[4e] D&D Compendium - First Look

[SamTheCleric]

Direct Link: http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x...news/20080624a

Today marks the first public glimpse of the D&D Compendium — an online searchable database for all official 4th Edition D&D content. Once D&D Insider gets rolling, subscribers will get full access to the D&D Compendium. In the meantime, *everyone* is going to be able to get a glimpse of this online application.

In this article we’ll talk about...

* The purpose of the D&D Compendium.
* The current status of the D&D Compendium.
* Upcoming additions and modifications to the D&D Compendium.

Purpose of the D&D Compendium

The Dungeons & Dragons Roleplaying Game provides an ever-expanding array of character options for players. Each new game supplement, whether book or Dragon magazine, adds to the number of races, classes, paragon paths, epic destinies, feats, powers, and magic items available to choose from.

As the number of choices grows, it becomes increasingly difficult in this data-rich world to explore and keep track of all your options.

The D&D Compendium is the answer.

The D&D Compendium was created as an online tool to make browsing the various options quick, easy, and fun. Every race, class, skill, feat, power, paragon path, epic destiny, and magic item that appears in an official 4th Edition D&D product can be found in this online database.

While a few players may possess a photographic memory, and others are willing to pore over all the printed source material numerous times, we wanted to provide a tool for the rest of you designed to help players search the various options, sort them, and present them in a format similar to what is in our printed books.
Current Status of the D&D Compendium

The D&D Compendium currently allows a user to search keywords in the text of all the objects in the D&D rules database. These objects are organized in the following categories:

* Items
* Powers
* Feats
* Skills
* Classes
* Races

When an object’s text contains the searched keyword, that object will appear in a results list. Each category above will have its own results list, so if you type in the words “Power Attack”, you would get results in any category that had objects that mentioned the word “power” and word “attack” in its text.

Using multiple words in the search box means the object has to contain *all* of the words listed in the search in order to return in the result.

Currently, the text for all objects in the database are available to view. This free access will last until D&D Insider fully kicks off, at which point the D&D Compendium and all of its data will be accessible to D&D Insider subscribers only.

We will be adding data from Dragon and Dungeon to the Compendium after the monthly compilations are released.
Upcoming Additions and Modifications

As excited as we are to preview the D&D Compendium, we’re ecstatic about some of its upcoming features:

Browse All: The function we plan on introducing the soonest is the ability to “Browse All” within a category (races, classes, feats, powers, etc.). Using the “Browse All” functionality returns all the items in a given category, without the need for any keyword entered in the text search. “Browse All” represents a middle step to help bridge the time before all the filters for every category are in place.

Filters: Each category (races, classes, feats, powers, etc.) will have its own set of filters that allows you to fine-tune your searches. Want to know all the feats that your 11th-level dragonborn warlord is eligible for that has a Strength 15 prerequisite? The D&D Compendium will tell you. We’ll be unveiling these filters one category at a time, and we’re prepared to continue tweaking the capabilities and structures of the filters as subscribers tell us what’s working and what isn’t.

Future articles will provide more detail about how the filters are shaping up, and which category we’ll be adding filters to first.

The D&D Compendium is something new for the D&D RPG. It represents an exciting step forward for playing and enjoying the D&D game. We’d love to get your feedback and commentary in the forums and in email as the D&D Compendium develops.

Thanks,

Ken Troop
D&D Insider Executive Producer

[erikun]

Once D&D Insider gets rolling, subscribers will get full access to the D&D Compendium.

Oh, okay. In that case, enjoy your Compendium, someone else!
(Sorry, I paid $100+ for these books. I'm not paying more just for a google index.)

[SamTheCleric]

Oh, okay. In that case, enjoy your Compendium, someone else!
(Sorry, I paid $100+ for these books. I'm not paying more just for a google index.)

If you're only joining DDI for the compendium, its probably not worth it... but in addition to the Dragon and Dungeon articles... I may end up subscribing.

[Behold_the_Void]

If you're only joining DDI for the compendium, its probably not worth it... but in addition to the Dragon and Dungeon articles... I may end up subscribing.

Isn't it also including the online program and other things like that?

[RTGoodman]

Filters: Each category (races, classes, feats, powers, etc.) will have its own set of filters that allows you to fine-tune your searches. Want to know all the feats that your 11th-level dragonborn warlord is eligible for that has a Strength 15 prerequisite? The D&D Compendium will tell you. We’ll be unveiling these filters one category at a time, and we’re prepared to continue tweaking the capabilities and structures of the filters as subscribers tell us what’s working and what isn’t.

I'm likin' how that sounds. Depending on how things go while it's free, I'll probably subscribe to the Insider, so this sounds cool to me.

@erikun: You're not just paying for the searching. With the quality of stuff we've seen from the online Dungeon and Dragon articles, I'd say the price (not much more than your standard MMO's monthly fee) is pretty good for the "magazine" content, the online game suite, the character builder, the search stuff, and whatever else it has.

[namo]

From what I understand there will be the option of getting the magazines at the end of each month for a lower fee. I may go with that - I doubt I'll get the whole DDI package.

[Attilargh]

I wonder if they'll fix that rather underwhelming login system of theirs once the Insider launches. If not, I'll be seriously disappointed at 'em.

[KIDS]

I was hoping for something more like Age of Empires/Mythology's tech trees with starting point like class or race, but this one seems fine as well. I can't say for certain until I browse it for some time though...

[Armads]

It seems to be a bit like the old 3.5 SRD. If you use it with the SRD they release (the index), you can basically access everything you need to know.

[SamTheCleric]

Yeah, right now -all- the information on making a character, including powers... is accessible online.

I like it, lets me build characters here at work

[Haruspex]

It seems to be a bit like the old 3.5 SRD. If you use it with the SRD they release (the index), you can basically access everything you need to know.

That's what I thought as well. It's not as complete as the SRD, but I dare say that there's plenty of rules crunch in the compendium as it is now. Not complaining though.

[Person_Man]

If WotC put all of their D&D books, magazines, and modules (past, current, and future) into an easily readable and searchable database, I'd be happy to pay $10 a month for a subscription.

But I doubt that's what will happen. It seems like they're just trying to charge money for having an SRD - which used to be free - and some magazine articles, which are also basically free via the thousands of people who write D&D related blogs (I canceled my subscriptions to Dragon and Dungeon in 1997, when I got internet access). I doubt any large number of people will pay for it that. But time will tell.

[Lapak]

Am I reading that wrong, or does it imply that all published material from all future books will be included in that?

Which is to say, does this mean that someone with a subscription has no need to buy additional books unless they want hard copies of the information? Which, don't get me wrong, is useful.

[Human Paragon 3]

I am dissapointed that the compendium doesn't have monsters. As a DM, one of the best things about an online SRD is that I can plan adventures without my books (i.e. at work... during lunch break of course). Without monsters, I can't do that.

[shadow_archmagi]

Am I reading that wrong, or does it imply that all published material from all future books will be included in that?

Which is to say, does this mean that someone with a subscription has no need to buy additional books unless they want hard copies of the information? Which, don't get me wrong, is useful.

He says he WANTS that to happen. Not that it will be.

I agree.

[AKA_Bait]

I am dissapointed that the compendium doesn't have monsters. As a DM, one of the best things about an online SRD is that I can plan adventures without my books (i.e. at work... during lunch break of course). Without monsters, I can't do that.

This dissapoints me too. If the only things available in the compendium are going to be for character building... what does it really offer than the allegedly soon to come character generator?

[LoopyZebra]

About the not needing hardcopies, they mentioned getting an electronic copy wih a small microtransaction or using a code in your book. They could use either method to restrict access to books you don't own.

The character generator, presumably, will let you put it all in an auto-calculating sheet, which references the database for your modifiers. Not to mention, I'm pretty sure they want to add in monsters later.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

Which is to say, does this mean that someone with a subscription has no need to buy additional books unless they want hard copies of the information? Which, don't get me wrong, is useful.

Unless they restrict it with a code or something, correct. And really, if you think about it, a lot of what you pay for when you buy the books is the art, the flavor, and the ability to have it in physical form.