DnD Beyond is having quite a sale

[Dausuul]

Still gonna be able to use it in 5 years if D&D Beyond shuts down? Or if WotC pulls their license? Or if 6e is released and WotC stops allowing access to previous edition tools (like they did with 4e)?
No. I only trust dead tree editions.

That was my attitude at first. But I've concluded that the sheer convenience of D&D Beyond is worth it. I'll pay $10-15 to see a movie that lasts two and a half hours, and I don't expect the right to revisit that movie forever afterward.

Besides, if I throw my back out hauling a pile of hardcover books to game night, it'll cost me more in medical expenses and lost quality of life* than I will ever pay for DDB. It's remarkable how liberating it is to just stroll in with my laptop and dice.

If there's a book I really want to be sure I can keep forever, I'll pay for both. Otherwise, electronics for me.

[SIZE=-2]*I have friends with back issues. It's wretched; all it takes is one bad slip on the ice, and you're dealing with periodic flare-ups for the rest of your life. Especially as I embark on my 40s, reducing my risk of that is well worth a little money to me.[/SIZE]

 

[lkj]

My big beef with DDB's pricing model is the subscription. Like, I can dump a bunch of money into books, but then I can't get full use out of them unless I also subscribe? That's kinda lame.

I'd love it if they did something like, "For every $5 you spend, you get 1 free month of subscription." (They could also do the reverse, and say "For every month you subscribe, you get $5 of credit," the way some Freemium MMOs work, but I feel like the other way takes better advantage of people's spending habits.) (Also the $5 number is not scientific, it just feels kinda right.)

You do not need a subscription to use content you buy. The only thing a subscription gets you is more character slots and/or the ability to share your content with other people (so that they don't have to buy the books themselves).

Not that I'd turn down a 'subscriber discount'.

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[doctorbadwolf]

Still gonna be able to use it in 5 years if D&D Beyond shuts down? Or if WotC pulls their license? Or if 6e is released and WotC stops allowing access to previous edition tools (like they did with 4e)?
No. I only trust dead tree editions.

Yes. Because you can download them via the mobile app.

 

[Flexor the Mighty!]

If you buy the books on there and play a regular game, then in 5 years it closes down.....do you think you wouldn't get your 20 dollars worth?

 

[darjr]

Good points about its utility. It is kinda amazing that way.

 

[lkj]

They have said it would. But it seems I have needed to download them a few times. I’m not entirely clear why, sometimes it was an app update. Though I realize now that was the Beta

Actually, the app is still in beta. I'm not sure why they don't make that clearer in the app description. But they are clear about it on their boards and in their developer updates.

I have speculated it has to do with being in the app store and the play store. Maybe they technically aren't allowed to have a fully available app that is in beta mode or something? I don't know.

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[Retreater]

If you buy the books on there and play a regular game, then in 5 years it closes down.....do you think you wouldn't get your 20 dollars worth?

I'm not going to buy only one book for $20. I'd need the Player's Handbook, DMG, MM, Campaign Book, etc. All told, I'd be spending well over $100 to get digital versions of my collection - just what I'm using right now.

Plus, I don't find the usability of it that great. For starters, the back button takes you out of the app and back to the phone's home screen instead of a simple "page back" function. So if I'm DMing an adventure, click on the stat of a monster and want to back out to the room description, BAM I'm out of the adventure and need to reload everything. Terrible design.

 

[Retreater]

Yes. Because you can download them via the mobile app.

For now. But when you have to download a new version of the app, or install it on a different device in the future (when you get that phone upgrade, for example), it's all gone. I've lost access to ebooks I've bought before. Still have my print books, though.

 

[Flexor the Mighty!]

I'm not going to buy only one book for $20. I'd need the Player's Handbook, DMG, MM, Campaign Book, etc. All told, I'd be spending well over $100 to get digital versions of my collection - just what I'm using right now.

Plus, I don't find the usability of it that great. For starters, the back button takes you out of the app and back to the phone's home screen instead of a simple "page back" function. So if I'm DMing an adventure, click on the stat of a monster and want to back out to the room description, BAM I'm out of the adventure and need to reload everything. Terrible design.

Obviously its not for you if you find the base functionality poor. I stopped running 5e but play in an occasional game and find the program on my iPad browser to be fantastic even just using the free stuff. I navigate via the menu but I'm just using the character generator and sheet not any campaign tools.

I just read all the time people who game a lot complaining about what if the company shuts down in 5 years and they lose that investment. I always think well if you got hundreds of hours of value then who cares?

 

[Harzel]

Actually, the app is still in beta. I'm not sure why they don't make that clearer in the app description. But they are clear about it on their boards and in their developer updates.

I have speculated it has to do with being in the app store and the play store. Maybe they technically aren't allowed to have a fully available app that is in beta mode or something? I don't know.

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I'm pretty sure that no piece of consumer software has been released at better than beta quality for at least the last decade. Doesn't much matter what they call it.