Thanks for the apology. To clarify, though, it’s not “my” pricing structure. I don’t work for D&D Beyond or for Wizards of the Coast. I’m just a happy customer who wanted to offer information and ideas to help people think through the various options for purchasing content here. I’ve seen so many folks assume they have to buy everything for DDB to be useful, and the purchase options—together with the homebrew tools—means there are a wide variety of possibilities at a variety of price points.
Since you are trying to decide if DDB is useful to you, I’d encourage you to play around with the tools using the free content, and to homebrew a few things from the books you own. (Just don’t try to publish them for public use). That will help you get a feel for whether or not the tools here are useful for you.
I've seen several ads on Facebook with coupon codes to reduce the prices of DDB content. Most recently the Legendary Bundle for 20% off (LEGENDARY20). I pulled some numbers and compared the DDB price, Amazon price, and the MSRP from Wizards of the Coast.
DDB is winning out on the pricing if you want to buy everything that is for sale right now. Using a 20% Legendary Bundle saves you about 59% from the MSRP.
Thought I'd share this since I put the time into it and hopefully it'll help people see the pricing benefits of DDB from just a content perspective - especially if you get the chance to jump on a discount code.
EDIT: Removed stuff from the post that was just complaining about the pricing debate.
I appreciate you raising the discount codes that are frequently available, but I would remind you that as OP I have asked that arguments/debates about the pricing structure—rather pro or con—not happen on this thread.
Basically DnD Beyond is a different company and though they have a business agreement with WOTC they still have to buy the license for those they sell. DnD Beyond offers tools and the ability to buy full digital versions of the books. However, if you don't need the whole book you buy piecemeal the different races, classes, subraces for each book for a lower price.
If you buy part of a book it subtracts from the price of the book so you can buy piecemeal as you need it and then when it becomes worth it you buy the full book.
My apologies if this has been answered elsewhere - tried to do a search, but no luck.
For background, I have a Master Tier subscription and I purchased the PHB and XGTE.
I have 4 campaigns I am part of. For 2 of the campaigns, I am the DM. The other 2 I am a player. Content sharing is turned on for all 4 campaigns (for three of them, including one where I am a DM we have another person in the group that bought all of the content available on DDB).
I'm trying to figure out which campaigns count against my limit for sharing my own content? Is it just the two where I am the DM?
Asking as the one campaign where the person without the legendary bundle is present is one I DM and I need to be able to share my content with the players.
My apologies if this has been answered elsewhere - tried to do a search, but no luck.
For background, I have a Master Tier subscription and I purchased the PHB and XGTE.
I have 4 campaigns I am part of. For 2 of the campaigns, I am the DM. The other 2 I am a player. Content sharing is turned on for all 4 campaigns (for three of them, including one where I am a DM we have another person in the group that bought all of the content available on DDB).
I'm trying to figure out which campaigns count against my limit for sharing my own content? Is it just the two where I am the DM?
Asking as the one campaign where the person without the legendary bundle is present is one I DM and I need to be able to share my content with the players.
TIA!
Probably the first 3.
Turn all off. Turn on the one "without legendary bundle" and 2 others. All sorted.
My apologies if this has been answered elsewhere - tried to do a search, but no luck.
For background, I have a Master Tier subscription and I purchased the PHB and XGTE.
I have 4 campaigns I am part of. For 2 of the campaigns, I am the DM. The other 2 I am a player. Content sharing is turned on for all 4 campaigns (for three of them, including one where I am a DM we have another person in the group that bought all of the content available on DDB).
I'm trying to figure out which campaigns count against my limit for sharing my own content? Is it just the two where I am the DM?
Asking as the one campaign where the person without the legendary bundle is present is one I DM and I need to be able to share my content with the players.
TIA!
Probably the first 3.
Turn all off. Turn on the one "without legendary bundle" and 2 others. All sorted.
I was looking at the page that lists my campaigns. For the first three campaigns it lists content sharing enabled by (the person with the legendary bundle). The fourth one lists me as the one who enabled content sharing. So maybe the count is connected to whoever turns on the content sharing? (note this means I cannot turn off the content sharing for the other three per your suggestion)
My apologies if this has been answered elsewhere - tried to do a search, but no luck.
For background, I have a Master Tier subscription and I purchased the PHB and XGTE.
I have 4 campaigns I am part of. For 2 of the campaigns, I am the DM. The other 2 I am a player. Content sharing is turned on for all 4 campaigns (for three of them, including one where I am a DM we have another person in the group that bought all of the content available on DDB).
I'm trying to figure out which campaigns count against my limit for sharing my own content? Is it just the two where I am the DM?
Asking as the one campaign where the person without the legendary bundle is present is one I DM and I need to be able to share my content with the players.
TIA!
Probably the first 3.
Turn all off. Turn on the one "without legendary bundle" and 2 others. All sorted.
I was looking at the page that lists my campaigns. For the first three campaigns it lists content sharing enabled by (the person with the legendary bundle). The fourth one lists me as the one who enabled content sharing. So maybe the count is connected to whoever turns on the content sharing? (note this means I cannot turn off the content sharing for the other three per your suggestion)
It is connected to whoever turns it on, yes, regardless of who is in the campaign. DM or player doesn't matter either. So, with your Master subscription, you can turn it on for three campaigns, and currently are only using one of those slots. The other three campaigns' sharing falls under the Master sub of whoever turned it on in those campaigns.
Keep in mind also, that once sharing is turned on for a given campaign, ALL content owned by everyone in the campaign as either DM or player is shared by everyone else.
... However, if you don't need the whole book you buy piecemeal the different races, classes, subraces for each book for a lower price.
If you buy part of a book it subtracts from the price of the book so you can buy piecemeal as you need it and then when it becomes worth it you buy the full book.
Thankyouthankyouthankyou! This is something I didn't even think to ask but it answers something I should have asked. That's quite a game-changer for me.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Human. Male. Possibly. Don't be a divider. My characters' backgrounds are written like instruction manuals rather than stories. My opinion and preferences don't mean you're wrong. I am 99.7603% convinced that the digital dice are messing with me. I roll high when nobody's looking and low when anyone else can see.🎲 “It's a bit early to be thinking about an epitaph. No?” will be my epitaph.
Any money you spend (not the cost of the item, but the money you spend on it after discount codes) is stored as 'credit' towards future full book purchases and bundle purchases.
For example, if you spend $1.99 on a class from book X, book X will be $1.99 cheaper for you to purchase, and any bundle that contains book X will be $1.99 cheaper.
If a bundle contains books A, B and C, and you buy book C with a 20% discount for $16 (instead of $20), you'll get $16 towards that bundle. This can mean you can buy all books in a bundle, and still have an amount to pay on the bundle, due to differences in bundle discounts and individual item discounts. This remainder would be what you need to 'buy' to get the ongoing discount.
Say you have a bundle that contains 5 books each at $20 and the bundle has a 15% discount off not only those books, but all future books, making it $85. You go out and buy each book individually with a 20% discount code, making them $16 each. You've spent $80, so you have $80 credit towards that bundle meaning that even though you own all the books, you still have $5 to pay. What this $5 buys you is the ongoing 15% discount off future books that'd be added to that bundle, a discount that stacks with individual purchase discount codes.
Glad to help, just remember that the credit towards the bundle is equal to what you spent, not the items current price. A lot of people get tripped up there.
i know a lot of people complain about having to pay for the eBooks after already purchasing the hard copies. and as a small business owner myself i know it would just be bad business to give away product. however as a way bring in more users i would bundle the three core books. DMG, PHB, and MM at a discounted price. as these are the books that most of us already own. the others i would 100% charge full price. just remember this though a hard copy of a book costs what it does based on the cost of materials used to make it and a set profit margin for manufacturer and retailer as well as the content creator. e books go straight from content creator to retailer with no manufacturing cost keep that stuff in mind when you price digital books.
this has no sway over the fact that i plan on still buying all the content i can as i wholeheartedly support this website
Edit: i know this isn't the place to debate pricing and i truly wasn't trying to just suggesting some extra business options
The potential of this site is grand in my opinion. I chose to support them and bought everything. I searched for about two months to buy everything in bulk (Legendary Bundle) after finding an active 25% discount code along with a DM Subscription. This gave me a 15% discount on all future purchases. Then I pre-ordered everything else with the 15% discount.
Black Friday is coming soon and DDB might have a sale too. Not sure about that though.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
THAC0 means "To-Hit Armor Class 0", and depending on who you ask, it was either pronounced "thack-oh" or "thay-ko". When a -5 was amazing and an insult was asking, "What alignment are you again?"
And what would I buy to just get the neat little portrait animations that I've seen around?
Those are available as a pre-order bonus only for some titles. Once the pre-order stage has passed and the sourcebook released they're no longer available. I really hope they change that, I'd be happy to pay a small amount for a bundle of past decorative things for the sheets. Pre-order for free or pay separately after release - a common practice for other sites and formats (particularly videogames) and it does really well - D&D Beyond is missing on a tidy little cashflow by not using it, and it's like 10 mins to implement.
Thanks for the apology. To clarify, though, it’s not “my” pricing structure. I don’t work for D&D Beyond or for Wizards of the Coast. I’m just a happy customer who wanted to offer information and ideas to help people think through the various options for purchasing content here. I’ve seen so many folks assume they have to buy everything for DDB to be useful, and the purchase options—together with the homebrew tools—means there are a wide variety of possibilities at a variety of price points.
Since you are trying to decide if DDB is useful to you, I’d encourage you to play around with the tools using the free content, and to homebrew a few things from the books you own. (Just don’t try to publish them for public use). That will help you get a feel for whether or not the tools here are useful for you.
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've seen several ads on Facebook with coupon codes to reduce the prices of DDB content. Most recently the Legendary Bundle for 20% off (LEGENDARY20). I pulled some numbers and compared the DDB price, Amazon price, and the MSRP from Wizards of the Coast.
5e Pricing Comparison
DDB is winning out on the pricing if you want to buy everything that is for sale right now. Using a 20% Legendary Bundle saves you about 59% from the MSRP.
Thought I'd share this since I put the time into it and hopefully it'll help people see the pricing benefits of DDB from just a content perspective - especially if you get the chance to jump on a discount code.
EDIT: Removed stuff from the post that was just complaining about the pricing debate.
I appreciate you raising the discount codes that are frequently available, but I would remind you that as OP I have asked that arguments/debates about the pricing structure—rather pro or con—not happen on this thread.
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
Apologies. I've edited it so it's just the price comparison without the venting.
Thank you for your clarification. Good job
If I purchase hard cover versions of PHB is there a key that would make the content available on dndbeyond?
There isn't.
Basically DnD Beyond is a different company and though they have a business agreement with WOTC they still have to buy the license for those they sell. DnD Beyond offers tools and the ability to buy full digital versions of the books. However, if you don't need the whole book you buy piecemeal the different races, classes, subraces for each book for a lower price.
If you buy part of a book it subtracts from the price of the book so you can buy piecemeal as you need it and then when it becomes worth it you buy the full book.
My apologies if this has been answered elsewhere - tried to do a search, but no luck.
For background, I have a Master Tier subscription and I purchased the PHB and XGTE.
I have 4 campaigns I am part of. For 2 of the campaigns, I am the DM. The other 2 I am a player. Content sharing is turned on for all 4 campaigns (for three of them, including one where I am a DM we have another person in the group that bought all of the content available on DDB).
I'm trying to figure out which campaigns count against my limit for sharing my own content? Is it just the two where I am the DM?
Asking as the one campaign where the person without the legendary bundle is present is one I DM and I need to be able to share my content with the players.
TIA!
Probably the first 3.
Turn all off. Turn on the one "without legendary bundle" and 2 others. All sorted.
My Homebrew: Races | Subclasses | Backgrounds | Spells | Magic Items | Feats
Need help with Homebrew? Check out this FAQ/Guide thread by IamSposta
See My Youtube Videos for Tips & Tricks using D&D Beyond
I was looking at the page that lists my campaigns. For the first three campaigns it lists content sharing enabled by (the person with the legendary bundle). The fourth one lists me as the one who enabled content sharing. So maybe the count is connected to whoever turns on the content sharing? (note this means I cannot turn off the content sharing for the other three per your suggestion)
It is connected to whoever turns it on, yes, regardless of who is in the campaign. DM or player doesn't matter either. So, with your Master subscription, you can turn it on for three campaigns, and currently are only using one of those slots. The other three campaigns' sharing falls under the Master sub of whoever turned it on in those campaigns.
Keep in mind also, that once sharing is turned on for a given campaign, ALL content owned by everyone in the campaign as either DM or player is shared by everyone else.
Thankyouthankyouthankyou! This is something I didn't even think to ask but it answers something I should have asked. That's quite a game-changer for me.
Human. Male. Possibly. Don't be a divider.
My characters' backgrounds are written like instruction manuals rather than stories. My opinion and preferences don't mean you're wrong.
I am 99.7603% convinced that the digital dice are messing with me. I roll high when nobody's looking and low when anyone else can see.🎲
“It's a bit early to be thinking about an epitaph. No?” will be my epitaph.
If I buy some single books and later decide I want everything, would it reduce the price of the Sourcebook/Legendary Bundle?
Any money you spend (not the cost of the item, but the money you spend on it after discount codes) is stored as 'credit' towards future full book purchases and bundle purchases.
For example, if you spend $1.99 on a class from book X, book X will be $1.99 cheaper for you to purchase, and any bundle that contains book X will be $1.99 cheaper.
If a bundle contains books A, B and C, and you buy book C with a 20% discount for $16 (instead of $20), you'll get $16 towards that bundle. This can mean you can buy all books in a bundle, and still have an amount to pay on the bundle, due to differences in bundle discounts and individual item discounts. This remainder would be what you need to 'buy' to get the ongoing discount.
Say you have a bundle that contains 5 books each at $20 and the bundle has a 15% discount off not only those books, but all future books, making it $85. You go out and buy each book individually with a 20% discount code, making them $16 each. You've spent $80, so you have $80 credit towards that bundle meaning that even though you own all the books, you still have $5 to pay. What this $5 buys you is the ongoing 15% discount off future books that'd be added to that bundle, a discount that stacks with individual purchase discount codes.
D&D Beyond moderator across forums, Discord, Twitch and YouTube. Always happy to help and willing to answer questions (or at least try). (he/him/his)
How I'm posting based on text formatting: Mod Hat On - Mod Hat Off
Site Rules & Guidelines - Homebrew Rules - Looking for Players and Groups Rules
Ah yes, thanks for the detailed response.
I bought the PHB and now the Bundle is cheaper.
Glad to help, just remember that the credit towards the bundle is equal to what you spent, not the items current price. A lot of people get tripped up there.
D&D Beyond moderator across forums, Discord, Twitch and YouTube. Always happy to help and willing to answer questions (or at least try). (he/him/his)
How I'm posting based on text formatting: Mod Hat On - Mod Hat Off
Site Rules & Guidelines - Homebrew Rules - Looking for Players and Groups Rules
i know a lot of people complain about having to pay for the eBooks after already purchasing the hard copies. and as a small business owner myself i know it would just be bad business to give away product. however as a way bring in more users i would bundle the three core books. DMG, PHB, and MM at a discounted price. as these are the books that most of us already own. the others i would 100% charge full price. just remember this though a hard copy of a book costs what it does based on the cost of materials used to make it and a set profit margin for manufacturer and retailer as well as the content creator. e books go straight from content creator to retailer with no manufacturing cost keep that stuff in mind when you price digital books.
this has no sway over the fact that i plan on still buying all the content i can as i wholeheartedly support this website
Edit: i know this isn't the place to debate pricing and i truly wasn't trying to just suggesting some extra business options
The potential of this site is grand in my opinion. I chose to support them and bought everything. I searched for about two months to buy everything in bulk (Legendary Bundle) after finding an active 25% discount code along with a DM Subscription. This gave me a 15% discount on all future purchases. Then I pre-ordered everything else with the 15% discount.
Black Friday is coming soon and DDB might have a sale too. Not sure about that though.
THAC0 means "To-Hit Armor Class 0", and depending on who you ask, it was either pronounced "thack-oh" or "thay-ko". When a -5 was amazing and an insult was asking, "What alignment are you again?"
And what would I buy to just get the neat little portrait animations that I've seen around?
Those are available as a pre-order bonus only for some titles. Once the pre-order stage has passed and the sourcebook released they're no longer available. I really hope they change that, I'd be happy to pay a small amount for a bundle of past decorative things for the sheets. Pre-order for free or pay separately after release - a common practice for other sites and formats (particularly videogames) and it does really well - D&D Beyond is missing on a tidy little cashflow by not using it, and it's like 10 mins to implement.
My Homebrew: Races | Subclasses | Backgrounds | Spells | Magic Items | Feats
Need help with Homebrew? Check out this FAQ/Guide thread by IamSposta
See My Youtube Videos for Tips & Tricks using D&D Beyond