D&D 5E Question for folks who use D&D Beyond: How well does it work with the new rules?

[Belen]

It would just be nice to not be ambushed by design flaws. Even experienced DMs expect that when they turn off content sharing for certain sources in the campaign manager, that content won't then be available for use in creating characters inside that campaign. That one's not a question of reading the rules; it's just poor design.

I think it is not for use if toggled off and the player does not own the content. The player has to own it to use it.

 

[Burnside]

I think it is not for use if toggled off and the player does not own the content. The player has to own it to use it.

No, sadly. The players can still access anything the DM owns, even if it's togged off in the campaign manager. Source: most of my players own nothing.

Deactivating access in the campaign manager has no effect on the Character Builder whatsoever. Content access has to be toggled in each individual player's Character Manager.

 

[AlViking]

No, sadly. The players can still access anything the DM owns, even if it's togged off in the campaign manager. Source: most of my players own nothing.

Deactivating access in the campaign manager has no effect on the Character Builder whatsoever. Content access has to be toggled in each individual player's Character Manager.

They can likely get the free rules, they should not be getting anything else. I limit a couple of my books because I didn't like the subclasses. They may be accessing publicly shared content as well if you turn on homebrew options.

 

[Burnside]

They can likely get the free rules, they should not be getting anything else. I limit a couple of my books because I didn't like the subclasses. They may be accessing publicly shared content as well if you turn on homebrew options.

This just isn’t the case. If the DM has Content Sharing active for a campaign AT ALL, then all players in that campaign get access to every character option the DM owns. In fact, there is text at the top of the Content Sharing tool in the Campaign Manager that specifically notes that limiting access here does not limit access in the Character Builder. The ONLY way you can stop it from sharing all your content with everyone in the campaign through the Character Creator is through the individual character managers, first tab. Trust me; this is a regular bone of contention and source of confusion/disbelief on the DNDBeyond message board.

You're probably thinking, "But that makes the Content Sharing tool pretty much useless, because controlling sources for character creation is EXACTLY what I want that tool to do." And you would be correct. The only thing the Content Sharing tool effectively does is prevent players from reading the text of official adventures that you own.

 

[Clint_L]

You're probably thinking, "But that makes the Content Sharing tool pretty much useless, because controlling sources for character creation is EXACTLY what I want that tool to do."

No, I'm thinking that instead of "because" there should be an "if" in that sentence.

I think that when you set up a campaign, there should be an option to toggle the character sheet options how you want them. To me, that is separate from content sharing, which I absolutely love because it allows my players to start their own campaigns.

Right now, I just instruct my players what to toggle on or off. It's a short note that I either email or share through Google Classroom. So not a big deal, but the solution above would be a convenience.

 

[kayakingpoodle]

There's nothing wrong at all with voting with your wallet. Better to just stop paying for it if it isn't worth the money and time anymore than it is to keep paying for it but doing nothing but endlessly complaining about it. Why do that to yourself?

It's the same argument against people who buy a product but then get mad at what isn't in there-- whining about how "I paid for X but got Y!" Noooooooo.......... Y was there the entire time and you bought Y. If you didn't review the product enough before you bought it to see that it didn't include X and it was in fact Y... then that's your own fault. It's not anyone else's OR WotCs. Don't blame other people because (general) you didn't pay attention to what you were spending your money on.

I agree, but this is not the case on DDB, they have removed and changed things since to the point that I have stopped buying, paying and using the site.
They have crawfished on printed advertisements, and flat out lied more than once. When taken to task on these things they resort to censorship and shadow bans to keep things quiet.
There is nothing on DDB worth buying if you expect things to continue to work as they do when you spend money there, in the future they will not. They will break anything to put what they want you to buy in the system, even the thing they want you to buy. If I could sell my account I would be so happy, but I can't. DDB has become the biggest waste of money I have ever spent on D&D. It was great when I spent the money, now it does nothing but slow down my game and frustrate other players if it is used.

 

[OB1]

DDB is not perfect, but I find it to be an invaluable tool for running my campaigns both in the time it saves me in prep and in facilitating a game that flows in session. Maps has been an absolute game changer for me in both of those areas as well, effectively cutting my prep time in half from Roll20 (perhaps more) and also allowing me to be far more creative on the fly when players throw a curveball.

 

[DEFCON 1]

I agree, but this is not the case on DDB, they have removed and changed things since to the point that I have stopped buying, paying and using the site.
They have crawfished on printed advertisements, and flat out lied more than once. When taken to task on these things they resort to censorship and shadow bans to keep things quiet.
There is nothing on DDB worth buying if you expect things to continue to work as they do when you spend money there, in the future they will not. They will break anything to put what they want you to buy in the system, even the thing they want you to buy. If I could sell my account I would be so happy, but I can't. DDB has become the biggest waste of money I have ever spent on D&D. It was great when I spent the money, now it does nothing but slow down my game and frustrate other players if it is used.

Okay, fine. You stopped paying for it because it's not worth it to you. Seems like everything is fine now then.

 

[kayakingpoodle]

Okay, fine. You stopped paying for it because it's not worth it to you. Seems like everything is fine now then.

If that is your take away cool, it is also a buyer beware for those looking to spend money there that it's not all peaches and cream.

 

[DEFCON 1]

If that is your take away cool, it is also a buyer beware for those looking to spend money there that it's not all peaches and cream.

Absolutely. It's never been otherwise. Too bad though there seems to be an inordinate amount of people out there in gamerland who do kickstarters and pre-orders for products sight-unseen that they end up bitching about after the fact.