D&D 5E Kobold Press' Tome of Beasts Joins D&D Beyond

Tome of Beasts is the latest third party book to appear on D&D Beyond. The book, first published by Kobold Press in 2016, contains over 400 monsters for D&D 5E.

You can pick it up on DDB for $39.99.

Whether you need dungeon vermin or world-shaking villains, Tome of Beasts 1 has it. This book presents foes suitable for any campaign setting—from tiny drakes and peculiar spiders to demon lords and ancient dragons.

These monsters have been designed so that GMs can use them in their favorite settings for fantasy adventure. This monstrous tome contains:

• More than 400 new monsters for use with the D&D Beyond Encounters tool.
• Updated with errata, streamlined mechanics, and new monster art from the original Tome of Beasts.
• Expansive tables that organize creatures by challenge rating, creature type, and terrain.[/callout[

 

[Juxtapozbliss]

No, WotC is not the Amazon of the TTRPG world.

WotC is the big dog, sure. They publish the most popular game, sure.

But they don't have the level of power within the industry that Amazon holds over society. Not even remotely.

Hasbro is hemorrhaging and just laid off a ton of WotC staff. D&D itself is profitable, but not in the same sense Amazon is profitable.

Amazon was a purely financial analogy, not about culture. But if you want to talk culture, within the TTRPG space, WotC isn't that far off as an analogy for Amazon. If you go by percent of sales, percent of revenue, percent of blog topics, percent of conversation about D&D 5e vs. everything else, it's pretty close to the Amazon of TTRPG. You can see it in Mike Shea's concern that if 3PP publishers start selling on D&D Beyond, it risks a monopoly state. I don't begrudge them this opportunity, but the concern is there. That said, this debate has over stayed its welcome. I had only intended to broach a modest question. I don't think it's important enough to spiral any further. Good day to you, sir. Good day.

 

[Reynard]

Amazon was a purely financial analogy, not about culture.

I think you may be misunderstanding the scale and scope of Amazon.

 

[Dire Bare]

Amazon was a purely financial analogy, not about culture. But if you want to talk culture, within the TTRPG space, WotC isn't that far off as an analogy for Amazon. If you go by percent of sales, percent of revenue, percent of blog topics, percent of conversation about D&D 5e vs. everything else, it's pretty close to the Amazon of TTRPG. You can see it in Mike Shea's concern that if 3PP publishers start selling on D&D Beyond, it risks a monopoly state. I don't begrudge them this opportunity, but the concern is there. That said, this debate has over stayed its welcome. I had only intended to broach a modest question. I don't think it's important enough to spiral any further. Good day to you, sir. Good day.

I'm talking about financial power as well, not cultural impact.

WotC's place within the TTRPG industry does not compare to Amazon's place in larger society . . . financially.

 

[Juxtapozbliss]

Sigh. Really not sure why you want to argue about this. I said I wasn't going to continue debating but since you keep coming at me, and I can't resist being baited...

According to Business Insider, the total TTRPG sales in 2022 was $1.539 Billion. Tabletop Role-Playing Game (TTRPG) Market Size, Trend, 2031.

According to other online stats I see that WotC revenue in 2022 was $1.33 Billion. That's 86.4% of all TTRPG sales dollars.

I also learned via some simple googling: As of 2023, Amazon has the largest market share of online retailers in the United States, at 37.6%. This is equivalent to an estimated 5.51% of the U.S. retail market share in 2023.

86% of a market share vs. 5.51% of a market share. Looks like WotC is more of an Amazon within the TTRPG space than Amazon is within the retail space. I believe my analogy, which was only intended metaphorically and abstractly, is pretty solid.

 

[Dire Bare]

Sigh. Really not sure why you want to argue about this. I said I wasn't going to continue debating but since you keep coming at me, and I can't resist being baited...

According to Business Insider, the total TTRPG sales in 2022 was $1.539 Billion. Tabletop Role-Playing Game (TTRPG) Market Size, Trend, 2031.

According to other online stats I see that WotC revenue in 2022 was $1.33 Billion. That's 86.4% of all TTRPG sales dollars.

I also learned via some simple googling: As of 2023, Amazon has the largest market share of online retailers in the United States, at 37.6%. This is equivalent to an estimated 5.51% of the U.S. retail market share in 2023.

86% of a market share vs. 5.51% of a market share. Looks like WotC is more of an Amazon within the TTRPG space than Amazon is within the retail space. I believe my analogy, which was only intended metaphorically and abstractly, is pretty solid.

Hey man, it's okay to disagree. And it's okay to not want to continue debating the point.

I still disagree . . . but that's okay. Respond if you want, don't if you don't. Don't lose any sleep over it.

The percentages don't really make your point . . . IMO . . . 37% of US market share is way more financial power than 86% of the TTRPG market. Amazon can do things to make even more ridiculous money that Hasbro can dream of. Like severely discounting products to undercut competitors, for one thing.

But . . . I'm not an economist nor a CEO of a large corporation. I just don't agree with your point. And that's okay.

 

[Clint_L]

This was at the very top of my Wishlist for DDB, and I was more than happy to buy it about ten minutes ago. I love it.

 

[Clint_L]

Sigh. Really not sure why you want to argue about this. I said I wasn't going to continue debating but since you keep coming at me, and I can't resist being baited...

According to Business Insider, the total TTRPG sales in 2022 was $1.539 Billion. Tabletop Role-Playing Game (TTRPG) Market Size, Trend, 2031.

According to other online stats I see that WotC revenue in 2022 was $1.33 Billion. That's 86.4% of all TTRPG sales dollars.

I also learned via some simple googling: As of 2023, Amazon has the largest market share of online retailers in the United States, at 37.6%. This is equivalent to an estimated 5.51% of the U.S. retail market share in 2023.

86% of a market share vs. 5.51% of a market share. Looks like WotC is more of an Amazon within the TTRPG space than Amazon is within the retail space. I believe my analogy, which was only intended metaphorically and abstractly, is pretty solid.

Your link is to a summary; the actual report is 120 pages and would cost $300 so I haven't read it - not sure if you have. But your numbers seem odd, because that report is exploring the size and growth potential of the TTRPG market, which it defines in fairly conventional terms (e.g. a social game with players engaged in cooperative storytelling typically facilitated by a games master). In other words, games like D&D...but not games like Magic: the Gathering.

You cite WotC's revenue of $1.33 billion, but by far the largest part of that comes from M:tG, not from D&D. So unless I am missing something, it seems like an error to identify WotC as owning 86.4% of all TTRPG sales dollars based on their overall revenue, rather than just their D&D revenue.

 

[Zaukrie]

I'm old enough to remember when this thread was fun about a great announcement

 

[Clint_L]

Fair point. Let’s go back to discussing how amazing Tome of Beasts is. I already have plans for their Jotun giant as a perfect fit for a Steamforged miniature that I just painted up (I’m so happy about it that I’m willing to overlook the fact that Jotun literally just means “giant.” Or maybe he’s called that because he’s just so big).

Edit: this big boi:

 

[Marc Radle]

I'm old enough to remember when this thread was fun about a great announcement

Agreed!!