Point me to where I used the word "free".
...technicalities... ;P
The Character Builder was definitely available outside of a subscription for most of the time I was playing 4E.
You could pirate it, or you could get a subscription, cancel it, and keep using the offline builder until the next update. That's not exactly 'available outside a subscription' that's "there were ways around paying for the subscription."
(as a general rule, I am in favor of people's happiness, so long as it doesn't involve hurting other people or Paladins).
I'm not surprised to see you exclude Paladins from the category of "people," but it's really charitable of you to object to hurting them, in spite of that.
(Oh, you meant "...doesn't involve Paladins or hurting other people" didn't you? But, no that sounds like it implies Paladins are people. English is such an imprecise language. It should be possible clearly deny Paladins their humanity /and/ assert protectiveness of actual people, in concise, pithy prose that flows naturally. ::sigh:: even informal writing is such a challenge... "...doesn't involve Paladins or hurting actual people?" Yeah, that works.)
But it's maddening seeing people translate their preferences into this weird pseudo-logic.
Are you acquainted with the translation of preference into pseudo-logic like "dissociated mechanics?" I mean, that's the low-hanging fruit among many possible examples from the edition war. Upthread there's also the tortured logic of "martial powers are non-Traditional magic!" And whether you choose to openly blame both sides, or pick on one, the edition war does kinda demolish the idea that the essence of D&D is some Continuity of experience & positive, or even productive, conversation among everyone in the Big Tent. Let alone that the Big Tent refers to everyone out there, when the metaphor was about including the whole, then divided community of past/current D&D fans...(and still divided, judging by the denial, attacks, and re-cycled edition war talking points now overwhelming this thread)
(BTW, I have heard some opinions that have made me doubt the Primacy of Magic as Essence of D&D: there have been a couple of posts that imply the preference is broader than that, that a game (or any other medium) wouldn't be /fantasy/ without the Primacy of Magic. My impression of the genre was formed based on myth/legend and pulp/S&S and 60/70s High Fantasy & Howard pastiche, so Harry Potter doesn't really seem like legit fantasy to me, precisely because it's so magocentric, but if D&D has been part of a groundswell of a Magic-uber-alles sub-genre, then, well, the Primacy of Magic isn't the Essence of D&D, it's just a minimum requirement for any TTFRPG emulating that 'new'* sub-genre.)
Can you tell it's maddening? That I am .... maddened?
The tenor of your madness does seem to shift when you're on the topic. It's more a pleasant and amusing antics sort of madness in most threads.
* funny how something that's been going for decades can feel 'new' when you get old. Not funny 'getting old is funny! ha-ha! I'm having so much fun!' but, "funny, I wonder how long I'd need to be a resident of Oregon...."