Hi, I'm curious to know if there is a chance for this or would the partnership with WofC prohibit it. For example, I'm thinking only for TaleSpire which is a virtual tabletop simulator that is currently in early access on steam and isn't affiliated with any publisher yet. The creators have been very open about working with 3rd parties and DnDBeyond always has gotten a lot of requests for their own Virtual Tabletop, so my shower thought is if it's possible for DnDBeyond to work with them.
This is what the TalesSpire creators said in their FAQ:
What do you fellow D&D Beyond users think about this.
I don't think the details of the contracts DDB has with WotC are known on any level that any end-users could answer that question from a legal standpoint. Given the shared dice rolling feature however, I would guess that they are much more likely to be working toward their own VTT than any chance of partnering up with an existing VTT.
Personally, I would like the site to focus and put all its resources into being a better interactive way to create and see your character sheet. So a partnership with TaleSpire would give both access to stuff their clientele wants. A lot of people want Beyond to make their own virtual tabletop but it looks like that will take some time and a lot of TaleSpire users want to have access to character sheets inside the game. Yeah, you can use extensions like Beyond20 or Beyond the Spire, but a real partnership would be dope.
True, you can depend on the extensions. For TaleSpire there is one called Beyond the Spire too, but an actual partnership between the two would mean that Beyond gets access to their own virtual tabletop and TaleSpire gets access to WotC stuff.
I got into Foundry maybe over a year ago, and one of the first things I did was program a chrome extension that would scrape a DDB monster webpage and recreate that creature in Foundry. Once I had it 90% working, I reached out to Fandom to hand it over entirely free so they could review it, and let people take advantage of it with a promise that I would maintain it as long as I could.
The response I got was basically a cease and desist letter. After pushing back a bit, a CSR told me, and I'm paraphrasing, "that D&D Beyond content is only intended to be used in the D&D Beyond ecosystem. Any form of copying, temporary or permanent of my purchased content in D&D Beyond for use outside of D&D Beyond could warrant a ban on my account and the loss of my content."
Now, I think that CSR misrepresented the actual Terms of Service and Terms of Sale, because those state that D&D Beyond don't guarantee the content in D&D Beyond will work anywhere outside of the D&D Beyond ecosystem. That doesn't mean your D&D Beyond content CAN'T be used outside of the D&D Beyond ecosystem.
There have also been agreements made with the developer of Beyond20, which allows content from D&D Beyond to work in tandem with Roll20 and Foundry VTT, although that extension doesn't copy anything. There are also some form of agreements with other Foundry VTT developers that have applications that import your D&D Beyond content into Foundry. But I think those are all non-official agreements, which poses a risk for those developers.
In any case, I tried to build something that I felt would benefit D&D Beyond, since it would encourage people to purchase content here and use it in their VTT and I was flat out told "NO". I don't think D&D Beyond are interested or they are not allowed to within their contract with WoTC. /shrug
DDB is developing their own “digital play space” which is just their fancy term for what their proprietary VTT will be. There is a 0.00% chance they will partner with an existing VTT when they plan on competing with those VTTs in a couple of years.
DDB is developing their own “digital play space” which is just their fancy term for what their proprietary VTT will be. There is a 0.00% chance they will partner with an existing VTT when they plan on competing with those VTTs in a couple of years.
Can you point me to where they said they "are developing", rather than just saying that they have it on the roadmap?
DDB will have their proprietary VTT in the future (probably 10+ years from now at the current rate of development). Until then my group has been using AboveVTT. Free, easy to use, and integrates with DDB data (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GZ8q-hB7pg).
DDB is developing their own “digital play space” which is just their fancy term for what their proprietary VTT will be. There is a 0.00% chance they will partner with an existing VTT when they plan on competing with those VTTs in a couple of years.
Can you point me to where they said they "are developing", rather than just saying that they have it on the roadmap?
What do you think the Encounter Builder, Combat Tracker, digital dice roller, and heck, even the new inventory enhancements are all leading up to? That’s why they’re adding these things, so they can put them all together for their digital play space at some point.
Yeah, all these new additions to make running a game simpler really make Beyond an amazing site. But they still don't have a virtual map :sob:
I guess most people don't mind it, 'cuz theatre of the mind is rad too, but since it's clear that they have something in the plans why not ally themselves with an agnostic VTT that doesn't have any partnership yet. I think I'm just being too optimistic.
What do you think the Encounter Builder, Combat Tracker, digital dice roller, and heck, even the new inventory enhancements are all leading up to? That’s why they’re adding these things, so they can put them all together for their digital play space at some point.
They are the play aids that are easy to implement.
A VTT is a far more complex beast to try and code - unless it is only display a map and show tokens on it (i.e. ignoring automation, lighting, line-of-sight calculations, individual sight for each player's token(s), etc.)
The basic problem is that DDB's license for D&D content probably does not include sublicensing, so they couldn't make your D&D content available to a fully separate VTT. There's a better chance (they seem to have a license to use D&D content in tools) that they could acquire, be acquired by, merge with, or license a VTT (meaning they're technically providing it inhouse), but I suspect the business argument for any of those isn't great.
What do you think the Encounter Builder, Combat Tracker, digital dice roller, and heck, even the new inventory enhancements are all leading up to? That’s why they’re adding these things, so they can put them all together for their digital play space at some point.
They are the play aids that are easy to implement.
A VTT is a far more complex beast to try and code - unless it is only display a map and show tokens on it (i.e. ignoring automation, lighting, line-of-sight calculations, individual sight for each player's token(s), etc.)
Actually, I might want the site to center and place every one of its assets into being a superior intelligent approach to make and see your person sheet. So an organization with TaleSpire would give both admittance to stuff their demographic needs. A many individuals need Beyond to make their own virtual tabletop yet it seems as though that will require some investment and a great deal of TaleSpire clients need to approach character sheets inside the game. Better believe it, you can utilize expansions like Beyond20 or Beyond the Spire, however a genuine organization would be dope.
Actually, I might want the site to center and place every one of its assets into being a superior intelligent approach to make and see your person sheet. So an organization with TaleSpire would give both admittance to stuff their demographic needs. A many individuals need Beyond to make their own virtual tabletop yet it seems as though that will require some investment and a great deal of TaleSpire clients need to approach character sheets inside the game. Better believe it, you can utilize expansions like Beyond20 or Beyond the Spire, however a genuine organization would be dope.
RIGHT!! I really want Beyond to do a liaison with TaleSpire because of that!
I haven't seen it posted here, but there is a functional VTT that works with D&D Beyond right now.
My parties and I have been using the Above VTT chrome extension. This allows you to pull maps & characters directly from your D&D beyond account to run as an in-browser VTT. It isnt as fully featured as the paid standalone apps, but the low barrier to entry, the simplicity of setting up maps, and the integrated character sheets with dice rolling more than make up for it.
[REDACTED]
I'm not a part of the design team, I just really like the usability of the VTT
Notes: Easy on the advertising, please. A link has already been posted.
Hi, I'm curious to know if there is a chance for this or would the partnership with WofC prohibit it. For example, I'm thinking only for TaleSpire which is a virtual tabletop simulator that is currently in early access on steam and isn't affiliated with any publisher yet.
The creators have been very open about working with 3rd parties and DnDBeyond always has gotten a lot of requests for their own Virtual Tabletop, so my shower thought is if it's possible for DnDBeyond to work with them.
This is what the TalesSpire creators said in their FAQ:
What do you fellow D&D Beyond users think about this.
I don't think the details of the contracts DDB has with WotC are known on any level that any end-users could answer that question from a legal standpoint. Given the shared dice rolling feature however, I would guess that they are much more likely to be working toward their own VTT than any chance of partnering up with an existing VTT.
There is a browser extension called "beyond20", not developed by the dndbeyond team, which allows dndbeyond to work with Roll20 and Foundry VTT.
True, but what do you guys think?
Personally, I would like the site to focus and put all its resources into being a better interactive way to create and see your character sheet. So a partnership with TaleSpire would give both access to stuff their clientele wants. A lot of people want Beyond to make their own virtual tabletop but it looks like that will take some time and a lot of TaleSpire users want to have access to character sheets inside the game. Yeah, you can use extensions like Beyond20 or Beyond the Spire, but a real partnership would be dope.
True, you can depend on the extensions. For TaleSpire there is one called Beyond the Spire too, but an actual partnership between the two would mean that Beyond gets access to their own virtual tabletop and TaleSpire gets access to WotC stuff.
I got into Foundry maybe over a year ago, and one of the first things I did was program a chrome extension that would scrape a DDB monster webpage and recreate that creature in Foundry. Once I had it 90% working, I reached out to Fandom to hand it over entirely free so they could review it, and let people take advantage of it with a promise that I would maintain it as long as I could.
The response I got was basically a cease and desist letter. After pushing back a bit, a CSR told me, and I'm paraphrasing, "that D&D Beyond content is only intended to be used in the D&D Beyond ecosystem. Any form of copying, temporary or permanent of my purchased content in D&D Beyond for use outside of D&D Beyond could warrant a ban on my account and the loss of my content."
Now, I think that CSR misrepresented the actual Terms of Service and Terms of Sale, because those state that D&D Beyond don't guarantee the content in D&D Beyond will work anywhere outside of the D&D Beyond ecosystem. That doesn't mean your D&D Beyond content CAN'T be used outside of the D&D Beyond ecosystem.
There have also been agreements made with the developer of Beyond20, which allows content from D&D Beyond to work in tandem with Roll20 and Foundry VTT, although that extension doesn't copy anything. There are also some form of agreements with other Foundry VTT developers that have applications that import your D&D Beyond content into Foundry. But I think those are all non-official agreements, which poses a risk for those developers.
In any case, I tried to build something that I felt would benefit D&D Beyond, since it would encourage people to purchase content here and use it in their VTT and I was flat out told "NO". I don't think D&D Beyond are interested or they are not allowed to within their contract with WoTC. /shrug
Is Avrae a VTT? It has a map addition. If so, it already has a VTT.
DDB is developing their own “digital play space” which is just their fancy term for what their proprietary VTT will be. There is a 0.00% chance they will partner with an existing VTT when they plan on competing with those VTTs in a couple of years.
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting
Can you point me to where they said they "are developing", rather than just saying that they have it on the roadmap?
DDB will have their proprietary VTT in the future (probably 10+ years from now at the current rate of development). Until then my group has been using AboveVTT. Free, easy to use, and integrates with DDB data (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GZ8q-hB7pg).
What do you think the Encounter Builder, Combat Tracker, digital dice roller, and heck, even the new inventory enhancements are all leading up to? That’s why they’re adding these things, so they can put them all together for their digital play space at some point.
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting
Damn, that's a harsh answer when you were trying to give something to them for free that probably took you hours to make.
I guess I'm only honing a pipe dream since someone in the Discord for TaleSpire mentioned how when they asked a similar question to mine a while ago one of the DnD Beyond Staff said that they themselves would be open but they cannot speak for the whole staff.
here is the post: https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/d-d-beyond-general/general-discussion/55451-talespire-collaboration
Yeah, all these new additions to make running a game simpler really make Beyond an amazing site. But they still don't have a virtual map :sob:
I guess most people don't mind it, 'cuz theatre of the mind is rad too, but since it's clear that they have something in the plans why not ally themselves with an agnostic VTT that doesn't have any partnership yet. I think I'm just being too optimistic.
They are the play aids that are easy to implement.
A VTT is a far more complex beast to try and code - unless it is only display a map and show tokens on it (i.e. ignoring automation, lighting, line-of-sight calculations, individual sight for each player's token(s), etc.)
The basic problem is that DDB's license for D&D content probably does not include sublicensing, so they couldn't make your D&D content available to a fully separate VTT. There's a better chance (they seem to have a license to use D&D content in tools) that they could acquire, be acquired by, merge with, or license a VTT (meaning they're technically providing it inhouse), but I suspect the business argument for any of those isn't great.
Baby steps.
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting
Valid, yet what do you folks think?
Actually, I might want the site to center and place every one of its assets into being a superior intelligent approach to make and see your person sheet. So an organization with TaleSpire would give both admittance to stuff their demographic needs. A many individuals need Beyond to make their own virtual tabletop yet it seems as though that will require some investment and a great deal of TaleSpire clients need to approach character sheets inside the game. Better believe it, you can utilize expansions like Beyond20 or Beyond the Spire, however a genuine organization would be dope.
RIGHT!! I really want Beyond to do a liaison with TaleSpire because of that!
I would rather foundry than talespire I think
I haven't seen it posted here, but there is a functional VTT that works with D&D Beyond right now.
My parties and I have been using the Above VTT chrome extension. This allows you to pull maps & characters directly from your D&D beyond account to run as an in-browser VTT. It isnt as fully featured as the paid standalone apps, but the low barrier to entry, the simplicity of setting up maps, and the integrated character sheets with dice rolling more than make up for it.
[REDACTED]
I'm not a part of the design team, I just really like the usability of the VTT