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Chris and Shawn get down with the premier spot on the internet for all things D&D. They wax poetical about D&D Beyond. They both love the sight and then give some insights on how it’s changing the way we play DnD and might be looking at RPGs
Links
- DnD Beyond
- PAX South and AI Book Announcement
- Winter Fantasy coming February 6-10, 2019 in Fort Wayne Indiana
- Lots of discussion on pirating and creating RPG content on Twitter and Facebook
This video gives an excellent explanation for why you don’t get a free or discounted version of any of the D&D books on D&D Beyond with the purchase of a hard copy.
https://youtu.be/bu9ZIFjJIX4
While I’m a big fan of D&D Beyond, I find that I still prefer to use the Squire 5e appb for Android. Unfortunately, DDB doesn’t have encounter running tools like Squire. Squire keeps track of initiative order, hit points, conditions, etc. It makes running the game super easy and takes the vast majority of bookkeeping off my plate.
I also bring physical copies of the PHB and the adventure I’m running because I often find it faster to find some info that way. I still really like DDB, though, and find it to be an indispensable resource for both me and my players.
There’s a YouTube video on the channel Taking 20 called “D&D Beyond’s Big Problem” that does a good of explaining why you don’t receive a free or discounted copy of the D&D Beyond version with the purchase of a physical copy. (I’d post a link, but when I tried it previously, the comment didn’t go through.)
As for the site itself, I do find DDB to be a pretty indispensable tool for both myself and my players. It really makes character creation a snap, and I can see any changes in real time. However, I really wish it had more tools for running encounters. As if right now, I’m using the Android app Squire 5e. It keeps track of initiative order, hit points (PCs and NPCs), and conditions, reducing the bookkeeping on my end to next to nothing.
Shawn, yes there is a manifest difference between stealing a dollar from a cash register vs a million dollar painting, and the diffwrent scales of theft are recognized in law (for ip piracy, our laws are aimed at large scale theft by companies, and do not scale like most of our other laws around theft.)
Chris, more today than even 10 years ago, the amount of work that goes into a successful board game is not represented by the length of the rule book. (Board Games have to be more carefully crafted to sell.) Board game design is a lot less forgiving than RPG design because the rules are much less moderated by an outside perso.
Oops! Looks like it just took a little while to make it to the site. Sorry for the double post!
For people who want to plqy ttrpgs but can’t afford them for whatever reason here is a list of free games that can be obtained for free. https://sillyhatbooks.com/about/games/