coupon code was emailed to you for a discount on a physical book. Something like 10-25%. It would be much more secure than adding codes to the physical books, as well as supporting sales of physical books on top of digital media. Aside from the PHB and DMG, I'm not likely to buy all the books, twice, at full price, when I have the digital ones at my fingertips. But give me a discount on a physical book when I buy digial and I'm much more likely to walk into a local store and pick up a copy. DDB makes money. LGS makes money. WOTC makes money. I spend less money overall than the current model. Makes sense to me.
Not true - you get the following stuff for free which is definitely enough to get started (from this thread):
For anyone else who stumbles onto this thread, please read this - Hardcover Books, D&D Beyond and You FAQ
#Open D&D
Have the Physical Books? Confused as to why you're not allowed to redeem them for free on D&D Beyond? Questions answered here at the Hardcover Books, D&D Beyond and You FAQ
Looking to add mouse-over triggered tooltips to such things like magic items, monsters or combat actions? Then dash over to the How to Add Tooltips thread.
For some bizarre reason, people still do absolutely no research and complain about D&D locked behind a paywall, despite the fact that all the core rules are FREE and there are plenty of content out there that are also FREE. And no, buying all the official stuff is not necessary for the full D&D experience, and whoever told you that have no experience with D&D at all. I and many others in the community have been hammering home for years now that people can play D&D without spending a single penny. This is not Wizards or Beyond being greedy. This is entitled people who want to use other's hardwork for free or want prices so low that is only possible using sweatshop slave labor. Even when the lunch is freaking free, people still complain about having to pay for lunch despite the free lunch being dangled and waved right in front of them. I feel like I have to spoon feed and shove free food down people's throat because for some bizarre reason they are not able to open their eyes and just type "free D&D" on Google.
Basic Rules and Standard Reference Document are the core rules and they are free (Beyond's combined version). Elemental Evil's Player Companion is also free. As far as I know, Metallic Dragonborn race, Drakenwarden subclass, and Moondragon monster are also free since Wizards literally just gave them away as a preview. Now that I think about it, if you just look for the previews for older products, people can probably get a ton of free official stuff too.
Unearthed Arcana, basically unpublished playtest content, are also all completely free straight from Wizard's D&D site. If you cannot afford the paywall version, not only is that not an issue, you have free access to the free beta version that is generally more fun and enjoyable than the paywall version.
Many popular homebrew are also free. Matt Mercer's Bloodhunter class is completely free, and so are a few homebrew subclasses (Gunslinger, Oath of the Open Sea, Way of the Cobalt Soul) he made for other classes. Oboe Lauren, a former Beyond staff member, made a pretty cool (or hot) Phoenix Domain cleric subclass on Beyond and showed people how to copy it.
If you even bothered to just look around on Beyond, there is more than enough free stuff for beginners to use. And based on personal experience, I can guarantee you that it is not a good idea to shell out $90.00 on the core rulebooks when you and your players are just barely able to digest the free stuff during their first few sessions. There is absolutely no reason to spend money on this hobby until your second or third campaign when you actually know for sure that this hobby is really for you.
Videogames costing only $30 also is not something to brag about, as many developers are overworked, especially in Japan, and there are a ton of scandals going on right now in videogame studios where female employees are being sexually harassed at work, right here in America. Buying a cheap videogame is no more glamorous than buying a cheap tshirt manufactured in Vietnamese sweatshops and made from slave labor cotton sourced from China, not to mention such a shirt would be supporting a Uyghur genocide and political oppression of Hong Kong. You might not be paying the price of cheap products, but somebody else is, and they are not just giving up blood and sweat, in some cases they are paying the price in fingers, political freedom, and personal dignity.
And to quote myself on economy of scale from another thread:
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 >