D&D Beyond executives explain why subscribers can't share Drops content

D&D Beyond executives claim that content sharing isn't enabled for their new Drops material because they want to make sure designers get paid. On Friday, D&D Beyond's executive producer Brian Perry and new head of Drops content Jay Jani answered questions on Reddit about D&D Beyond Drops, a new compendium of maps, images, and rules exclusive to D&D Beyond subscribers. Unsurprisingly, the biggest question on many users' minds were why Drops content wasn't sharable via the Master tier subscription like other material. In several posts, Perry stated that the reason was monetary in nature.

"We need to pay the great designers, artists, and developers working on D&D Beyond Drops," Perry said in a comment. "We also really think it's important to make the entire subscriber content library accessible to Hero Tier subscribers (as well as Master Tier). Not making Drops content eligible for content sharing was a necessary tradeoff to hit these goals."

However, given the amount of feedback among fans about making Drops content sharable among players, Perry said they were actively looking at alternative solutions. "With that said, I hear and really appreciate the feedback on being able to share Drops content with players in your group that don't have the disposable income for a Hero Tier subscription," Perry said. "The team is taking another look at the tradeoffs and considering other solutions."

 

[orial]

But if you unsubscribe, you no longer have access to them, and you can't share them with Master subscription share feature; add also that they're digital only, may not be added to any books in the future, and that they're actual gameplay elements, and now you have a bunch of angry gamers raising pitchforks about microtransactions and "enxxxxification" of D&D.

You mean like Netflix, Game pass, ESPN etc. ?

 

[orial]

But if you unsubscribe, you no longer have access to them, and you can't share them with Master subscription share feature; add also that they're digital only, may not be added to any books in the future, and that they're actual gameplay elements, and now you have a bunch of angry gamers raising pitchforks about microtransactions and "enxxxxification" of D&D.

Yeah, booh WOTC. All go to PAIZO/ Pathfinder. There you can share everything and….,, oh wait.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

I think for me--and I don't really use the platform, so my insight isn't really worth much--the issue would come about when some people in a group have access to material that others don't have access to. With a book in physical space, you can just share the book, so everybody (in theory) has access to the material, but that's not the same if the material is locked into a platform.

You can make a screenshot.
Even easier than giving around books.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

But if you unsubscribe, you no longer have access to them, and you can't share them with Master subscription share feature; add also that they're digital only, may not be added to any books in the future, and that they're actual gameplay elements, and now you have a bunch of angry gamers raising pitchforks about microtransactions and "enxxxxification" of D&D.

Yes. But the "enxxxxification" is just in their head.

This is all nostalgia or rosy retrospection. DnD has always been a business model. In the late 90 a very unsuccessful one. Without WotC saving it, it had gone the way of the dodo.

 

[Blue]

And if my Kindle library suddenly went away, I wouldn’t care. It’s a bunch of books I’ve already read. If there were any I desperately needed to raid again I would just buy them again. It’d still be cheaper than buying physical copies to begin with. And that’s assuming that, as older books, I can’t just get them from Kindle Unlimited.

Just to brign this back on topic, would you be okay if all of your D&D books went away tomorrow? I mean, it's a bunch of books you've already read. So either what you are saying is relevant and you never reference them anymore, or it's not relevant to the conversation at hand about licensing RPG books.

Just trying to understand your point in the context we're talking about.

 

[Blue]

So yeah. If they take the subscription perks away after I stopped subscribing, that is OK.

Are you okay if they take the subscription away when you are NOT ready to stop subscribing?

If you post something they don't like on a forum and suspend your account?
If they do like they did with 4e and stop offering the subscription?

Let's not oversimplify and pretend that any service will be around forever, or that your account being active is exclusively under your control. Neither of those things are true.

 

[Blue]

Yeah, booh WOTC. All go to PAIZO/ Pathfinder. There you can share everything and….,, oh wait.

You mean like how I could share a PDF? The digital media that most RPG companies offer?

I don't think your comment makes the point you think it do.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

Just to brign this back on topic, would you be okay if all of your D&D books went away tomorrow? I mean, it's a bunch of books you've already read. So either what you are saying is relevant and you never reference them anymore, or it's not relevant to the conversation at hand about licensing RPG books.

Just trying to understand your point in the context we're talking about.

Holy and .

 

[UngeheuerLich]

Are you okay if they take the subscription away when you are NOT ready to stop subscribing?

Yes.

If you post something they don't like on a forum and suspend your account?

No.

If they do like they did with 4e and stop offering the subscription?

Yes., *

Let's not oversimplify and pretend that any service will be around forever, or that your account being active is exclusively under your control. Neither of those things are true.

Because I pay for the service to have it all together and easily accessible wherever I am.

Storage space and servers are costly in money and energy.
To be honest a whole lot of services should require monthly fees.

*I wish they had come to my home and take all my physical books too. They have been in a box for 15 years now, just taking up space in our storage room.

 

[Blue]

Yes.

No.

Yes., *

I'm sorry, that first "yes" was you are okay if they take away your subscription when you are NOT ready to stop subscribing, and then you have a No and a yes with a caveat for two subparts of that. Logically, you can't be not okay with part of it but okay with it for any reason including that part.

So, let's try again. Are you okay if you want to continue subscribing and they take away access to everything you have purchasedlicensed for any reason whatsoever? Including things like not liking posts you make on a forum and they suspend your account. (Please answer this in the general, not just a "but I would never post something they didn't like on their forum so it doesn't apply to me in specific.")