Free DM's Guild Five-Star Freebies

[Xethreau]

I just looked at a bunch of content--unfortunately not a lot of gems in this last batch. But here they are!

Cleric Domain - Community
Description: A conversion of a classic option.
Positive: Professionally formatted, flavorful, and very unique! Reminds me of what you would expect New England colonists to have employed to improve their chances of survival. The cleric who takes this domain will stand out for encouraging group activity, which is just perfect. Content by our very own [MENTION=25818]Liane the Wayfarer[/MENTION]!
Rating: 5 of 5 Stars!

Class: The Witch
Description: Druid + Arcane = Witch!
Positive: A clever re-flavor of the druid allows us to have witches without the super omega SFX budget of the warlock, sorcerer, or wizard. For all their subtlety, they are useful and technical. The author has a clear understanding of the literary tradition in which he works, so witch fans of all levels should enjoy and engage with the content he presents.
Rating: 4 of 5 stars!

Sorry for the short set of reviews, and for it being only player options. As I say, that last batch wasn't so great.

 

[jayoungr]

I'd love it if people would list whether the items are actually free or Pay What You Want. It may be irrational, but I hesitate more to download a PWYW item.

 

[Xethreau]

I'd love it if people would list whether the items are actually free or Pay What You Want. It may be irrational, but I hesitate more to download a PWYW item.

I don't see why not. I will make sure to do so from now on!

 

[NotActuallyTim]

You can always just put in a 0 in the Pay What You Want price area, and if you like it, you can come back and purchase it again to give money to the people who made it.

 

[jayoungr]

You can always just put in a 0 in the Pay What You Want price area, and if you like it, you can come back and purchase it again to give money to the people who made it.

I know that's the theory. But I know that the people putting things up as PWYW are really hoping that they'll get money from them, and that my download will count toward the average amount they make per download, and that I'm sort of contracting myself to look at this thing within a reasonable length of time and come back to pay for it, and well, I think twice before getting myself into all that. If something's truly offered for no charge, it's completely guilt and hassle-free, and I'm much quicker to take a chance on it.

 

[Sacrosanct]

I know that's the theory. .

No, that's not a theory, that's the fact. You can easily do that. Speaking only for myself, when I put a PWYW, I don't expect anyone to actually pay for it, so good news! You don't have to have any guilt. It's just a nice bonus when they do. I think I'm not the only one who thinks this way. Honestly, if you put something PWYW and expect to make money on it? You're in for a disappointment. I've probably done almost a dozen of those products, and 95% of the "sales" are for zero dollars.

 

[Giant2005]

DnD 5e Epic Level Handbook
Description: Because they could
Positive: As reluctant as I am to review this, it is a very professionally formatted text that provides a simple and straightforward introduction to play on the epic tier. Naturally, if you use this you can kiss your campaign world goodbye! But it is nice for those of us who at least expect something for epic play, even if we don't use it all the time. Added bonus: it looks like it gets updated regularly!
Rating: 5 of 5 stars!

Thanks for the kind words! Even if they are a little backhanded in their kindness.
The Handbook is gone now but it is nice to know that there are some that valued it.

 

[jayoungr]

No, that's not a theory, that's the fact. You can easily do that. Speaking only for myself, when I put a PWYW, I don't expect anyone to actually pay for it, so good news! You don't have to have any guilt. It's just a nice bonus when they do. I think I'm not the only one who thinks this way. Honestly, if you put something PWYW and expect to make money on it? You're in for a disappointment. I've probably done almost a dozen of those products, and 95% of the "sales" are for zero dollars.

That may be your attitude, and I appreciate that! But I've also seen blog posts from creators who lament the fact that a miniscule percentage actually pays for their stuff, and I recently listened to a podcast where the host was good-naturedly trying to guilt listeners into not taking PWYW stuff for free: "C'mon, people! Pay for those supplements!" So there's a wide range of opinions about what the correct behavior is, and I have no way of knowing the attitude of whoever put up a particular PWYW item.

I suppose the real "problem" (to the degree that there is one, and not just my own hang-ups) is that PWYW is a pretty new model and there isn't an accepted community standard yet as to what the expectations should be. The proponents of "Creators shouldn't expect the average downloader to pay" and "Responsible consumers should pay" are both fairly vocal. And you could say that they're not mutually exclusive, but I want to be a responsible consumer, so that gets me right back to "If I download a PWYW item, I should be prepared to pay for it"--and that's exactly why I want to know what's truly free.

(Whew, I feel like I've talked myself into a pretzel here, but hopefully it makes some kind of sense.)

 

[MwaO]

Thanks for the kind words! Even if they are a little backhanded in their kindness.
The Handbook is gone now but it is nice to know that there are some that valued it.

Gone now? What happened to it? And if it got the ban hammer, what was the outcome to you?

Just curious

 

[Giant2005]

Gone now? What happened to it? And if it got the ban hammer, what was the outcome to you?

Just curious

Yeah it got the ban hammer. I'm not sure what you mean by the outcome to me? It is gone, that is the outcome.