Hey Everyone, just wanted to clarify my disclaimer at the beginning of the video. When I said "I do not use D&D Beyond", what I meant was "I *currently* do not use D&D Beyond". I have used it in the past to make characters (only ever the free version). The first time would have been back in 2017/18, and here and there throughout the years (as recent as last year). My latest interactions with D&D Beyond have been helping players build their characters. Sorry if I gave the impression that I have never used it once, because that is not true.
Most new players I know use it and pay because convenience. They have little time and would rather throw a few bucks here or there to not have to think about things than to have to sit through anything or really dwell and think on things/have to figure out mechanics or what goes on. Most of the newer players want to jump into game, and most game hosts aren't already set up for that with prefab characters for them to preen through and select from. For what it's worth I agree that pay-to-play sucks and wotc/hasboro needs to chill and stop trying to profiteer a theater of the mind / mostly imagined ttrpg.
@@darianbrown5098 you hopefully realise that there is no distinction in features between a free tier and paid tier on dndbeyond? Only the amount of characters or campaigns you can have changes.
I am a fan of DnDBeyond, saves me insane amount of time as a DM, as well as allows me to share all of the books with all of my players so they don't have to buy anything. As far as someone charging me to use their product, I am fine with that. If they weren't charging me they would have never made it.
In what way does it helps you insane amount of time as a DM? Keeping tabs on the characters to look up stats probably aint it, so I would love to hear of your gains.
I actually like the process of creating shorthand notes of all my characters abilities(as opposed to copy paste) it's definitely slower, but it gets it in your head way better, which means you have a much better idea how your character works
As a DM. DDBeyonds is worth it. My player don’t have to pay a single cent to manage 6 characters. It helps me out a ton because I don’t have to go and check new characters against the rules. It helps my players see all “legal” option. If there was a smoother free option I’d be using it.
When I first started playing none of my friends were really that experienced. So the free version of DnD Beyond was really helpful for us to get the hang of the game and the game mechanics. But you're right, it is very limiting and there's only a few classes and spells that you can use on the free version. I think of the free version of beyond as DnD lite 😂
It looks nice, and its so simple to fill out a sheet. I teach a lot of new players how to play and the amount of them that are put off by filling out their own sheet is massive. I learned back when we only had pen and paper and flipping through physical books, but still like using it sometimes because its simple. Also if you get lucky and have one person in the group that has the content purchased, they can share it with everyone in the group for free. I do tell my players to make their sheet anywhere they want as long as I can access it at some point. Commenting on the building characters as a group; I find that many prefer to keep much about their character private and have information come out in the narrative, but that is just my anecdotal experience.
I subscribe to D&D Beyond, and have bought the vast majority of content on it, and run two ongoing campaigns and occasional one-shots with it. It's great for giving players access to a campaign, and then they can, more easily than with any other tools, create characters, and have functional online character sheets that they can click buttons on to do things like roll initiative. It also sucks. It's slow. The UI is wonky and confusing. It doesn't work offline. The app is literally just the website in a wrapper. There's always a new bug, like an element floating over the top of the slide out menu on mobile. The worst thing they've done recently is remove the ability to buy just parts of the books - which is what I did to get access to almost everything, without the campaign/story bits, for cheaper. And on the topic of price - it's not inherently bad to charge for a product or service that does similar things to other products (or just a piece of paper and a pen), but it is very expensive. Perhaps not quite as expensive as this video implies, (there was a brief mention of content sharing, which makes it completely free for all my players), but still way more expensive than it should be for DMs or players who for some reason want to own everything on their own account, especially considering that WOTC isn't having to print and ship physical copies of anything you buy on D&D Beyond. I also agree that players who make their sheets with a tool like D&D Beyond tend not to understand the rules as well. For example again, like how their initiative modifier is calculated. D&D Beyond does tend to have tooltips on hover which explain some numbers, but whenever I can I try to encourage my players to understand where their characters abilities or numbers are coming from. Overall it seems odd to criticize something so heavily that you haven't used yourself, but I can definitely see and agree with most of the negatives mentioned. Although it does feel like you're pushing for "it should be free" (which it already is for a lot of players) rather than a more realistic and fairer to everyone working on it "it should be cheaper".
I understand it not being free, but it could be not simply cheaper, but much much cheaper. The most popular character creation tool for Pathfinder 2e is Pathbuilder. It's made by a third party, not Paizo, and costs a one time payment of under $10. It's also, once you understand it, a better character creation tool than D&D beyond. There's no reason unlocking an unlimited number of characters on D&D beyond couldn't cost a similar small one time fee especially considering Wizards also charges for additional content beyond core rulebook options.
I also enjoy paper character sheets. For something like 5e that should be alright, but if you want a digital medium you can also make your own in whatever web-based spreadsheets you have available. On using the system, but not buying the books. You can do that, and it's reasonable if you stay in OGL/SRD content. But for me, ethically, if I'm sticking it to a company then I can take my whole game to a different system, or use they systems I already own (or can get cheap from a used book store). Even if 5e/2024 is a great system, there are a lot of other systems that are just as good, if not better tailored to the type of game you and your group might want to play. Support those people that are making the game you want to play and treating you well, rather than saying "but it has to be DnD," it doesn't.
I just recently finished my first campaign. All of us players were new but our more experienced DM told us all to make our characters on DnD Beyond. The limited scope of character options was great because it forced us to make simpler characters, but there were lots of issues. We had in person sessions and our meet up spot didn't have great wifi which meant some of the players didn't have their character sheets and the DM had to tell them stuff when it came up. Also, you're absolutely right about new players not getting to know their characters. Our two halflings never used Lucky and our wood elf never used Mask of the Wild, because we did not know our race traits. Another thing is that I found the DnD beyond character sheets to be difficult to use because myself and other new players don't know all the vocabulary and so finding things on a menu is so much more difficult than a big box on a piece of paper that says Armour Class that the DM can just point to. My final additional criticism of DnD Beyond is that new players can get too comfortable assuming the computer will do things for them evidenced by most of our party ending up with the same hp as when we started, despite levelling several times.
Because it's easier for them to do this, than to worry about the hassle of someone having their account deleted maliciously or accidentally when they had made purchases and trying to recover that. Or even if they didn't have purchased content but had a ton of characters with notes on there, when they try to recover that content, they probably won't to make sure it's still there, and WotC probably doesn't want to worry about archiving stuff like that so it is recoverable.
11:00 the new PHB is already on the internet, someone stitched together screenshots from a flip through review and uploaded it to the internet for free, it's low quality, but it's out there
As a DM I love that all my stuff is in one easy location. I pay and share with my players so it cost them nothing. I love the encounter builder and the ability to see my player characters without keeping them away from the player. The monthly subscription is cheap for the entertainment. I also find it way faster to find information with a search engine that is built right into the system. I have played D&D sense the late 80s and most players struggle with the rules and charecter progression. One more reason for the DM to have access to the charecter sheets.
I agreee that a free/cheap option will always be good for the community but what - if any - money and profits are the companies who have bought these liscense etc and have Invested. Do we just steal from them and hope another company buys them only for us all to pirate from them?
Only the dm needs to buy the sourcebooks and have a premium acc, he can share it with you if he creates a campaign on dnd beyond and invites you. I have a friend group where we have one dnd beyond dm account and buy all the sourcebooks together so we have all the classes, subclasses etc. Maybe next time you really research your stuff before you make a video. Dnd beyond is really great for new players bc it streamlines all the information you need to make a character and tells you everything you need to know about your class
I pay for D&D Beyond because * my players get access to everything without paying a cent * character generation is good for new players * calculating stats with all information is easier * Whenever i buy a book, I download the PDF of the book from a yo ho site. And I gave up on physical books for all uses a long time ago. The problem is that D&D players arent a bunch of math nerds who get excited with finding +1 in an obscure reference. Many players are now here for the roleplay interactions and the rules are painful to work. Your take is a misunderstanding, especially about new players paying.
If you want to do a video about 'Why are so many people using D&D Beyond' and you've never used it and actually the point of your video is to argue that there is a better option, maybe instead title your video 'Why you should consider using pen and paper for D&D'. Because frankly this video does not, and does not even intend to, answer the question of why so many people are using D&D Beyond.
i'm glad i saw this comment before watching this. Some people don't have the luxury of an IRL group to play with either, and plenty don't have space for 20 books on their shelves
He doesn't say he's never used D&DBeyond, he said he hasn't used the DM tools, which most of the users of D&DBeyond probably haven't either. His point is that you have to pay for things on D&DBeyond that you can get free elsewhere. Your comment seems disingenuous. Edit: The video also does kind of answer the question. Perceived convenience.
So from the introduction alone, your thesis is "why are people paying for D&D Beyond when you can just pirate the content and use paper character sheets instead" Brilliant argument dude.
I'm pretty sure Hasbro make more than enough money with their toys etc, so pirating their content is much less wrong than let's say pirating a small indie creator's content :)
@@JScottGaribay If I steal your car, you don't have a car anymore. If I download your PDF from elsewhere, you simply did not make money from me. It's only a loss if I had otherwise bought it from you. That aside, downloading stuff also isn't theft, because as companies unfortunately prove again and again (by removing content people paid for at some point) we don't own the stuff we buy from them anyway...
I have the core books through DDB... the interface is a joke and building a character is pretty clunky tbh. I use FVTT right now but have used FGU, FG and Roll20 and they are much easier to use. I have the books on DDB in order to import into the VTT of choice only.
except new players won't learn much by just punching in some traits of their character. They won't learn much about how their character functions, what their kit do. Those players will be sitting at your (virtual) table and ask the DM that they want to do X and except the DM to know the rules regarding that. Not every GM is Mercer ffs!
There are a few things to unpack here. First, it's clear you're not a user of D&D Beyond without even mentioning it, which I think makes it unfair to criticize it in this way. Second, WotC/Hasbro definitely makes egregious monetization decisions, but if you have a problem with it, then don't play D&D. The answer isn't to just utilize licensed material that is illegally published online, it's to play other systems. Popularize their competitors, because players continuously using 5e content regardless of their negative criticisms means Hasbro/WotC can continue to rest on their laurels with majority market share. With that out of the way, let's address the D&D Beyond misconceptions. First, D&D Beyond is a fantastic tool, and it doesn't take away from the players ability to learn their character at all. Some people are dogmatic and are unwilling to admit that pen and paper and using physical copies of books is a preference and not superior in some way. If you're worried about new players not understanding their character, then forcing them to build a character with pen and paper won't magically make them comprehend the variability of each class. If anything, it creates a roadblock because it takes more effort, especially for caster classes. If you want to make sure your players are learning, then simply start them off at level 1, walk them through the game and their options, and when they level up, make sure they understand what they're unlocking and address any questions they have. Streamlining the learning process for new players will only improve the odds of them sticking with it than just throwing the book at them. Second, D&D Beyond is not as egregiously expensive as you're making it out to be. I don't know if you're intentionally doing this, or simply lack the understanding, but if a group is playing together, not everyone using the character builder is required to buy the digital books. For example, I DM from time to time, and I own all the rulebooks on D&D Beyond. I pay for the books, and then I pay $5.99/mo and share those books with everyone that I campaign with. I can do this as a player, too. This allows other players to utilize all the options in the character builder (well, 95% of them, I don't pay for most adventure modules), as well as allows other DMs to access the books through D&D Beyond because I've shared it with them. I even maintain campaign groups on there so I can share these features with people I'm not even actively playing with. Tl;dr: if you have a problem with WotC pricing, play other systems, especially ones that make all their character-building content digitally available for free, like PF2e. If you think pen and paper makes learning the game, you're probably just dogmatic. D&D beyond doesn't require everyone to purchase every book to utilize it.
why does dndbeyond have to be a subscription? Why does a player(s group) have to buy an entire dndbeyond book instead of the item they want out of that book (which used to be an option mind you)? You can buy a fully functioning FantasyGround for 5e (50 bucks for the system, and 25$ for each book = 125$ total) for 2 years of dndbeyond, and you STILL have to maintain the subscription and need your players to have an account with dndbeyond.
@@CathrineMacNiel DnD Beyond doesn’t have to be a subscription, that is the model they chose to use. Same concept parted out items/features. It’s a business decision. Yes, you can buy a fully functioning FG license and a book, and share that with your players. However, what you can’t do with FG is access content you don’t own while the person sharing it with you is offline. FG sells a product, not a service. FG leverages a customers existing hardware to run their app. DnD Beyond is a service. They offer servers which host all your content, and players can access shared content even if the person sharing it is not available. FG customers can’t access their content via mobile (for now at least), whereas DnD Beyond customers can. If FG is more appealing to a group, then they can use FG. But that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t have cons that make DnD Beyond more appealing. Also, seems kinda weird to focus only on pricing when I had already stated that WotC is pretty greedy when it comes to pricing.
If you are experienced and your DM bought all of the books on D&D Beyond, if you don’t at least enter your character in there for them, you are a bad player. I am currently in an in person game, I only use paper and I wrote out my entire character while building it. But since my DM had purchased the books, I entered my character into D&D Beyond and I keep it updated so the DM can reference it. if I wasn’t willing to do at least that, I would be disrespecting the amount of effort they are putting into the game.
Hey Everyone, just wanted to clarify my disclaimer at the beginning of the video. When I said "I do not use D&D Beyond", what I meant was "I *currently* do not use D&D Beyond". I have used it in the past to make characters (only ever the free version). The first time would have been back in 2017/18, and here and there throughout the years (as recent as last year). My latest interactions with D&D Beyond have been helping players build their characters. Sorry if I gave the impression that I have never used it once, because that is not true.
"I didn't pay $8 for a premium feature, so I am going to criticize the lite version"
You don't need to apologize. You couldn't hope to not get a backlash on this topic.
Most new players I know use it and pay because convenience. They have little time and would rather throw a few bucks here or there to not have to think about things than to have to sit through anything or really dwell and think on things/have to figure out mechanics or what goes on. Most of the newer players want to jump into game, and most game hosts aren't already set up for that with prefab characters for them to preen through and select from.
For what it's worth I agree that pay-to-play sucks and wotc/hasboro needs to chill and stop trying to profiteer a theater of the mind / mostly imagined ttrpg.
@@darianbrown5098 you hopefully realise that there is no distinction in features between a free tier and paid tier on dndbeyond? Only the amount of characters or campaigns you can have changes.
I don't use D&D Beyond because I have the books.
I am NOT paying for them a second time just for a digital copy...
I am a fan of DnDBeyond, saves me insane amount of time as a DM, as well as allows me to share all of the books with all of my players so they don't have to buy anything. As far as someone charging me to use their product, I am fine with that. If they weren't charging me they would have never made it.
In what way does it helps you insane amount of time as a DM? Keeping tabs on the characters to look up stats probably aint it, so I would love to hear of your gains.
I actually like the process of creating shorthand notes of all my characters abilities(as opposed to copy paste) it's definitely slower, but it gets it in your head way better, which means you have a much better idea how your character works
As a DM. DDBeyonds is worth it. My player don’t have to pay a single cent to manage 6 characters. It helps me out a ton because I don’t have to go and check new characters against the rules. It helps my players see all “legal” option. If there was a smoother free option I’d be using it.
When I first started playing none of my friends were really that experienced. So the free version of DnD Beyond was really helpful for us to get the hang of the game and the game mechanics. But you're right, it is very limiting and there's only a few classes and spells that you can use on the free version. I think of the free version of beyond as DnD lite 😂
It looks nice, and its so simple to fill out a sheet. I teach a lot of new players how to play and the amount of them that are put off by filling out their own sheet is massive. I learned back when we only had pen and paper and flipping through physical books, but still like using it sometimes because its simple. Also if you get lucky and have one person in the group that has the content purchased, they can share it with everyone in the group for free. I do tell my players to make their sheet anywhere they want as long as I can access it at some point.
Commenting on the building characters as a group; I find that many prefer to keep much about their character private and have information come out in the narrative, but that is just my anecdotal experience.
You lost me when you said you've never actually used it
I subscribe to D&D Beyond, and have bought the vast majority of content on it, and run two ongoing campaigns and occasional one-shots with it.
It's great for giving players access to a campaign, and then they can, more easily than with any other tools, create characters, and have functional online character sheets that they can click buttons on to do things like roll initiative.
It also sucks. It's slow. The UI is wonky and confusing. It doesn't work offline. The app is literally just the website in a wrapper. There's always a new bug, like an element floating over the top of the slide out menu on mobile. The worst thing they've done recently is remove the ability to buy just parts of the books - which is what I did to get access to almost everything, without the campaign/story bits, for cheaper. And on the topic of price - it's not inherently bad to charge for a product or service that does similar things to other products (or just a piece of paper and a pen), but it is very expensive. Perhaps not quite as expensive as this video implies, (there was a brief mention of content sharing, which makes it completely free for all my players), but still way more expensive than it should be for DMs or players who for some reason want to own everything on their own account, especially considering that WOTC isn't having to print and ship physical copies of anything you buy on D&D Beyond.
I also agree that players who make their sheets with a tool like D&D Beyond tend not to understand the rules as well. For example again, like how their initiative modifier is calculated. D&D Beyond does tend to have tooltips on hover which explain some numbers, but whenever I can I try to encourage my players to understand where their characters abilities or numbers are coming from.
Overall it seems odd to criticize something so heavily that you haven't used yourself, but I can definitely see and agree with most of the negatives mentioned. Although it does feel like you're pushing for "it should be free" (which it already is for a lot of players) rather than a more realistic and fairer to everyone working on it "it should be cheaper".
I understand it not being free, but it could be not simply cheaper, but much much cheaper. The most popular character creation tool for Pathfinder 2e is Pathbuilder. It's made by a third party, not Paizo, and costs a one time payment of under $10. It's also, once you understand it, a better character creation tool than D&D beyond. There's no reason unlocking an unlimited number of characters on D&D beyond couldn't cost a similar small one time fee especially considering Wizards also charges for additional content beyond core rulebook options.
I also enjoy paper character sheets. For something like 5e that should be alright, but if you want a digital medium you can also make your own in whatever web-based spreadsheets you have available.
On using the system, but not buying the books. You can do that, and it's reasonable if you stay in OGL/SRD content. But for me, ethically, if I'm sticking it to a company then I can take my whole game to a different system, or use they systems I already own (or can get cheap from a used book store). Even if 5e/2024 is a great system, there are a lot of other systems that are just as good, if not better tailored to the type of game you and your group might want to play. Support those people that are making the game you want to play and treating you well, rather than saying "but it has to be DnD," it doesn't.
I just recently finished my first campaign. All of us players were new but our more experienced DM told us all to make our characters on DnD Beyond. The limited scope of character options was great because it forced us to make simpler characters, but there were lots of issues. We had in person sessions and our meet up spot didn't have great wifi which meant some of the players didn't have their character sheets and the DM had to tell them stuff when it came up. Also, you're absolutely right about new players not getting to know their characters. Our two halflings never used Lucky and our wood elf never used Mask of the Wild, because we did not know our race traits. Another thing is that I found the DnD beyond character sheets to be difficult to use because myself and other new players don't know all the vocabulary and so finding things on a menu is so much more difficult than a big box on a piece of paper that says Armour Class that the DM can just point to. My final additional criticism of DnD Beyond is that new players can get too comfortable assuming the computer will do things for them evidenced by most of our party ending up with the same hp as when we started, despite levelling several times.
In order to get WotC to delete your Beyond account, you need to open a support ticket and follow an arduous process.
Because it's easier for them to do this, than to worry about the hassle of someone having their account deleted maliciously or accidentally when they had made purchases and trying to recover that. Or even if they didn't have purchased content but had a ton of characters with notes on there, when they try to recover that content, they probably won't to make sure it's still there, and WotC probably doesn't want to worry about archiving stuff like that so it is recoverable.
@@scotgarcia9255 is it easier or more difficult to delete your AWS cloud account?
11:00 the new PHB is already on the internet, someone stitched together screenshots from a flip through review and uploaded it to the internet for free, it's low quality, but it's out there
As a DM I love that all my stuff is in one easy location. I pay and share with my players so it cost them nothing. I love the encounter builder and the ability to see my player characters without keeping them away from the player. The monthly subscription is cheap for the entertainment. I also find it way faster to find information with a search engine that is built right into the system. I have played D&D sense the late 80s and most players struggle with the rules and charecter progression. One more reason for the DM to have access to the charecter sheets.
I agreee that a free/cheap option will always be good for the community but what - if any - money and profits are the companies who have bought these liscense etc and have Invested. Do we just steal from them and hope another company buys them only for us all to pirate from them?
Only the dm needs to buy the sourcebooks and have a premium acc, he can share it with you if he creates a campaign on dnd beyond and invites you. I have a friend group where we have one dnd beyond dm account and buy all the sourcebooks together so we have all the classes, subclasses etc. Maybe next time you really research your stuff before you make a video. Dnd beyond is really great for new players bc it streamlines all the information you need to make a character and tells you everything you need to know about your class
Thumbs up just for the dumpster fire graphic!
I pay for D&D Beyond because
* my players get access to everything without paying a cent
* character generation is good for new players
* calculating stats with all information is easier
* Whenever i buy a book, I download the PDF of the book from a yo ho site.
And I gave up on physical books for all uses a long time ago.
The problem is that D&D players arent a bunch of math nerds who get excited with finding +1 in an obscure reference.
Many players are now here for the roleplay interactions and the rules are painful to work.
Your take is a misunderstanding, especially about new players paying.
If you want to do a video about 'Why are so many people using D&D Beyond' and you've never used it and actually the point of your video is to argue that there is a better option, maybe instead title your video 'Why you should consider using pen and paper for D&D'. Because frankly this video does not, and does not even intend to, answer the question of why so many people are using D&D Beyond.
i'm glad i saw this comment before watching this. Some people don't have the luxury of an IRL group to play with either, and plenty don't have space for 20 books on their shelves
It also misrepresents the realities of using D&D Beyond.
He doesn't say he's never used D&DBeyond, he said he hasn't used the DM tools, which most of the users of D&DBeyond probably haven't either. His point is that you have to pay for things on D&DBeyond that you can get free elsewhere. Your comment seems disingenuous.
Edit: The video also does kind of answer the question. Perceived convenience.
100% agree
Thiiiiiis. What is this fuckboy shit.
So from the introduction alone, your thesis is "why are people paying for D&D Beyond when you can just pirate the content and use paper character sheets instead"
Brilliant argument dude.
**laughs in pathfinder**
You just sailed past that pdf line there. It sounded like you were suggesting Jolly Roger which is no way to sustain an industry.
I'm pretty sure Hasbro make more than enough money with their toys etc, so pirating their content is much less wrong than let's say pirating a small indie creator's content :)
@@ThiefMaster It's wrong to pirate small Indies and it's wrong pirate from large corporations
@@ThiefMaster Who are you to arbitrate who has enough money and who deserves to earn more and who it is OK to steal from?
@@JScottGaribay If I steal your car, you don't have a car anymore. If I download your PDF from elsewhere, you simply did not make money from me. It's only a loss if I had otherwise bought it from you.
That aside, downloading stuff also isn't theft, because as companies unfortunately prove again and again (by removing content people paid for at some point) we don't own the stuff we buy from them anyway...
@@ThiefMaster Old debate. I will make it simple - theft is bad and bad people defend theft.
I have the core books through DDB... the interface is a joke and building a character is pretty clunky tbh. I use FVTT right now but have used FGU, FG and Roll20 and they are much easier to use. I have the books on DDB in order to import into the VTT of choice only.
I don't like to buy physical books. And the system is very convenient.
People shouldn't use DND Beyond. WOTC is a trash company when it comes to customer service and value. There are better options out there.
Because it's literally easier for new players to learn everything. 😂
except new players won't learn much by just punching in some traits of their character. They won't learn much about how their character functions, what their kit do. Those players will be sitting at your (virtual) table and ask the DM that they want to do X and except the DM to know the rules regarding that.
Not every GM is Mercer ffs!
There are a few things to unpack here. First, it's clear you're not a user of D&D Beyond without even mentioning it, which I think makes it unfair to criticize it in this way. Second, WotC/Hasbro definitely makes egregious monetization decisions, but if you have a problem with it, then don't play D&D. The answer isn't to just utilize licensed material that is illegally published online, it's to play other systems. Popularize their competitors, because players continuously using 5e content regardless of their negative criticisms means Hasbro/WotC can continue to rest on their laurels with majority market share.
With that out of the way, let's address the D&D Beyond misconceptions. First, D&D Beyond is a fantastic tool, and it doesn't take away from the players ability to learn their character at all. Some people are dogmatic and are unwilling to admit that pen and paper and using physical copies of books is a preference and not superior in some way. If you're worried about new players not understanding their character, then forcing them to build a character with pen and paper won't magically make them comprehend the variability of each class. If anything, it creates a roadblock because it takes more effort, especially for caster classes. If you want to make sure your players are learning, then simply start them off at level 1, walk them through the game and their options, and when they level up, make sure they understand what they're unlocking and address any questions they have. Streamlining the learning process for new players will only improve the odds of them sticking with it than just throwing the book at them.
Second, D&D Beyond is not as egregiously expensive as you're making it out to be. I don't know if you're intentionally doing this, or simply lack the understanding, but if a group is playing together, not everyone using the character builder is required to buy the digital books. For example, I DM from time to time, and I own all the rulebooks on D&D Beyond. I pay for the books, and then I pay $5.99/mo and share those books with everyone that I campaign with. I can do this as a player, too. This allows other players to utilize all the options in the character builder (well, 95% of them, I don't pay for most adventure modules), as well as allows other DMs to access the books through D&D Beyond because I've shared it with them. I even maintain campaign groups on there so I can share these features with people I'm not even actively playing with.
Tl;dr: if you have a problem with WotC pricing, play other systems, especially ones that make all their character-building content digitally available for free, like PF2e. If you think pen and paper makes learning the game, you're probably just dogmatic. D&D beyond doesn't require everyone to purchase every book to utilize it.
why does dndbeyond have to be a subscription? Why does a player(s group) have to buy an entire dndbeyond book instead of the item they want out of that book (which used to be an option mind you)?
You can buy a fully functioning FantasyGround for 5e (50 bucks for the system, and 25$ for each book = 125$ total) for 2 years of dndbeyond, and you STILL have to maintain the subscription and need your players to have an account with dndbeyond.
@@CathrineMacNiel DnD Beyond doesn’t have to be a subscription, that is the model they chose to use. Same concept parted out items/features. It’s a business decision.
Yes, you can buy a fully functioning FG license and a book, and share that with your players. However, what you can’t do with FG is access content you don’t own while the person sharing it with you is offline. FG sells a product, not a service. FG leverages a customers existing hardware to run their app. DnD Beyond is a service. They offer servers which host all your content, and players can access shared content even if the person sharing it is not available.
FG customers can’t access their content via mobile (for now at least), whereas DnD Beyond customers can. If FG is more appealing to a group, then they can use FG. But that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t have cons that make DnD Beyond more appealing.
Also, seems kinda weird to focus only on pricing when I had already stated that WotC is pretty greedy when it comes to pricing.
If you are experienced and your DM bought all of the books on D&D Beyond, if you don’t at least enter your character in there for them, you are a bad player.
I am currently in an in person game, I only use paper and I wrote out my entire character while building it. But since my DM had purchased the books, I entered my character into D&D Beyond and I keep it updated so the DM can reference it. if I wasn’t willing to do at least that, I would be disrespecting the amount of effort they are putting into the game.
Pathfinder 2e.
Get a job - spend some money - the programmers who make DDB need money.
the programmers of DDB are long gone, they are replaced by WotC.