Hey guys, I have the PHB, MM, DMG, Sword coast and Volos guide as well as some of the adventures and I should be getting the Tortle package and Xanathars guide next month but is there a way to unlock content on the site with what I already have or is the only way to buy things AGAIN through the marketplace?
If I have to buy everything again through the marketplace would it be possible for you to implament something where local games shops that sell your books can register your books and pdfs (with proof of purchase) which generates a code to unlock that item on the site? Otherwise I cant see myself or my gaming club using the site for anything really, as I doubt any of us have a spare £300 to throw away on things we already have.
No, it is not possible to unlock the content here with a purchase of the physical books. Curse and WotC understand that this is not a viable solution for everyone. Please check how the Master Tier subscription works. It allows the sharing of purchased (digital) content within a gaming group.
At this time, all purchases on D&D Beyond are for content on D&D Beyond only. Unfortunately, there is not a way to unlock the digital content if you have purchased the books. We realize and understand the concerns over re-purchasing content, but the material in D&D Beyond is in a different format and platform.
There are many, many threads discussing this across these forums, usually with analogies to other business models. Simply put though, this site is far more than just a character generator. By purchasing the PHB, DMG and other books on D&D Beyond, you (and your group with a subscription) gain full access to the full books, as well as enabling their content within the tools.
Which I wouldnt mind but I already have the books I mentioned above, which is why I would like there to be a way to unlock the data with my current purchases, I wont go and buy the books I already have to use the site.
Which I wouldnt mind but I already have the books I mentioned above, which is why I would like there to be a way to unlock the data with my current purchases, I wont go and buy the books I already have to use the site.
There is no way to do this, nor will there be - it's an impossible task to prove ownership, nor would it help if you could, as none of the money from your purchases of those books has gone towards the development and upkeep of the D&D Beyond website.
All of this has been discussed at length across these forums. :)
WOTC and Curse are two separate companies. Here’s an analogy: if you walk into a Barnes and Noble and buy a paperback, would you expect Amazon to give you a free copy of the same book on Kindle? It’s the same content, yes, but it’s in a different format, has different features, and it’s being sold by a different company.
Some people buy the paperback, some people buy the ebook, and some people buy both. Same thing here.
To add to this: Even if WotC added a code into the books for Beyond, the MSRP of the books would go up. WotC are still going to make you pay for it, regardless of if you buy them separately or in higher price at retail.
TOH, the best we can hope for is some future agreement that would and a coupon to the hardback.
To ask or hope for anything more than that would be foolish.
Ah didn't realise it was 2 different companies. Is a shame that I can't use the site for more than making a basic character, means the site won't be any help to me so nevermind.
You can print character sheets, with the export option. Printing content from the website works, too. In some ways it is not laid out quite as nice as the books when you print it (it's laid out really nicely for web content though, which is the focus, and the mobile app is coming along nicely), but in other ways, it allows things like printing up a monster page and then using that to mark on for keeping track of hitpoints and stuff like that. What kinds of things were you looking at printing specifically?
In the interest of completeness, I will say that exporting a character to PDF is still an imperfect process: some things don't export (for example, spells in a wizards spell book that aren't currently prepared). The current PDF export was put together relatively quickly in response to user requests: the developer team had envisioned accessing the digital sheets, not printing them out. They know it needs work, and improvements are on the list, but there are other priorities ahead of that. (A general character sheet revamp for certain, maybe homebrew subclasses)
This is true, but it has been "good enough" for me most of the time. I also go in and rewrite the features & traits column of my characters just because I like that column in my own words and D&D Beyond doesn't do a great job at explaining what the features and traits are in the exported PDF. It is nice that the PDF that they generate for you is form-fillable, just with all of the form already filled out, so you can tweak it as you see fit.
Here’s an analogy: if you walk into a Barnes and Noble and buy a paperback, would you expect Amazon to give you a free copy of the same book on Kindle?
This analogy would require Barnes & Noble to own the IP of the book in question, in which case they would have a licensing deal with Amazon, not just be a competing market. And in this case yes, I would expect the IP owner to arrange for purchasers to be able to download the book in digital format.
I agree though that proving ownership after the fact would be difficult, but 5e came out in 2014, so really this could (and should) have been a consideration.
This analogy would require Barnes & Noble to own the IP of the book in question...
No it wouldn't. WotC owns the IP but does not sell directly to customers, so literally anywhere you buy one of their products is buying from a competing option (one of various retailer options, none of which own the IP).
The sellers are competing with each other, but not with WotC. I don't think it is unreasonable for WotC to provide a digital download of their IP upon proof of purchase of a physical book (which, granted, would be quite difficult at this point although the late company Shelfie apparently had a method for doing it). This is often done with DVD or CD purchases, for example. Amazon MatchBook even currently does this with books, although its library is small.
Also, charging the same price for the digital version as the hardcover version is just silly.
I don't think it is unreasonable for WotC to provide a digital download of their IP upon proof of purchase of a physical book
It's also not "unreasonable" for them not to, since they don't own/run their own digital storefront from which such a download would be made.
Also, charging the same price for the digital version as the hardcover version is just silly.
That's an opinion I don't share (because what I am willing to pay for a thing is entirely about what it does for me - and the digital version is at least equal in that regard (in the case of D&D Beyond it's actually superior, but just a 'you can read the book, but it is digital' would be equal), so I won't argue against that.
What I will argue is the facts: nobody is charging the same price for a digital version as the hardcover version. D&D Beyond and Fantasy Grounds are both discounted prices when compared to the standard price of the books, and while Roll20 is the same price that still isn't actually the same because they, like D&D Beyond and Fantasy Grounds, include a fair number of things within that purchase which are above and beyond what the book would provide. You buy a physical adventure, you have to pay extra for minis and to-scale maps - but you buy it on Roll20 and the digital equivalent of those are thrown in at the same price point (though I wouldn't be opposed to Roll20 lowering their prices to match Fantasy Grounds - I'm just not advocating strongly for that because I'm not actually a potential customer for either of those options, no matter what price they sell their goods at).
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Hey guys, I have the PHB, MM, DMG, Sword coast and Volos guide as well as some of the adventures and I should be getting the Tortle package and Xanathars guide next month but is there a way to unlock content on the site with what I already have or is the only way to buy things AGAIN through the marketplace?
If I have to buy everything again through the marketplace would it be possible for you to implament something where local games shops that sell your books can register your books and pdfs (with proof of purchase) which generates a code to unlock that item on the site? Otherwise I cant see myself or my gaming club using the site for anything really, as I doubt any of us have a spare £300 to throw away on things we already have.
Seriously, check the metadata, I'm telling you.
Check which metadata? Plus erm, what is metadata?
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ModeratorHi Deathwolf669,
No, it is not possible to unlock the content here with a purchase of the physical books. Curse and WotC understand that this is not a viable solution for everyone. Please check how the Master Tier subscription works. It allows the sharing of purchased (digital) content within a gaming group.
PbP: Out of the Abyss - Oorr - Aarakocra Ranger
PbP: Tomb of Annihilation - DM
Hey Filcat, I had looked at that but it would still require the purchase of the books again and most people I know have their own sets already :(
Nevermind, hope they will implament my last bit of my post otherwise I cant see it being useful passed making a level 1 character.
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ModeratorFAQ: I have purchased this content elsewhere, can I have the digital content unlocked?
There are many, many threads discussing this across these forums, usually with analogies to other business models. Simply put though, this site is far more than just a character generator. By purchasing the PHB, DMG and other books on D&D Beyond, you (and your group with a subscription) gain full access to the full books, as well as enabling their content within the tools.
>>> Please check out my Proposed Homebrew Spotlight feature. <<<
[ Site Rules & Guidelines ] - [ Homebrew Rules ] - [ D&D Beyond FAQ ] - [ Homebrew FAQ ] - [ Homebrew Video Tutorials ]
Standard "free" content is restricted to the D&D 5th Edition Basic Rules, SRD, and other free content.
"What do you do when your Sea Monster rental runs out? You re-lease the Kraken!"
Which I wouldnt mind but I already have the books I mentioned above, which is why I would like there to be a way to unlock the data with my current purchases, I wont go and buy the books I already have to use the site.
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Moderator>>> Please check out my Proposed Homebrew Spotlight feature. <<<
[ Site Rules & Guidelines ] - [ Homebrew Rules ] - [ D&D Beyond FAQ ] - [ Homebrew FAQ ] - [ Homebrew Video Tutorials ]
Standard "free" content is restricted to the D&D 5th Edition Basic Rules, SRD, and other free content.
"What do you do when your Sea Monster rental runs out? You re-lease the Kraken!"
WOTC and Curse are two separate companies. Here’s an analogy: if you walk into a Barnes and Noble and buy a paperback, would you expect Amazon to give you a free copy of the same book on Kindle? It’s the same content, yes, but it’s in a different format, has different features, and it’s being sold by a different company.
Some people buy the paperback, some people buy the ebook, and some people buy both. Same thing here.
Dave
To add to this: Even if WotC added a code into the books for Beyond, the MSRP of the books would go up. WotC are still going to make you pay for it, regardless of if you buy them separately or in higher price at retail.
TOH, the best we can hope for is some future agreement that would and a coupon to the hardback.
To ask or hope for anything more than that would be foolish.
Ah didn't realise it was 2 different companies. Is a shame that I can't use the site for more than making a basic character, means the site won't be any help to me so nevermind.
thanks for the replies guys.
Thank God I read this prior to making any purchase. I don't have the books yet but knowing that now will help me decide between then.
Anyone who have the books here can tell me if you can print sheets and other things you may need?
You can print character sheets, with the export option. Printing content from the website works, too. In some ways it is not laid out quite as nice as the books when you print it (it's laid out really nicely for web content though, which is the focus, and the mobile app is coming along nicely), but in other ways, it allows things like printing up a monster page and then using that to mark on for keeping track of hitpoints and stuff like that. What kinds of things were you looking at printing specifically?
In the interest of completeness, I will say that exporting a character to PDF is still an imperfect process: some things don't export (for example, spells in a wizards spell book that aren't currently prepared). The current PDF export was put together relatively quickly in response to user requests: the developer team had envisioned accessing the digital sheets, not printing them out. They know it needs work, and improvements are on the list, but there are other priorities ahead of that. (A general character sheet revamp for certain, maybe homebrew subclasses)
Trying to Decide if DDB is for you? A few helpful threads: A Buyer's Guide to DDB; What I/We Bought and Why; How some DMs use DDB
This is true, but it has been "good enough" for me most of the time. I also go in and rewrite the features & traits column of my characters just because I like that column in my own words and D&D Beyond doesn't do a great job at explaining what the features and traits are in the exported PDF. It is nice that the PDF that they generate for you is form-fillable, just with all of the form already filled out, so you can tweak it as you see fit.
This analogy would require Barnes & Noble to own the IP of the book in question, in which case they would have a licensing deal with Amazon, not just be a competing market. And in this case yes, I would expect the IP owner to arrange for purchasers to be able to download the book in digital format.
I agree though that proving ownership after the fact would be difficult, but 5e came out in 2014, so really this could (and should) have been a consideration.
No it wouldn't. WotC owns the IP but does not sell directly to customers, so literally anywhere you buy one of their products is buying from a competing option (one of various retailer options, none of which own the IP).
The sellers are competing with each other, but not with WotC. I don't think it is unreasonable for WotC to provide a digital download of their IP upon proof of purchase of a physical book (which, granted, would be quite difficult at this point although the late company Shelfie apparently had a method for doing it). This is often done with DVD or CD purchases, for example. Amazon MatchBook even currently does this with books, although its library is small.
Also, charging the same price for the digital version as the hardcover version is just silly.
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ModeratorBefore attempting to continue this discussion, please take a look at this thread:
https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/d-d-beyond-general/general-discussion/6230-d-d-beyond-vs-physical-books-an-explanation
25 pages of discussion on this exact topic.
>>> Please check out my Proposed Homebrew Spotlight feature. <<<
[ Site Rules & Guidelines ] - [ Homebrew Rules ] - [ D&D Beyond FAQ ] - [ Homebrew FAQ ] - [ Homebrew Video Tutorials ]
Standard "free" content is restricted to the D&D 5th Edition Basic Rules, SRD, and other free content.
"What do you do when your Sea Monster rental runs out? You re-lease the Kraken!"
It's also not "unreasonable" for them not to, since they don't own/run their own digital storefront from which such a download would be made.
That's an opinion I don't share (because what I am willing to pay for a thing is entirely about what it does for me - and the digital version is at least equal in that regard (in the case of D&D Beyond it's actually superior, but just a 'you can read the book, but it is digital' would be equal), so I won't argue against that.What I will argue is the facts: nobody is charging the same price for a digital version as the hardcover version. D&D Beyond and Fantasy Grounds are both discounted prices when compared to the standard price of the books, and while Roll20 is the same price that still isn't actually the same because they, like D&D Beyond and Fantasy Grounds, include a fair number of things within that purchase which are above and beyond what the book would provide. You buy a physical adventure, you have to pay extra for minis and to-scale maps - but you buy it on Roll20 and the digital equivalent of those are thrown in at the same price point (though I wouldn't be opposed to Roll20 lowering their prices to match Fantasy Grounds - I'm just not advocating strongly for that because I'm not actually a potential customer for either of those options, no matter what price they sell their goods at).