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

[TDarien]

I don't have high confidence in the future availability of subscription-based services.

Consider, if you will: I look things up in my 1st Edition and BECMI books sometimes. I have D&D books I've owned for >25 years. I am pretty sure that, if I'm still alive in 25 years, I'll have a way to read PDFs. I am not sure at all that DDI or Beyond will be online and functional.

Note also: I sometimes go places with friends. Places that don't always have Internet, even. I can use a PDF anywhere I have power, and for a fair while without if I brought a charger. I can't use an online service that way.

A book I own is more useful to me than a tool I don't.

Here's the thing though. My physical book can do all those things, even without power. Not to mention that DDB will be available offline though the mobile apps.

DDB is so much more useful than a PDF that the drawbacks don't really become a factor. I already consider the online- and SRD-only DDB so much more useful than a full-text PDF that I have no need for one, because a PDF is only mildly more useful than the physical book.

I understand the concern about DDB not being available in 25 years, but that's just the thing. I'll get massively more value out of it, even if it goes away or there are places I can't use it, over a PDF that I'll have forever. Yes, PDFs will probably be useful more places over a longer period of time, but that doesn't come close to making up for how lacking the format is compared to DDB.

 

[CapnZapp]

Here's the thing though. My physical book can do all those things, even without power. Not to mention that DDB will be available offline though the mobile apps.

DDB is so much more useful than a PDF that the drawbacks don't really become a factor. I already consider the online- and SRD-only DDB so much more useful than a full-text PDF that I have no need for one, because a PDF is only mildly more useful than the physical book.

I understand the concern about DDB not being available in 25 years, but that's just the thing. I'll get massively more value out of it, even if it goes away or there are places I can't use it, over a PDF that I'll have forever. Yes, PDFs will probably be useful more places over a longer period of time, but that doesn't come close to making up for how lacking the format is compared to DDB.

Nobody is arguing you shouldn't throw your money at Beyond.

This discussion is about those that don't.

Sent from my C6603 using EN World mobile app

 

[dropbear8mybaby]

The biggest problem with digital tools is it encourages "by the book" gameplaying.

Assuming the system was really house rule friendly, I could definitely see it. But since I like to hack and kit-bash, I doubt the on-line tools are for me.

Did you even look at the site or read any of the material about it at all?

 

[Jester David]

I understand the concern about DDB not being available in 25 years, but that's just the thing. I'll get massively more value out of it, even if it goes away or there are places I can't use it, over a PDF that I'll have forever. Yes, PDFs will probably be useful more places over a longer period of time, but that doesn't come close to making up for how lacking the format is compared to DDB.

I think the oldest gaming PDFs I have date back to 3.5e. That's fourteen years.

Will we still be using that format in another fourteen years, let alone twenty-five? Will we *want* to use 25yo PDFs with their static pixelated low colour images on our 16K quad colour tablet rolls?

 

[seebs]

Here's the thing though. My physical book can do all those things, even without power. Not to mention that DDB will be available offline though the mobile apps.

But the PDF is searchable, and thus actually better for me than a physical book.

And maybe you'd get more value out of it, but basically, I'm just not interested in a service-based approach to my games. I like buying games and then having them. And the things DDB does may or may not even remotely meet my needs or interests; I'm pretty heavily inclined to tweak rules on the fly, so.

 

[Shasarak]

Seriously, why should WotC waive their share of the profits?

WotC gives away heaps of free stuff.

 

[dropbear8mybaby]

WotC gives away heaps of free stuff.

Cool, so from now on you're going to do all jobs for the rest of your life without any pay. That's very generous of you.

 

[Shasarak]

Cool, so from now on you're going to do all jobs for the rest of your life without any pay. That's very generous of you.

I do do all the jobs with so little acknowledgement.

Thank you for your kind words.

 

[cbwjm]

I do do all the jobs with so little acknowledgement.

Thank you for your kind words.

Thanks for the help, my home has never been cleaner.

 

[Salamandyr]

Did you even look at the site or read any of the material about it at all?

Not since the early marketing. I didn't have time to engage in the beta test. If they're promising to delivery an open ended, really house rule friendly product...like, I mean importing Rolemaster style crit charts if that's what I want to do, then naturally I'll be all in; I'm just not gonna hold my breath that that kind of functionality is going to be either available or easy.