while I like the idea of DDB, and was hoping the site and app would help with running a game, I go through the creation and find many limitations on the site that demand you repay for a license fee for the content you already own in physical books appalling.
I understand the whole debate and how economics work for this sad as it is. I can't condone or suggest the use of this to anyone that already has spent money on Physical books.
on the other hand, if they don't mind paying for a License and not a physical book then go for it.
myself I'd rather have a physical good that I paid for over some license.
Honest questions: did you ever buy games on Steam/PS Store/XBox Store? Have you ever bought ebooks? Did you ever buy series/movies from Amazon Video?
no, I have not. I am very physical kinda person if I have bought something I will have the ability to resell it because I own it or no longer have a use for it.
while I like the idea of DDB, and was hoping the site and app would help with running a game, I go through the creation and find many limitations on the site that demand you repay for a license fee for the content you already own in physical books appalling.
I understand the whole debate and how economics work for this sad as it is. I can't condone or suggest the use of this to anyone that already has spent money on Physical books.
on the other hand, if they don't mind paying for a License and not a physical book then go for it.
myself I'd rather have a physical good that I paid for over some license.
So don't buy the books again. You can pay the license for access to the tools without rebuying the books.
while I like the idea of DDB, and was hoping the site and app would help with running a game, I go through the creation and find many limitations on the site that demand you repay for a license fee for the content you already own in physical books appalling.
I understand the whole debate and how economics work for this sad as it is. I can't condone or suggest the use of this to anyone that already has spent money on Physical books.
on the other hand, if they don't mind paying for a License and not a physical book then go for it.
myself I'd rather have a physical good that I paid for over some license.
But you don't have to buy them again to use them on here. You have the physical books so you already know things. If you want to put spells and feats and such onto character sheets then just homebrew them for free - it's very easy. You can make it, then everyone in your campaign on here can use it because homebrew you make is shared with your campaign.
I'm not understanding this "but I have to buy it again wah" response. You don't have to. Take a few mins and use the homebrew tools to make it. Simples.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
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.
Yeah. You can buy the ebooks if you want to, but you can either put the data into the tool yourself or pay DDB for access to the tools if you want to save time. Nobody's making anybody buy the books again if they don't want to buy the books again.
while I like the idea of DDB, and was hoping the site and app would help with running a game, I go through the creation and find many limitations on the site that demand you repay for a license fee for the content you already own in physical books appalling.
I understand the whole debate and how economics work for this sad as it is. I can't condone or suggest the use of this to anyone that already has spent money on Physical books.
on the other hand, if they don't mind paying for a License and not a physical book then go for it.
myself I'd rather have a physical good that I paid for over some license.
But you don't have to buy them again to use them on here. You have the physical books so you already know things. If you want to put spells and feats and such onto character sheets then just homebrew them for free - it's very easy. You can make it, then everyone in your campaign on here can use it because homebrew you make is shared with your campaign.
I'm not understanding this "but I have to buy it again wah" response. You don't have to. Take a few mins and use the homebrew tools to make it. Simples.
This has not been my experience. The Homebrew system is very difficult to use. Even if it wasn't confusing and difficult, it is tedious. Giving paying users this kind of tedious experience is bad form.
while I like the idea of DDB, and was hoping the site and app would help with running a game, I go through the creation and find many limitations on the site that demand you repay for a license fee for the content you already own in physical books appalling.
I understand the whole debate and how economics work for this sad as it is. I can't condone or suggest the use of this to anyone that already has spent money on Physical books.
on the other hand, if they don't mind paying for a License and not a physical book then go for it.
myself I'd rather have a physical good that I paid for over some license.
But you don't have to buy them again to use them on here. You have the physical books so you already know things. If you want to put spells and feats and such onto character sheets then just homebrew them for free - it's very easy. You can make it, then everyone in your campaign on here can use it because homebrew you make is shared with your campaign.
I'm not understanding this "but I have to buy it again wah" response. You don't have to. Take a few mins and use the homebrew tools to make it. Simples.
This has not been my experience. The Homebrew system is very difficult to use. Even if it wasn't confusing and difficult, it is tedious. Giving paying users this kind of tedious experience is bad form.
You can homebrew everything if you own or have access to a book from say a friend, and you can do that on a free account and pay for nothing. Now yes the homebrew system is a bit confusing and time consuming that I will give you everyday but if you don't wanna pay money that is what you get.
You pay for specific things the complaint "I bought a subscription I can't believe I have to pay for content or hand create it" is equivalent to "I bought a Costco card I can't believe I have to actually buy the things in the store and I cant take this TV for free"
while I like the idea of DDB, and was hoping the site and app would help with running a game, I go through the creation and find many limitations on the site that demand you repay for a license fee for the content you already own in physical books appalling.
I understand the whole debate and how economics work for this sad as it is. I can't condone or suggest the use of this to anyone that already has spent money on Physical books.
on the other hand, if they don't mind paying for a License and not a physical book then go for it.
myself I'd rather have a physical good that I paid for over some license.
But you don't have to buy them again to use them on here. You have the physical books so you already know things. If you want to put spells and feats and such onto character sheets then just homebrew them for free - it's very easy. You can make it, then everyone in your campaign on here can use it because homebrew you make is shared with your campaign.
I'm not understanding this "but I have to buy it again wah" response. You don't have to. Take a few mins and use the homebrew tools to make it. Simples.
This has not been my experience. The Homebrew system is very difficult to use. Even if it wasn't confusing and difficult, it is tedious. Giving paying users this kind of tedious experience is bad form.
To each their own. I personally find it easy and fun for the most part. The thing is you are not a paying customer when it comes to content. Subscriptions are not, and never will be, for content. They offer differ things. Content is a one-time purchase. If you have the books and want the digital version free then put in a little time and replicate what you need using the homebrew tools. If you do not want to put in the time then buy the content for digital use to pay D&D Beyond for the time, effort, licensing and more they have put in to provide you this convenience.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
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.
while I like the idea of DDB, and was hoping the site and app would help with running a game, I go through the creation and find many limitations on the site that demand you repay for a license fee for the content you already own in physical books appalling.
I understand the whole debate and how economics work for this sad as it is. I can't condone or suggest the use of this to anyone that already has spent money on Physical books.
on the other hand, if they don't mind paying for a License and not a physical book then go for it.
myself I'd rather have a physical good that I paid for over some license.
But you don't have to buy them again to use them on here. You have the physical books so you already know things. If you want to put spells and feats and such onto character sheets then just homebrew them for free - it's very easy. You can make it, then everyone in your campaign on here can use it because homebrew you make is shared with your campaign.
I'm not understanding this "but I have to buy it again wah" response. You don't have to. Take a few mins and use the homebrew tools to make it. Simples.
This has not been my experience. The Homebrew system is very difficult to use. Even if it wasn't confusing and difficult, it is tedious. Giving paying users this kind of tedious experience is bad form.
To each their own. I personally find it easy and fun for the most part. The thing is you are not a paying customer when it comes to content. Subscriptions are not, and never will be, for content. They offer differ things. Content is a one-time purchase. If you have the books and want the digital version free then put in a little time and replicate what you need using the homebrew tools. If you do not want to put in the time then buy the content for digital use to pay D&D Beyond for the time, effort, licensing and more they have put in to provide you this convenience.
you know I never thought about using the homebrew option but that is so going to be a lot of work but it can work
One thing to keep in mind if putting the info in homebrew yourself is you don't have to do all the info at once, only what you are using. So you use the books with everything in it to make initial character choices adding in the bits and bobs to D&D Beyond that aren't available as you go. Over time it will build up and need fewer and fewer entries.
If I recall right it homebrew should be able to be shared across the campaign even without a subscription for non-published homebrew, so if your group is keen each player can put their character's bits and bobs up to distribute the workload as well.
Yes, either you do work and have it for free or you pay and have them do the work for you
Yes but it's assumed that you've already paid for the books or for the content in some other form before doing the work to put it in via homebrew. So it's not "do the work" vs "pay". It's "Pay and do work" vs "Pay and pay some more".
I'm reiterating my point from before that imo this is a terrible user experience especially for a paying user, especially for a first time paying user! If you're a die hard fan you'll put up with it or even find it fun, like Cyb3rM1nd. But if you're a less enthusiastic less dedicated fan, like many of us newcomers, it's not acceptable. I would imagine this is why people are so willing to turn to piracy. If pirates were presented with a buying experience that didn't suck I bet lots of them would cease pirating.
Yes, either you do work and have it for free or you pay and have them do the work for you
Yes but it's assumed that you've already paid for the books or for the content in some other form before doing the work to put it in via homebrew. So it's not "do the work" vs "pay". It's "Pay and do work" vs "Pay and pay some more".
I'm reiterating my point from before that imo this is a terrible user experience especially for a paying user, especially for a first time paying user! If you're a die hard fan you'll put up with it or even find it fun, like Cyb3rM1nd. But if you're a less enthusiastic less dedicated fan, like many of us newcomers, it's not acceptable. I would imagine this is why people are so willing to turn to piracy. If pirates were presented with a buying experience that didn't suck I bet lots of them would cease pirating.
If your a new player how would you physically own all the books in hardcopy? If you haven't played much and wanted to see the game there are the basic rules set which is free and will let you level a character to level 20. As someone new to the game and finding you enjoy it, going out and buying every book then coming back on here and buying every book again makes no sense sure. So as a new player or DM you find you like it just buy the books here, and download them all to the free app, that's just one copy of the rules.
Yes, either you do work and have it for free or you pay and have them do the work for you
Yes but it's assumed that you've already paid for the books or for the content in some other form before doing the work to put it in via homebrew. So it's not "do the work" vs "pay". It's "Pay and do work" vs "Pay and pay some more".
I'm reiterating my point from before that imo this is a terrible user experience especially for a paying user, especially for a first time paying user! If you're a die hard fan you'll put up with it or even find it fun, like Cyb3rM1nd. But if you're a less enthusiastic less dedicated fan, like many of us newcomers, it's not acceptable. I would imagine this is why people are so willing to turn to piracy. If pirates were presented with a buying experience that didn't suck I bet lots of them would cease pirating.
If your a new player how would you physically own all the books in hardcopy? If you haven't played much and wanted to see the game there are the basic rules set which is free and will let you level a character to level 20. As someone new to the game and finding you enjoy it, going out and buying every book then coming back on here and buying every book again makes no sense sure. So as a new player or DM you find you like it just buy the books here, and download them all to the free app, that's just one copy of the rules.
His argument is only if you already purchased the physical copies, then came here. DDB wasn't even developed when the books were first released. However, there is strictly speaking, nothing stopping you from borrowing the books, put the info in and return them. He just doesn't want to pay someone else to do the work nor do the work himself, he wants to have free labor to have it all done for him since he already bought the physical books and think that DDB should give it to him for free. We keep trying to tell him that DDB is a separate company from WOTC, who doesn't even sell books, only publishes and licenses out the rights to sell digital, but he still wants to argue because no one at WOTC will listen.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
I just want to tell everyone "happy gaming" and actually mean it. Whatever your game is, just have fun with it, it is after all, just a game.
Yes, it is assumed that you've already paid for the books, and then you are expected to do work yourself...
... for an effective 2nd copy of those books. Or you can buy a 2nd copy.
Let's remove DDB from the equation. If I buy the books, I own the game and can play the game. But let's say it would be extremely useful for me to have 2 copies of the physical books for some reason (like to share around the table, or one to keep at home and another to keep in my car, etc.). If I want 2 copies of the books, I either have to buy a 2nd book, or copy it myself.
Even better, the books you buy here are available anywhere you have your phone or a computer with the internet on it. And if you do pay the sub, the single "copy" you buy here, can even be shared with your friends. They can even share it at the same time and look at different sections simultaneously. I'd like to see someone share 1 physical book copy with 3 people, each building a different race and class.
while I like the idea of DDB, and was hoping the site and app would help with running a game, I go through the creation and find many limitations on the site that demand you repay for a license fee for the content you already own in physical books appalling.
I understand the whole debate and how economics work for this sad as it is. I can't condone or suggest the use of this to anyone that already has spent money on Physical books.
on the other hand, if they don't mind paying for a License and not a physical book then go for it.
myself I'd rather have a physical good that I paid for over some license.
It’s not for everyone. But don’t discount the difference between the compendium (which is a simple digital version of the hardcover content) and the tools, which are altogether different and can be bought for very little.
The reality is that you are paying for a licence, just up front for a perpetual licence (most digital services don’t give you ownership, just access).
Ehh I thought about it. But said no because of money. If they really want this to work. All new books need to include a CD Key in a sense. So people can register there owned product online. And get access to content that they own. And maybe after providing proof unlock the extra online functions for like a dollar or something. Otherwise this site isn't worth the $$. Not one bit.
I paid for the books on fantasy grounds. And I regretted it. I will never pay full price for an online version again. To me the online or digital functionality isn't worth more than the physical copy. And probable won't ever to me. Software is just done wrong everywhere. Seems to be you only ever pay for access. You own nothing. Not even the access. As it can be cut off or banned at any time. Which is lame as ****. So I'll pass. The world of software is ****ed up.
You have access to content that you own. It's right there, in the book. DDB offers you the chance to pay for a set of tools they made based on that content. You have not yet paid for those tools.
And I agree digital content is super unreliable and ephemeral. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm in the middle of Ravenholm in Half-Life 2.
Honest questions: did you ever buy games on Steam/PS Store/XBox Store? Have you ever bought ebooks? Did you ever buy series/movies from Amazon Video?
Born in Italy, moved a bunch, living in Spain, my heart always belonged to Roleplaying Games
no, I have not. I am very physical kinda person if I have bought something I will have the ability to resell it because I own it or no longer have a use for it.
So don't buy the books again. You can pay the license for access to the tools without rebuying the books.
But you don't have to buy them again to use them on here. You have the physical books so you already know things. If you want to put spells and feats and such onto character sheets then just homebrew them for free - it's very easy. You can make it, then everyone in your campaign on here can use it because homebrew you make is shared with your campaign.
I'm not understanding this "but I have to buy it again wah" response. You don't have to. Take a few mins and use the homebrew tools to make it. Simples.
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.
Yeah. You can buy the ebooks if you want to, but you can either put the data into the tool yourself or pay DDB for access to the tools if you want to save time. Nobody's making anybody buy the books again if they don't want to buy the books again.
This has not been my experience. The Homebrew system is very difficult to use. Even if it wasn't confusing and difficult, it is tedious. Giving paying users this kind of tedious experience is bad form.
You can homebrew everything if you own or have access to a book from say a friend, and you can do that on a free account and pay for nothing. Now yes the homebrew system is a bit confusing and time consuming that I will give you everyday but if you don't wanna pay money that is what you get.
You pay for specific things the complaint "I bought a subscription I can't believe I have to pay for content or hand create it" is equivalent to "I bought a Costco card I can't believe I have to actually buy the things in the store and I cant take this TV for free"
To each their own. I personally find it easy and fun for the most part. The thing is you are not a paying customer when it comes to content. Subscriptions are not, and never will be, for content. They offer differ things. Content is a one-time purchase. If you have the books and want the digital version free then put in a little time and replicate what you need using the homebrew tools. If you do not want to put in the time then buy the content for digital use to pay D&D Beyond for the time, effort, licensing and more they have put in to provide you this convenience.
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.
you know I never thought about using the homebrew option but that is so going to be a lot of work but it can work
Yes, either you do work and have it for free or you pay and have them do the work for you
I just want to tell everyone "happy gaming" and actually mean it. Whatever your game is, just have fun with it, it is after all, just a game.
One thing to keep in mind if putting the info in homebrew yourself is you don't have to do all the info at once, only what you are using. So you use the books with everything in it to make initial character choices adding in the bits and bobs to D&D Beyond that aren't available as you go. Over time it will build up and need fewer and fewer entries.
If I recall right it homebrew should be able to be shared across the campaign even without a subscription for non-published homebrew, so if your group is keen each player can put their character's bits and bobs up to distribute the workload as well.
- Loswaith
Yes but it's assumed that you've already paid for the books or for the content in some other form before doing the work to put it in via homebrew. So it's not "do the work" vs "pay". It's "Pay and do work" vs "Pay and pay some more".
I'm reiterating my point from before that imo this is a terrible user experience especially for a paying user, especially for a first time paying user! If you're a die hard fan you'll put up with it or even find it fun, like Cyb3rM1nd. But if you're a less enthusiastic less dedicated fan, like many of us newcomers, it's not acceptable. I would imagine this is why people are so willing to turn to piracy. If pirates were presented with a buying experience that didn't suck I bet lots of them would cease pirating.
If your a new player how would you physically own all the books in hardcopy? If you haven't played much and wanted to see the game there are the basic rules set which is free and will let you level a character to level 20. As someone new to the game and finding you enjoy it, going out and buying every book then coming back on here and buying every book again makes no sense sure. So as a new player or DM you find you like it just buy the books here, and download them all to the free app, that's just one copy of the rules.
His argument is only if you already purchased the physical copies, then came here. DDB wasn't even developed when the books were first released. However, there is strictly speaking, nothing stopping you from borrowing the books, put the info in and return them. He just doesn't want to pay someone else to do the work nor do the work himself, he wants to have free labor to have it all done for him since he already bought the physical books and think that DDB should give it to him for free. We keep trying to tell him that DDB is a separate company from WOTC, who doesn't even sell books, only publishes and licenses out the rights to sell digital, but he still wants to argue because no one at WOTC will listen.
I just want to tell everyone "happy gaming" and actually mean it. Whatever your game is, just have fun with it, it is after all, just a game.
Yes, it is assumed that you've already paid for the books, and then you are expected to do work yourself...
... for an effective 2nd copy of those books. Or you can buy a 2nd copy.
Let's remove DDB from the equation. If I buy the books, I own the game and can play the game. But let's say it would be extremely useful for me to have 2 copies of the physical books for some reason (like to share around the table, or one to keep at home and another to keep in my car, etc.). If I want 2 copies of the books, I either have to buy a 2nd book, or copy it myself.
The same principle applies here.
Even better, the books you buy here are available anywhere you have your phone or a computer with the internet on it. And if you do pay the sub, the single "copy" you buy here, can even be shared with your friends. They can even share it at the same time and look at different sections simultaneously. I'd like to see someone share 1 physical book copy with 3 people, each building a different race and class.
DM for the Adventures in Erylia Podcast
Where five friends sit around the table and record themselves playing Dungeons and Dragons
It’s not for everyone. But don’t discount the difference between the compendium (which is a simple digital version of the hardcover content) and the tools, which are altogether different and can be bought for very little.
The reality is that you are paying for a licence, just up front for a perpetual licence (most digital services don’t give you ownership, just access).
Ehh I thought about it. But said no because of money. If they really want this to work. All new books need to include a CD Key in a sense. So people can register there owned product online. And get access to content that they own. And maybe after providing proof unlock the extra online functions for like a dollar or something. Otherwise this site isn't worth the $$. Not one bit.
I paid for the books on fantasy grounds. And I regretted it. I will never pay full price for an online version again. To me the online or digital functionality isn't worth more than the physical copy. And probable won't ever to me. Software is just done wrong everywhere. Seems to be you only ever pay for access. You own nothing. Not even the access. As it can be cut off or banned at any time. Which is lame as ****. So I'll pass. The world of software is ****ed up.
You have access to content that you own. It's right there, in the book. DDB offers you the chance to pay for a set of tools they made based on that content. You have not yet paid for those tools.
And I agree digital content is super unreliable and ephemeral. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm in the middle of Ravenholm in Half-Life 2.