How can I use new UA on my characters to playtest new content using DDB? While we will no longer be officially supporting this content, you are welcome to use our homebrew tools to create UA content you'd like to use. Remember that you should not publish content you are not the original author of, as doing so violates our homebrew rules and guidelines. However, private homebrew is automatically shared to characters inside of campaigns that you're a member of, so you can still share your efforts with your friends, players, and DMs!
Will the Unearthed Arcana content still at least be viewable and searchable via the platform? I don't mind not being able to build them in the character builder so long as the content is still available to view and search against for reference, maybe something like the sage advice compendium.
The situation with the homebrew policy and the official test material is clearly something that could do with an update. If the solution to the dndbeyond team's delivery issues is to tell platform users to do the work themselves the policy needs to expand to accommodate.
I wonder why they don’t have a “vault” of unpublished UA that we can access? Some of it was fun playtest content…
WotC requires it be removed from the platform
Evidence of such a claim?
It’s common knowledge. Any UA that got published in an official version had to be archived, and any that got binned had to be archived. (That’s why they archive it.)
I wonder why they don’t have a “vault” of unpublished UA that we can access? Some of it was fun playtest content…
WotC requires it be removed from the platform
Evidence of such a claim?
It’s common knowledge. Any UA that got published in an official version had to be archived, and any that got binned had to be archived. (That’s why they archive it.)
So it is just hearsay and nothing legally binding? Or actually documented
Common knowledge isn't always correct
Napoleon was average height 5'6" -5'7" but common knowledge is he was short
Ostriches stick their in the ground for food but common knowledge is cause of fear
Dogs can see color but common knowledge is they are color blind
I wonder why they don’t have a “vault” of unpublished UA that we can access? Some of it was fun playtest content…
WotC requires it be removed from the platform
Evidence of such a claim?
It’s common knowledge. Any UA that got published in an official version had to be archived, and any that got binned had to be archived. (That’s why they archive it.)
So it is just hearsay and nothing legally binding? Or actually documented
Common knowledge isn't always correct
Napoleon was average height 5'6" -5'7" but common knowledge is he was short
Ostriches stick their in the ground for food but common knowledge is cause of fear
Dogs can see color but common knowledge is they are color blind
Hello,
I did some digging and found a Twitter reply from DnDB on November 6, 2019 in response to UA being removed once published.
”WOTC has requested that these options be removed, as they have reached the end of their playtest cycle. When viewing UA content on D&D Beyond you should see a notice explaining what that content is & its possible future, which may help clarify as well! Thank you for reaching out!”
I am also in support of this decision. Although it was cool to have programmatic access to UA, it will be even cooler to have features that I am more likely to use in my game. They new container tool is great.
It's understandable but also weird? Seems like It'd be in wizards best interest to help you support UA, this is probably the fastest way to get UA feedback for them
I wonder why they don’t have a “vault” of unpublished UA that we can access? Some of it was fun playtest content…
WotC requires it be removed from the platform
Evidence of such a claim?
It’s common knowledge. Any UA that got published in an official version had to be archived, and any that got binned had to be archived. (That’s why they archive it.)
So it is just hearsay and nothing legally binding? Or actually documented
Common knowledge isn't always correct
Napoleon was average height 5'6" -5'7" but common knowledge is he was short
Ostriches stick their in the ground for food but common knowledge is cause of fear
Dogs can see color but common knowledge is they are color blind
No. It is not “hearsay.” WotC owns the content and they told DDB to pull UA if it gets published or if it gets scrapped. But you go right ahead and believe whatever you want neighbor. There are folks who believe that vaccines are more dangerous than diseases, folks who believe the earth is flat, and folks who believe the moon landing was faked. (You’ll have company.)
It's understandable but also weird? Seems like It'd be in wizards best interest to help you support UA, this is probably the fastest way to get UA feedback for them
WotC stops collecting feedback within a couple weeks of releasing any UA, and DDB took a week just to get them up most of the time. WotC doesn’t give a hoot about genuine playtesting, it’s only an opinion poll. (And only a knee-jerk, gut-feeling, first reaction opinion poll at that.) If this has any impact on UA survey response numbers at all, it will be a fraction of a percent at most.
Must say I am saddened by this, I really liked the UA being on the site, as I prefer reading it on DnDbeyond rather than the PDFs, plus I used to like to mock out chars with the UA on to get a better feel of it. I get it takes some resource, but according to you guys you are doing an overhaul of your base system to make it easier to add new features. Surely if you invested time into that then after it is done you can then start doing UA?
Considering they are getting slammed with multiple new source books something had to give. Here is hoping they are aligning themselves to a better more frequent updates in areas that make more impact (and don't require devs to use their own time to build the things we are asking for...)
At the same time, WotC isn't throwing DnDB too many bones with their discount codes and purchasing structure, so it would make sense for DnDB to allocate their resources towards providing the most unique benefits to theirt paying customers, even if it is at the expense for WotC's product development cycle.
This is a bit disappointing, but understandable. If we look back at some complex UAs, like Class Feature Variants and Strixhaven subclasses, it would have taken a lot of development effort to support those, without knowing for sure if they would ever show up in print. If the DDB team implements something that never gets an official release, then it just gets archived and that's wasted development effort.
Given the backlog of officially published content that isn't fully supported today on DDB, not to mention the combat tracker and other great quality of life features that are being built, I'd rather see development efforts focused on those instead of temporarily supporting each UA as they come.
^ this. Development decisions are always hard to make but I feel like this one not only makes sense but makes room for the things that I really want to see developed further.
I wonder why they don’t have a “vault” of unpublished UA that we can access? Some of it was fun playtest content…
WotC requires it be removed from the platform
Evidence of such a claim?
It’s common knowledge. Any UA that got published in an official version had to be archived, and any that got binned had to be archived. (That’s why they archive it.)
So it is just hearsay and nothing legally binding? Or actually documented
Common knowledge isn't always correct
Napoleon was average height 5'6" -5'7" but common knowledge is he was short
Ostriches stick their in the ground for food but common knowledge is cause of fear
Dogs can see color but common knowledge is they are color blind
No. It is not “hearsay.” WotC owns the content and they told DDB to pull UA if it gets published or if it gets scrapped. But you go right ahead and believe whatever you want neighbor. There are folks who believe that vaccines are more dangerous than diseases, folks who believe the earth is flat, and folks who believe the moon landing was faked. (You’ll have company.)
That is all I was asking for just a documented instance of DDB stating WOTC requested the removal. I don't see an issue with just having a documented instance. Now I'm sorry if I upset you since you seem to be very hostile to me.
I don't have any objections, but a month from now, DDB will be drowned in requests by new users to have UA on the site.
Probably not more than posts about why they don't get a rebate on their DDB purchases since they already own a physical copy of a book, and we seem to be able to put up with that too.
But we'll get both. We're not trading UA for rebates.
Not even remotely hostile neighbor. (When I get hostile the mods redact me.) I’m not upset either. (Just not inclined to go fetch you something you could Google for yourself.)
Really wish this wasn't happening, as it's the only way some people have access to new things. Not everyone has the money to buy a new book every few months, let alone a book that you'll never actually hold. Incredibly disappointed in this decision, as your UA content has been some of the funnest that I've actually had the pleasure of using on your platform. And while containers are nice, I think I can speak for a lot of people when I say we would rather have more options in the game itself instead of functionality on a character sheet that can easily be found elsewhere.
It's understandable but also weird? Seems like It'd be in wizards best interest to help you support UA, this is probably the fastest way to get UA feedback for them
WotC stops collecting feedback within a couple weeks of releasing any UA, and DDB took a week just to get them up most of the time. WotC doesn’t give a hoot about genuine playtesting, it’s only an opinion poll. (And only a knee-jerk, gut-feeling, first reaction opinion poll at that.) If this has any impact on UA survey response numbers at all, it will be a fraction of a percent at most.
Pretty much. I don't believe WotC values or uses the feedback from the general public on UA content all that much. It's anecdotal and subjective, two things you really don't want from a playtest.
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Want to start playing but don't have anyone to play with? You can try these options: [link].
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Will the Unearthed Arcana content still at least be viewable and searchable via the platform? I don't mind not being able to build them in the character builder so long as the content is still available to view and search against for reference, maybe something like the sage advice compendium.
The situation with the homebrew policy and the official test material is clearly something that could do with an update. If the solution to the dndbeyond team's delivery issues is to tell platform users to do the work themselves the policy needs to expand to accommodate.
Evidence of such a claim?
PR style responses are considered hostile intent.
It’s common knowledge. Any UA that got published in an official version had to be archived, and any that got binned had to be archived. (That’s why they archive it.)
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting
So it is just hearsay and nothing legally binding? Or actually documented
Common knowledge isn't always correct
Napoleon was average height 5'6" -5'7" but common knowledge is he was short
Ostriches stick their in the ground for food but common knowledge is cause of fear
Dogs can see color but common knowledge is they are color blind
PR style responses are considered hostile intent.
Hello,
I did some digging and found a Twitter reply from DnDB on November 6, 2019 in response to UA being removed once published.
”WOTC has requested that these options be removed, as they have reached the end of their playtest cycle. When viewing UA content on D&D Beyond you should see a notice explaining what that content is & its possible future, which may help clarify as well! Thank you for reaching out!”
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I am also in support of this decision. Although it was cool to have programmatic access to UA, it will be even cooler to have features that I am more likely to use in my game. They new container tool is great.
Homebrewed by PhantomTim: Weapons | Items
This sounds like it is for the best. It's a lot of work and effort that essentially goes to waste.
It's understandable but also weird? Seems like It'd be in wizards best interest to help you support UA, this is probably the fastest way to get UA feedback for them
Okay so WOTC are the ones that need to hang.
PR style responses are considered hostile intent.
No. It is not “hearsay.” WotC owns the content and they told DDB to pull UA if it gets published or if it gets scrapped. But you go right ahead and believe whatever you want neighbor. There are folks who believe that vaccines are more dangerous than diseases, folks who believe the earth is flat, and folks who believe the moon landing was faked. (You’ll have company.)
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting
WotC stops collecting feedback within a couple weeks of releasing any UA, and DDB took a week just to get them up most of the time. WotC doesn’t give a hoot about genuine playtesting, it’s only an opinion poll. (And only a knee-jerk, gut-feeling, first reaction opinion poll at that.) If this has any impact on UA survey response numbers at all, it will be a fraction of a percent at most.
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting
Must say I am saddened by this, I really liked the UA being on the site, as I prefer reading it on DnDbeyond rather than the PDFs, plus I used to like to mock out chars with the UA on to get a better feel of it.
I get it takes some resource, but according to you guys you are doing an overhaul of your base system to make it easier to add new features. Surely if you invested time into that then after it is done you can then start doing UA?
Considering they are getting slammed with multiple new source books something had to give. Here is hoping they are aligning themselves to a better more frequent updates in areas that make more impact (and don't require devs to use their own time to build the things we are asking for...)
Totally agree.
At the same time, WotC isn't throwing DnDB too many bones with their discount codes and purchasing structure, so it would make sense for DnDB to allocate their resources towards providing the most unique benefits to theirt paying customers, even if it is at the expense for WotC's product development cycle.
Homebrewed by PhantomTim: Weapons | Items
^ this. Development decisions are always hard to make but I feel like this one not only makes sense but makes room for the things that I really want to see developed further.
I found the twitter post another member mentioned: https://twitter.com/DnDBeyond/status/1192207996933165056?s=19
That is all I was asking for just a documented instance of DDB stating WOTC requested the removal. I don't see an issue with just having a documented instance. Now I'm sorry if I upset you since you seem to be very hostile to me.
PR style responses are considered hostile intent.
But we'll get both. We're not trading UA for rebates.
I have a weird sense of humor.
I also make maps.(That's a link)
Not even remotely hostile neighbor. (When I get hostile the mods redact me.) I’m not upset either. (Just not inclined to go fetch you something you could Google for yourself.)
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting
Really wish this wasn't happening, as it's the only way some people have access to new things. Not everyone has the money to buy a new book every few months, let alone a book that you'll never actually hold. Incredibly disappointed in this decision, as your UA content has been some of the funnest that I've actually had the pleasure of using on your platform. And while containers are nice, I think I can speak for a lot of people when I say we would rather have more options in the game itself instead of functionality on a character sheet that can easily be found elsewhere.
Pretty much. I don't believe WotC values or uses the feedback from the general public on UA content all that much. It's anecdotal and subjective, two things you really don't want from a playtest.
Want to start playing but don't have anyone to play with? You can try these options: [link].