D&D General Is D&D Beyond Exclusivity Bad for D&D?

[SlyFlourish]

Yes, it's a bad thing for D&D long term. Or at least has the potential to become so if it grows to become significant.

Why? Because competition is good, and exclusivity stifles competition. In this case with other digital (VTT) formats/platforms. WotC has a poor reputation for digital, they need competition in the digital space or their track record shows it will be bad for the community.

Finally, I wish folks would get away from thinking PDF is the only, or the undeniable best, digital format. Even an ePub or mobi format would be better than PDFs. And there are better formats than that.

Yep. I’m a huge fan of epub and most of my own books are now in pdf, epub, and markdown but I’ll take ill I can get.

 

[saviirkad]

Finally, I wish folks would get away from thinking PDF is the only, or the undeniable best, digital format. Even an ePub or mobi format would be better than PDFs. And their are better formats than that.

I'm fine with other file types being provided, and would love to see PDFs deposed as a knock on Adobe, but man, there is nothing worse IMO than buying a digital file only to find out it's just being provided as an epub or mobi file.

 

[LordEntrails]

PDF may or may not be the best format but it's by far the most accessible/familiar to the average Jane or Joe.

I'm not suggesting PDF isn't the most accessible digital format. Only that depending upon your desires, it is arguably not the "best". What I'm asking is that when folks talk about digital formats the don't default to PDF as the only digital option. I bet there will be folks in this discussion who will even say they didn't even realize other digital formats are a possibility.

Language is a big driver towards change.

Yep. I’m a huge fan of epub and most of my own books are now in pdf, epub, and markdown but I’ll take ill I can get.

Yea! Didn't know that. Glad to hear it and I fully support that!

I'm fine with other file types being provided, and would love to see PDFs deposed as a knock on Adobe, but man, there is nothing worse IMO than buying a digital file only to find out it's just being provided as an epub or mobi file.

What digital formats do you prefer? And why?

 

[Lanefan]

I'm not suggesting PDF isn't the most accessible digital format. Only that depending upon your desires, it is arguably not the "best". What I'm asking is that when folks talk about digital formats the don't default to PDF as the only digital option. I bet there will be folks in this discussion who will even say they didn't even realize other digital formats are a possibility.

I'd be one of those, on the basis of "I know one exists and it's good enough to be good enough, so why do I need any more?".

 

[LordEntrails]

I'd be one of those, on the basis of "I know one exists and it's good enough to be good enough, so why do I need any more?".

Your typewriter was good enough. Your 14.4 modem was good enough. But you replaced both of those didn't you?
Make your choice, I don't care. But I do care when people make choices out of ignorance

 

[saviirkad]

Your typewriter was good enough. Your 14.4 modem was good enough. But you replaced both of those didn't you?
Make your choice, I don't care. But I do care when people make choices out of ignorance

I'm all for other options or closing the gap on something I was previously ignorant on, but I truly don't get why epub and mobi files are considered the better option. I truly don't like Adobe and found that alternative programs are better for opening and navigating PDFs (I use SumatraPDF), but epubs/mobi feel like going back a step. What's the forward step? What am I missing about those files, or are there other options beyond them?

 

[LordEntrails]

I'm all for other options or closing the gap on something I was previously ignorant on, but I truly don't get why epub and mobi files are considered the better option. I truly don't like Adobe and found that alternative programs are better for opening and navigating PDFs (I use SumatraPDF), but epubs/mobi feel like going back a step. What's the forward step? What am I missing about those files, or are there other options beyond them?

There are other options beyond mobi and ePub. Particular to our community various VTT formats. Most of these are not better for reading than PDF, but they are (usually) better for playing and referencing.

But why is ePub and mobi better in some use cases than PDF? Well, first, they flow. The text can flow to fit the size of the reader. They have no innate page numbers or sizes so you don't have to scroll around, up or down to read. Ever tried to read a 2 column pdf on a phone? Ugh! With ePub or Mobi not an issue. The font style, size and color can be changed. Want to read a "book" using a dyslexic font? You can do that with an epub but not a PDF. Want to change the font to light grey and the background to dark blue? How about making the font bold? Ever come across those books were the author got cutesy with a script font or some other font that's near impossible to read? You can do/fix that too.

The only thing I can think of that a PDF can do that other formats often don't do is display the "book" in a fix format/layout. And that's only useful, imo, when you want to print something that looks like the hardcopy version.

 

[saviirkad]

Ahh, so kind of like, sidegrades rather than upgrades, though some functions can be reader-dependent, such as changing font type.

I think that's fair, even if it's not my gut reaction to agree based on my own use. I mean you listed some significant detriments as perks, like the flow, the lack of page numbers, the resizing, etc.

Those are things that super aggravate me about those file types, and I've since gotten into the habit of first tossing them into their own folders to remove file clutter and more recently, just deleting them to ease on the folder sizes. My TTRPG folder is reaching a terabyte, mostly because of map images but still.

So this tells me that there's usefulness to those files for other people, based on their own preferences or accessibility requirements, not that there's something about them that I'm missing or just don't get.

 

[SothFan]

The plot thickens.

B

Thread 'Drops will make D&D Beyond subscribers love Thursdays'

May 7, 2026

Today, Wizards of the Coast is launching Drops, a new benefit for D&D Beyond subscribers. New content will, well, drop weekly on Thursdays in addition to a monthly Drop on the first Thursday of every month. This first Drop is basically a combination of the two, releasing 500+ items.

“D&D Beyond Drops is the way that we are updating our subscription service,” said Jay Jani, technical product manager for D&D Beyond, to create “an ever-growing evergreen content library.”

The batch dropping today is substantial, including 125 maps, a new background, 5 spells, 250 image...

• brimmels
• Replies: 146
• Forum: *Dungeons & Dragons

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