Why I will go to DDI

[Thornir Alekeg]

As a DM, the Rules Database is great. I had a really tough time keeping up with my players buying all the new books in 3e. They would show up to a session and want to use some new feat or class and I wouldn't know anything about it. I would have to take time to borrow the book and read up on what they were interested in, taking time away from the game or delaying a decision until a later session.

With the Rules Database, they could e-mail me and I could just look it up before the next session. As long as they manage to keep the database updated as new books are published, it seems like a great feature.

 

[Brentos]

I imagine....

I imagine that if the same number of people play 4e that played 3e (assuming no growth), and none of them bought the books, but all of them bought DDI ($120/year), Wizards will make more profit then in the 3e model. The steady stream of income model = win for the company!

 

[Nahat Anoj]

I think this could backlash more than WOTC or gamers think. Players not buying rule books is bad for game stores and its bad for the gather around the living room/ game table experience. Personally I think the buy the book and unlock the online version is overall better and a smarter business model for the hobby as a whole. I would like to know how wotc is going to not loose book sales with this model.

I actually see a business opportunity for game stores. Get wireless access, let people come in and use their laptops, and stock your store with snacks, drinks, minis, game aids, etc. You can stock a few of the books and, if people really want a dead tree version, they can buy one. This is essentially what my FLGS does and it works fairly well. It doesn't land them tons of money, but hey, this is tabletop gaming.

 

[Dragonblade]

I think this could backlash more than WOTC or gamers think. Players not buying rule books is bad for game stores and its bad for the gather around the living room/ game table experience. Personally I think the buy the book and unlock the online version is overall better and a smarter business model for the hobby as a whole. I would like to know how wotc is going to not loose book sales with this model.

I plan on both subscribing and buying the books. For what its worth...

 

[Mercule]

The only reasons I'll buy the core books is that I like reading in bed at night and I like having the books at the table in addition to my laptop.

It's making my tablet sound like a huge asset for 4e -- I use it to do a fair amount of reading in bed/on the couch/etc. It's also great for game prep. I've started to hate my physical books because they, more than my tablet, have been determining where I need to sit for game prep.

I'd like to find out more about the rules database. When, say, "Martial Powers" is released, will I be able to reasonably learn the new rules from DDI? If so, it's a completely brain-dead choice for me. I was very much counting on the idea of buying the physical book + a $2 PDF, so I hope either the rules database works this way, or the PDFs are cheapish.

 

[Thornir Alekeg]

I think this could backlash more than WOTC or gamers think. Players not buying rule books is bad for game stores and its bad for the gather around the living room/ game table experience. Personally I think the buy the book and unlock the online version is overall better and a smarter business model for the hobby as a whole. I would like to know how wotc is going to not loose book sales with this model.

Well, the SRD didn't seem to crush sales of the 3e and 3.5 core books and that was free for anybody.

I suppose it might have more impact on later splat books as people might not buy a book from which they only want to use about 20% of it.

What wouldn't surprise me is if there is an intentional delay of a month or so in posting the rules for supplement books to the database. If so, hopefully it is with full disclosure and the data gets posted when they say it will.

 

[Jhaelen]

I don't know if this has been mentioned elsewhere, but this really jumped out at me. From the 'Critical Hits Article':
"D&D Insider subscription gives access to all books, not just the ones you’ve bought."

Does this really mean you'll get the entire book contents?

I think earlier they said you'd just get a short description for items from books you haven't 'unlocked'.
E.g. for a feat you'll just get the name and a short description rather than the full description including the game effects.

 

[Kavon]

Does this really mean you'll get the entire book contents?

I think earlier they said you'd just get a short description for items from books you haven't 'unlocked'.
E.g. for a feat you'll just get the name and a short description rather than the full description including the game effects.

IIRC, you get all the rules without the fluffiness if you have the subscription, and only the name and a book/page reference if you don't. There will be no 'unlocking' whatsoever, though.

 

[Brown Jenkin]

IIRC, you get all the rules without the fluffiness if you have the subscription, and only the name and a book/page reference if you don't. There will be no 'unlocking' whatsoever, though.

I'm not sure if it is good for WotC or not but I hate the new fluff so the database seems the perfect thing for me. If it works like they say I have every intention of not buying the books but only using the database. If they think this is a viable business model I will be happy to take them up on it.

 

[Bandreus]

from Scott Rouse's D&D Experience Blog

There is a lot of stuff being posted about 4the Edition and D&D Insider and I have been spending what free time I have reading the boards. One thing I read last night that was giving people a lot of confusion related to the Rules Database on D&D Insider.

This may be the killer app on Insider. It runs the character creation process and will be an amazing resource tool for both DMs and players but it will not replace buying physical books. It won't, for example, give you art, story, flavor, and other key non-rules elements from books like the Player's Handbook (e.g. informational text on Adventuring and Combat to name two). What it will do is give you every D&D rule (AKA crunchy bits) from both books and published on D&D Insider (e.g. in a Dragon article) at your finger tips.

Here is what you can expect:

As a subscriber:

After logging in you would open the web based application and start a query, lets say a feat. So you search via a series of cascading drop downs or editable fields : Feats > Eladrin > Ranger > and get a list of titles from which you select > Defensive Mobilty and see the rules entry that tells you it does "+2 to AC against opportunity attacks...". You will look up any rule whether you have the book or not. Pretty awesome and very useful but again still not a replacement for books or the experience of reading a book on the couch.

What you can't do is buy a 1 month subscription in 2010 and expect to get 2 1/2 years of free books that you can they download, cancel your account, and play for really cheap as one poster said they would do.


As a non-subscriber:

You get on the web site and click on the Rules Database tab and start a query for a rules (let's say feats again). You search via a series of cascading drop downs or editable fields : Feats > Eladrin > Ranger > and get a list of titles from which you select > Defensive Mobilty and see the entry to the effect " find on page x of chapter y of the Player's Handbook. Useful and free.