Monstrous Compendium Vol. 1: Spelljammer Creatures
Frozen Sick
D&D Beyond Basic Rules
Basic Rules (2014)
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Monstrous Compendium Vol. 1: Spelljammer CreaturesFrozen SickD&D Beyond Basic RulesBasic Rules (2014)Sign in to view your library & saved favorites.
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Imagine if you will you have purchased the entire discography of some artist. You download this onto your computer. Imagine you'd like to listen to it using some portable device. Imagine this is made impossible and you have to rebuy what you've already bought if you wish to do that. Do you really think someone thinking they have already paid for that content and should be able to do this without paying for it again is that someone unreasonably asking for "freebies"?
It wouldn't kill WOTC to include access to the same content on D&D Beyond with any physical purchase.
That literally would be a "freebie." But you meant this negatively connotatively speaking and that's the actual point of contention here.
Why do you think this would be wrong?
When you support something on Kickstarter and pledge to receive the physical book you will get the pdf of that game the moment it's available and the physical book will follow. You are not expected to pledge both amounts or even expected to pay some discounted bundle price. That physical purchase comes with the pdf.
Stores like Exalted Funeral allow you to choose between buying just the pdf or the physical book but the physical book comes with the pdf. At no extra cost.
Even just recently I bought two supplements directly from an indie game designer based in Hungary. At first I bought just the pdfs on DriveThruRPG. Then when I bought the physical books the game designer said he'd give me a discount on these. Subtract the cost of the pdfs. I actually declined this offer. Because impressed by his generosity and wanting to support an independent game designer I didn't then particularly care about paying the full price for physical copies.
That is the difference between doing business with a community and doing business with a corporation.
INSPIRATIONS: Clark Ashton Smith, Mervyn Peake, Jack Vance, Michael Moorcock, Fritz Leiber, M. John Harrison, Gene Wolfe, Steven Brust, Terry Pratchett, China Miéville.
SYSTEMS: ShadowDark, C&C, AD&D.
GEAR: pencils, graph paper, dice.
I suppose I don't understand. Guess that means you should stop wasting both of our time on that subject then. I don't care about people whinging about free stuff.
I think it is pretty obvious that WotC is meeting the players where they are at. Again, providing more options = good. More players = good. You have yet to provide evidence that D&D is becoming a digital-only format. If you are worried that the players won't want to play with you because you refuse to play digital, that is not WotC's fault, that is you failing to meet the players where they are at. It is an irrational fear anyway. There are tons of people who reject DDB. Reddit and FB has plenty. Start a LFG post and you will be buried with invites from dozens of people who prefer chisels and stone tablets for their character sheets.
DM mostly, Player occasionally | Session 0 form | He/Him/They/Them
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Try DDB free: Free Rules (2024), premade PCs, adventures, one shots, encounters, SC, homebrew, more
Answers: physical books, purchases, and subbing.
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That's both a truly bizarre hypothetical and an inaccurate reflection of the situation here. Gosh, maybe you haven't borne witness to the countless times this has already been discussed on these forums. Here are a few.
Can You Download Books Purchased On This Site?
I Have Most Of the Physical Books, How Do I Use Them for Beyond?
Physical Book Price Hike
Or, hey, maybe the very top post pinned in the forum: A Buyer's Guide to D&D Beyond
Don't put words in my mouth.
I routinely play in person and in more than one game and with people who have no interest in playing anywhere but around a table.
INSPIRATIONS: Clark Ashton Smith, Mervyn Peake, Jack Vance, Michael Moorcock, Fritz Leiber, M. John Harrison, Gene Wolfe, Steven Brust, Terry Pratchett, China Miéville.
SYSTEMS: ShadowDark, C&C, AD&D.
GEAR: pencils, graph paper, dice.
Neat.
DM mostly, Player occasionally | Session 0 form | He/Him/They/Them
EXTENDED SIGNATURE!
Doctor/Published Scholar/Science and Healthcare Advocate/Critter/Trekkie/Gandalf with a Glock
Try DDB free: Free Rules (2024), premade PCs, adventures, one shots, encounters, SC, homebrew, more
Answers: physical books, purchases, and subbing.
Check out my life-changing
It's not at all a bizarre hypothetical because it's happened. There are cases of purchased audio files having been locked in some way so they can not be played using software other than that the vender has made available or be transferred. Not that any of this is the actual point being made: You have paid for that content. Why should you have to pay for it again?
A lot of sentiment in those threads only indicates what I am saying here is true. Many people believe if they've paid for the physical books they should then have access to that same content on D&D Beyond.
If other publishers are happy to give away digital versions of their game products with any physical purchase why is it so unreasonable to expect this of WOTC? Why?
INSPIRATIONS: Clark Ashton Smith, Mervyn Peake, Jack Vance, Michael Moorcock, Fritz Leiber, M. John Harrison, Gene Wolfe, Steven Brust, Terry Pratchett, China Miéville.
SYSTEMS: ShadowDark, C&C, AD&D.
GEAR: pencils, graph paper, dice.
It depends on what the rest of my group decides, but my hope is to change right away. I see far more positives than negatives in the playtest documents.
Any time an unfathomably powerful entity sweeps in and offers godlike rewards in return for just a few teensy favors, it’s a scam. Unless it’s me. I’d never lie to you, reader dearest.
Tasha
There's a second part to that statement, though, isn't there? Here, let me bold it for you, to make it more clear. ; )
Why would Wizards do it? Most of the time, those types of maneuvers are meant to secure faith in the product or service, secure mailing list subscriptions, and establish brand recognition for a growing company/studio/artist. They're taking a hit to their income now in the hopes that it will pay off later by getting them a legitimate foothold in their respective industry. Wizards already has a foothold. I think we can agree on that.
You can go to Bandcamp right now and purchase a physical copy of the latest album from some award-winning artist who have been around for two or three decades and who have more than established their brand and that purchase will still get you a download of that album.
How frequently or infrequently do you buy other games? And do so direct? Just out of curiosity.
Free League Publishing are hardly struggling to gain recognition in the hobby. They've produced award-winning games.
With any purchase of a physical copy of one of their books you receive a PDF of the book immediately once you're through the check out.
There is finding a legitimate foothold in the industry and there is capitalizing on your customers' commitment to your brand.
INSPIRATIONS: Clark Ashton Smith, Mervyn Peake, Jack Vance, Michael Moorcock, Fritz Leiber, M. John Harrison, Gene Wolfe, Steven Brust, Terry Pratchett, China Miéville.
SYSTEMS: ShadowDark, C&C, AD&D.
GEAR: pencils, graph paper, dice.
I have not been impressed with WoTC ever since they forced Mearl's out. Feels like they're become less customer obsessed, and more PR obsessed.
Having said that I do like a lot of the changes I am seeing in One D&D lately. Some of the earlier changes were giving me red flags, but fortunately the community feedback seems to be weeding those awful changes out (like crits). I will wait for a bit to see what needs to be ironed out, then probably switch over.
While being super unimpressed with WoTC in the past, I have tried other gaming systems. PF2E in particular is a missed opportunity imo, it's just not a fun system for me and my group. Instead of designing a system that was fun, they designed a system around patching all the "problems" with PF1. So we will stick with 5e/5.5e for a while longer yet.
And that is how I look at One D&D. It's not really 6e, more 5.5e. And that's fine with me. I don't think we needed a 6e.
One bad PR move and D&D could go the way of BudLight. Inside of a few months they could back slide out of first place.
Switch adapting the 5E content. One D&D fixes some imbalances that IMO is a must.
Wizards is not any other TTRPG company. They do not need to lower prices to stay competitive. On the other hand, other TTRPG companies probably need to lower their prices to stay competitive. Wizards is doing something right if they can charge a premium and people are still willing to pay for it.
Wizards just does not seem to be interested in offering certain conveniences for free. If a person does not think Wizards is worth it, they do not have to pay Wizards, they can pay Wizards' competitors instead who offer a price point more in line with what the person expects.
Just as not every job is worth working in, not every customer is worth serving. I am sure some people would not mind wiping seniors' bums for minimum wage, but most people would not and most people certainly do not give a damn what those seniors think. I am sure some companies out there would not mind offering free digital stuff with their physical products, but Wizards does not seem to be one of those companies, and Wizards does not seem to care what people who do not want to pay think.
Check Licenses and Resync Entitlements: < https://www.dndbeyond.com/account/licenses >
Running the Game by Matt Colville; Introduction: < https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-YZvLUXcR8 >
D&D with High School Students by Bill Allen; Season 1 Episode 1: < https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52NJTUDokyk&t >
Think you'll find they'll start caring if sales for physical books see a sizable drop compared to the sales figures they've enjoyed for 5e if more than enough players forgo buying those 2024 books. And if the results of this poll give us any indication of what many feel or think about making that switch that is looking to be probable.
Never open a business: If you opened a shop and thought every potential customer who passed you by wasn't worth your time on the contrary you wouldn't be worth theirs.
INSPIRATIONS: Clark Ashton Smith, Mervyn Peake, Jack Vance, Michael Moorcock, Fritz Leiber, M. John Harrison, Gene Wolfe, Steven Brust, Terry Pratchett, China Miéville.
SYSTEMS: ShadowDark, C&C, AD&D.
GEAR: pencils, graph paper, dice.
As for being able to charge a premium and people still being willing to pay for it it's not as if there aren't game products that are more expensive than the 5e books. I guess those publishers must be doing something right too. And because they can't boast the brand recognition 5e has I guess their content and construction must be superior. That must be it!
INSPIRATIONS: Clark Ashton Smith, Mervyn Peake, Jack Vance, Michael Moorcock, Fritz Leiber, M. John Harrison, Gene Wolfe, Steven Brust, Terry Pratchett, China Miéville.
SYSTEMS: ShadowDark, C&C, AD&D.
GEAR: pencils, graph paper, dice.
Many people did not like TCOE, and TCOE sales still turned out fine. I do not think the second set of core books is going to be any different, and I am pretty sure they will still sell like hotcakes like any other sourcebooks. Hell, with how incomplete Beyond is, Beyond is still doing fine.
Check Licenses and Resync Entitlements: < https://www.dndbeyond.com/account/licenses >
Running the Game by Matt Colville; Introduction: < https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-YZvLUXcR8 >
D&D with High School Students by Bill Allen; Season 1 Episode 1: < https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52NJTUDokyk&t >
That's because a lot of people don't care about places like this or other forums. They don't follow UA releases or controversies. They buy DnD because it's DnD. And DnDB, well my theory is that COVID pushed most of us online and for that DnDB was an easy and good place to do that. First through Discord bots or VTT integration on other sites, later through the updated character sheets.
That you think Budweiser is in any danger of falling from grace is very funny to me. Also, in case you're not aware, Wizards is already four or five bad PR moves deep since this time last year. They're evidently doing okay for it, so I think your reasoning isn't holding up.
It's annoying that it seems like I'm out here defending Wizards for free, because honestly I'm pretty unhappy with them generally, and they certainly don't need my help. (And I could use the paycheck!) But look, if you put all your hope for change in faulty rationale, then you're just going to be disappointed over and over again and burn out.
???
I... guess that depends on what you mean by "falling from grace?"
At least in the US, their losses have been in the tens of billions, the stock has nosedived, the sales are abysmal (down 30% last I saw, and that's just what they'll admit to,) and the memes are rampant. Entire communities refuse to touch the stuff now--on both sides of the controversy--and there's zero evidence most of their lost customers will ever return (especially now that they've had time for their new purchasing habits to settle in.) They've lost their #1 market position, and literally have had bottling plants close due to lack of sales; and the sad part is, the numbers suggest it's getting worse for them, not better.
The parent company will do fine, and I'm sure AB will (eventually) find some way to pivot, but as of this moment Bud Light is looking like a dead brand.
I'd love to see actual evidence of that being the case. (And I mainly mean that rhetorically, I don't expect you to actually throw anything about that onto this thread.)
From everything I've seen, even if their recent behavior isn't "ending" them, the impact of at least the OGL fiasco has been financially significant, and has subsequently prompted action on their part to address it.
Tooltips Post (2024 PHB updates) - incl. General Rules
>> New FOW threat & treasure tables: fow-advanced-threat-tables.pdf fow-advanced-treasure-table.pdf
I do not think a poll with biased language on a site with a handful of active posters, some of whom are disgruntled busy bodies that have no problem skewing a poll for lulz, is going to be representative of the D&D population or their behaviors. The UA surveys, which have a staggeringly large n, is a much better measure of who will be playing and the feedback in those surveys are what WotC is betting on.
DM mostly, Player occasionally | Session 0 form | He/Him/They/Them
EXTENDED SIGNATURE!
Doctor/Published Scholar/Science and Healthcare Advocate/Critter/Trekkie/Gandalf with a Glock
Try DDB free: Free Rules (2024), premade PCs, adventures, one shots, encounters, SC, homebrew, more
Answers: physical books, purchases, and subbing.
Check out my life-changing