Got D&D Insider; Don't need books

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

I use the best of both worlds- DDI access and buying all the books.
Though of course that's mostly the best of both worlds for WotC.

That said, we do not use the DDI tools at the game table, just for preparation. It's useful to have books around - but it's still usually not necessary. I think it's typically most important for rituals, since the character builder usually doesn't print their rules out (I am not sure, there might be a way to do it), and in many cases, it would just be too much. (I think my Level 20 Warlocks has a few dozens rituals....)

 

[Piratecat]

They're probably making more out of the subscription model than they are on books per individual. I'd wager it's so.

Even more importantly for WotC, it's a predictable income stream. The same is true for EN World's new membership model (which supports the site and gives you cool stuff! Plug-plug-plug) -- knowing your income from month to month helps planning immensely.

 

[Nifelhein]

The NewbieDM blog review on dragonborn racial book suggests WotC is shifting the focus of a book from crunch to fluff, this way we get a lot more out of the book that we won't see in D&DI.

I personally like books, I prefer reading them to any pdf, but when preparing I am only checking the computer tools these days.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

The NewbieDM blog review on dragonborn racial book suggests WotC is shifting the focus of a book from crunch to fluff, this way we get a lot more out of the book that we won't see in D&DI.

I personally like books, I prefer reading them to any pdf, but when preparing I am only checking the computer tools these days.

Maybe a little to early to tell. I tend to think that they will have generally to branches of books - the "fluff-heavy" books, often directed at the DM (Underdark, Elemental Chaos etc.), but a few at players (Racial Books?), and the crunch-heavy books (PHB, MM, Power books, Adventurer's Vault).

Now they just need to find a better equilibrium between "crunch" and "fluff" or "story" and "combat" in their adventures.

 

[Scribble]

As someone who mainly DMs 4th I don't buy any of the player books. Anything I might need from them is in the DDI.

I DO however buy the DM books... Most of what's really drawling me to them isn't in the DDI.

 

[ArcaneSpringboard]

Out of curiosity, if WotC decides to pull the plug when 5e comes out in a couple of years or so and you only purchased DDI access to 4e (not actual books), are you SOL, or do you have some sort of "backup" like a PDF?

Personally I don't think that 5e will be different enough from 4e to reboot the DDI. There will be tweaks, but it will be very straightforward to do it.

 

[Nimble Goodbarrel]

Thanks so much for posting this. I was debating whether I should get a subscription or not. Now the credit card is being dusted off and ready to go.

 

[Nifelhein]

One thing I can sa, despite manual of the Planes being a lot less than what it could be it sure has a lot of fluff in it, a huge change from the 3rd edition counterpart, and one I appreciate.

One thing I like a lot about D&DI is that now it is actually easy to use multiple sources to pick a monster from, looking forward to a less searchy way to pick treasure as well.

 

[Dannager]

I just do not see that as true.

Every new player I've spoken to does.

Are you really unable to see how having a step-by-step program guide you through each character building decision you make is a good way to learn the game? Sure, there are a lot of options at each decision point, but hardly an overwhelming number. I have not yet heard anyone using the Character Builder complain that they simply have too many things to choose from (except perhaps in a tongue-in-cheek manner).

 

[Scribble]

Every new player I've spoken to does.

Are you really unable to see how having a step-by-step program guide you through each character building decision you make is a good way to learn the game? Sure, there are a lot of options at each decision point, but hardly an overwhelming number. I have not yet heard anyone using the Character Builder complain that they simply have too many things to choose from (except perhaps in a tongue-in-cheek manner).

Yep- it's the information management features of the DDI that make it so awesome for me.

Prior to the DDI stuff like new monsters... Yikes... One or two books full of monsters was about all I could really handle. I'd find myself falling back on the "standard" monsters over and over again simply because I knew them.

Monsters out of Dungeon or Dragon magazine? Fugedaboutit! Those would go into my brain, please me for a moment... then quickly be forgotten on the shelf...

These days if I'm working on an adventure, I open the compendium, type in a few keywords like, Lizard, Humanoid, and Controller, and BLAMO a bunch of choices present themselves to me from various sources, no need for me to ever memorize where they came from.

Combined with the fact that the information updates have a smaller effect on the overall rules system, and the amount of info seems, well no trouble at all.