If we cant buy the books (I agree dealing with WOTC must be hard, the books from them on drivethrurpg have vanished for awhile only to come back years later) it would be nice to have a REST API for those of us who already own digital versions of things so I don't have to copy and paste for days to get it into my personal homebrew. Then I would just have to complain at the publisher if their digital format didn't scrape right ;) I would not be surprised if after the API was available a open source github project to move your book to homebrew was up a few days later.
This issue always confuses me. Roll20 has the materials integrated with official and 3rd party blended, even in character sheets. The precedent exists. I'm sure it's complicated, but it's obviously not impossible because it has already been done.
This issue always confuses me. Roll20 has the materials integrated with official and 3rd party blended, even in character sheets. The precedent exists. I'm sure it's complicated, but it's obviously not impossible because it has already been done.
So what does D&D Beyond bring to you that Roll20 doesn't? The capacity to do that may be a factor in why third party pubs aren't integrated or available on D&D Beyond.
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Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
This issue always confuses me. Roll20 has the materials integrated with official and 3rd party blended, even in character sheets. The precedent exists. I'm sure it's complicated, but it's obviously not impossible because it has already been done.
So what does D&D Beyond bring to you that Roll20 doesn't? The capacity to do that may be a factor in why third party pubs aren't integrated or available on D&D Beyond.
Things I can do in D&D Beyond that I couldn't do in Roll20? Nothing that I can think of. All the same tools exist, even if they are a bit (a lot) more cumbersome.
I'm not sure if I'm reading right. You're saying Roll20 is more cumbersome or DDB? If it's the former, the more streamlined ease DDB offers may be the tradeoff of its current WOTC only license. There may be some exclusivity clause. I've heard Roll20 is clunky, that happens if you want to do everything for everyone.
All that said, it seems like DDB has quite its handful in delivering WOTC product alone, they'd have to go through a pretty big investment in labor if they wanted to start porting in third party products. I don't see homebrewing third party material all that cumbersome, but that's me which is why I'm here as opposed to one of the VTT vendors.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
Maybe something DDB could do, is release some code or some option that makes it so others can make and export a race/book/etc they made and then sell it in their package. Then the buyer can import it onto their account. So now they have all the content and DDB doesn't have to do anything else.
Maybe something DDB could do, is release some code or some option that makes it so others can make and export a race/book/etc they made and then sell it in their package. Then the buyer can import it onto their account. So now they have all the content and DDB doesn't have to do anything else.
That has all of the exact same problems as selling 3rd party. In fact that is 3rd party.
You know it isn't a coding issue keeping out 3rd party right? It is a legal issue.
> That has all of the exact same problems as selling 3rd party. In fact that is 3rd party.
No it isn't. Someone makes a homebrew item, then they export that into a file. They give it to someone else so they can have it. Just that in the previous scenario, someone is selling the file on dm's guild. This is completely different from DDB staff officially adding it to the compendium and making it purchasable on here. This is user generated and they trade it amongst each other.
That's a pretty fast and loose way to make it so. Where does the "giving" happen? Inside DDB? That is DDB supporting third party products by giving third party producers the license to distribute their content within the the DDB system (I don't see DDB doing that anyway for it's own quality assurance reasons). If the DDB "code" is given outside DDB, how does the user bring it back into DDB.
I think at best, a third party producer _might_ be able to devote some of its' products space with guides to coding onto DDB, but that takes up product real estate and it would probably require some sort of blessing for DDB.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
> That has all of the exact same problems as selling 3rd party. In fact that is 3rd party.
No it isn't. Someone makes a homebrew item, then they export that into a file. They give it to someone else so they can have it. Just that in the previous scenario, someone is selling the file on dm's guild. This is completely different from DDB staff officially adding it to the compendium and making it purchasable on here. This is user generated and they trade it amongst each other.
If we are talking about content that has to be purchased to use, then it is not the same in the eyes of the law. Now DDB would need permission to host it, certain things need to be in place to check licences to use it, and money distribution needs to be agreed on (DDB isn't just going to let you profit off them for nothing).
What I'm referring to is mostly a speed thing. Right now you have to use the UI, its slow to add content. I can already scrape my books or keep my homebrew in some other digital format. It getting it up into DnD Beyond that is a hassle. If they exposed a REST API then I could just code to do the work for me. Technically you could do it with the UI to but that is a PITA. UIs are great when you want to add one magic item, terrible when you want to add 100 magic items.
What I'm referring to is mostly a speed thing. Right now you have to use the UI, its slow to add content. I can already scrape my books or keep my homebrew in some other digital format. It getting it up into DnD Beyond that is a hassle. If they exposed a REST API then I could just code to do the work for me. Technically you could do it with the UI to but that is a PITA. UIs are great when you want to add one magic item, terrible when you want to add 100 magic items.
I've heard they decided against API or turning any other their code over to the public.
They do plan to make the homebrew tools easier to use at some point.
I think it's a crime that Exploring Eberron isn't an official book. On the other hand, given how slow D&D Beyond is at incorporating official WotC content, adding third party support would probably mean nothing else of value for the core D&D Beyond experience is worked on...
It's pretty apparent supporting third party publishers seems to be outside the conditions of D&D Beyond's license. The only way I see third party publishers getting involved in DDB beyond their consumers homebrewing from scratch is supplying DDB homebrewing walkthrough instructions in their books (for the things that can be home-brewed, there's a lot of stuff in homebrew world, classes particularly, that can't be implemented in DDB). They'd be protected under the "private homebrew" not to be "published" clause, though I don't know how rigorously DDB polices that (I've been surprised seeing some third party stuff showing up in the published homebrew space). I understand that some of the VTT's authorized to produce editions of WotC 5e on their platforms do support Kobold Press, and probably others, so it's also apparent its a direction DDB just doesn't want to go in.
I wouldn't mind seeing 3rd party offerings, but I'd want more robust implementation of currently available content (gifts from Theros and Van Richten's ... which are supposedly coming at least in the latter case) before they started offering other publishers.
It would be nice if in the future DDB had a tool for importing monsters/spells/classes/etc from 3rd party digital sources as homebrew, alongside being able to organize your homebrew content.
This would still require you to have the digital content (perhaps via PDF), can automatically be locked from publishing, and use of the import tool could require a subscription. Sounds reasonable, a bit ambitious I'm sure and will probably never do modifiers automatically, but just automatically sorting text into the right fields would be great.
I have a background in digital publishing/marketing project management and this isn't a complex case for the player base who are interested in creating bridges and wanting to learn how to be more of a community. A solution to complexity is simplicity and knowing your alignment and brand values helps in this regard. Complexity is usually an euphemism/scapegoat for contractual conflicts for example: monetary value vs copyright which often can be fixed through NEW creative collaterals aka collabs/incubators. Which means we stop rolling for initiative and roll for insight instead.
D&D Beyond could co-create alongside Kobold Press to CastleBrew a unique digital product honorably decorated by WoTC where by the upfront costs need to be covered in advance and the overtime upkeep as an online Publisher/facilitator needs to be weighed. Knowing what to create may come from player input and leverage the risk more. So it's not the tech and tools that keep this from happening, it's lack of creativity and a willingness to care to collaborate.
So start small if you want to collaborate. Build your alliance from a seed not a siege.
When art is louder than avarice, usually the authenticity bell tolls for all to hear.
Its not so much third party content i want per-say, more a way for homebrew stuff to generate a alphanumeric code, that if then put in to dnd beyond would generate the home brew item, class, monster etc....
That way patreon creators could make home brew stuff and give us the alphanumeric code and i wouldn't have to spend 8 hours trying to make the subclass in dnd beyond myself or people could share stuff theyve made with people, without having to publish the thing in general.
This issue always confuses me. Roll20 has the materials integrated with official and 3rd party blended, even in character sheets. The precedent exists. I'm sure it's complicated, but it's obviously not impossible because it has already been done.
So what does D&D Beyond bring to you that Roll20 doesn't? The capacity to do that may be a factor in why third party pubs aren't integrated or available on D&D Beyond.
Things I can do in D&D Beyond that I couldn't do in Roll20? Nothing that I can think of. All the same tools exist, even if they are a bit (a lot) more cumbersome.
If I had to guess I would speculate that the difference is that D&D Trademark. DNDBeyond has licensed the D&D Trademark and they are the only digital tool that has done so. I would imagine that their licensing deal requires them to host only official, first party, WotC published content. Roll20 does not use the D&D trademark and is therefor able to host both first and third party content.
Again, just my speculation.
At the same time, I think we should be constantly pressuring DNDBeyond to start hosting third party content. They can always renegotiate their deal with WotC. It would be hard, but that's on them. They should know how important it is to us as a user base, and as paying customers it's reasonable for us to let them know what we want out of the product. And if another one of these companies could just get their digital toolset to be anything even halfway as good as DNDBeyond then maybe they'd have some real competition to light a fire under their butt.
I don't care about what my toolset is called, I just want it to work well. DNDBeyond works amazingly well, but if Roll20 had all the content and worked just as well I would switch to them. The biggest barrier is the fact that I've already bought all the content here, but when the next edition comes out in a few years I'm going to have to start over again anyway (I know WotC says it'll be backward compatible but I have my doubts. I think that's just so we keep buying books between now and then).
If we cant buy the books (I agree dealing with WOTC must be hard, the books from them on drivethrurpg have vanished for awhile only to come back years later) it would be nice to have a REST API for those of us who already own digital versions of things so I don't have to copy and paste for days to get it into my personal homebrew. Then I would just have to complain at the publisher if their digital format didn't scrape right ;) I would not be surprised if after the API was available a open source github project to move your book to homebrew was up a few days later.
This issue always confuses me. Roll20 has the materials integrated with official and 3rd party blended, even in character sheets. The precedent exists. I'm sure it's complicated, but it's obviously not impossible because it has already been done.
So what does D&D Beyond bring to you that Roll20 doesn't? The capacity to do that may be a factor in why third party pubs aren't integrated or available on D&D Beyond.
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
Things I can do in D&D Beyond that I couldn't do in Roll20? Nothing that I can think of. All the same tools exist, even if they are a bit (a lot) more cumbersome.
I'm not sure if I'm reading right. You're saying Roll20 is more cumbersome or DDB? If it's the former, the more streamlined ease DDB offers may be the tradeoff of its current WOTC only license. There may be some exclusivity clause. I've heard Roll20 is clunky, that happens if you want to do everything for everyone.
All that said, it seems like DDB has quite its handful in delivering WOTC product alone, they'd have to go through a pretty big investment in labor if they wanted to start porting in third party products. I don't see homebrewing third party material all that cumbersome, but that's me which is why I'm here as opposed to one of the VTT vendors.
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
Maybe something DDB could do, is release some code or some option that makes it so others can make and export a race/book/etc they made and then sell it in their package. Then the buyer can import it onto their account. So now they have all the content and DDB doesn't have to do anything else.
Er ek geng, þat er í þeim skóm er ek valda.
UwU
That has all of the exact same problems as selling 3rd party. In fact that is 3rd party.
You know it isn't a coding issue keeping out 3rd party right? It is a legal issue.
> That has all of the exact same problems as selling 3rd party. In fact that is 3rd party.
No it isn't. Someone makes a homebrew item, then they export that into a file. They give it to someone else so they can have it. Just that in the previous scenario, someone is selling the file on dm's guild. This is completely different from DDB staff officially adding it to the compendium and making it purchasable on here. This is user generated and they trade it amongst each other.
Er ek geng, þat er í þeim skóm er ek valda.
UwU
That's a pretty fast and loose way to make it so. Where does the "giving" happen? Inside DDB? That is DDB supporting third party products by giving third party producers the license to distribute their content within the the DDB system (I don't see DDB doing that anyway for it's own quality assurance reasons). If the DDB "code" is given outside DDB, how does the user bring it back into DDB.
I think at best, a third party producer _might_ be able to devote some of its' products space with guides to coding onto DDB, but that takes up product real estate and it would probably require some sort of blessing for DDB.
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
If we are talking about content that has to be purchased to use, then it is not the same in the eyes of the law. Now DDB would need permission to host it, certain things need to be in place to check licences to use it, and money distribution needs to be agreed on (DDB isn't just going to let you profit off them for nothing).
What I'm referring to is mostly a speed thing. Right now you have to use the UI, its slow to add content. I can already scrape my books or keep my homebrew in some other digital format. It getting it up into DnD Beyond that is a hassle. If they exposed a REST API then I could just code to do the work for me. Technically you could do it with the UI to but that is a PITA. UIs are great when you want to add one magic item, terrible when you want to add 100 magic items.
I've heard they decided against API or turning any other their code over to the public.
They do plan to make the homebrew tools easier to use at some point.
To be fair. Maybe the topic lost some of its intent, but it would be really nice to see content like Tome of Beasts here on DDB.
There are a lot of great content for 5e out there, And would be awsome to have some 3rd party here.
Não Sabe Brincar, Não Desce Pro Play
I think it's a crime that Exploring Eberron isn't an official book. On the other hand, given how slow D&D Beyond is at incorporating official WotC content, adding third party support would probably mean nothing else of value for the core D&D Beyond experience is worked on...
It's pretty apparent supporting third party publishers seems to be outside the conditions of D&D Beyond's license. The only way I see third party publishers getting involved in DDB beyond their consumers homebrewing from scratch is supplying DDB homebrewing walkthrough instructions in their books (for the things that can be home-brewed, there's a lot of stuff in homebrew world, classes particularly, that can't be implemented in DDB). They'd be protected under the "private homebrew" not to be "published" clause, though I don't know how rigorously DDB polices that (I've been surprised seeing some third party stuff showing up in the published homebrew space). I understand that some of the VTT's authorized to produce editions of WotC 5e on their platforms do support Kobold Press, and probably others, so it's also apparent its a direction DDB just doesn't want to go in.
I wouldn't mind seeing 3rd party offerings, but I'd want more robust implementation of currently available content (gifts from Theros and Van Richten's ... which are supposedly coming at least in the latter case) before they started offering other publishers.
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
It would be nice if in the future DDB had a tool for importing monsters/spells/classes/etc from 3rd party digital sources as homebrew, alongside being able to organize your homebrew content.
This would still require you to have the digital content (perhaps via PDF), can automatically be locked from publishing, and use of the import tool could require a subscription. Sounds reasonable, a bit ambitious I'm sure and will probably never do modifiers automatically, but just automatically sorting text into the right fields would be great.
I have a background in digital publishing/marketing project management and this isn't a complex case for the player base who are interested in creating bridges and wanting to learn how to be more of a community. A solution to complexity is simplicity and knowing your alignment and brand values helps in this regard. Complexity is usually an euphemism/scapegoat for contractual conflicts for example: monetary value vs copyright which often can be fixed through NEW creative collaterals aka collabs/incubators. Which means we stop rolling for initiative and roll for insight instead.
D&D Beyond could co-create alongside Kobold Press to CastleBrew a unique digital product honorably decorated by WoTC where by the upfront costs need to be covered in advance and the overtime upkeep as an online Publisher/facilitator needs to be weighed. Knowing what to create may come from player input and leverage the risk more. So it's not the tech and tools that keep this from happening, it's lack of creativity and a willingness to care to collaborate.
So start small if you want to collaborate. Build your alliance from a seed not a siege.
When art is louder than avarice, usually the authenticity bell tolls for all to hear.
Its not so much third party content i want per-say, more a way for homebrew stuff to generate a alphanumeric code, that if then put in to dnd beyond would generate the home brew item, class, monster etc....
That way patreon creators could make home brew stuff and give us the alphanumeric code and i wouldn't have to spend 8 hours trying to make the subclass in dnd beyond myself or people could share stuff theyve made with people, without having to publish the thing in general.
If I had to guess I would speculate that the difference is that D&D Trademark. DNDBeyond has licensed the D&D Trademark and they are the only digital tool that has done so. I would imagine that their licensing deal requires them to host only official, first party, WotC published content. Roll20 does not use the D&D trademark and is therefor able to host both first and third party content.
Again, just my speculation.
At the same time, I think we should be constantly pressuring DNDBeyond to start hosting third party content. They can always renegotiate their deal with WotC. It would be hard, but that's on them. They should know how important it is to us as a user base, and as paying customers it's reasonable for us to let them know what we want out of the product. And if another one of these companies could just get their digital toolset to be anything even halfway as good as DNDBeyond then maybe they'd have some real competition to light a fire under their butt.
I don't care about what my toolset is called, I just want it to work well. DNDBeyond works amazingly well, but if Roll20 had all the content and worked just as well I would switch to them. The biggest barrier is the fact that I've already bought all the content here, but when the next edition comes out in a few years I'm going to have to start over again anyway (I know WotC says it'll be backward compatible but I have my doubts. I think that's just so we keep buying books between now and then).
Hi I was wondering whether Dnd beyond being bought by WotC might finally enable it to publish 3rd party content?
What do you guys think?