D&D (2024) D&D Beyond: Any negative experiences?

[TaranTheWanderer]

Your issue with your account is they changed all accounts to be attached to a Google/icloud account or whatever. I was locked out of all my content (I had a username attached to a hotmail address) until I randomly went on an old computer and found the cookies hadn’t been erased and was able to just open it to one of my characters and was logged in. I was then able to link that account to one of their “acceptable” emails. It was super annoying.

 

[Oofta]

I think it's great tool even if you're only getting it for the MM. It's easy to filter for types of monster by CR, type, and so on (see below) when I'm planning things out. Want a medium sized undead in the CR 4-6 range but you're not sure of all the options? It's a filter away. If you decide to get other books like MotM, your searches include those as well. When running the game, I just run them from my laptop and any spells they cast are just a click away (although of course that requires the source book).

I really don't know why people find it clunky. It's not perfect and search could be better but if I don't want to look up something in a book and I think google will be better I can still use that. Or I just grab my book, but remember you get an electronic copy of the book as well that you can read through just like a physical copy. I use DDB almost exclusively, while I still get the physical copy of the book but honestly I end up using them only rarely. The only think I don't like is that it includes all the books they have, not just the ones I own. I have a workaround for that though - open up the page with no filters, add the sources that you want and then copy the URL and save it somewhere. Every time I look for monsters I then start by pasting the url into my browser and the source books are already limited.

I find it well worth my money.

Spoiler: I have a lot of books, including 3PP. My starting URL

https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters?filter-type=0&filter-search=&filter-cr-min=&filter-cr-max=&filter-armor-class-min=&filter-armor-class-max=&filter-average-hp-min=&filter-average-hp-max=&filter-is-legendary=&filter-is-mythic=&filter-has-lair=&filter-source=48&filter-source=110&filter-source=6&filter-source=116&filter-source=81&filter-source=147&filter-source=85&filter-source=33&filter-source=57&filter-source=139&filter-source=132&filter-source=27&filter-partnered-content=t

Spoiler: Filter page options for monsters

 

[Osgood]

I've been using beyond for years and I have never regretted it. I find it to be very convenient, and generally I'll go digital only for adventures, but get physical as well as digital for rulebooks and settings (so players can reference a book at the table if they need to).

The only issues I've had have been recent ones related to the transition to the 2024 rules. Since I have copies of most books, it can be annoying to filter between the new and legacy content (and reminding my players to do so on their characters). Personally I'm hoping they implement some sort of sitewide switch that allows you to choose your default rules version, but I realize that would probably take some time to implement.

 

[Echohawk]

The question I have is, has anyone ever purchased anything through them with money, and simply regretted it in any way?

I confess that I bought a set of the digital dice as a silly present for one of my players, and initially regretted that ("Why did I just spend real money on a set of imaginary dice as a gift?"). But then that player was so happy during the next game because he had special dice to use that I stopped regretting it.

 

[Umbran]

So, at this point, I think I've decided against shelling out the additional $10 for a searchable but slightly clunky searchable database of monsters that is subject to stealth revisions.

The "stealth revisions" are, in my experience, a bugaboo. Yes, technically things can change on you. Technically. As a practical matter, I've not had to endure any changes that caused my group any problems.

 

[Umbran]

But then that player was so happy during the next game because he had special dice to use that I stopped regretting it.

These days, wherever folks can find a little bit of joy is a good thing.

 

[Imaro]

Haven't had any negative experiences with DDB. I think the extra $10 is well worth it since you get the book but you also get access to the monsters in the encounter builder tool and maps that make it really easy to build out encounters but the monsters are also easily searchable by various keywords and filters.

If I had to cite a drawback it would be the necessity for the tools as opposed to the books to be online.

 

[Micah Sweet]

I regret evrey penny I have spent there. It is a platform for those that want the most current form of the game. If you want to play a consistent game books are best, and they are cheaper from almost anywhere else.
It is also important to note that any digital products bout there are not yours, you can not own anything digital on DDB.

I have made two purchases on D&DB, both the monster portions of books I didn't want to buy as a piece (this was before they stopped letting people do that for some reason). In both cases I copied the information I wanted onto an offline source for personal use, and never looked back. Later a friend gave me access to some stuff on their DM account and I did the same thing.

 

[billd91]

I've only started using it relatively recently. I think it generally handles rules pretty well. But the big thing I'm using it for now is prepping my 5e game. I usually take monster stat blocks and stick them in my word processor for the upcoming encounters so I can edit them as needed, print them out, and mark them up at game time. And having the digital resource of the Monster Manual right now is VERY helpful with that.

 

[kayakingpoodle]

I do want the most current form of the game. And books on DDB cost a fraction of what they do anywhere else, so I don’t know where your information is coming from.

But yes, it’s a digital platform. If you don’t like digital platforms, it’s not for you. It saves me a ton of time, space, and money.

The average price I have paid for my physical books is $22.41 per book. When does wizbro sell books on DDB for that? Even the digital books are more than that on sale.