D&D 5E D&D Beyond vs Print Books

[Nikosandros]

COMPLETLY ASIDE RANT: It would be super great if WotC joined the rest of the RPG publishing world and offered legal PDFs. I mean, I can get any book in PDF within seconds if I want it, but the fact that WotC still clings to this ridiculous notion it will kill sales is infuriating.

Yes, it drives me crazy.

 

[overgeeked]

I am planning on DMing my first 5e game. I have the PHB, but I don't have the Monster Manual yet. I was wondering if there would be any value in getting it in electronic format from D&D Beyond. My thought is that I don't need the whole book during play, I could print out the stat blocks of the monsters I intended to use in a session. That way I could reference multiple monsters without having to flip pages.

I have no experience with D&D Beyond's format, is what I am planning easy to do, will it save time?

All you need from a monster for a game is their AC, hit points, attacks, and damage. Maybe their senses like darkvision and perception check modifier. The rest is a waste of ink. You can use the numbers below just as easily without needing D&D Beyond or the Monster Manual.

But if you're going to buy the resource, buy the physical book. When D&D Beyond eventually loses the license you'll still have the physical book on your shelf and it doesn't require an internet connection to access.

5e monster manual on a business card

Lately I’ve been doing statistical analysis on D&D 5e monsters to see how they’re built, and I’ve learned some interesting things: the DMG monster-creation guidelines don&#821…

blogofholding.com

 

[TheAlkaizer]

Yikes, I don't use DDB myself, but your post prompted me to check out their terms.

"Fandom reserves the right to deactivate a User from any Fandom service for any reason or no reason. Once a User has been deactivated, any digital goods accumulated by that User in connection with using D&D Beyond will be forfeited and may not be reinstated."

They can take away anything you've bought for any reason whatsoever?

Yikes, indeed. But not surprising. Most of digital stores reserve the rights to close your account and everything you bought on it. Very often, they'll say that they are not selling you the product, but a license or rights to access aid products; and that's generally relying on you being authorized to use their services.

 

[Zaukrie]

Dndbeyond is a great tool, and I highly recommend it. It is certainly likely they'll lose their license at some point.... But it is very, very, easy to use.

I know people that copy and paste all their content just in case.....

 

[Reynard]

All you need from a monster for a game is their AC, hit points, attacks, and damage. Maybe their senses like darkvision and perception check modifier. The rest is a waste of ink. You can use the numbers below just as easily without needing D&D Beyond or the Monster Manual.

But if you're going to buy the resource, buy the physical book. When D&D Beyond eventually loses the license you'll still have the physical book on your shelf and it doesn't require an internet connection to access.

5e monster manual on a business card

Lately I’ve been doing statistical analysis on D&D 5e monsters to see how they’re built, and I’ve learned some interesting things: the DMG monster-creation guidelines don&#821…

blogofholding.com

I think that is the wrong advice for someone new to the game and/or GMing. The ability to just make stuff up without causing havoc at your table comes with experience. You wouldn't give someone just learning to cook a pile of base ingredients and tell them "have at it."

 

[Morrus]

I think that is the wrong advice for someone new to the game and/or GMing. The ability to just make stuff up without causing havoc at your table comes with experience. You wouldn't give someone just learning to cook a pile of base ingredients and tell them "have at it."

Well, the stakes aren't the same. You can't poison somebody by running a game poorly. The worst you can do is put them off gaming.

 

[bennet]

dont get caught doing that as if u use it not on their site they have the right to remove access to the book even though u paid for it

Garbage. Of course anyone can print their own character, spell, monster for their own personal use. To suggest otherwise, either you are a troll or have a personal beef with their site or you are 12 (in which case no offense intended).

 

[overgeeked]

I think that is the wrong advice for someone new to the game and/or GMing. The ability to just make stuff up without causing havoc at your table comes with experience. You wouldn't give someone just learning to cook a pile of base ingredients and tell them "have at it."

A lot of people are way too precious about that status of "official" content and worry way too much about "balance". PCs in 5E are so wildly overtuned compared to the monsters they're supposed to be facing that you can throw double or triple deadly encounters at even unoptimized PCs and have the PCs handily win. And as Morrus said, gamers won't die because the DM home-brewed a monster. At worst the combat goes bad and the group resets. If the players are so sensitive that they cannot handle even the possibility of losing a fight and that puts them off the game or gaming, well...not much of a loss.

 

[overgeeked]

Yikes, I don't use DDB myself, but your post prompted me to check out their terms.

"Fandom reserves the right to deactivate a User from any Fandom service for any reason or no reason. Once a User has been deactivated, any digital goods accumulated by that User in connection with using D&D Beyond will be forfeited and may not be reinstated."

They can take away anything you've bought for any reason whatsoever?

Yep. That's digital licenses. That's why people should stick with physical books.

 

[Reynard]

Well, the stakes aren't the same. You can't poison somebody by running a game poorly. The worst you can do is put them off gaming.

You can't poison someone with a poorly made meal given non poisonous ingredients, either, but you sure can put them off your cooking.