D&D Reader App Coming This Fall? [UPDATED]

Morrus · Sep 21, 2017

Article updated with the new info (thanks [MENTION=40359]kenmarable[/MENTION])!

ArwensDaughter · Sep 21, 2017

Morrus said:
In the article up there ^.

Ah. It wasn't part of the enworld article/first post when I read it.

Sent from my iPhone using EN World mobile app

bmfrosty · Sep 21, 2017

kenmarable said:
So really, for apparently the same price you can get far fewer features that you can only use on mobile devices but at least you can swipe to turn pages??? I can really only see this working because it takes very little effort from Dialect to make this, so they need very few sales to be profitable. But unless there's some really amazing features they are going to add to their Beta before "sometime this Fall", I can't see this getting much more than very few sales.

If you are considering this because you want to spend money on an electronic version of the books (and don't want a VTT), spend the same amount at DDB and get far more for your money.

I agree with you on the preferences here, but frankly, happy to let the market sort this out. Fantasy Grounds probably has better features that D&D Beyond, but when I tried it out, I just didn't like it. Am happy and fairly jazzed with with D&D Beyond, and happy with the direction that it's taking.

For some people it may be a big deal for them to get official content in a PDF similar format in an official and updated manner.

barasawa · Sep 21, 2017

IOS or Android app for essentially pdfs/ebooks of the physical books we already have for the price that's close to being the same as the actual hardcover books! Oh, and you can buy the parts of the book piecemeal.
No discount for current book owners either.

The only thing good I see about this is that you can get an electronic version that's been professionally done, though limited to it's own special reader app, and it's an official version.

(ianal) Of course, years ago the courts declared that media shifting for your own personal use was legal. Sharing that with someone else still isn't as that's considered distributing. But if you own the book, and somehow acquire a pdf or ebook or whatever of that same book, as long as you own the actual book (no trading it in or anything), then you can legally have media shifted copy. Of course if for some reason you call down the wrath of copyright lawyers, that won't help you in court as they have way more persistence than we have money to fight them off with.

Then there's the PC users that are left out in the dust. Well, it's not a perfect solution, but you can run Android Apps on your PC using programs like Andy. ( https://www.andyroid.net/ ) There are lots of others out there, but Andy is free, and in my opinion has beaten all the others I've tried, even paid versions and a couple that are in android devkits. So you have a number of choices for this option, I just listed my favorite.

Overall, I think this a definitely not worth the price from what few details we have, and am very doubtful it can ever be worth that kind of price in the first place. Though I will admit that I want it, and it can be useful for gaming, though with some people, letting them use electronics at the table is a big no-no. (More than once I've heard a GM declare things like, "<player name> Stop texting or I'm going to break your phone!", or other things to convey that same idea.)

I'll give it a pass until they either drop it's price significantly, or give a big discount to us loyal gamers that already own those 3 books.

Blue · Sep 21, 2017

Let me know when I can run this on my desktop and cut-n-paste for session preparation.

lowkey13 · Sep 21, 2017

*Deleted by user*

Blue · Sep 21, 2017

barasawa said:
(ianal) Of course, years ago the courts declared that media shifting for your own personal use was legal. Sharing that with someone else still isn't as that's considered distributing. But if you own the book, and somehow acquire a pdf or ebook or whatever of that same book, as long as you own the actual book (no trading it in or anything), then you can legally have media shifted copy.

IANAL either, but my understanding was that you could media shift your OWN copy only. So it's not legal to pirate a PDF even if you own the source in a different format, but it is legal to scan your own copy for your own use only. And even then there might be issues with derivative works if you add functionality like bookmarks.

Of course, taking legal advice from someone like me on the internet is worth what you pay for it.

Jester David · Sep 21, 2017

I expected WotC would go the dedicated reader app route. I'm just surprised by the delay. Finding a partner was likely part of the issue. This was almost certainly planned to be a part of the Dungeonscape app, before that agreement fell apart. And - as has been commented on by several other licence partners - working out an agreement with WotC is slow.

I am torn on this.

I like reading PDFs. They're easier to sit down and read than an app, working your way cover to cover. Especially on my iPad at work, or at conventions when I don't want to bring my whole library. But I do like just reading a book better. When given the choice (and the book isn't a collector's edition, like Volo's Guide to Monsters I'll go with the book. (And since I often read before bed, books lead to a better sleep than reading off a screen.)
However, having tried using both Pathfinder PDFs and a Pathfinder fan app, in play the latter is far superior. Apps just make the game run smoother. Especially if it can contain the contents of multiple books, so you don't need to correctly guess the source like a PDF. And just having the text and quick loading speed eases the pain of looking something up during play. The problem with my PFRD app was that it was a single purchase app and the creator burned out under the wave of Paizo content and stopped updating...

Is this tied to D&D Beyond. It'd be nice if it was the same account so you only need to buy that digital access once.

bmfrosty · Sep 21, 2017

barasawa said:
Then there's the PC users that are left out in the dust. Well, it's not a perfect solution, but you can run Android Apps on your PC using programs like Andy. ( https://www.andyroid.net/ ) There are lots of others out there, but Andy is free, and in my opinion has beaten all the others I've tried, even paid versions and a couple that are in android devkits. So you have a number of choices for this option, I just listed my favorite.

I'd probably wager a dollar or two that if successful there will eventually be a windows app available on the windows app store.

Emirikol Prime · Sep 21, 2017

DEFCON 1 said:
Right. And they don't care, they didn't want your money. Why does that upset you?

I mean, if you have a PDF of the D&D books at this point (however you acquired them) and yet still have this undying need to give WotC money for it... then why not just go to the store and buy another set of books, then donate them to your local library or something? Then you get to feel good TWICE! Once for "paying" WotC for your PDF, then again for helping out other people who might not have the possibility of buying the books themselves.

If you're going to ever reply with such snark and frankly disrespect, I'll ask you to never reply to me again. Anything further will get you blocked.