Quote from TomWB >>

Reminder: there is currently no announced option to pay monthly for access to the books. I want that, lots, and on release, but it's never been promised.

I sympathise with everyone who does not wish to purchase their 5E Books again in digital form.

That said though :) ... The digital books are a bonus product supplied when you purchase access to the data of those books. This data has been sorted, categorised, and formatted in a way that makes it easier for me as a DM ( and player ) to access information whilst running ( or playing ) a game. The compendium, character builder, monster builder have already proven to be  invaluable resources in my game prep. and save me time that I would normally spend shuffling between all my books. I have always found a hardcopy book easier to search and use than its digital version, that is not the case with DDB. The search features give me what I want a lot faster than using any index.

The more important thing for me that is hardly mentioned is that this will be an excellent tool for bringing in new players. People who haven't already purchased hardcopies will have a bargain with purchasing the digital versions ( and the access to them on the toolset ) and character creation will be a breeze compared to currently combing between Player books, and the other player options that WOTC have made freely available. One resource that holds everything I will be using. 

I plan to buy the PHB, Volo's Guide, SCA, and also Xanathar's GtE as I am too time-poor to have to homebrew all of that information. Anything I need from the MM I can input on a needs only basis and I will carry my DMG to the game as I rarely use it during play. I will most likely also buy the magic items suite.

I will be taking the Master Tier subscription so that my players will have access to all my player resources and to my private homebrew.

I loved the 4E Digital suite from WOTC and this is even better than that. I have waited since 5E premiered for a game tool of this caliber and I am not disappointed. 

The moderators and staff on here have been incredibly helpful and patient with all our questions and concerns. I salute you all.

Good gaming to everyone.

Quote from Gehrigan >>

The more important thing for me that is hardly mentioned is that this will be an excellent tool for bringing in new players. People who haven't already purchased hardcopies will have a bargain with purchasing the digital versions ( and the access to them on the toolset ) and character creation will be a breeze compared to currently combing between Player books, and the other player options that WOTC have made freely available. One resource that holds everything I will be using. 

 

Quote from Rubahak >>

Quote from Gehrigan >>

The more important thing for me that is hardly mentioned is that this will be an excellent tool for bringing in new players. People who haven't already purchased hardcopies will have a bargain with purchasing the digital versions ( and the access to them on the toolset ) and character creation will be a breeze compared to currently combing between Player books, and the other player options that WOTC have made freely available. One resource that holds everything I will be using. 

 

I 100% agree (with all points, really, but I wanted to hone in on this one for right now).  As someone has had to bring in an entirely new party to be able to play at all, and will have to do it again now that I've moved (back home to Oregon from Texas), because I am first among all my friends in both states to have played D&D, I can say that a big barrier for entry for completely new people can be cost.  Not even that's it's an exceptionally expensive hobby, but that they're not sure if they want to invest in the game in any capacity when they're not sure about it at all.  For my first group, I basically had to create a $0 investment for them, including buying several PHBs to hand out.  With D&D Beyond, and the Master tier, I'm going to be able to provide my next party (which I'm working on putting together right now, and have a couple of floaters that might want to create their own parties) with the tools they need to create their characters and understand the game, and allow them to decide on their level on investment when they're ready.  This is doubly important for my friends that don't have much money at all, so they can continue to maintain access to what they need while the rest of my friends choose their purchasing options, all without making anyone feel bad.  It's a pretty awesome scenario for me, because I now have a risk-free option for people to see if it's right for them, especially since I know that it's right for me.

That being said, I have to wonder if there are going to be gift options.  If I have players who are really interested in the tools, and want to move beyond my parties, but live on a limited enough budget that they won't be able to afford it on their own, I'd love to have the option of gifting them bundles or books, either for a holiday or just because.

If I have a Master tier will my players be able to access my home brew content? The Master tier only says:

"allows a DM to share all her unlocked official content with other players within a campaign"

So none of my homebrew?

Quote from Hrafn >>

If I have a Master tier will my players be able to access my home brew content? The Master tier only says:

"allows a DM to share all her unlocked official content with other players within a campaign"

So none of my homebrew?

Been contemplating this for a bit and I think there is a middle ground that would make everyone happy.
The contention here seems to be the concept of "book", where a lot of us are only talking about a few pages out of each book that relate to character options.

What about a 'kicker' tier that is $1-2 a month more and doesn't give you any "books" i.e. no pdfs, no adventure text etc but DOES give you all character options?
I could be wrong, but that would easily satisfy me. I'll buy the physical book for adventure and art etc, and use the character generator for that purpose.

That way the two content types are separated and can be dealt with differently.

And yes, I know you can "buy" classes etc, but I don't have to want to deal with that, just pay a little more every month and have access to all char options.

That was what I loved the most about the DnD insider accounts. It was a monthly fee and you had access to everything DnD related to character building, monsters, and DM'ing. If I have to pay for an entire copy of a book, then I will just buy the physical book and have something that I can actually touch, feel, and hold on to. I was hoping that the monthly fee option would have given you access to all of the available content. I would be willing to pay $10/month for that kind of access.

I still haven't been given a clear idea of what the difference is between the $2.99 hero tier and the free access?

Quote from barnesd22 >>

That was what I loved the most about the DnD insider accounts. It was a monthly fee and you had access to everything DnD related to character building, monsters, and DM'ing. If I have to pay for an entire copy of a book, then I will just buy the physical book and have something that I can actually touch, feel, and hold on to. I was hoping that the monthly fee option would have given you access to all of the available content. I would be willing to pay $10/month for that kind of access.

I still haven't been given a clear idea of what the difference is between the $2.99 hero tier and the free access?

Quote from barnesd22 >>

I still haven't been given a clear idea of what the difference is between the $2.99 hero tier and the free access?

Thanks guys.

Still hoping for a higher monthly fee that gives access to everything.

Quote from barnesd22 >>

Thanks guys.

Still hoping for a higher monthly fee that gives access to everything.

Oh man! So excited for this! Been waiting for something like this for the past 3 years!

Counting the days!

Quote from ChampionStephen >>

Oh man! So excited for this! Been waiting for something like this for the past 3 years!

Counting the days!

Did I miss anything? *points to signature*

I encourage others to copy the signature too.. that way its always on the page..

Quote from Sirdigbychknczr >>

Did I miss anything? *points to signature*

I know there are already plenty of people upset about having to purchase the same content twice and maybe equally as many people arguing that the content isn't the same at all, and I don't want to rehash that, but I did want to ask that the parties involved consider finding a way to make the decision about where to purchase the content a bit easier in the future.

As a brand new player, my understanding is a bit limited, so feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

What I've gathered from what I've read of this thread is that Curse is it's own entity separate from WotC and likely needs to rely on content sold on this platform to continue to operate.  While it would be very nice if WotC were to give a portion of physical sales to Curse and bundled a digital download code, I understand this is probably asking too much as it might be hard to justify the loss of profit on the hopes that dndbeyond will grow their player base enough to make it profitable to do so.  Personally I think dndbeyond makes playing D&D way easier and more appealing for me and my group of new players, but it's hard to say how many others out there feel the same way.

I wonder though, if it wouldn't be possible to release a bundle that makes purchasing the two together more affordable than buying the two separate.  I do think that it makes sense to pay additional money for access to the digital version because the effort that Curse has put in to making the content more user friendly adds a lot of value in itself.  However, if WotC gets a portion of the digital and physical sales, I think it would be fair to say that they are getting paid twice for the same content if users decide to purchase both since the IP they provide doesn't change depending on where you buy it.

I would love to be able to have a hard copy for reference and also support my local game store, but at the moment I can't justify the expense of purchasing these things twice.  Thanks in advance for anyone at Curse or WotC that takes the time to read these.

Quote from ErrJordan >>

I know there are already plenty of people upset about having to purchase the same content twice and maybe equally as many people arguing that the content isn't the same at all, and I don't want to rehash that, but I did want to ask that the parties involved consider finding a way to make the decision about where to purchase the content a bit easier in the future.

As a brand new player, my understanding is a bit limited, so feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

What I've gathered from what I've read of this thread is that Curse is it's own entity separate from WotC and likely needs to rely on content sold on this platform to continue to operate.  While it would be very nice if WotC were to give a portion of physical sales to Curse and bundled a digital download code, I understand this is probably asking too much as it might be hard to justify the loss of profit on the hopes that dndbeyond will grow their player base enough to make it profitable to do so.  Personally I think dndbeyond makes playing D&D way easier and more appealing for me and my group of new players, but it's hard to say how many others out there feel the same way.

I wonder though, if it wouldn't be possible to release a bundle that makes purchasing the two together more affordable than buying the two separate.  I do think that it makes sense to pay additional money for access to the digital version because the effort that Curse has put in to making the content more user friendly adds a lot of value in itself.  However, if WotC gets a portion of the digital and physical sales, I think it would be fair to say that they are getting paid twice for the same content if users decide to purchase both since the IP they provide doesn't change depending on where you buy it.

I would love to be able to have a hard copy for reference and also support my local game store, but at the moment I can't justify the expense of purchasing these things twice.  Thanks in advance for anyone at Curse or WotC that takes the time to read these.

 

Quote from ErrJordan >>

 

I would love to be able to have a hard copy for reference and also support my local game store, but at the moment I can't justify the expense of purchasing these things twice.  Thanks in advance for anyone at Curse or WotC that takes the time to read these.

Quote from Sedge >>

 

Quote from ErrJordan >>

 

I would love to be able to have a hard copy for reference and also support my local game store, but at the moment I can't justify the expense of purchasing these things twice.  Thanks in advance for anyone at Curse or WotC that takes the time to read these.

 Well, list price for the PHB is $50.

Amazon lists the physical copy for $30
D&D Beyond lists digital copy for $20 the first week of launch.

This would be a bundled purchase for the msrp of $50?