I really have to share my disappointment with the prices I just witnessed in the marketplace. I played 4e since when the PHB2 was still in beta test (my biggest disappointment was when "enchanted unarmed strike" was replaced with ki foci,) and it made sense there. Pay subscription: get everything. Now it seems like it's double- or triple-dipping. Needing to pay full (or nearly-full) price to access the digital versions of the printed material, AND a subscription if you want more than 6 characters? And since my group has 6 people (5 players and 1 GM) that means we would need to individually create, save and delete characters, OR lay out the full cost of everything PLUS a subscription to have them on-hand. Especially since we play twice a week (online) and have a "Monday" campaign and a "Friday" campaign.
I'm sure some will call us spoiled, but the reality is more like 'broke'. We literally weren't able to scrounge up $50 from each of us to be able to do everything we wanted all at once.
I mean they're essentially almost half price, you can't compare it to Amazon. The PHB MSRP is $50 and you can get it here for $30. You seem like the perfect group to add items over time. Buy a six month master tier subscription and the PHB for $60 total, that's $10 between each of you. This gives all six of you access to the majority of what you need to create characters and share everything. You can add more items over time.
I really have to share my disappointment with the prices I just witnessed in the marketplace. I played 4e since when the PHB2 was still in beta test (my biggest disappointment was when "enchanted unarmed strike" was replaced with ki foci,) and it made sense there. Pay subscription: get everything. Now it seems like it's double- or triple-dipping. Needing to pay full (or nearly-full) price to access the digital versions of the printed material, AND a subscription if you want more than 6 characters? And since my group has 6 people (5 players and 1 GM) that means we would need to individually create, save and delete characters, OR lay out the full cost of everything PLUS a subscription to have them on-hand. Especially since we play twice a week (online) and have a "Monday" campaign and a "Friday" campaign.
I'm sure some will call us spoiled, but the reality is more like 'broke'. We literally weren't able to scrounge up $50 from each of us to be able to do everything we wanted all at once.
I'm not sure you understand what you're getting. For free each account can have up to 6 characters. The campaign can carry up to 12 characters. Each account can have 3 campaigns. For free. Homebrew content can be shared in the campaign for free.
Purchase of content like rule books and adventures can be done piecemeal. And the bits you purchase work to discount the final price of the full product if you decide later to finish it off. For under $6/month, one account can unlock sharing for everyone in the campaign for up to three campaigns. IMHO, Curse has bent over backwards to make this as accessible as possible while (hopefully) making enough to pay their bills and continue updating the site.
I really have to share my disappointment with the prices I just witnessed in the marketplace. I played 4e since when the PHB2 was still in beta test (my biggest disappointment was when "enchanted unarmed strike" was replaced with ki foci,) and it made sense there. Pay subscription: get everything. Now it seems like it's double- or triple-dipping. Needing to pay full (or nearly-full) price to access the digital versions of the printed material, AND a subscription if you want more than 6 characters? And since my group has 6 people (5 players and 1 GM) that means we would need to individually create, save and delete characters, OR lay out the full cost of everything PLUS a subscription to have them on-hand. Especially since we play twice a week (online) and have a "Monday" campaign and a "Friday" campaign.
I'm sure some will call us spoiled, but the reality is more like 'broke'. We literally weren't able to scrounge up $50 from each of us to be able to do everything we wanted all at once.
I'm not sure you understand what you're getting. For free each account can have up to 6 characters. The campaign can carry up to 12 characters. Each account can have 3 campaigns. For free. Homebrew content can be shared in the campaign for free.
Purchase of content like rule books and adventures can be done piecemeal. And the bits you purchase work to discount the final price of the full product if you decide later to finish it off. For under $6/month, one account can unlock sharing for everyone in the campaign for up to three campaigns. IMHO, Curse has bent over backwards to make this as accessible as possible while (hopefully) making enough to pay their bills and continue updating the site.
So agree with A_Stray_Cat, I don't think people are understanding what they get for free or what they get for just a little bit more. I commend Curse for being able to come in at the price they did and I am fully aware that the plans they have for this platform will blow everyone away in the long run. I also don't think people realize the fact that Curse and WotC are 2 different companies and not the same company or the operating costs of something like this.
I bought a ton of books and got a sub so I could share whatever I bought with the players in my game, at first focusing on locally, but now expanding out. My local players have offered to chip on the cost of future books, which will honestly make any future purchases such as Xanathars in November only a couple bucks per person. We have gone completely digital, only using DDB at our live table and it has been amazing, I dare say flawless. Everyone has truly been enjoying the experience and realize how incredibly useful this service is.
I have only had one complaint and that is offline use, which I have heard is being worked on. I really wish people would try to look beyond just the market place and take a deeper look into what this platform and service have to offer, this can be done with a free account, and like has been said so many times on these forums, for a nominal cost a person can go deeper and really begin to unlock the strength of what Curse is producing here.
The sharing content in a campaign is what makes this great. Yes, I have bought the content in physical form but that is one book for the entire house or group. With how Curse and WoTC have worked this out we can now more easily share that. The other things is that it is pretty and feels nice to use. Sure there are some parts I hope get updated but if you have used Curse products in the past--they know UX and are not afraid to update things for the better. I am also optimistic about the apparent direct or close relationship Curse and WoTC have. Several of the interviews and 'spotlight' videos on DDB have been entertaining for me.
I think what I am looking for now is some campaign management features like Obsidian or Realm Works. The other thing I am confused on is what I want to do with my VTT and voice solutions. Roll20 works pretty good for displaying and sharing handouts and maps. Then we have Discord for communication--which is fine but that ends up with our party using no less than 3 tools. Would be nice to consolidate or have more integration with that.
So, I understand the need to charge, that's not my issue. My issue is the amount being charged ON TOP of the subscription.
I would happily pay for a subscription that unlocked everything. I would happily unlock everything, if the 'free' builder didn't have such a STRICT limitation on character slots and homebrew (unless it's just a bad UI that's giving me trouble there.)
It's the fact that BOTH are happening that's a little too much for my group in particular.
So, I understand the need to charge, that's not my issue. My issue is the amount being charged ON TOP of the subscription.
I would happily pay for a subscription that unlocked everything. I would happily unlock everything, if the 'free' builder didn't have such a STRICT limitation on character slots and homebrew (unless it's just a bad UI that's giving me trouble there.)
It's the fact that BOTH are happening that's a little too much for my group in particular.
They will never do a subscription to unlock everything. Sounds like the physical books are the right fit for you.
I really have to share my disappointment with the prices I just witnessed in the marketplace. I played 4e since when the PHB2 was still in beta test (my biggest disappointment was when "enchanted unarmed strike" was replaced with ki foci,) and it made sense there. Pay subscription: get everything. Now it seems like it's double- or triple-dipping. Needing to pay full (or nearly-full) price to access the digital versions of the printed material, AND a subscription if you want more than 6 characters? And since my group has 6 people (5 players and 1 GM) that means we would need to individually create, save and delete characters, OR lay out the full cost of everything PLUS a subscription to have them on-hand. Especially since we play twice a week (online) and have a "Monday" campaign and a "Friday" campaign.
I'm sure some will call us spoiled, but the reality is more like 'broke'. We literally weren't able to scrounge up $50 from each of us to be able to do everything we wanted all at once.
Don't get your point about characters, if each of you has your own free account then you each have six characters for use. If you have 2 campaigns running you should be fine, unless you are playing 4 or 5 characters each. You don't need to sub unless you want unlimited characters, or if you want to be able to share the purchases made with in your campaign. As for double and triple dipping this is not the only site, nor is it the first site to have a licensing agreement with WOTC. This site does have the cheapest prices so far, and is constantly evolving based on customer feedback.
So, I understand the need to charge, that's not my issue. My issue is the amount being charged ON TOP of the subscription.
I would happily pay for a subscription that unlocked everything. I would happily unlock everything, if the 'free' builder didn't have such a STRICT limitation on character slots and homebrew (unless it's just a bad UI that's giving me trouble there.)
It's the fact that BOTH are happening that's a little too much for my group in particular.
They will never do a subscription to unlock everything. Sounds like the physical books are the right fit for you.
I don't want a subscription to unlock everything, I just want a one-time fee for the benefits of a subscription.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both" -- allegedly Benjamin Franklin
What's the easiest way to access purchased adventure modules? Bought Curse of Strahd, but can't find a centralized location to access any purchased content, and can't find a better way to get back to CoS other than Compendium->Adventures->(scrolling to find the one I want) View CoS. Any plans for a 'Your Purchases' link, or some such?
somewhere showing me what I have purchased already separate from what is available would be great -- removing the necessity to scroll to the 1 adventure book I have out of the many I don't.
I really have to share my disappointment with the prices I just witnessed in the marketplace. I played 4e since when the PHB2 was still in beta test (my biggest disappointment was when "enchanted unarmed strike" was replaced with ki foci,) and it made sense there. Pay subscription: get everything. Now it seems like it's double- or triple-dipping. Needing to pay full (or nearly-full) price to access the digital versions of the printed material, AND a subscription if you want more than 6 characters? And since my group has 6 people (5 players and 1 GM) that means we would need to individually create, save and delete characters, OR lay out the full cost of everything PLUS a subscription to have them on-hand. Especially since we play twice a week (online) and have a "Monday" campaign and a "Friday" campaign.
I'm sure some will call us spoiled, but the reality is more like 'broke'. We literally weren't able to scrounge up $50 from each of us to be able to do everything we wanted all at once.
Don't get your point about characters, if each of you has your own free account then you each have six characters for use. If you have 2 campaigns running you should be fine, unless you are playing 4 or 5 characters each. You don't need to sub unless you want unlimited characters, or if you want to be able to share the purchases made with in your campaign. As for double and triple dipping this is not the only site, nor is it the first site to have a licensing agreement with WOTC. This site does have the cheapest prices so far, and is constantly evolving based on customer feedback.
While that's true, let's say we want to unlock the various things: then EVERYONE IN THE GROUP would need to unlock it. I'd be fine homebrewing it in, but homebrew? What's that? (Or at least for now, cause I can't seem to do anything homebrew in the Beyond builder.) The entire point was that, we don't all have money, and even pooling resources into a single "pot" got more grumbling and anger than anyone was willing to deal with.
I really have to share my disappointment with the prices I just witnessed in the marketplace. I played 4e since when the PHB2 was still in beta test (my biggest disappointment was when "enchanted unarmed strike" was replaced with ki foci,) and it made sense there. Pay subscription: get everything. Now it seems like it's double- or triple-dipping. Needing to pay full (or nearly-full) price to access the digital versions of the printed material, AND a subscription if you want more than 6 characters? And since my group has 6 people (5 players and 1 GM) that means we would need to individually create, save and delete characters, OR lay out the full cost of everything PLUS a subscription to have them on-hand. Especially since we play twice a week (online) and have a "Monday" campaign and a "Friday" campaign.
I'm sure some will call us spoiled, but the reality is more like 'broke'. We literally weren't able to scrounge up $50 from each of us to be able to do everything we wanted all at once.
Don't get your point about characters, if each of you has your own free account then you each have six characters for use. If you have 2 campaigns running you should be fine, unless you are playing 4 or 5 characters each. You don't need to sub unless you want unlimited characters, or if you want to be able to share the purchases made with in your campaign. As for double and triple dipping this is not the only site, nor is it the first site to have a licensing agreement with WOTC. This site does have the cheapest prices so far, and is constantly evolving based on customer feedback.
While that's true, let's say we want to unlock the various things: then EVERYONE IN THE GROUP would need to unlock it. I'd be fine homebrewing it in, but homebrew? What's that? (Or at least for now, cause I can't seem to do anything homebrew in the Beyond builder.) The entire point was that, we don't all have money, and even pooling resources into a single "pot" got more grumbling and anger than anyone was willing to deal with.
ChazzK:
Absolutely get your point here, that money is tight and DnD Beyond is a great tool that is currently beyond your price point.
I'm gonna try and sneak in here before alot of us more frustrated members start in. Just so you are aware, there is about 1000 posts out there with similar concerns as yours, and as a community member it really bothers me when I see this complaint, even though I know it comes from a place of love of D&D. Ultimately, the choice is yours, Curse has killed themselves making this tool set as affordable and expandable as possible, and they are coming in at a price point which makes me a little nervous how low it is, because their margin has to be tight.
Ok, so to resolve your questions:
1. An annual master tier subscription gives you three campaigns of 12 people access to your material. It's $54.99 USD annually. Not a one time fee, but in a year you may not want to use this anymore, who knows.
2. A master tier level allows you to share all thehomebrew information you want. If one person has that tier, they can select sharing, and then EVERYTHING they put into home brew will be available. Here is the cool point: you or your players can purchase chunks of stuff, rather than the whole book. I think its safe to say most players, even the ones whose money goes to more important things, can swing $1.99 here and there.
3. What is the ultimate desire of your post? Is it to lower the price point? Expand the free tools? These kind of posts tend to see more reinforcement from within the community if they have an articulate concern and recommendation for fixing it. If at the end of the day the issue is just that you have to pay for the full suite of tools, then I would say that DnD Beyond is not going to meet your need at the moment. Maybe it can in the future, but for now maybe just good old fashion page turning (which I still do sometimes as a DM because that's just...you know....part of it) is the best fit for your group.
TBH, it's really the fact that it's content I would have to purchase for the second (or 4th, in the case of PHBs) time. Nearly $1k in books, owned, and still have to pay for all the same content again to use it here. If it were something where with the higher subscription I could unlock content that i currently own hardcover, or preferably, simply unlock all content as long as I pay for a higher (say $10-15?) subscription, that I could then share with my players. Now it has been said many times that that will never happen, but it's the way the builder worked in 4e, and to be taking this step backwards IMO for 5e is disheartening to say the least. Just my 2c, so I suppose I'll stick to books for now.
TBH, it's really the fact that it's content I would have to purchase for the second (or 4th, in the case of PHBs) time. Nearly $1k in books, owned, and still have to pay for all the same content again to use it here. If it were something where with the higher subscription I could unlock content that i currently own hardcover, or preferably, simply unlock all content as long as I pay for a higher (say $10-15?) subscription, that I could then share with my players. Now it has been said many times that that will never happen, but it's the way the builder worked in 4e, and to be taking this step backwards IMO for 5e is disheartening to say the least. Just my 2c, so I suppose I'll stick to books for now.
I think the problem with comparing it to the 4e builder, is that the 4e builder was all WOTC, where as this one isn't. Though many have asked for a higher tier sub having all info available. Whether or not they act on that or not who knows. The counter has been to save that 15 monthly sub for 2 months and buy a book here, as it wouldn't take long depending on how often you play to quickly be paying more than you would have if you had just bought the material. The other problem is buying a monthly sub then sharing with everyone building your characters and killing the sub until you need it again. This is likely not a problem again depending on how often you play.
1000 in books? Where are you buying your books at, because even at MSRP, all the content for 5E comes in WAY below a grand.
Starter Kit: 19.99
Players Handbook: 49.95
Monster Manual: 49.95
DM Guide: 49.95
Hoard of the Dragon Queen: 29.95
Rise of Tiamat: 29.95
Princes of the Apocalypse: 49.95
Out of the Abyss: 49.95
Sword Coast Guide: 39.95
Curse of Strahd: 49.95
Storm Kings Thunder: 49.95
Volos Guide: 49.95
Tales from the Yawning Portal: 49.95
Tomb of Annihiliation: 49.95 (not released as of post except to DnD Beyond and game stores)
So that comes to a grand total of 619.34 IF you bought them all at MSRP. I just went through and added my cost through Amazon (including the strangely high 45 buck preorder for ToA, since usually they run around 30) and got a total of just 376 I have spend on books so far, bump that up to 407 if you include my preorder of Xanathars guide.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
I use summon instrument to summon my kettle drum, hold it overhead like Donkey Kong, and chuck it at the nearest kobold.
1000 in books? Where are you buying your books at, because even at MSRP, all the content for 5E comes in WAY below a grand.
Starter Kit: 19.99
Players Handbook: 49.95
Monster Manual: 49.95
DM Guide: 49.95
Hoard of the Dragon Queen: 29.95
Rise of Tiamat: 29.95
Princes of the Apocalypse: 49.95
Out of the Abyss: 49.95
Sword Coast Guide: 39.95
Curse of Strahd: 49.95
Storm Kings Thunder: 49.95
Volos Guide: 49.95
Tales from the Yawning Portal: 49.95
Tomb of Annihiliation: 49.95 (not released as of post except to DnD Beyond and game stores)
So that comes to a grand total of 619.34 IF you bought them all at MSRP. I just went through and added my cost through Amazon (including the strangely high 45 buck preorder for ToA, since usually they run around 30) and got a total of just 376 I have spend on books so far, bump that up to 407 if you include my preorder of Xanathars guide.
Come on down to Canada :)
~$63/book, with 3 copies of the PHB purchased
Again, just saying this does not work for me, I will not buy the content again, just kinda disappointed is all. I get that they have to make money their own way, but it sucks feeling like im getting nickel and dimed here, having already purchased books, then duplicating a few of those purchases on Roll20, its already too much IMO. As such, My choice will be to stick with the books, as much as that sucks, and continue to use 3rd party tools that accomplish much of what this one does, minus the graphical niceness.
Do you plan to have a function where people who've already purchased hard copy books could scan them (even for a dollar fee) and access them here? I know it's probably not great for your business model but it sure would be great for the users.
Do you plan to have a function where people who've already purchased hard copy books could scan them (even for a dollar fee) and access them here? I know it's probably not great for your business model but it sure would be great for the users.
Due to the lack of any unique code in existing books, it is not possible.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
How I'm posting based on text formatting: Mod Hat On - Mod Hat Off
-
View User Profile
-
View Posts
-
Send Message
Game Storeshttps://twitch.tv/twisteddieroller
Just want to say thanks for releasing content on here before physical book releases, thats a pretty cool bonus!
I use summon instrument to summon my kettle drum, hold it overhead like Donkey Kong, and chuck it at the nearest kobold.
The sharing content in a campaign is what makes this great. Yes, I have bought the content in physical form but that is one book for the entire house or group. With how Curse and WoTC have worked this out we can now more easily share that. The other things is that it is pretty and feels nice to use. Sure there are some parts I hope get updated but if you have used Curse products in the past--they know UX and are not afraid to update things for the better. I am also optimistic about the apparent direct or close relationship Curse and WoTC have. Several of the interviews and 'spotlight' videos on DDB have been entertaining for me.
I think what I am looking for now is some campaign management features like Obsidian or Realm Works. The other thing I am confused on is what I want to do with my VTT and voice solutions. Roll20 works pretty good for displaying and sharing handouts and maps. Then we have Discord for communication--which is fine but that ends up with our party using no less than 3 tools. Would be nice to consolidate or have more integration with that.
So, I understand the need to charge, that's not my issue. My issue is the amount being charged ON TOP of the subscription.
I would happily pay for a subscription that unlocked everything.
I would happily unlock everything, if the 'free' builder didn't have such a STRICT limitation on character slots and homebrew (unless it's just a bad UI that's giving me trouble there.)
It's the fact that BOTH are happening that's a little too much for my group in particular.
"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both" -- allegedly Benjamin Franklin
Tooltips (Help/aid)
How do you get a one-armed goblin out of a tree?
Wave!
I'd like to be able to purchase content as a gift for another user's account - would it be possible to add this feature?
-
View User Profile
-
View Posts
-
Send Message
Game Storeshttps://twitch.tv/twisteddieroller
TBH, it's really the fact that it's content I would have to purchase for the second (or 4th, in the case of PHBs) time. Nearly $1k in books, owned, and still have to pay for all the same content again to use it here. If it were something where with the higher subscription I could unlock content that i currently own hardcover, or preferably, simply unlock all content as long as I pay for a higher (say $10-15?) subscription, that I could then share with my players. Now it has been said many times that that will never happen, but it's the way the builder worked in 4e, and to be taking this step backwards IMO for 5e is disheartening to say the least. Just my 2c, so I suppose I'll stick to books for now.
1000 in books? Where are you buying your books at, because even at MSRP, all the content for 5E comes in WAY below a grand.
So that comes to a grand total of 619.34 IF you bought them all at MSRP. I just went through and added my cost through Amazon (including the strangely high 45 buck preorder for ToA, since usually they run around 30) and got a total of just 376 I have spend on books so far, bump that up to 407 if you include my preorder of Xanathars guide.
I use summon instrument to summon my kettle drum, hold it overhead like Donkey Kong, and chuck it at the nearest kobold.
Do you plan to have a function where people who've already purchased hard copy books could scan them (even for a dollar fee) and access them here? I know it's probably not great for your business model but it sure would be great for the users.
-
View User Profile
-
View Posts
-
Send Message
ModeratorHomebrew Rules || Homebrew FAQ || Snippet Codes || Tooltips
DDB Guides & FAQs, Class Guides, Character Builds, Game Guides, Useful Websites, and WOTC Resources