D&D 5E Are You Planning on Subscribing to D&D Beyond

[MrHotter]

But we're not going to the theatre, are we? No, we're buying the movie on blu-ray disc, which typically comes with a "digital copy" which is platform agnostic. That's a great analogy, actually, because what WotC should be selling is a hardcover with a digital license included that would accommodate Roll20, Fantasy Grounds, or their new platform.

The argument that this is somehow a different product from one platform to the next is asinine. Sure, some programming is involved in the delivery of the content--and I stipulated in my original post that I was quite willing to pay an additional fee to cover that. $5 might cover basic link functionality, while robust tools and functionality like Fantasy Grounds offers with their DMG module might would easily be worth $10 or more. Insisting that paying the MSRP all over again is reasonable, however, is ridiculous. They aren't drawing new maps or balancing new encounters.

No version includes an air conditioned theatre in which to play the game, though. We're still just talking about old school books and their modern digital equivalents.

If WotC wanted to release their books on PDF, then they could be sold seperately or as a bundle directly from WotC. WotC has given their reasons why they won't release their books on PDF.

It seems that you are still not understanding that seperate companies are providing products for 5E and that you only need to buy the ones you need. The Fantasy Grounds/Roll20/Twitch products are licensed and developed seperately. They are not just PDFs of the books. WotC can't just give them to you if you buy a book from them.

 

[fjw70]

As a follow up to tjose that plan to buy into DDB what's your strategy for the back catalogue of books?

My plan is to get the three core right away. That would give me the vast majority of the mechanical bits. I plan to get and run ToA when that is released and XGtE when that is released. As far as the back catalogue goes VGtM I will probably pick up pretty quickly. For SCAG and the back adventures won't be a huge priority for me, but I am sure I will get them eventually. I expect to get everything over the first year or so.

 

[seebs]

You don't need to sub, you can purchase the books and use them without the sub, that just unlocks other options and removes ads. Of coruse this is not buying PDF copies of the books in any event.

I don't consider "I can't see this content except by seeing ads next to it" to be a kind of "I have purchased this content".

 

[discosoc]

It's still laughable that I have to resort to "piracy" for content that I've already purchased.

 

[BookBarbarian]

It's still laughable that I have to resort to "piracy" for content that I've already purchased.

"have to"? I'm not so sure about "have to". Unless... Are you currently beheld hostage by someone forcing you to pirate content? Oh but you wouldn't be able to tell us if you were. What a pickle.

 

[Morrus]

It's still laughable that I have to resort to "piracy" for content that I've already purchased.

There's something laughable about that, for sure. Probably not the thing that you found laughable though.

Nobody has to resort to piracy. They merely choose to.

 

[Corpsetaker]

I actually don't see this succeeding so I wouldn't waste my money.

 

[dropbear8mybaby]

I actually don't see this succeeding so I wouldn't waste my money.

How much are you willing to wager on that? I'm willing to bet a self-imposed total forum ban on myself for one year, if, after one year from launch date, DDB isn't thriving and by thriving, I mean with enough income to stay solvent and continue updating and maintaining the site with plans to expand.

Wanna take that bet?

 

[Corpsetaker]

How much are you willing to wager on that? I'm willing to bet a self-imposed total forum ban on myself for one year, if, after one year from launch date, DDB isn't thriving and by thriving, I mean with enough income to stay solvent and continue updating and maintaining the site with plans to expand. Wanna take that bet?

I don't need nor do I care to take a bet. WoTc is saturating the market. There is too much overlap and people are not going to keep buying the same things over and over again.

 

[guachi]

I availed myself of some already existing electronic tools for this week's gaming session.

I had been printing out handouts for my players because handouts are fun. However I moved and couldn't find my printer paper. So I resorted to using Google Drive and converting existing documents to pdf so I could access them on my phone.

My "Campaign Maker" consists of already existent programs like Word, Excel, Paint (easy cropping tool!), PowerPoint, Gimp, and the internet at large (always good for tons of ideas and free stuff). By finally getting around to converting Word & Excel documents to PDF and uploading JPGs to Google Drive all my players can have access to all the stuff I've handed out so far. Plus, it's easy to have files on Google Drive that are for my use only and if they then become player accessible I simply move them to the Public Folder in Google Drive that my players already have access to.

I don't know why I didn't do this sooner. It's really easy. I only wish I had a laptop and/or the FLGS had wireless access so I could use something other than my phone, whose screen is far too small.

What I'd really love is a good mapping tool (I've heard Roll 20 can make decent maps with lighting, etc.) and then invite players to my house and use my big screen TV as the map. With a PC hooked to it with a wireless mouse and keyboard it could be fun!

This is a long way of saying I'm not certain what digital tools D&DB provides that I'd actually use. Since I use old adventures I can (if I choose) already buy them in PDF. I had to do that with the current adventure I'm running, B7 Rahasia, as the pages are falling out and $5 to keep my signed copy in okay shape is worth it. Uploaded it to Google Drive and I was good to go!