D&D Beyond

[Regitnui]

D&D Beyond Beta (https://www.dndbeyond.com)

Anyone else signed up for this? Anyone have opinions?

[Sigreid]

Never heard of it before. Honestly, I got Fantasy Grounds given to me for Christmas and I'm really digging that one so this wouldn't be much interest to me.

[JumboWheat01]

It's nice to see something official. Dunno if I'll buy it when it comes out (cause it will have a paid thing, mark my words,) since my gaming budget is now near-extinct, but it's great that it's there.

[Deleted]

D&D Beyond Beta (https://www.dndbeyond.com)

Anyone else signed up for this? Anyone have opinions?

Assuming that this will be a pay to use subscription like 4e...

1: Official Content Compendium: There isn't enough official content for me to need a compendium. Plus I use a ton of homebrew in my game because the base 5e rules (*) aren't useful. Even if you don't use a lot of homebrew... There really isn't a lot of official stuff that you would need a compendium for. Maybe new DMs?

2: Homebrew Content: Why would I want to pay to look at homebrew when I can do so for free?

3: Manage Characters: Don't need help with this. I take a picture of my player's character sheets and use that as a reference (sometimes I print them out). I can manage my own characters via my phone already. Again why would I want to pay for something I can already do for free?

4: D&D articles are useless, unless they bring new Official Content, there are plenty of places you can get just as good, or better, D&D thoughts and opinions. Why would I want to pay for something that I already get for free?

5: Forums? They are bringing back D&D forums? That's nice but I'm not sure I want to deal with their crap again after what happened before. Getting a huge middle finger from them wasn't very nice. Besides, why would I want to pay for this if I already get it for free?

So my question for them is, who is this for and why would anyone pay for something they can have for free? It would be one thing if they actually had a lot of Official Content, but with what we have... I'm not seeing it.

Now, this may end up being the item that opens the flood gate for more official material. Let the people get used to navigating it and then be all "boom here is more stuff", but for what we have now, I see no reason to pick this up.


Edit===

* Base rules for classes. I love the majority of 5e's PHB, just there are a few tweaks here and there to make it work.

[rooneg]

I'm not terribly optimistic, but I'll probably give it a shot.

Mostly, I'm concerned that it'll just be a web based thing. I need offline access, and I really want offline access in some format that isn't "install our proprietary app that will stop working when we decide to turn it off". There's very little that beats a well made PDF for long-term no strings attached use, and I'd LOVE to be able to pay money for those PDFs.

Also, every time WotC tries to do something digital it's a total train wreck. I know this is outsourced, but so was "Project Morningstar", and we saw what a catastrophe that was. Not sure why I should expect different this time.

[Deleted]

I'm not terribly optimistic, but I'll probably give it a shot.

Mostly, I'm concerned that it'll just be a web based thing. I need offline access, and I really want offline access in some format that isn't "install our proprietary app that will stop working when we decide to turn it off". There's very little that beats a well made PDF for long-term no strings attached use, and I'd LOVE to be able to pay money for those PDFs.

Also, every time WotC tries to do something digital it's a total train wreck. I know this is outsourced, but so was "Project Morningstar", and we saw what a catastrophe that was. Not sure why I should expect different this time.

4e's offline character builder was fricken awesome. I still have it.

There was going to be a character generator like you see in videogames and a lot of additional stuff... Nope. They couldn't get it to work, which means they didn't know how to hire people to do it or didn't want to pay quality people to do it.

[rooneg]

4e's offline character builder was fricken awesome. I still have it.

There was going to be a character generator like you see in videogames and a lot of additional stuff... Nope. They couldn't get it to work, which means they didn't know how to hire people to do it or didn't want to pay quality people to do it.

From everything I've heard 4e had some awesome stuff, but the whole experience seems to have been overshadowed by the stuff they promised and then never managed to deliver. Personally, my "WotC can't do technology" opinion is largely driven by the way that they've had this endless ability to make Magic Online continue to suck over and over again for years. That and watching them once again overpromise and underdeliver with the initial 5e digital tools.

[Deleted]

From everything I've heard 4e had some awesome stuff, but the whole experience seems to have been overshadowed by the stuff they promised and then never managed to deliver. Personally, my "WotC can't do technology" opinion is largely driven by the way that they've had this endless ability to make Magic Online continue to suck over and over again for years. That and watching them once again overpromise and underdeliver with the initial 5e digital tools.

Oh god yes, there was so much that they wanted to do... There was a shakeup with Hasbro/WotC and yeah things didn't happen.

[Honest Tiefling]

Call me old fashioned, but I'm not a fan of paying a subscription for classes and such. At least with an MMO there's generally new features bundled in and a server running for you. And I assume that if there is a character manager, those not using the service cannot use it or access the character, making it very moot.

And paying for homebrew? No, I pay for the name attached, ease of use, and other features. Homebrew has made wonderful things, but I really don't see why you need to go through WOTC to sell a PDF of your homebrew, as opposed to third party stuff...Perhaps someone involved in third party material can convince me that this is a good thing?

Anything requiring a service that might be turned off is also a no-no for me. So put me squarely in the 'dubious' camp.

[rooneg]

And paying for homebrew? No, I pay for the name attached, ease of use, and other features. Homebrew has made wonderful things, but I really don't see why you need to go through WOTC to sell a PDF of your homebrew, as opposed to third party stuff...Perhaps someone involved in third party material can convince me that this is a good thing?

As I understand it, you're paying (as part of your subscription or whatever) for the ability to use homebrew content in their app. The "try it and see it you like it" mode will be something like "here's the SRD, you can make a few characters with it", which seems reasonable to me. I don't see anything at all in what they've said so far about going through WOTC to sell homebrew content (although it wouldn't surprise me if there was some integration with 3rd party stuff that is up on DM's Guild).

[Honest Tiefling]

The site linked in the OP's post literally says "Create, Browse, & Use Homebrew Content" so...I don't know. I do want to support homebrewers, but I'd still rather not use an app nor slog through weird or unbalanced stuff.

[rooneg]

The site linked in the OP's post literally says "Create, Browse, & Use Homebrew Content" so...I don't know. I do want to support homebrewers, but I'd still rather not use an app nor slog through weird or unbalanced stuff.

Someone from Curse was commenting on the enworld thread about it, and his description of their current (but subject to change, as all things are) was something along the lines of "if you pay for it you can use homebrew content, for free you just get the SRD and limited characters". I see literally no reason to assume you would need to use an app for anything if you don't want to (since all of this is super optional, if you want to use physical books and etch your characters into stone tablets go for it!) and I can't imagine a world where any homebrew content isn't sequestered off in a "if you want it it's over here" sort of place that's separate from the official stuff.

[Anderlith]

Disappointed that they want you to comfirm you arent a robot instead of comfirming that you arent a warforged...

[JackPhoenix]

Sure, I've signed up. It cost me nothing, and if it don't help me in any way, I won't pay subscription. I'll check it out, at least.

But... we now have somewhat official stats for Drizzt! Apparently, he's Fighter 11/Ranger 8 (not even level 20?), with 13 Str, 20 Dex and 15 Con. His skills are messed up, his proficiency bonus is wrong (at +5 instead of +6, fitting level 19 character), and his scimitars are both +3's, as he's got + 14 to hit, assuming the proficiency bonus is actually applied correctly in that case, otherwise, they would be +4's)

[Honest Tiefling]

Disappointed that they want you to comfirm you arent a robot instead of comfirming that you arent a warforged...

That's pretty racist. I mean, why not allow warforged to use forums? They get bored too. This is why the Lord of Blades exists!

[Steampunkette]

I'll be signing up ASAP. If only for the spell index.

[Mothy]

I've signed up for the Beta. Why not? If it gives me a chance today​ give feedback then absolutely. I used the 4th edition tools and loved them. Were they perfect? No but I'd love a digital tool suite. As for homebrew content, I'd love to have a way to organize my homebrew content to share with my group. Finally as with anything it'll boil down to cost. So at this point I'm taking a wait and see attitude, while being extremely cautiously optimistic.

[Theodoxus]

Meh, Herolabs does it better, is a one time cost and has some amazing support - updating the UA articles in a pretty timely fashion.

[dropbear8mybaby]

But... we now have somewhat official stats for Drizzt! Apparently, he's Fighter 11/Ranger 8 (not even level 20?), with 13 Str, 20 Dex and 15 Con. His skills are messed up, his proficiency bonus is wrong (at +5 instead of +6, fitting level 19 character), and his scimitars are both +3's, as he's got + 14 to hit, assuming the proficiency bonus is actually applied correctly in that case, otherwise, they would be +4's)
I don't know why, but WotC example characters are always terribly made.


Meh, Herolabs does it better...
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAA!

Oh man, I haven't laughed like that for ages. Thanks :)

[Finback]

4e's offline character builder was fricken awesome. I still have it.



Wait, there was an offline one?! I loved playing with the D&D Insider one, I set up an account that my players and I could use to log into it to make our characters, etc..

[Theodoxus]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAA!

Oh man, I haven't laughed like that for ages. Thanks :)

Excellent refutation - made me reconsider all my life decisions...

[BillyBobShorton]

Never heard of it before. Honestly, I got Fantasy Grounds given to me for Christmas and I'm really digging that one so this wouldn't be much interest to me.

I'm with you. Been playing for a long time. There's more than enough dynamics, color, meat & potatoes in 5e to keep me & my pals busy for a long time. Not trying to be digging through and learning new set of rules/mechanics any time soon.

Minus a few easy fix odd quirks that don't really drastically alter the playing experience either way, I think 5e the best version of the game this far. Not quite masterpiece-level, but a tier right below that.

However, I have a friend who jumps on all the new stuff and has already registered for the beta test of Next or what ever it's called, and I will watch/await feedback from him and others with interest.

[DivisibleByZero]

In addition to PDF readers, I use this character sheet (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.wgkammerer.testgui.basiccharactersh eet.app), this die roller (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.vuesoft.critdice), and this spellbook reference (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=dsb.android.spelllistburned). And thanks to Remix OS and/or Pheonix OS, depending on the device in my hand, I can have all three (or 4, or 5, with PDFs) of them on the screen and active simultaneously.
All three are wonderful, and I see no need for anything else.

[Deleted]

Wait, there was an offline one?! I loved playing with the D&D Insider one, I set up an account that my players and I could use to log into it to make our characters, etc..

Yup! They had it up till phb 3 (I think) and you could even add in house rules and stuff.

The online one had a lot of potential, but it had a lot of bugs and a lot of people hated that you needed a connection at all times.

[pangoo209]

Signed up for sure. I'm really hoping it's free to use, I totally want something like this. It'd be nice to have "copies" of my player's character sheets without having MORE papers behind my DM screen.

And it'd be nice to use my phone for finding rules and various things like that instead of pulling out a massive book and searching for a few minutes at a time to find it.

Even if it's a subscription service I would probably get it, but I'd much rather have it free, with ads if need be

[GhorrinRedblade]

I'm a bit underwhelmed at the news, and if I'm being 100% honest, I'm dreading it a little. WotC has been rather unimpressive in their servicing of digital needs for years now. My real expectation is that it will cost too much, deliver (not enough or not in the way I want it), and that Wizards will then sic their attack dogs on anything else online that actually does do what we want/need that might compete with this... thing.

[Deleted]

I'm a bit underwhelmed at the news, and if I'm being 100% honest, I'm dreading it a little. WotC has been rather unimpressive in their servicing of digital needs for years now. My real expectation is that it will cost too much, deliver (not enough or not in the way I want it), and that Wizards will then sic their attack dogs on anything else online that actually does do what we want/need that might compete with this... thing.

Really the only thing that really shined was the offline character builder for 4e, is was amaaaazziiiing *jazz hands*. But yeah then they freaked out over nothing and screwed it up.

I'm at the point where I'm not going to pay for anything from wotc anymore. They need to put out a string of absolutely great products before I spend anymore money on them. The only thing great I've seen so far is the PHB. I keep giving them chances and they keep letting me and my groups down (note: Project Dungeonscape).

If they start/continue to go all Nintendo on people (Nintendo actually has gotten worse with their YouTube policy)... It won't matter how many great things they put out, they won't see a cent from me.

[Sariel Vailo]

I want to I'll try it but if I have to pay to much I'd use it. Like10 bucks premium yeah I'd go for that

[Deleted]

I want to I'll try it but if I have to pay to much I'd use it. Like10 bucks premium yeah I'd go for that

Honestly, 10 bucks is way too much.

10 bucks gets me Netflix, Hulu, Showtime, HBO ($14), CBS ($6), PSN, XB Live, or many more things that give me waaaaay value for my buck. Honestly, compared to other things, D&D is very low on the totem pole and isn't going to be climbing anytime soon.

[bokodasu]

I signed up, because why not, but I don't expect it to be anything I'll be willing to pay for. I've actually been trying to figure out what I'd need - right now I buy the Roll20 version of every book. Two books a year = $100, plus the $50 Roll20 subscription. If they want $10 out of me every month (and I can't imagine they'd ask for less), they'd have to do everything Roll20 does, plus give me the digital copy of every book included in that price.

So... not holding my breath.

[gfishfunk]

So my question for them is, who is this for and why would anyone pay for something they can have for free? It would be one thing if they actually had a lot of Official Content, but with what we have... I'm not seeing it.

There is a surprisingly large group of players that would prefer to access 5e through a computer with internal links than paper books. I'm one of them. I would love to have my character sheet out, have a list of spells, click on one to open a sub-window to see a spell...Yeah. I would pay for that.

I would prefer that INSTEAD of the PHB, MM, or DMG. I would be willing to purchase individual UAs for $1 a piece. Imagine mini-splat books (5-15 pages) that you could purchase for a dollar. I'd do it.


4e's offline character builder was fricken awesome. I still have it.

I agree. Loved it. It made 4e workable for me.

I think I could run my own character sheet using pen and paper, but it was difficult to manage without the online stuff.


Disappointed that they want you to comfirm you arent a robot instead of comfirming that you arent a warforged...

Ha!


I'll be signing up ASAP. If only for the spell index.

I already signed up. Not sure what the next step is.


So... not holding my breath.

Exactly: low expectations means happiness when expectations are met and exceeded. One of the reasons Josie and the Pussycats is one of my favorite movies. I came in with low expectations (I saw zero previews and was dragged by a friend last minute) and was thoroughly amused.

[Honest Tiefling]

I would prefer that INSTEAD of the PHB, MM, or DMG. I would be willing to purchase individual UAs for $1 a piece. Imagine mini-splat books (5-15 pages) that you could purchase for a dollar. I'd do it.

I'd prefer this...I tend to make my own settings, so buying a book to access 25% of the content is not a good deal for me. Buying mini-content for classes I know my players like and are interested in? Sign me right the hell up.

[Deleted]

There is a surprisingly large group of players that would prefer to access 5e through a computer with internal links than paper books. I'm one of them. I would love to have my character sheet out, have a list of spells, click on one to open a sub-window to see a spell...Yeah. I would pay for that.

I would prefer that INSTEAD of the PHB, MM, or DMG. I would be willing to purchase individual UAs for $1 a piece. Imagine mini-splat books (5-15 pages) that you could purchase for a dollar. I'd do it.



I agree. Loved it. It made 4e workable for me.

I think I could run my own character sheet using pen and paper, but it was difficult to manage without the online stuff.


There are already free/paid apps and ways to have all your stuff, even legally, on your phone and computer or phone.

If there was A LOT of official stuff, I could see it being worth it, but there really isn't all that much stuff. Why pay another 10 bucks a month for something you can do for free, that is still quite convenient.

It the number of options was anywhere near 3e or 4e then I could see it... Or if this allowed you to look up 3e and 4e stuff too (won't happen) then it would make sense.

There are just too many "ifs" right now and too many ways for WotC to screw this up. Plus if they go the route of forcing people to use their apps or none at all... Yeah, no thank you.

It's like... Paying money for one of those stage units that are like 13x10 when all you have to put there is a pair of gloves. Yeah, if you had more stuff it would be worth it, but all you have to put there is a pair of gloves.

4e's worked, even the online only one, because there was a TON of options and it made making all kinds of characters a snap. However, TONS of options, seem to be opposite of what they want to do.

[gfishfunk]

There are already free/paid apps and ways to have all your stuff, even legally, on your phone and computer or phone.

The SRD only has one subclass for each class, and is missing spells.

Furthermore, I expect access to more official content, such as Elemental Evil stuff, Volos, etc.

[Deleted]

The SRD only has one subclass for each class, and is missing spells.

Furthermore, I expect access to more official content, such as Elemental Evil stuff, Volos, etc.

There's this new thing people are doing called "using a pdf character sheet" and "getting things ready before a game".

Elemental Evil is already in pdf format (player options).

As a DM, even if you have this app you are gonna be putting things together before hand. On a computer, phone, or on a piece of paper.

I've seen plenty of DM screens and set ups that again make me ask "why would I pay for something I already get for free".

And as I already said. If this came with pdfs of "official material" then yeah ok. But if they pull a 4e online builder and you only get the info if you pay... Nah screw that.

Besides, they need to put out good official material and a majority of what they have put out since the PHB has been lackluster and really sad for a company that used to put out really great stuff... But when you fire the good devs and keep Mike Mearles, that's what happens.

[Ursus the Grim]

The SRD only has one subclass for each class, and is missing spells.

Furthermore, I expect access to more official content, such as Elemental Evil stuff, Volos, etc.

This is pretty much it for me. Its a little annoying to be AFB and have to look up a rule, only to find its not SRD. Same thing with monsters.

I'm also always wary of third party sources. While there are some that I've come to trust, I've been burned before.

You might have a half dozen apps that can ape what this app is promising it can do, but I'd rather have one singular, professionally developed, official source that I can refer to. $10 a month isn't really that much. That's, what, a set of Chessex dice?

[War_lord]

I just wish Wizards of the Coast would decide whether they're A. Licensing to Fantasy Grounds, B. Licensing to Roll20 or C. Doing their own thing. They're making it very hard to commit money to anything with all this bait and switch.

[Steampunkette]

I'd like to give money to WotC rather than some other company so they can continue, you know, being a thing. I'd like to support the company and keep getting D&D rather than ditching the company for free or alternative sources.

But, y'know, that's just me.

[War_lord]

I'd like to give money to WotC rather than some other company so they can continue, you know, being a thing. I'd like to support the company and keep getting D&D rather than ditching the company for free or alternative sources.

But, y'know, that's just me.

I've got physical copies of the DMG, PHB, Monster Manual, Curse of Strahd and Volo's Guide, which are 100% money to WotC. Roll20's Monster Manual and Volo's guide are going to set me back $60 each, WoTC is probably getting a good chunk of the profit from that in licensing fees. I'm probably going to be repeating the same process for any other Monster books or PHB's that come out. They're getting plenty of money from this customer already. This is of course leaving aside that the thing keeping WotC in business (or more accurately alive as a separate division inside Hasbro) is Magic: The Gathering, not D&D.

Brand loyalty to the point that you're buying anything a company puts out in the name of "support" isn't healthy, for either you personally or the company in question creatively. Even if WotC went bust next year through a series of 4th Edition level blunders, D&D would simply be sold onto another gaming company, just like how Wizards bought it from the corpse of TSR.

[Steampunkette]

I've got physical copies of the DMG, PHB, Monster Manual, Curse of Strahd and Volo's Guide, which are 100% money to WotC. Roll20's Monster Manual and Volo's guide are going to set me back $60 each, WoTC is probably getting a good chunk of the profit from that in licensing fees. I'm probably going to be repeating the same process for any other Monster books or PHB's that come out. They're getting plenty of money from this customer already. This is of course leaving aside that the thing keeping WotC in business (or more accurately alive as a separate division inside Hasbro) is Magic: The Gathering, not D&D.

Brand loyalty to the point that you're buying anything a company puts out in the name of "support" isn't healthy, for either you personally or the company in question creatively. Even if WotC went bust next year through a series of 4th Edition level blunders, D&D would simply be sold onto another gaming company, just like how Wizards bought it from the corpse of TSR.

I'm not saying I'm buying D&D branded clothes or Elminster's Mighty Wheats the Cereal.

But when I can afford to pay for something related to the game I try to do my best to support it. I've bought the core books with Volo's and Storm King's Thunder, Out of the Abyss, Curse of Strahd, and Rise of Tiamat. Once this comes out I'll buy it, too. Or subscribe. It'll be a nice character generator and spellbook for me.

Now if it sucks, of course I'm not gonna buy it. If it's an adventure that doesn't interest me I won't buy that, either. I didn't grab Princes of the Apocalypse or the Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide because they don't interest me. I really don't appreciate the "Brand Loyalty to buying everything" accusation.

But if I've got the choice between "HeroLab for D&D" or "D&D Beyond" I'm gonna grab D&D Beyond. They do the same thing and it's just a matter of where my money's going.

My post was mostly a rebuke of Deleted's various rants about how no one should spend money on it because you can get the same thing elsewhere.

[gfishfunk]

I'm not saying I'm buying D&D branded clothes or Elminster's Mighty Wheats the Cereal.

I'm buying this. I'm buying this and eating it every day.

[Cybren]

4e's offline character builder was fricken awesome. I still have it.

There was going to be a character generator like you see in videogames and a lot of additional stuff... Nope. They couldn't get it to work, which means they didn't know how to hire people to do it or didn't want to pay quality people to do it.

Or it means one of the prominent 4E people was an actual murderer and it derailed WOTCs already shaky digital efforts

[War_lord]

Yeah, I wouldn't blame WotC for an actual murder derailing the already delayed project.

We can only blame them for the murders carried out by those who bought D&D Essentials.