Simple answer? Nobody is making you buy anything. Nothing here is required to play. It's just another way to play.
I couldn't agree more here. If you already have the books, then this site was not built with your needs in mind. I dont have the books, so it perfect to my friends and I. Like firehawk said it's another way to play. In no way is it reasonable for us as consumers to expect DDB or Wizards to 'give' us all of the material just because we have purchased it another format.
I disagree here a bit. I have the books and have the content in Fantasy Grounds as well. I will probably purchase it for a 3rd (or 4th) time here. Why? I prefer reading physical books when preparing or researching. However, I like the idea of having a quick and easy way to look up information while at the table.
So, even though I already own the books, I still feel that this site is aimed at me as well.
But you aren't forced into buying them, this is just personal choice. There are many people out there who will feel this site isn't for them, and that's perfectly okay. You are not required to use D&D Beyond in order to play D&D. That's not the focus of the site. We just want to make accessibility easier in a mobile world.
I agree with this and would add that you are not so much buying the books on dndbeyond as you arepaying for the access to the info and a much faster way to research and explore the content of the books... paying for convenience... worth it to me.. "Time is money, friend." :D
Although, to answer the original question: because Curse, the company that makes D&D Beyond, was never compensated for your original purchase. If what you're looking for is only convenient access to the information, but you already own the books, and the tools have little value to you, then it seems like this product was not made for you. Curse does have a margin and operating costs just like any local game store that sell the physical books, so it makes sense when you start to think about it. D&D Beyond is like a proxy local game store providing products and services. And given the high level of convenience and features, you can think of D&D Beyond as a "special edition" book, that may just warrant another purchase.
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I wouldn't have a problem paying some money to use this content, but at almost $300 dollars to get the stuff i already have. It's a very steep price just for the convenience of creating a character online; which is all i was looking for. Or for looking up the occasional bit of info, which would be just as fast to just Google your question.
I wouldn't have a problem paying some money to use this content, but at almost $300 dollars to get the stuff i already have. It's a very steep price just for the convenience of creating a character online; which is all i was looking for. Or for looking up the occasional bit of info, which would be just as fast to just Google your question.
If you have the physical products there is no need to buy again on here: you already have the information to look up what you need, the indexes can let you look things up in the book almost as fast as googling if you get use to it and this site has most of the basic information from the PHB and DMG available free as part of the Basic Rules. The non-free content from these books is more lore stuff and "helpful" not required. If you need to look up a specific rule, for instance, on say combat or environments well that's available. And you can make characters free - there's a lot that's free.
Also if you have the physical products you can use the homebrew tools to recreate whatever you need for your own use entirely for free. So, you actually don't need to pay again for any content you have physically to make a charater on here. Now paying again on the site does have the advantage of making it available on here easily and more easy to look up and reference. But you do have the option to only pay for what you want: you can buy a specific magic item or race, for instance, or get things like spell bundles and such. Anything paid this way has the amount you paid deducted from the cost of the book. So you can budget to get what you need only when you need it all the while reducing the price of the book bit by bit until it becomes affordable. Buying a book and anything towards a book also deducts the book bundles like Legendary Bundle, Adventure Bundle and Sourcebook Bundle. There are also often discount codes and the prices here are usually cheaper than anywhere else most of the time even without the discounts.
If you want to avoid paying again and just want to homebrew what you need to use it free then take a look at the Homebrew forum for guides and advice on how to use the homebrew tools and we have a friendly community: we're happy to help.
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Click ✨ HERE ✨ For My Youtube Videos featuring Guides, Tips & Tricks for using D&D Beyond. Need help with Homebrew? Check out ✨ thisFAQ/Guide thread ✨ by IamSposta.
As Cyb3rM1nd has indicated there is no need to spend $300+ if all you want is a character creator. You can just buy the character options, or homebrew them, as they suggested. You might (or might not) find the Buyers guide linked in my signature helpful as you determine if DDB is for you: It lists various scenarios, including for folks who just want a character builder, and makes suggestions about the kinds of things to purchase (or to homebrew).
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ModeratorAlthough, to answer the original question: because Curse, the company that makes D&D Beyond, was never compensated for your original purchase. If what you're looking for is only convenient access to the information, but you already own the books, and the tools have little value to you, then it seems like this product was not made for you. Curse does have a margin and operating costs just like any local game store that sell the physical books, so it makes sense when you start to think about it. D&D Beyond is like a proxy local game store providing products and services. And given the high level of convenience and features, you can think of D&D Beyond as a "special edition" book, that may just warrant another purchase.
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I wouldn't have a problem paying some money to use this content, but at almost $300 dollars to get the stuff i already have. It's a very steep price just for the convenience of creating a character online; which is all i was looking for. Or for looking up the occasional bit of info, which would be just as fast to just Google your question.
If you have the physical products there is no need to buy again on here: you already have the information to look up what you need, the indexes can let you look things up in the book almost as fast as googling if you get use to it and this site has most of the basic information from the PHB and DMG available free as part of the Basic Rules. The non-free content from these books is more lore stuff and "helpful" not required. If you need to look up a specific rule, for instance, on say combat or environments well that's available. And you can make characters free - there's a lot that's free.
Also if you have the physical products you can use the homebrew tools to recreate whatever you need for your own use entirely for free. So, you actually don't need to pay again for any content you have physically to make a charater on here. Now paying again on the site does have the advantage of making it available on here easily and more easy to look up and reference. But you do have the option to only pay for what you want: you can buy a specific magic item or race, for instance, or get things like spell bundles and such. Anything paid this way has the amount you paid deducted from the cost of the book. So you can budget to get what you need only when you need it all the while reducing the price of the book bit by bit until it becomes affordable. Buying a book and anything towards a book also deducts the book bundles like Legendary Bundle, Adventure Bundle and Sourcebook Bundle. There are also often discount codes and the prices here are usually cheaper than anywhere else most of the time even without the discounts.
If you want to avoid paying again and just want to homebrew what you need to use it free then take a look at the Homebrew forum for guides and advice on how to use the homebrew tools and we have a friendly community: we're happy to help.
Click ✨ HERE ✨ For My Youtube Videos featuring Guides, Tips & Tricks for using D&D Beyond.
Need help with Homebrew? Check out ✨ this FAQ/Guide thread ✨ by IamSposta.
As Cyb3rM1nd has indicated there is no need to spend $300+ if all you want is a character creator. You can just buy the character options, or homebrew them, as they suggested. You might (or might not) find the Buyers guide linked in my signature helpful as you determine if DDB is for you: It lists various scenarios, including for folks who just want a character builder, and makes suggestions about the kinds of things to purchase (or to homebrew).
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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AlumniWhile this is always a valid topic of conversation, please refrain from Necro'ing threads (as defined in the site rules HERE)
A good place to talk about this is the Buyers Guide Thread. Linked HERE
Going to lock this one up,
Have a nice day!
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