Essentials Kit: A Sign of Things to Come or Just Good Marketing for New Players?

[DrowPiratRobrts]

Hey everyone, I'm wondering 1) what you think of the Essentials Kit in general and 2) if you think that the included D&D Beyond codes for the Essentials Kit adventure as well as 50% the PHB off is a demonstration by Wizards that they're going to start doing this more with full source books or if it's just to get newer players into the D&D Beyond ecosystem. I'm thinking the latter, but I also don't know if anything has been officially released on the topic.

The kit in general seems promising to me and I'll probably pick it up even though I have several other adventures. I'm particularly interested in the 0ne-on-one rules and guidelines.

[NatureKing]

I'm not sure what you expect a new starter kit to do other than attempt to get new players involved with the hobby.

Gone are the early adopters simply because it's dnd, now WotC need to double down and release content that keeps people spending. Simplest and easiest is with a low cost subscription for continual easy/low effort cash flow. That a new starter set is released means that either old players are tempted to buy to get half the content they already know or have access to, meaning money for old rope because of the adventure path packaged with it. The subscription cost is a bit of a barrier but the offer seems more tempting. If you offer something for half price for someone who wasn't buying it anyway, you have more money than before.

That it targets a specific demographic (DM and 1 player to allow partners to play with each other alone) means that a group of people who would otherwise be excluded by not having 2 or 3 like minded friends are not missed.

If you are already in the hobby, all you are doing is paying twice the price for the adventure path. If you weren't sold by Dnd Beyond before, the discount is not really going to make it a worthwhile buy. Its a starter set, I'm not sure what else you epxect to hear from this?

[Lyracian]

For half price I am certainly tempted by online PHB just for reference. Waiting to find out more about the adventure as that would be the main reason to pick the product up for me.

[stoutstien]

It irks me that buying the all the hardcopies doesn't get you online access.

[DrowPiratRobrts]

I'm not sure what you expect a new starter kit to do other than attempt to get new players involved with the hobby.

Gone are the early adopters simply because it's dnd, now WotC need to double down and release content that keeps people spending. Simplest and easiest is with a low cost subscription for continual easy/low effort cash flow. That a new starter set is released means that either old players are tempted to buy to get half the content they already know or have access to, meaning money for old rope because of the adventure path packaged with it. The subscription cost is a bit of a barrier but the offer seems more tempting. If you offer something for half price for someone who wasn't buying it anyway, you have more money than before.

That it targets a specific demographic (DM and 1 player to allow partners to play with each other alone) means that a group of people who would otherwise be excluded by not having 2 or 3 like minded friends are not missed.

If you are already in the hobby, all you are doing is paying twice the price for the adventure path. If you weren't sold by Dnd Beyond before, the discount is not really going to make it a worthwhile buy. Its a starter set, I'm not sure what else you epxect to hear from this?

Just curious what people thought in general (I didn’t find a thread on it since it’s release) and also if people have heard anything or are speculating whether wizards will continue to offer codes for Beyond content with the purchase of physical books.

[DrowPiratRobrts]

For half price I am certainly tempted by online PHB just for reference. Waiting to find out more about the adventure as that would be the main reason to pick the product up for me.

The adventure is the big thing I want to hear more about as people play for sure!


It irks me that buying the all the hardcopies doesn't get you online access.

Yeah, apparently D&D Beyond isn’t actually Wizards. I just learned this, and while it makes more sense it’s still what keeps me from utilizing the service.

[Misterwhisper]

The adventure is the big thing I want to hear more about as people play for sure!



Yeah, apparently D&D Beyond isn’t actually Wizards. I just learned this, and while it makes more sense it’s still what keeps me from utilizing the service.

I am right the opposite.

I have every resource on dndbeyond and since it is my campaign I shared it all with my group.

I have not bought a hard copy book since sword coast.
All my modules are dndbeyond

[Jophiel]

I have not bought a hard copy book since sword coast.
All my modules are dndbeyond
Don't come crying to me when a solar flare destroys the Earth's electronics! I'll be too busy playing D&D with my books! That and fighting off road warriors.

[Kane0]

I’m making a point if collecting the physical copies of this edition, for a couple reasons
- i was too young and poor to do it for 3e/4e
- its much easier to do for this edition with the more restricted release schedule
- i like this edition the most so far

And i dont like to pay for partial ownership or subscription. Sell me a product i can own and use regardless of what you do tomorrow, or my wallet stays closed.

[ProsecutorGodot]

DND is pushing fast into the digital space so having officially licensed digital resources is a plus in my eyes. My group has members that live in different states and our games wouldn't be very easy to set up if DND Beyond wasn't around.

That said, I own physical copies of all of the core books as well as several additional books. I don't think it's a bad thing if these mediums intermingle.

[Aussiehams]

DND is pushing fast into the digital space so having officially licensed digital resources is a plus in my eyes. My group has members that live in different states and our games wouldn't be very easy to set up if DND Beyond wasn't around.


Can you actually play on DnD beyond? We use Roll20 in my group.

[ProsecutorGodot]

Can you actually play on DnD beyond? We use Roll20 in my group.

You don't actually play on DNDBeyond, it just helps to have digital resources available to all players. You can created a campaign, invite your friends and share your books with them. I often find that when we start a new Roll20 campaign it's easier to create the characters through DND Beyond and then port them over to the Roll20 sheet.

[Aprender]

It irks me that buying the all the hardcopies doesn't get you online access.

Short answer : Wizards of the Coast makes official product (which is data) to be released by distributors (as either a physical book or as an online product. D&D beyond does not distribute books and book distributors don't make the online product. As a result, buying one does not give money to the other, so buying one does not get you access to the other.

Much better answer: https://youtu.be/bu9ZIFjJIX4

[stoutstien]

Short answer : Wizards of the Coast makes official product (which is data) to be released by distributors (as either a physical book or as an online product. D&D beyond does not distribute books and book distributors don't make the online product. As a result, buying one does not give money to the other, so buying one does not get you access to the other.

Much better answer: https://youtu.be/bu9ZIFjJIX4

Oh I understand it. Still irks me. Same way I understand road construction is needed but adding 30 minutes to my trip to get groceries bugs me.

[NatureKing]

Short answer : Wizards of the Coast makes official product (which is data) to be released by distributors (as either a physical book or as an online product. D&D beyond does not distribute books and book distributors don't make the online product. As a result, buying one does not give money to the other, so buying one does not get you access to the other.

Much better answer: https://youtu.be/bu9ZIFjJIX4
Amazon provides digital copies of the music bought in hard copy from them for free.

[Aprender]

Amazon provides digital copies of the music bought in hard copy from them for free.

True. Amazon also is a distributor of physical and digital media with a large enough distribution network of both to be able to leverage that into demanding concessions from producers.

Comparing almost any seller to Amazon, giving its huge reach to consumers, tends to break down as they are in a unique position.

Totally off topic, but an interesting side note. Most of the money Amazon makes actually comes from arbitrage. They command such an unusual position in the market that they can take money from consumers and delay payment to the producers of a product. They invest that money in the interim and keep the interest.

[Tanarii]

Oh I understand it. Still irks me. Same way I understand road construction is needed but adding 30 minutes to my trip to get groceries bugs me.This post is amazing for what it says about both human nature and self-awareness. :smallbiggrin:


And i dont like to pay for partial ownership or subscription. Sell me a product i can own and use regardless of what you do tomorrow, or my wallet stays closed.
Same. When I think about how much lost & unrecoverable money I sank into WoW ... although I guess I could have sold my account.

OTOH the value of 3e/3.5 went to hell when 4e came out, it became worthless overnight and never bounced back, although that might also be because of pathfinder. IIRC the same was true for 2e when 3e was released. I didn't even bother keeping my 4e stuff for later sales. Afaik only 1e has any resale value, and it's low for the mass printed items.

Retail value aside, there's also the issue of support. I can still play BECMI because I still have all the materials in paper format. I can't do that with say XCOM, because DOS emulators are crap.

Plus playing with digital media doesn't even count as really playing an RPG as far as I'm concerned. :smallyuk:

[TyGuy]

Has anyone in here read the terms of service? Typically in video games you own nothing . Not even your characters. You're essentially renting the content, and the moment the servers go down you are owed nothing.

Is D&D Beyond the same? In 30 years are people with hardcover books still going to have something to dust off and show the grandkids while the online folks have nothing?

[Sigreid]

This is the first I've heard of the essentials kit. I buy hard copies of the source books and digital copies of the source books and any adventures I'm specifically interested in for the internet gaming platform I use to play with my friends in other states. I do wind up paying twice for some of the content but the platform is robust enough to make it worth it to me. I have yet to see where D&D Beyond would add anything worth buying or renting.

[NatureKing]

Has anyone in here read the terms of service? Typically in video games you own nothing . Not even your characters. You're essentially renting the content, and the moment the servers go down you are owed nothing.

Is D&D Beyond the same? In 30 years are people with hardcover books still going to have something to dust off and show the grandkids while the online folks have nothing?

{Scrubbed}

[Kane0]

Has anyone in here read the terms of service? Typically in video games you own nothing . Not even your characters. You're essentially renting the content, and the moment the servers go down you are owed nothing.

Is D&D Beyond the same? In 30 years are people with hardcover books still going to have something to dust off and show the grandkids while the online folks have nothing?

And quite (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUAX0gnZ3Nw) a (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjEbpMgiL7U) few (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChI0q9a-ZcbZh7dAu_-J-hg) people (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=166UJe9-P-8) don't like that. It wasn't always like that though, not that long ago the biggest problem with preservation was hardware related. Now it's the creators of the products knowingly sabotaging.
I stopped with PS and Xbox two generations ago, I've got a switch specifically because my purchases cannot be taken away from me. Even Steam is pushing it, but I can still do backups and there is GoG as well.
And remember kids: No preorders, and

But back on topic, WotC has been slow to adopt so if they were heading down this path (and I wouldn't be surprised if they were) it would take some time yet. Physical copes won't die off for a loooong time though.

[PhoenixPhyre]

. Physical copes won't die off for a loooong time though.

And a good thing too--

I just returned from a family reunion in the middle of nowhere (Northern Montana, USA). There theoretically was an internet connection, but it fell over if more than one device was connected to it simultaneously...and even then was unreliable.

I played two D&D games with my family (one with the kids and one with adults) while we were there, using the printed books for reference. And much fun was had by everyone. Sure, they're heavy and bulky, but they work even if there isn't electricity, as long as you have light.

[DrowPiratRobrts]

...but they work even if there isn't electricity, as long as you have light.

Or if you have Darkvision :smallbiggrin:

[DrowPiratRobrts]

So with the essentials kit you get a digital copy for D&D Beyond. Do you guys think this is just a unique offer for this product or are they going to start offering this will all physical books because they've been listening to us?

I personally think it's probably just a way to get new players into the D&D Beyond ecosystem so they buy online instead of physical books. But my hope is that they start working with the company who makes D&D Beyond to give free digital copies (or at least big discounts) with all purchases of physical books moving forward.