Forgotten Realms Books to Have Several Digital DLCs, Including One Featuring Asterion

Wizards of the Coast plans to release several "digital DLCs" alongside the upcoming Forgotten Realms rulebooks. This week, Game Informer released a pair of articles about the upcoming Forgotten Realms rulebooks. Tucked away in the article is the announcement that the upcoming releases will include several "digital DLCs" that expand on the new setting. One example was Asterion's Book of Hungers, which focuses on urban vampire adventures featuring the character from Baldur's Gate 3.

No other details were made available about the upcoming releases, such as whether the new supplements will be paid DLC or free to D&D Beyond subscribers. Wizards has released several digital-only supplements alongside their various books, ranging from mini-bestiaries to supplementary adventures, but all were free to D&D Beyond subscribers or available as pre-order bonuses.

Since the Forgotten Realms books aren't currently available for pre-order, it's hard to say whether this is a new strategy or simply a continuation of current works. The fact that Wizards commissioned art specifically for Asterion's Book of Hungers and the usage of the phrase "digital DLC" suggests that this might be a new monetization scheme for the company, albeit one that makes sense given the growing use of D&D Beyond's marketplace.

 

[Nord Ronnoc]

So it's an adventure/monster pack? That doesn't seem to be different from the Monstrous Compendium and a few other D&DBeyond-exclusive packs from a few years ago.

 

[Dire Bare]

I don’t think the ethics of digital piracy is really appropriate to discuss here, mea culpa for bringing it up in the first place. But, I will say that when I buy a physical book, I am buying a real object, which I then own and can do with as I please, up to and including reselling it. This is not the case when I buy a license to access a digital copy of a book.

True, but you only "own" the physical media, not the work itself. And that's, of course, what you lose with a digital version.

But . . . what is your solution? How could WotC, or any other company, provide you with a digital book that you "own" rather than just "license"?

This distinction used to bother me as DVDs were giving way to streaming and digital movies. But my DVDs have been sitting in the storage unit for about a decade now, and if I lost them in a fire, I might not even notice . . . the digital landscape for movies and TVs has plenty of issues, but technology and society moves on . . .

 

[Charlaquin]

True, but you only "own" the physical media, not the work itself. And that's, of course, what you lose with a digital version.

But . . . what is your solution? How could WotC, or any other company, provide you with a digital book that you "own" rather than just "license"?

My solution is to offer a physical version.

This distinction used to bother me as DVDs were giving way to streaming and digital movies. But my DVDs have been sitting in the storage unit for about a decade now, and if I lost them in a fire, I might not even notice . . . the digital landscape for movies and TVs has plenty of issues, but technology and society moves on . . .

So, what you’re saying is they’ve turned up the temperature of the water slowly enough that you don’t feel the need to jump out. Me, I’m not going to wait until the water boils. I see a trend I dislike and I’m not content to allow it to continue without expressing that displeasure. Like I said, I have no intention of buying a “book” that I can’t own.

 

[Dire Bare]

My solution is to offer a physical version.

So, what you’re saying is they’ve turned up the temperature of the water slowly enough that you don’t feel the need to jump out. Me, I’m not going to wait until the water boils. I see a trend I dislike and I’m not content to allow it to continue without expressing that displeasure. Like I said, I have no intention of buying a “book” that I can’t own.

A physical version of the extra content, the "DLC"? That would be nice, but . . . would that be practical for WotC? For something to get made, it has to appeal to customers, but also make financial sense to the company.

Heh, I'm the frog in the pot huh? Nah. I just realized over time that "owning" a DVD of a movie isn't all that important to me anymore. I'm at a similar place with RPG books. I still buy some physical books, but much less than I used to. I purchase most of my content in digital format, to take up space on my hard drive (or cloud drive) rather than my bookshelf. I reserve purchases of physical books for the ones that really excite me . . . and small saddle-stitched "modules" no longer appeal to me.

 

[Charlaquin]

A physical version of the extra content, the "DLC"? That would be nice, but . . . would that be practical for WotC? For something to get made, it has to appeal to customers, but also make financial sense to the company.

I don’t know, that’s their job to figure out. Maybe they could sell it print on demand, or maybe they could include that content in the physical book (presumably at a higher price) instead of selling some of the content separately as “DLC”. If the “DLC” model is not sustainable to offer in physical form, come up with a better model, or you’ll lose sales from the people who care about owning the media they buy.

Heh, I'm the frog in the pot huh?

Well, we, the consumers, are all collectively the frog in the pot. Corporations will exploit us in any way we allow them to; it’s literally their purpose for existing. They also know they can expand the boundaries of what consumers will tolerate by taking baby steps - boiling us slowly. I’m just one nerve ending, but I’m going to do everything I can to alert the rest of the system that the temperature is increasing.

Nah. I just realized over time that "owning" a DVD of a movie isn't all that important to me anymore. I'm at a similar place with RPG books. I still buy some physical books, but much less than I used to. I purchase most of my content in digital format, to take up space on my hard drive (or cloud drive) rather than my bookshelf. I reserve purchases of physical books for the ones that really excite me . . . and small saddle-stitched "modules" no longer appeal to me.

Bully for you, but an anti-consumer practice is an anti-consumer practice. I’m interested in continuing to live in a world where my wages can be used to acquire actual things, instead of just paying the corporate overlords a constant stream of tithes for the continued privilege of being allowed to use their things.

 

[OB1]

I guess the "Vampire City" idea is actually doable, albeit I highly doubt they will include it that way (an actual Vampire City).

(spoilers for Baldur's Gate 3 third act bellow):
At the end of Astarion's companion quest you find out that Cazador, Astarion's vampire sire, was kidnapping innocent citizens (including children), turning them into vampire spawns and imprisoning them for decades. Now Cazador has thousands of vampires spawns caged in his dungeon and ready to be sacrificed in a profane ritual. After defeating him you have the choice to perform the ritual for Astarion, kill the vampire spawn or release them to live in the city's sewers.

If they canonize the "release" option, you could have a literal Vampire City under Baldur's Gate. I would set it on the Under City, the subterranean ruins under Baldur's Gate that appears on the games but have little to no official lore besides "it's ancient, dangerous and servants of Bhaal like to gather there" AFAIK.


EDIT: just making it clear it's just a thought exercise and a idea for a campaign premise, I doubt it will be in the actual product.

Honestly, I know this isn't what the article meant, but this is a GREAT idea. It's now my headcannon that after BG3 Astarion eventually founds that city and is it's mayor. I imagine a 60/70's Vegas vibe with the vamps taking the place of the mob and some pretty severe punishments if you don't make good on your debts.

 

[cbwjm]

Astarian is the one character in BG3 I don't care about picking up (well, in Act 1 anyway, I've barely made it into Act 2). I know roughly where he is, I just don't bother getting him, I find him to be super annoying.

 

[Kurotowa]

I don’t know, that’s their job to figure out. Maybe they could sell it print on demand, or maybe they could include that content in the physical book (presumably at a higher price) instead of selling some of the content separately as “DLC”. If the “DLC” model is not sustainable to offer in physical form, come up with a better model, or you’ll lose sales from the people who care about owning the media they buy.

And if none of those other methods are economical? If the choice isn't between digital and physical, but between existing and not existing?

Look, I'm against unfair price gouging and against the "own nothing rent everything" model. But my parents were writers, and I'm very familiar with the bottleneck of physical publishing. Paper, printing, distribution, shelf space... it's like the "You must be this tall to ride the ride" sticks at an amusement park. If it isn't going to make enough profit to pay for all those things, plus the manpower involved, then it doesn't get made.

Digital only lowers that bar immensely. There's a lot of small, specialized books that can exist as a digital only release because the economics are so different. The margins are still slim, but the difference between the account books being in the black or in the red is night and day. So if digital only is the price to pay for books I want existing, when they wouldn't exist otherwise, I'll pay it.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Astarian is the one character in BG3 I don't care about picking up (well, in Act 1 anyway, I've barely made it into Act 2). I know roughly where he is, I just don't bother getting him, I find him to be super annoying.

Shadowheart is super annoying as well, and people love her, too.

The BG3 player's heart wants what it wants.

 

[MrGrenadine]

Seems to me like DLC of a book is...just another book. Or a chapter? As long as I don't have to pay the price of a 320 pg book when it only has 200 pages, I don't mind added content down the line.

And if its provided only digitally, I would definitely read it if it seems like something that'll fit into our game, and just save or print out the parts I'd use as a backup, just in case it one day disappears.