D&D Beyond

Last updated

D&D Beyond
D&D Beyond.png
Screenshot
D&D Beyond Screenshot.png
Type of site
Tabletop RPG Digital Toolset/Companion
Available in Multilingual
Predecessor(s) D&D Insider
Headquarters
Huntsville, Alabama
,
U.S.
Owner Hasbro
Founder(s) Curse LLC, Adam Bradford
Parent Fandom, Inc. (2018–2022),
Wizards of the Coast (2022–present)
URL www.dndbeyond.com
RegistrationOptional
LaunchedAugust 15, 2017;7 years ago (2017-08-15) [1]
Current statusActive
Content license
Media licensing varies
Written in .NET

D&D Beyond (DDB) is the official digital toolset and game companion for Dungeons & Dragons fifth edition. [1] [2] DDB hosts online versions of the official Dungeons & Dragons fifth edition books, including rulebooks, adventures, and other supplements; it also provides digital tools like a character builder and digital character sheet, monster and spell listings that can be sorted and filtered, an encounter builder, and an interactive overlay Twitch Extension. [3] In addition to the official D&D content available to purchase, it also provides the ability to create and add custom homebrew content.

Contents

D&D Beyond also publishes regular original video, stream, and article content, including interviews with Dungeons & Dragons staff, content previews and tie-ins, and weekly development updates. [4]

D&D Beyond was formerly operated by Curse LLC, a subsidiary of Twitch. However, on December 12, 2018, Fandom, Inc. announced that it had acquired all of Curse's media assets, including D&D Beyond. [5] [6] On April 13, 2022, Hasbro announced that it would be acquiring D&D Beyond. [7] [8] The official transfer to Wizards of the Coast, a division of Hasbro, occurred on May 18, 2022. [9] [10]

History

D&D Beyond was launched on August 15, 2017, [11] [1] [12] after an initial beta test that started on March 21, 2017. [12] [13] Adam Bradford was the project lead for D&D Beyond. [14] D&D Beyond was developed for the 5th Edition of Dungeons & Dragons through a partnership between Curse and Wizards of the Coast. [13] [14] [15] A similar online toolset, D&D Insider, had been developed for the 4th Edition of Dungeons & Dragons by Wizards of the Coast; however, it was not updated to support the new edition. [15] [16]

Acquisition by Fandom

On December 12, 2018, Fandom, Inc. announced that it had acquired all of Curse LLC's media assets, including D&D Beyond, for an undisclosed amount. [5] [6]

In June 2019, D&D Beyond added an Encounter Builder tool set which was open to subscribers for alpha testing. [17] Encounter Builder entered public beta testing in October 2019. [18]

In February 2020, D&D Beyond added a Combat Tracker which was open to subscribers for alpha testing. [19]

On March 25, 2020, Bradford, now Vice President of Tabletop Gaming at Fandom, told Syfy Wire that D&D Beyond's normal number of new users had doubled in the past two weeks during the COVID-19 pandemic and that there was also a "similar increase in the number of active users". [20] In April 2020, The Wall Street Journal reported that "Bradford said the number of registered users has tripled in the past month, and the number of online players at any one time has doubled on average. The uptake has forced the company to accelerate the expansion of its infrastructure, which otherwise would have taken place months from now". [21]

In January 2021, James Haeck, lead writer for D&D Beyond, announced his departure from the company. [22] [23] In February 2021, Bradford, Todd Kenreck (creative manager at D&D Beyond & Fandom), and Laura Urban (community manager for D&D Beyond) all announced their departure from Fandom for other projects. [23] [24] [25]

Acquisition by Hasbro

On April 13, 2022, Hasbro announced its acquisition of D&D Beyond for $146.3 million, with plans to officially support previous purchases made on the service and have it be absorbed into Hasbro's Wizards of the Coast. The sale is subject to closing conditions and certain regulatory approvals, and is set to be completed in either Q2 or Q3 of 2022. [7] [8] Polygon highlighted that Wizards of the Coast is a large portion of "Hasbro's overall earnings since the launch of 5th edition D&D in 2014. With an operating profit of $547 million in 2021, Wizards' business unit accounted for 72% of Hasbro's operating profit for the year. Taking that into perspective, the purchase of D&D Beyond from Fandom for $146.3 million in cash seems like a small price to pay in order to lock down a platform with reportedly close to 10 million users". [26] Gizmodo commented that once D&D Beyond is an official part of Wizards of the Coast, "they might offer some kind of cross capability with digital products across multiple sites, toolkits, and VTTs, making the capital barriers to gameplay less excruciating. [...] But also the uniform consolidation of digital tools under a single company's banner is not good for competition and therefore, causes the player to have fewer options for gameplay. [...] If fans still have to pay two or three times for a module, class, or item description across both WotC products and DnDBeyond, it's unlikely to create a sustainable market". [27]

D&D Beyond accounts transferred to Wizards of the Coast on May 18, 2022. At that time, Wizards of the Coast's updated terms of service and privacy policy went into effect. [9] [10] To mark the acquisition, Wizards of the Coast gave registered D&D Beyond users the Acquisitions Incorporated (2019) supplement between May 16 and May 26, 2022. Additionally, they made a starter adventure module, Lost Mine of Phandelver (2014), available to all registered users moving forward. [28] [29] Then in April and June, Wizards of the Coast released two new D&D Beyond exclusive supplements – the Monstrous Compendium Vol 1: Spelljammer Creatures (2022) and the Vecna Dossier (2022) respectively. [30] [31] [32]

Linda Codega, for Io9 on January 5, 2023, reported on the details from a leaked full copy of the Open Game License (OGL) 1.1 including updated terms such as no longer authorizing use of the OGL1.0. [33] Following this leak, numerous news outlets reported on negative reactions from both fans and professional content creators. [a] One response from the community was an online movement to cancel subscriptions to D&D Beyond [41] [42] with the Financial Times highlighting that it was the "go-to way of showing discontent". [43] TheStreet commented that Wizards united its "entire player base" behind the movement to retain the original OGL with players responding "with their wallets" and that there were "allegedly" enough D&D Beyond cancellations to "cause the website to crash". [44] Io9 reported that the impact of this boycott was "not negligible" and led to scrambling by upper management "to adjust their messaging around the situation"; [45] per sources, there were "'five digits' worth of complaining tickets in the system" for customer service to handle account deletion requests. [46] Within weeks, Wizards walked back changes to the OGL. [47] [48] The Motley Fool opined that Hasbro used D&D Beyond to "publish a mea culpa". [49] Io9 also highlighted that the movement to boycott D&D Beyond was an effective message sent "to WotC and Hasbro higher-ups. According to multiple sources, these immediate financial consequences were the main thing that forced them to respond". [46] Following the OGL retraction by Wizards, there was reported speculation on a major overhaul to D&D Beyond. [50] [51] In response, D&D Beyond stated this was "misinformation" [52] – they refuted rumors of a price increase and that an artificial intelligence Dungeon Master would be introduced to the platform. [53] [54] [55]

In an interview with The Verge in March 2023, Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks highlighted that digital tools such as D&D Beyond and Roll20 help enhance visuals during play without being as expensive as physical terrain and miniatures from high-end creators such as Dwarven Forge. Per Cocks, the pandemic accelerated the trend of digital play for Dungeons & Dragons. Cocks stated:

Today, probably about close to 50 percent of D&D games are played using some kind of digital tabletop, most frequently it's D&D Beyond, as an intermediary for play. We see that trend only continuing so that the vast, vast majority of play is going to involve a screen of some form, either to manage your character or to manage the visuals associated with the game. [...] [D&D Beyond] has deep integration with the content, and there are a lot of fantastic opportunities for adding visuals to it. We've had a friends-and-family playtest of an Unreal-based digital tabletop that's kind of a compendium to D&D Beyond. It adds an isometric, high-end 3D tabletop RPG experience to it that we think could be really cool, and it's something that we think people would enjoy playing. [56]

The March 2023 D&D Direct presentation showed that the upcoming D&D Virtual Tabletop will be integrated with D&D Beyond, such as importing character sheets created on D&D Beyond. [57] [58] Wizards of the Coast highlighted that "a D&D Beyond playtest for the D&D Virtual Tabletop is planned for late 2023". [58] At the July 2024 Hasbro investor meeting, Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks stated "that digital revenue on D&D Beyond 'accounts for over half' of" Dungeons & Dragons profits. [59] Chase Carter of Rascal, commented that "we know physical books sell poorly, and even if pre-orders for the 2024 core books are, uh, 'solid', according to the CEO, it's evident that Hasbro holds little faith in analog games clotting the money bleed elsewhere in the company's structure". [59]

In July 2024, Faith Elisabeth Lilley, a former senior producer for Wizards of the Coast, raised concerns that contributor credits for the digital team have been removed from the D&D Beyond editions of various sourcebooks and "shared screenshots" of the previous version of the credits which list include this team. [60] TheGamer reported Lilley explained that the digital team worked with "the creators of several D&D books, and were assured that they would be credited for this work", however, no explanation on the removal has been given. [60]

In August 2024, D&D Beyond announced that with the release of revised 5th Edition (2024) that toolsets will automatically be updated to the new ruleset; some backwards compatible aspects of 2014 5E will be marked as "legacy" content that can be used with the character sheets while other aspects will be removed entirely and will be only accessible by going into the compendium. [61] [62] [63] J.R. Zambrano of Bell of Lost Souls highlighted that Wizards of the Coast stated the legacy tag "indicates material that does not follow the current rules of the game" and "that 'the current rules of the game' line reflects the 'living edition' or 'One D&D' language that was bandied about before someone at WotC decided they wanted to hang on to the '5E' branding". [64] Christian Hoffer, for ComicBook.com , highlighted that the mechanical gameplay changes to spells are considered "upgrades to the existing rules" with "over 100 spells in the 2024 Player's Handbook have been either reworded or mechanically changed". [65] Following public feedback, [66] [67] [68] D&D Beyond announced that users will be able to "maintain their character options, spells, and magical items in their character sheets" using the 2014 ruleset and that the changes to character sheets will be limited to "relabeling and renaming" some aspects. [69]

Content

Books on D&D Beyond consist of the compendium content and access to that content's options in the rest of the toolset. The compendium content is a digital version of the book (as HTML, not a PDF), with all art and maps from the book as well; it includes cross-links and tooltips for monsters, mundane or magical items, spells, and relevant rules mentioned in the text. [70] Access to the book's options in the rest of DDB's toolset allows those purchased subclasses, spells, magic items, monsters, and the like to be used with the character builder and other tools, and allows the user to see the full descriptions of purchased content in those listings (i.e., outside the compendium).

Official Dungeons & Dragons fifth edition sourcebooks released by Wizards of the Coast are available for purchase on D&D Beyond. [26] [71] Official content that is released for free by Wizards of the Coast is also accessible for free on D&D Beyond. This includes content from the basic rules [70] and the System Reference Document [72] (the "basic rules" on D&D Beyond are an inclusive combination of the two), [73] and the races and spells from the Elemental Evil Player's Companion. [74] [75] From January 2018 to August 2021, active playtest content presented in the 5E Unearthed Arcana series on the official Dungeons & Dragons website was also available. [76] [77] [78] [79] Once the playtest period was concluded for Unearthed Arcana content (whether it is published in a book or retired, as determined by Wizards of the Coast), it was archived on D&D Beyond; existing characters already using the content are able to continue doing so, but the archived playtest content can not be newly added to a character. [76] All remaining Unearthed Arcana content was archived on August 12, 2021. [78]

On May 10, 2022, it was announced that the digital release of Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse (2022) will correspond with the delisting of Volo's Guide to Monsters (2016) and Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes (2018) on D&D Beyond as Monsters of the Multiverse revises the player races and monsters previously published in those sourcebooks. [80] [81] [82] D&D Beyond then confirmed that users will retain access to previously purchased copies of Volo's Guide to Monsters and Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes. D&D Beyond also stated that they "may update naming conventions of content to easily differentiate our listings" for users who have purchased access to both old and new content. [82]

Starting in December 2022 with Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon, Wizards of the Coast began to offer physical/digital bundles where sourcebooks purchased directly from Wizards would also include the digital D&D Beyond edition. [83] [84] [85] Christian Hoffer of ComicBook.com highlighted that this type of bundle had been requested by players "for years" and these bundles only became available after Wizards purchased D&D Beyond – "meaning that it would receive all the financial benefits from such a bundle". [83] Hoffer commented that there were concerns on if these bundles "will hurt small game stores and local businesses," however, Wizards stated it "will continue to make alternate covers available exclusively to game stores to help incentivize players to support their local game store". [83]

Toolsets

Unlocked compendium content can be accessed in various toolsets such as interactive character sheets and catalogs of spells, monsters and items. [86] [87] [71] Additionally, D&D Beyond includes a homebrew creation tool which allows users to create and share homebrew versions of "spells, magical items, monsters, backgrounds, feats, races or subclasses". [88]

In 2020, D&D Beyond added a digital dice roller to character sheets with both free and premium digital dice. [89] [90] [91] Dungeon Masters can create campaigns on D&D Beyond where players can add their character sheets. In 2020, D&D Beyond launched the "Encounter Builder" tool for Dungeon Masters to design and run combat encounters for their players. [92] [93]

In September 2023, D&D Beyond launched an alpha test of their 2D virtual tabletop called Maps. Access is limited to subscribers at the Master tier, however, these users can invite any D&D Beyond user to their Maps hosted campaigns. The alpha iteration of Maps includes generic maps, maps from sourcebooks purchased by the user and maps uploaded by the user along with tokens and an optional "fog of war" effect. The game log for Maps also tracks rolls made on character sheets, with the encounter tool and with the Discord Avrae bot when they are linked to the campaign. [94] [95]

Following the release of the updated Player's Handbook (2024) in September 2024, D&D Beyond will replace the following aspects of the 2014 5E ruleset with the 2024 revised 5E ruleset within the various toolsets: core gameplay definitions, armor class, saving throws, skills/abilities, alignment, senses (Blindsight, Darkvision, Tremorsense, Truesight), and area of effect definitions. Other aspects of the 2014 5E ruleset will be marked as legacy content and will be still usable within toolsets such as the character sheet and encounter builder. [61] [62] [63] [69] In character sheets, users will be able to maintain all "character options, spells, and magical items" from the 2014 ruleset; additionally, users "with access to the 2024 and 2014 digital Player's Handbooks can select from both sources when creating new characters". [69] The 2014 5E ruleset will continue to be accessible within the compendium. [61] [62] [63]

Digital releases

Wizards of the Coast has also released some fifth edition content exclusively on D&D Beyond. Additionally, Wizards of the Coast began releasing the Unearthed Arcana playtest material for One D&D exclusively on D&D Beyond in August 2022; these releases are formatted as a PDF unlike other content on D&D Beyond and are not displayed in the normal compendium or toolsets. [96] [97] [85]

TitleAuthor(s)DateLevelsNotes
RrakkmaChris LindsayMay 18, 20189An introductory Adventurers League adventure for Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes released for free on D&D Beyond with the purchase of the sourcebook. [98] [99]
Legends of Runeterra: Dark Tides of BilgewaterJames J. Haeck, Makenzie de Armas, Celeste Conowitch, Todd Kenreck, Faith Elisabeth LilleyJune 10, 2020 – August 10, 2020 [100] 3-4A digital only setting sourcebook with short adventure released for free on D&D Beyond as part of a promotion with Riot Games and Google Play. This was not official D&D content. [101]
Monstrous Compendium Vol 1: Spelljammer Creatures Christopher Perkins, Jeremy Crawford April 21, 2022—Digital exclusive released for free on D&D Beyond. [30]
Vecna DossierWizards RPG TeamJune 9, 202220Digital exclusive released for free on D&D Beyond. [31] [102]
Spelljammer AcademyChris Lindsay, Chris Tulach, Travis Woodall, Will Doyle, Rich Lescouflair, Gabrielle Harbowy, Christopher PerkinsJuly 11, 2022 – August 2022 [103] 1-5Prequel adventure module for the boxed set Spelljammer: Adventures in Space released for free on D&D Beyond exclusively. [103] [104] The adventure module was released in four parts from July to August 2022: Orientation, Trial by Fire, Realmspace Sortie!, and Behold... H'Catha. [105]
Monstrous Compendium Vol 2: Dragonlance Creatures F. Wesley Schneider, Makenzie De Armas, Ron Lundeen, Jeremy CrawfordDecember 5, 2022—Digital exclusive released for free on D&D Beyond. [106]
Thieves' GalleryJeremy Jarvis, Christopher PerkinsMarch 6, 2023—Stat blocks for the main characters of the film Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves released exclusively on D&D Beyond for free. [107] [108]
Monstrous Compendium Vol 3: Minecraft CreaturesChristopher PerkinsMarch 28, 2023—Digital exclusive released for free on D&D Beyond to promote the Dungeons & Dragons DLC for Minecraft . [109] [110]
Legendary Magic ItemsJeremy Jarvis, Christopher PerkinsMarch 31, 2023—Digital exclusive released for free on D&D Beyond featuring magic items from Honor Among Thieves. [111] [112]
Misplaced Monsters: Volume OneMay 2, 2023—Proceeds are donated to Extra Life fundraiser. [113] [114]
Baldur's Gate GazetteerAugust 22, 2023—Originally appeared as a chapter in Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus . The gazetteer was released for free as a standalone product on D&D Beyond following the release of the video game Baldur's Gate 3 . [115]
Monstrous Compendium Vol 4: Eldraine Creatures James Wyatt, Jeremy Crawford, Ron Lundeen, Ben PetrisorSeptember 21, 2023—Digital exclusive on D&D Beyond which features "creatures from Eldraine, the Magic: The Gathering plane recently featured in the Wilds of Eldraine set". [116]
Lightning KeepChristopher PerkinsSeptember 26, 20233Digital exclusive adventure module released for free on D&D Beyond which features monsters from Monstrous Compendium Volume 3: Minecraft Creatures. [117] [118]
Adventure Atlas: The MortuaryJustice Ramin Arman, Makenzie De Armas, Carl SibleyOctober 17, 20233-11Digital exclusive on D&D Beyond which features encounters and monsters for characters in the Mortuary location of Planescape. [119] [120]
Heroes' Feast: Saving the Children's Menu Deborah Ann Woll, Jason Tondro, Kate WelchNovember 21, 202310Digital exclusive adventure module on D&D Beyond to promote Heroes' Feast Flavors of the Multiverse: An Official D&D Cookbook. It also includes a recipe from the cookbook. [121]
Dungeons & Dragons: Red Dragon's TaleKyle Brink, Christopher PerkinsApril 2, 20245A 20-page adventure module released for free as a PDF on D&D Beyond which corresponds with the Red Dragon's Tale Lego set. The Lego set is designed to be built as the players progress through the module. The module includes rules for running it with the 5th Edition ruleset or without the ruleset. [122] [123] [124]
Vecna: Nest of the Eldritch EyeChristopher Perkins, Makenzie De Armas, Ron Lundeen, Fury Galuzzi,April 16, 20243-4Prequel one-shot adventure which will be released as a digital exclusive incentive for pre-ordering the adventure module Vecna: Eve of Ruin (May 2024) on D&D Beyond. [125] [126] [127]

Third-party releases

In August 2023, D&D Beyond released the Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn sourcebook by publisher Darrington Press; this was the first third-party product released for sale on the platform. [128] Linda Codega of Gizmodo commented that "it'd make sense that if Beyond is being opened up in a limited capacity, someone as massively intrinsically successful to D&D as a brand like Critical Role comes first. Although there has been no information given about this release, the license used, or how the money will be distributed, it's hard to exactly say whether or not Wizards of the Coast receives a good chunk of change out of its arrival on Beyond". [128] In November 2023, Grim Hollow: Lairs of Etharis by Australian publisher Ghostfire Gaming was released on D&D Beyond. A second sourcebook, the adventure module Dungeons of Drakkenheim, by Ghostfire Gaming was released in December 2023; this module was designed by Monty Martin and Kelly McLaughlin of the Dungeon Dudes channel and features the world of their actual play campaign. [129] [130] Wizards has since announced additional partnerships for their D&D Beyond marketplace with third-party publishers such as Free League Publishing, Kobold Press, Hit Point Press, MCDM and The Griffon's Saddlebags. [131]

Platforms

D&D Beyond content and character management system is primarily browser-based, and is fully functional on both mobile and desktop browsers. DDB's website is continually updated, based largely on input from users throughout the community.

On March 4, 2018, D&D Beyond's mobile app was first released into beta testing, focused on providing an e-reader for official Dungeons & Dragons content. [132] [133] The app allows compendium content for Dungeons & Dragons to be downloaded for offline use. Some users had criticized the app's lack of a character sheet or builder, which was one of the main offerings of D&D Beyond; however, DDB disclosed that character management functionality was planned. [134]

In a D&D Beyond development update stream on October 31, 2019, Adam Bradford discussed DDB's plans to develop two additional mobile apps focused on the player experience and the Dungeon Master experience respectively; he explained that character management functionality would be included in this new player app, leaving the existing mobile app as a reader for compendium content. [135] In March 2020, D&D Beyond opened up limited alpha testing for this player app to those current subscribers who signed up, [136] and the alpha test began the following month. [137]

Project Sigil

Wizards of the Coast's upcoming standalone virtual tabletop (VTT), code name Project Sigil, will have D&D Beyond integration where users can use their D&D Beyond characters within the VTT. [39] [138] [139] The VTT will launch as a free-to-play PC application that does not require a D&D Beyond account, [138] [140] however, "D&D Beyond subscribers have more access" within the VTT application. [39] A closed beta for D&D Beyond users is scheduled to launch in 2024. [140] [141] [142]

Pricing

D&D Beyond derives its income from digital content purchases, subscriptions, and advertising. Its tools are generally free to use, though some require an account (which can be made for free); however, viewing the full details of content from the official Dungeons & Dragons fifth edition books requires owning that content on D&D Beyond or having it shared with you. This content can be bought as a one-time purchase; buying a subscription does not grant access to any content. The Verge highlighted that the acquisition by Hasbro "shifts D&D Beyond from a royalty-based revenue source for Wizards of the Coast to in-house development". [143]

Content purchases

At launch, the price of source books was $29.99 and the price of adventure modules was $24.99. [144] Initially in D&D Beyond's Marketplace, customers could either purchase a book as a whole – including both compendium content and access to that content in the rest of the toolset – or purchase individual portions of that book separately (getting just the compendium content, or just the individual spells or subclasses that they want to use in the character builder, for instance). [4] [70] If portions of a book were purchased à la carte , then if the customer decided to purchase the full book later, the price of that book was discounted by the cost they have already paid for content from the book. [70] [144] In April 2024, the à la carte option was removed from the marketplace. [145] [146]

D&D Beyond also offered 3 bundles of books: the Sourcebook Bundle, the Adventure Bundle, and the Legendary Bundle. The Sourcebook Bundle included all released official source books for Dungeons & Dragons fifth edition, and granted a permanent 10% discount on all future sourcebook purchases on DDB; the Adventure Bundle did the same for official adventure books. [147] The Legendary Bundle included all released official Dungeons & Dragons fifth edition books of both kinds, and granted a 15% discount on all future source book and adventure purchases. [147] [148] At launch, the Legendary Bundle (which included five source books and eight adventure modules) was $279.99. [144] By March 2020, the Legendary Bundle cost had increased to $637.19 and included access to "more than 30 titles in all". [148] This was later changed to US$955.86 and included 44 books in January 2023. [149] The price of each bundle is determined by simply adding the current price of all books in the bundle, then subtracting the cost the customer has previously paid for books in that bundle that they already own. These bundles are updated with each new official release.

Subscriptions

Most of D&D Beyond's functionality is free to use, other than the content purchases needed to view non-free content from the official Dungeons & Dragons fifth edition books. However, D&D Beyond offers two subscription levels, Hero Tier and Master Tier, that expand the site's functionality. [150]

The Hero Tier subscription grants a number of benefits. The site normally features ads, and the character builder limits free users to 6 active characters at any given time. [70] [150] However, the Hero Tier subscription removes ads, and allows users to create an unlimited number of characters. [70] [150] In addition, while homebrew content that users choose to publish on the site is free to view for anyone (even without an account), the Hero Tier subscription allows users to add published homebrew content to their collection; this content can then be used in the rest of the toolset, including the character builder. [70] [150] Finally, this tier grants early access to some new tools as they are developed. For instance, before it was made available to everyone, the encounter builder went through an alpha testing phase, during which Hero and Master Tier subscribers could make use of it and provide feedback to help identify bugs and guide future development.

The Master Tier subscription primarily allows the user to share their purchased content with others in a campaign group with them on D&D Beyond, in addition to all the benefits of the Hero Tier subscription. [70] [150] [151] Though private homebrew content is automatically shared without a subscription, published homebrew content and official content requires a Master Tier subscription to be shared. With a Master Tier subscription, the user can enable content sharing for up to 3 campaigns they are in of up to 12 players each (as well as the Dungeon Master of each campaign). [72] If content sharing is enabled, any official content owned by any of the players or the Dungeon Master (DM), [150] [151] as well as any published homebrew content in any of their collections, is shared with the other members of the group. As of August 2019, the DM of a campaign group can enable or disable the sharing of compendium content from each specific book with players that do not own that content; more specific shared content management options are planned for the future.

Reception

Cecilia D'Anastasio, for Kotaku in 2017, wrote "when viewed as a toolset and not a replacement for D&D's traditions, D&D Beyond is exactly the sort of digital facelift the game needs to stay accessible, streamlined and relevant". D'Anastasio highlighted one downside, which was that content from the DMs Guild is not automatically integrated with D&D Beyond. [152] Gavin Sheehan, for Bleeding Cool in 2017, commented that he "loved D&D Beyond" and that "It was interesting to scan through these digital versions and compare them to the physical ones as I thumbed through the pages. There's nothing missing here, and if anything, the people behind the program went to great lengths to make sure this was easy to read and apply to the physical world". He also praised the ability to make homebrew content in D&D Beyond. [153]

Alex Walker, for Kotaku Australia in 2019, reported that two years after launch the D&D Beyond mobile app would be updated to include the ability to load character sheets. Walker highlighted that this was a highly requested feature from the launch of D&D Beyond; Walker criticized the delay in adding the feature especially as other versions of mobile character sheets had been done before effectively. [134] Adam Benjamin, for CNET in February 2023, stated that "of the tools we tested, D&D Beyond was far and away the simplest to get started with". He commented that "the primary drawback of D&D Beyond is that it focuses on character sheets, not other elements of a D&D table" – for groups dependent on maps to "visualize combat and exploration", they'll need to use a virtual tabletop (such as Roll20 or Fantasy Grounds) or other map tools in addition to D&D Beyond. [71] In a 2024 review update, Benjamin highlighted that the in-development map tool "addresses a major gap in D&D Beyond's service" but other VTTs still "offer more robust map features". [71]

Gus Wezerek, for FiveThirtyEight, reported that of the 5th edition class and race combinations per 100,000 characters that players created on D&D Beyond from August 15 to September 15, 2017, fighters were the most popular with 13,906 characters created, followed by rogues (11,307) and wizards (9,855). Druids were the least popular, with 6,328 characters created. Wezerek wrote: "when I started playing 'Dungeons & Dragons' five years ago, I never would have chosen the game's most popular match: the human fighter. There are already enough human fighters in movies, TV and books — my first character was an albino dragonborn sorcerer. But these days I can get behind the combo's simplicity". [154]

On the May 2022 announcement of sourcebook delisting, Christian Hoffer, for ComicBook.com , commented that "one major concern about the delisting is access to the chapters of lores contained in Volo's Guide to Monsters and Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes. Both books contained dozens of pages of lore about the D&D multiverse that don't appear in Monsters of the Multiverse. [...] D&D Beyond has not said whether the various expanded lore chapters will be available to D&D Beyond players moving forward, or if they'll be delisted and essentially removed from access by new players moving forward. Of course, D&D players can still read the lore in Volo's Guide to Monsters and Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes by purchasing physical copies of the books, which will still be available even after Monsters of the Multiverse is released next week". [80]

Pricing

While Gavin Sheehan of Bleeding Cool believed the digital resources were worth the cost in 2017, he wrote that "the pricing will be the real dividing point for some people. [...] I can see people screaming that they don't get to own the material like you would a book". [153] Charlie Hall, for Polygon , reported that in March 2020 the cost of D&D Beyond's Legendary Bundle was $637.19. He highlighted that the cost of the digital Dungeons & Dragons source books and adventure modules are about the same as the physical books, and that "many players are still defaulting to physical books". Hall viewed D&D Beyond as a luxury app and that he is "not eager to effectively buy the same content twice". [148]

Adam Benjamin, for CNET in February 2023, opined that "a Hero tier subscription isn't great value unless you play in a lot of D&D groups (more than six). The real value of a subscription is sharing content with the Master Tier. [...] A DM with a Master-tier subscription can spend $6 per month and share purchased content with the rest of the group even if they have free accounts". [71]

Lee D'Amato of Screen Rant and Christian Hoffer of ComicBook.com both criticized the decision to remove à la carte pricing from D&D Beyond in 2024. [146] [155] Hoffer called removing the ability to purchase character options individually an "awful move" as many sourcebooks are geared towards dungeon masters with only a "handful of items for players". [155] D'Amato opined that it was "incredibly unfair to players" as "players now have to choose between limiting their options and spending tons of money" instead of "inexpensively" creating characters "a few dollars a pop". D'Amato also viewed the change as a potential barrier to entry for new players as "prospective players who aren't even sure if they like DnD yet will be even more reluctant to explore the wide variety of character options available if they need to spend so much money to see them". [146]

Revised 5E (2024) implementation

Matt Bassil, for Wargamer , highlighted the "fairly mixed reception" to the August 2024 update announcement on social media. [63] Christian Hoffer, for ComicBook.com, commented that "many D&D Beyond users are expressing their displeasure about having a portion of the 2024 rules 'forced' on them with no way to opt out" with "long threads complaining about the changes" and that the proposed homebrew solution with manual input has "generally not been received well by players". [65] Charlie Hall of Polygon criticized the "borderline Byzantine set of steps required to keep characters based on the 10-year-old version of the game rules running perfectly inside the modern, web-based app". [62] Hall viewed the need for the user "to re-build some 2014-era spells and magic items" to work within the updated character sheet as the "most egregious" aspect of the change. [62] He foresaw "the biggest problem" being that "there will suddenly be the assumption that players who cut their teeth on the 2014 rules will need to understand the 2024 rules revision in order to get the most use out of the D&D Beyond platform at the table". [62] Bassil thought it was "a bummer for anyone currently playing a 5e DnD campaign through Beyond that didn't intend to switch". [63] He commented that users will still be able to access their copies of older sourcebooks "so it's not that this content will be completely inaccessible through the platform – it'll just be harder to use". [63] J.R. Zambrano of Bell of Lost Souls also highlighted that "the old rules will still be there" in the compendium. [64] Zambrano explained that a significant part of the "rules references will reflect the new stuff" and when "clicking on a condition", "the 2024 version of the condition" will appear instead of the 2014 version. [64] He commented that while much of it is "minor changes", these are still changes "to the functional part of the website that you'll use when playing". [64]

Ash Parrish of The Verge commented that the original announced changes to functionality meant some D&D Beyond users "spent the last 72 hours in a state of panic" but a "weekend of backlash on social media" led Wizards of the Coast to adjust their rollout by "simply adding the new content and giving players the choice to opt in". [67] James Whitbrook of Gizmodo opined "it's good that Wizards learned the lesson relatively quickly this time" following fan pushback as opposed to how "it initially handled the backlash against its planned changes to the Open Game License last year". [68] Whitbrook thought it was "kind of wild" that they didn't foresee any issues with shifting the "onus" onto players "to make the intended compatibility smooth" especially as the updated edition of Dungeons & Dragons "wants to treat itself more like a living game than ever before–where its ruleset can be regularly tweaked and updated as necessary–while also maintaining a level of continuity with players still using the Fifth Edition rules they've had over the course of D&D's massive popularity boom in the last 10 years". [68] Lin Codega, now for Rascal, explained that the backlash was an indication of an edition war that "Wizards of the Coast has been trying to avoid at all costs" – in an attempt maintain the game as 5th Edition, Wizards has been advertising how the changes will be a backwards compatible update and not a new edition of Dungeons & Dragons. [156] Codega opined that this "game design ethos" led D&D Beyond to ask "users to re-engineer backwards compatible game functionality" when the "transition should have been seamless for the user" and by fumbling this, Wizards has engendered "the edition wars discourse they so desperately wanted to avoid". [156] They commented that updates either "functionally matter (which would support the production and need for a new edition) or they functionally don't (which means that there is no need for them to change at all)" and there's a question on if "this is a new edition or it is errata. The books say it's the former; the digital tools say the latter". [156] Codega highlighted that the "backlash to D&D Beyond's update" is a potential indication that the marketing strategy to maintain 5th Edition in such a way "to entice both old and new players" might not be working. [156]

Notes

Related Research Articles

<i>Dungeons & Dragons</i> Fantasy role-playing game

Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG) originally created and designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules (TSR). It has been published by Wizards of the Coast, later a subsidiary of Hasbro, since 1997. The game was derived from miniature wargames, with a variation of the 1971 game Chainmail serving as the initial rule system. D&D's publication is commonly recognized as the beginning of modern role-playing games and the role-playing game industry, which also deeply influenced video games, especially the role-playing video game genre.

<i>Dragon</i> (magazine) Magazine published by TSR

Dragon is one of the two official magazines for source material for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game and associated products, along with Dungeon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wizards of the Coast</span> American game publisher

Wizards of the Coast LLC is an American publisher of games, most of which are based on fantasy and science-fiction themes, and formerly an operator of retail game stores. In 1999, toy manufacturer Hasbro acquired the company and currently operates it as a subsidiary. During a February 2021 reorganization of Hasbro, WotC became the lead part of a new division called "Wizards & Digital".

<i>Players Handbook</i> Series of Dungeons & Dragons player rulebooks

The Player's Handbook is the name given to one of the core rulebooks in every edition of the fantasy role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons (D&D). It does not contain the complete set of rules for the game, and only includes rules for use by players of the game. Additional rules, for use by Dungeon Masters (DMs), who referee the game, can be found in the Dungeon Master's Guide. Many optional rules, such as those governing extremely high-level players, and some of the more obscure spells, are found in other sources.

The Open Game License (OGL) is a public copyright license by Wizards of the Coast that may be used by tabletop role-playing game developers to grant permission to modify, copy, and redistribute some of the content designed for their games, notably game mechanics. However, they must share-alike copies and derivative works.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">D&D Adventurers League</span> Tabletop role-playing game association

D&D Adventurers League is the organized play association for the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) roleplaying game which is officially administered by D&D's publisher, Wizards of the Coast. It was rebranded with the launch of D&D's 5th Edition in 2014. Prior to 2014, it was known as the Role Playing Game Association Network. The organization was originally established by D&D's previous publisher, TSR, Inc., in 1980.

Several different editions of the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) fantasy role-playing game have been produced since 1974. The current publisher of D&D, Wizards of the Coast, produces new materials only for the most current edition of the game. However, many D&D fans continue to play older versions of the game and some third-party companies continue to publish materials compatible with these older editions.

<i>Unearthed Arcana</i> AD&D supplement by Gary Gygax

Unearthed Arcana is the title shared by two hardback books published for different editions of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Both were designed as supplements to the core rulebooks, containing material that expanded upon other rules.

The Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) fantasy role-playing game has been adapted into many related products, including magazines, films and video games.

The role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons (D&D), which receives significant attention in the media and in popular culture, has been the subject of numerous controversies. The game sometimes received unfavorable coverage, especially during its early years in the early 1980s. Because the term D&D may be mistakenly used to refer to all types of role-playing games, some controversies regarding D&D mistakenly pertain to role-playing games in general, or to the literary genre of fantasy. Some controversies concern the game and its alleged impact on those who play it, while others concern business issues at the game's original publisher, TSR. The game is now owned by Wizards of the Coast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Mearls</span> American game designer

Michael Mearls is an American writer and designer of fantasy role-playing games (RPGs) and related fiction.

<i>D&D</i> Insider

D&D Insider (DDI) was Wizards of the Coast's subscription method of digitally delivering periodic content, information, and online tools for the 4th Edition of Dungeons & Dragons to the game's players from 2008 to 2014. The service officially shut down in 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tabletop role-playing game</span> Form of role-playing game using speech

A tabletop role-playing game, also known as a pen-and-paper role-playing game, is a kind of role-playing game (RPG) in which the participants describe their characters' actions through speech and sometimes movements. Participants determine the actions of their characters based on their characterization, and the actions succeed or fail according to a set formal system of rules and guidelines, usually involving randomization. Within the rules, players have the freedom to improvise, and their choices shape the direction and outcome of the game.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roll20</span> Website for playing tabletop roleplaying games

Roll20 is a website consisting of a set of tools for playing tabletop role-playing games, also referred to as a virtual tabletop, which can be used as an aid to playing in person or remotely online. The site was launched in 2012 after a successful Kickstarter campaign. The platform's goal is to provide an authentic tabletop experience that does not try to turn the game into a video game, but instead aids the game master in providing immersive tools online. The blank slate nature of the platform makes integrating a multitude of tabletop role-playing games possible.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fantasy Grounds</span> Virtual tabletop software for roleplaying games

Fantasy Grounds is a virtual tabletop application, which contains a set of tools to assist players of tabletop role-playing games playing either in person or remotely.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dungeons & Dragons Starter Set</span> Role-playing game rule set

The Dungeons & Dragons Starter Set is a category of companion accessories across multiple editions of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. In general, the Starter Set is a boxed set that includes a set of instructions for basic play, a low level adventure module, pre-generated characters, and other tools to help new players get started.

A digital tabletop game is a video game genre characterized by gameplay similar to physical tabletop games such as board games, card games, and role-playing games. Many digital tabletop games are adaptions of existing physical games, although some digital tabletop games were created only as video games. Players can also use tabletop game simulators to recreate tabletop games using various game pieces.

Demiplane is a company that creates digital toolsets for playing tabletop role-playing games which can be used as an aid to playing in person or remotely online. The Demiplane platform's main services are game matchmaking, game hosting and licensed content via the Nexus digital toolset. Nexus provides access to digital rulebooks, adventures, and other supplements; it also provides digital tools like a character builder and character sheets. The platform was launched in 2020; early access to Nexus launched in 2021. In June 2024, the company was acquired by the virtual tabletop (VTT) company Roll20.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "D&D Beyond's Launch Is Here". Archived from the original on December 21, 2018. Retrieved December 21, 2018.
  2. ↑ "Announcing D&D Beyond". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on December 24, 2018. Retrieved December 23, 2018.
  3. ↑ "D&D Beyond Twitch Extension". dndbeyond. Archived from the original on March 6, 2019. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
  4. 1 2 "9 Things You Didn't Know About D&D Beyond". TheGamer. September 8, 2019. Archived from the original on December 3, 2019. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  5. 1 2 "Fandom and Curse Media are joining forces". Wikia.com. Archived from the original on December 12, 2018. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
  6. 1 2 "Curse Media and Fandom Are Joining Forces!". dndbeyond.com. Archived from the original on December 21, 2018. Retrieved December 21, 2018.
  7. 1 2 Vlessing, Etan (April 13, 2022). "Hasbro Buys D&D Beyond for $146.3M in Gaming Expansion". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on April 17, 2022. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
  8. 1 2 Vanjani, Karishma. "Hasbro Pushes for Digital Growth of Dungeons & Dragons With $146M Acquisition". www.barrons.com. Archived from the original on April 19, 2022. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
  9. 1 2 "Change of D&D Beyond Ownership". D&D Beyond (Press release). April 22, 2022. Archived from the original on May 14, 2022. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
  10. 1 2 Zambrano, J. R. (May 11, 2022). "D&D Beyond Officially Changes Hands May 18th". Bell of Lost Souls. Archived from the original on October 5, 2022. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
  11. ↑ "D&D Beyond Now Available". Wizards of the Coast . August 15, 2017. Archived from the original on December 28, 2019. Retrieved December 28, 2019.
  12. 1 2 "Beta Report - The Week After". dndbeyond.com. Archived from the original on December 21, 2018. Retrieved December 21, 2018.
  13. 1 2 "D&D Beyond's Dungeon Master and player tools will launch August 15 [update]". VentureBeat. July 18, 2017. Archived from the original on September 25, 2021. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  14. 1 2 Naudus, K. (July 18, 2017). "New 'Dungeons & Dragons' site manages the rules so you can just play". Engadget . Archived from the original on October 26, 2020. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  15. 1 2 Hall, Charlie (March 13, 2017). "Dungeons & Dragons is finally getting a proper digital app (update)". Polygon. Archived from the original on May 10, 2023. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
  16. ↑ "Welcome D&D Insiders". D&D Insider. Archived from the original on March 10, 2016. Retrieved August 21, 2023. These tools are for the fourth edition of the Dungeons & Dragons tabletop roleplaying game. If you're interested in online support for the fifth edition D&D tabletop roleplaying game, you can refer to the online basic rules or check out what's available on Fantasy Grounds.
  17. ↑ Thomas, Jeremy (June 5, 2019). "D&D Beyond Launches Encounter Builder Alpha For DMs". 411MANIA. Archived from the original on June 22, 2019. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
  18. ↑ "D&D Beyond Encounter Builder Beta Preview: The Deadliest Pokédex". TheGamer. October 31, 2019. Archived from the original on June 29, 2022. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
  19. ↑ Thomas, Jeremy (February 25, 2020). "D&D Beyond Launches Feature to Help DMs Track Combat". 411MANIA. Archived from the original on March 16, 2020. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
  20. ↑ Grebey, James (March 25, 2020). "Dungeons & Dragons players turn to virtual tabletops in record numbers due to coronavirus". SYFY WIRE. Archived from the original on April 10, 2020. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  21. ↑ Rundle, James (April 20, 2020). "Dungeons & Dragons Players Also Battle Cyber Foes Online". The Wall Street Journal . ISSN   0099-9660. Archived from the original on April 27, 2020. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  22. ↑ "My Fondest Farewell". D&D Beyond. January 15, 2021. Archived from the original on January 15, 2021. Retrieved June 30, 2022.
  23. 1 2 Zambrano, J. R. (February 5, 2021). "D&D: Big Departures At D&D Beyond". Bell of Lost Souls. Archived from the original on May 28, 2022. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  24. ↑ Sheehan, Gavin (March 7, 2021). "Adam Bradford Heads To Demiplane As Chief Development Officer". Bleeding Cool News And Rumors. Archived from the original on June 29, 2022. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  25. ↑ "A Q&A with Adam Bradford About Moving to Demiplane". GeekTyrant. Archived from the original on August 17, 2023. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  26. 1 2 Hall, Charlie (April 13, 2022). "Dungeons & Dragons owner Hasbro is buying D&D Beyond, the RPG's leading digital toolset". Polygon. Archived from the original on April 14, 2022. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
  27. ↑ "Hasbro Is Buying D&D Beyond, One of Dungeons & Dragons' Biggest Digital Toolsets". Gizmodo. April 13, 2022. Archived from the original on April 14, 2022. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
  28. ↑ "D&D Beyond to Give Away Two Dungeons & Dragons Books Next Week". ComicBook.com . May 15, 2022. Archived from the original on June 18, 2022. Retrieved June 21, 2022.
  29. ↑ Diaz, Ana (May 19, 2022). "D&D Beyond is giving away the Acquisitions Incorporated campaign book for free". Polygon. Archived from the original on June 21, 2022. Retrieved June 21, 2022.
  30. 1 2 "Dungeons & Dragons Brings Back Monstrous Compendium Series, Free for All Players". ComicBook.com. April 22, 2022. Archived from the original on June 8, 2022. Retrieved June 9, 2022.
  31. 1 2 "D&D Players Can Now Battle Vecna With Free D&D Beyond Update". Screen Rant. June 9, 2022. Archived from the original on June 19, 2022. Retrieved June 9, 2022.
  32. ↑ "D&D 5e Journeys Through The Radiant Citadel First Chapter Available For Free". TechRaptor. June 21, 2022. Archived from the original on June 21, 2022. Retrieved June 21, 2022.
  33. ↑ Codega, Linda (January 5, 2023). "Dungeons & Dragons' New License Tightens Its Grip on Competition". Gizmodo . Archived from the original on January 11, 2023. Retrieved January 12, 2023.
  34. ↑ "Dungeons and Dragons Is Jeopardizing Its Greatest Strength: Its Ubiquity". www.vice.com. January 12, 2023. Archived from the original on January 12, 2023. Retrieved January 12, 2023.
  35. ↑ "'People are leaving the game': Dungeons & Dragons fans revolt against new restrictions". The Guardian . January 13, 2023. Archived from the original on January 13, 2023. Retrieved January 13, 2023.
  36. ↑ Whitten, Sarah (January 13, 2023). "Dungeons & Dragons open game license update delayed following fan backlash". CNBC. Archived from the original on January 17, 2023. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
  37. ↑ Nattrass, J. J. (January 9, 2023). "D&D content creators outraged over licensing changes, demand the game remain "open"". NME. Archived from the original on January 12, 2023. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
  38. ↑ Northup, Travis (January 6, 2023). "Wizards of the Coast OGL Change Draws Ire From Creators and Fans Alike: 'It's Not Right'". IGN. Archived from the original on January 12, 2023. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
  39. 1 2 3 "'Dungeons & Dragons' OGL 1.1 Furor". ICv2 . January 11, 2023. Archived from the original on January 11, 2023. Retrieved January 11, 2023.
  40. ↑ Plante, Corey. "D&D's community is up in arms over a controversial change". Inverse. Archived from the original on January 13, 2023. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
  41. ↑ "Dungeons & Dragons Fans Launch D&D Beyond Cancellation Campaign Over OGL Changes". ComicBook.com. January 13, 2023. Archived from the original on January 13, 2023. Retrieved January 13, 2023.
  42. ↑ Law, Eric (January 12, 2023). "Dungeons and Dragons Players Cancel D&D Beyond Subscriptions En Masse After Insider Leak, Crash Servers". Game Rant. Archived from the original on January 16, 2023. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
  43. ↑ "Dungeons & Dragons & fear & loathing". Financial Times. January 13, 2023. Archived from the original on January 13, 2023. Retrieved January 13, 2023.
  44. ↑ Button, Danni (January 14, 2023). "Hasbro Faces Criticism Over Dungeons & Dragons Rules Change". TheStreet . Archived from the original on January 16, 2023. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
  45. ↑ "Wizards of the Coast Cancels OGL Announcement After Online Ire". Gizmodo. January 12, 2023. Archived from the original on January 12, 2023. Retrieved January 13, 2023.
  46. 1 2 "Cancelled D&D Beyond Subscriptions Forced Hasbro's Hand". Gizmodo. January 14, 2023. Archived from the original on January 17, 2023. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
  47. ↑ "Wizards of the Coast Breaks Their Silence on the Dungeons & Dragons OGL". Gizmodo. January 13, 2023. Archived from the original on January 13, 2023. Retrieved January 13, 2023.
  48. ↑ Winfrey, Ivy; Marquez Janse, Alejandra (February 4, 2023). "Fans said the future of 'Dungeons & Dragons' was at risk. So they went to battle". NPR . Archived from the original on March 12, 2023. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
  49. ↑ Smith, Rich (January 17, 2023). "A Big Change Could Be Coming for Hasbro: Should Investors Worry?". The Motley Fool. Archived from the original on January 17, 2023. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
  50. ↑ Law, Eric (January 16, 2023). "Rumor: Dungeons and Dragons May Introduce a Subscription System for One D&D". Game Rant. Archived from the original on January 17, 2023. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
  51. ↑ Murray, Sean (January 17, 2023). "D&D Beyond To Require $30 Per Player Per Month According To Leak". TheGamer. Archived from the original on January 17, 2023. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
  52. ↑ D&D Beyond [@DnDBeyond] (January 18, 2023). "Hey, everyone. We've seen misinformation popping up, and want to address it directly so we can dispel your concerns. 🧵" (Tweet). Archived from the original on January 19, 2023. Retrieved January 18, 2023– via Twitter.
  53. ↑ "D&D Beyond Addresses Misinformation Swirling Around OGL 1.1 Leak Controversy". ICv2 . January 20, 2023. Archived from the original on January 20, 2023. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
  54. ↑ "Dungeons & Dragons Pushes Back on One D&D Survey, D&D Beyond Rumors". ComicBook.com. January 19, 2023. Archived from the original on January 19, 2023. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
  55. ↑ Murray, Sean (January 19, 2023). "D&D Beyond Denies Plans To Raise Subscription Fees To $30". TheGamer. Archived from the original on January 19, 2023. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
  56. ↑ Patel, Nilay (March 31, 2023). "The surprisingly complex business of toys, with Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks". The Verge. Archived from the original on April 1, 2023. Retrieved April 1, 2023.
  57. ↑ Adderson, Russell (March 30, 2023). "The official D&D Virtual Tabletop is looking pretty slick". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on April 1, 2023. Retrieved April 1, 2023.
  58. 1 2 "You'll be able to playtest D&D's official virtual tabletop later this year". Dicebreaker. March 28, 2023. Archived from the original on April 1, 2023. Retrieved April 1, 2023.
  59. 1 2 Carter, Chase (July 26, 2024). "Hasbro will need more than video game execs before "going all in" on digital play" . Rascal News. Archived from the original on July 28, 2024. Retrieved July 28, 2024.
  60. 1 2 Bevan, Rhiannon (July 28, 2024). "Wizards Of The Coast Accused Of Removing D&D Beyond Contributors From Book Credits". TheGamer . Archived from the original on August 2, 2024. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  61. 1 2 3 Hoffer, Christian (August 22, 2024). "D&D Beyond Lays Out 2024 Core Rulebook Rollout, All Spells and Magic Items Updated to 2024 Version". ComicBook.com . Archived from the original on September 19, 2024. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
  62. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Hall, Charlie (August 23, 2024). "Using the D&D Beyond digital toolset is going to get worse before it gets better". Polygon. Archived from the original on September 19, 2024. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
  63. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Bassil, Matt (August 22, 2024). "DnD Beyond is deleting all 5e spells and magic items". Wargamer . Archived from the original on August 22, 2024. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
  64. 1 2 3 4 Zambrano, J. R. (August 22, 2024). "D&D Beyond Will Rollout New 5.5E Rules - Whether You Like It Or Not". Bell of Lost Souls. Archived from the original on September 19, 2024. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
  65. 1 2 Hoffer, Christian (August 24, 2024). "D&D Beyond's Planned 2024 Rules Switchover Upsets Dungeons & Dragons Players". ComicBook.com . Archived from the original on September 19, 2024. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  66. ↑ Hoffer, Christian (August 26, 2024). "Dungeons & Dragons Reverses Course on D&D Beyond Changes to 2014 and 2024 Spells". ComicBook.com . Archived from the original on August 26, 2024. Retrieved August 26, 2024.
  67. 1 2 Parrish, Ash (August 26, 2024). "D&D publisher walks back controversial changes to online tools". The Verge . Retrieved August 26, 2024.
  68. 1 2 3 Whitbrook, James (August 26, 2024). "Dungeons & Dragons Is Already Walking Back Its Latest Unforced Error". Gizmodo. Retrieved August 26, 2024.
  69. 1 2 3 "2024 D&D Beyond Ruleset Changelog [UPDATE]". D&D Beyond (Press release). August 26, 2024. Archived from the original on August 26, 2024. Retrieved August 26, 2024.
  70. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Luther, Andrew J. (May 20, 2018). "D&D Beyond – Is it Worth It?". Inside the Tower of Dust. Archived from the original on December 28, 2019. Retrieved December 28, 2019.
  71. 1 2 3 4 5 Benjamin, Adam (February 25, 2023). "Best Online D&D Tools". CNET. Archived from the original on March 10, 2023. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
  72. 1 2 DiLeo, Adam (July 31, 2019). "How to Play D&D for Free". IGN . Archived from the original on December 25, 2019. Retrieved December 28, 2019.
  73. ↑ Whitson, Linda (January 14, 2019). "Astral Projections – Try Before You Buy: D&D Beyond (Online Toolkit for 5e)". d20 Radio. Archived from the original on May 25, 2019. Retrieved December 28, 2019.
  74. ↑ Williams, Tommy (April 7, 2019). "New D&D Players Shouldn't Overlook the ELEMENTAL EVIL PLAYER'S COMPANION". GeekTyrant. Archived from the original on August 17, 2023. Retrieved December 28, 2019.
  75. ↑ Liptak, Andrew (July 18, 2017). "How D&D Beyond brings Gary Gygax's role-playing game into the digital age". The Verge. Archived from the original on May 29, 2020. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  76. 1 2 Bradford, Adam (January 15, 2018). "Unearthed Arcana Content on D&D Beyond". D&D Beyond. Archived from the original on December 28, 2019. Retrieved December 28, 2019.
  77. ↑ Zambrano, J. R. (January 16, 2018). "D&D: Unearthed Arcana Comes to DND Beyond". Bell of Lost Souls. Archived from the original on December 28, 2019. Retrieved December 28, 2019.
  78. 1 2 Doucette, Mellie (August 5, 2021). "The Future of Unearthed Arcana & DDB". D&D Beyond. Archived from the original on August 23, 2023. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  79. ↑ "D&D Beyond will no longer support Unearthed Arcana playtest material". Wargamer. August 6, 2021. Archived from the original on August 23, 2023. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  80. 1 2 "D&D Beyond Will Delist Two Dungeons & Dragons Rulebooks Next Week". ComicBook.com . May 11, 2022. Archived from the original on May 11, 2022. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
  81. ↑ "D&D Beyond Delisting Two Monster Manuals, Merging Into 'Monsters of the Multiverse'". TechRaptor. May 10, 2022. Archived from the original on May 10, 2022. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
  82. 1 2 "Monsters of the Multiverse D&D Beyond FAQ". D&D Beyond. May 10, 2022. Archived from the original on May 10, 2022. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
  83. 1 2 3 Hoffer, Christian (August 18, 2022). "Dungeons & Dragons Announces First Physical/Digital Bundles for Dragonlance Book". ComicBook.com . Archived from the original on August 24, 2023. Retrieved August 24, 2023.
  84. ↑ Hall, Charlie (November 7, 2022). "Which version of the new D&D Dragonlance campaign should you buy?". Polygon. Archived from the original on September 21, 2023. Retrieved August 24, 2023.
  85. 1 2 "One D&D FAQ". D&D Beyond Support. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on August 23, 2023. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  86. ↑ Clark, Caleb (April 18, 2020). "D&D Beyond: A Beginner's Guide For Players". TheGamer. Archived from the original on March 10, 2023. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
  87. ↑ Bhatia, Bipasha (September 8, 2019). "9 Things You Didn't Know About D&D Beyond". TheGamer. Archived from the original on February 18, 2023. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
  88. ↑ Melzer, Jennifer (November 19, 2021). "How to Use D&D Beyond to Create Homebrew Content". CBR . Archived from the original on March 10, 2023. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
  89. ↑ Maxwell, Lucas (January 19, 2023). "Find The Best RPG Dice Rollers Online For Your Game". BOOK RIOT. Archived from the original on March 10, 2023. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
  90. ↑ Sheehan, Gavin (May 31, 2020). "D&D Beyond Makes Its Digital Dice Public Beta Live". Bleeding Cool News And Rumors. Archived from the original on March 11, 2023. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
  91. ↑ "Digital Dice: How to roll your free or premium Digital Dice". D&D Beyond Support. Archived from the original on March 11, 2023. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
  92. ↑ Melzer, Jennifer (November 29, 2021). "How to Run a Dungeons & Dragons Campaign Using D&D Beyond". CBR. Archived from the original on March 10, 2023. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
  93. ↑ Bristol, Rory (January 6, 2020). "'D&D Beyond's' Encounter Builder Is Surprisingly Powerful". GeekDad. Archived from the original on March 11, 2023. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
  94. ↑ Barker, Davyd (September 19, 2023). "D&D Beyond Maps: How to Start Playing Today". D&D Beyond (Press release). Archived from the original on September 20, 2023. Retrieved September 19, 2023.
  95. ↑ "2D Maps FAQ". D&D Beyond Support. Archived from the original on September 20, 2023. Retrieved September 19, 2023.
  96. ↑ "New 'Dungeons & Dragons' Core Rulebooks are Due Out in 2024". ICv2 . August 26, 202. Archived from the original on August 23, 2023. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  97. ↑ "One D&D Playtest: Where & How To Sign Up". Screen Rant. September 29, 2022. Archived from the original on March 10, 2023. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  98. ↑ Kenreck, Todd (May 8, 2018). "'Rrakkma' is an Adventure League Gith Adventure that Introduces 'Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes'". D&D Beyond. Archived from the original on November 9, 2020. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  99. ↑ D&D Beyond [@DnDBeyond] (May 18, 2018). "Rrakkma is automatically unlocked with the purchase of MToF and can be viewed in the Adventures section of the Compendium" (Tweet). Retrieved March 10, 2023– via Twitter.
  100. ↑ Bradford, Adam (June 18, 2020). "We recently released 'Legends of Runeterra' unofficial content on D&D Beyond, and we are thrilled with the enthusiastic response we have seen from the community. This content will be available on DDB until Monday, August 10th". D&D Beyond. Archived from the original on October 20, 2020. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  101. ↑ Lilley, Faith Elisabeth (June 9, 2020). "These game mechanics are usable in your campaign if your DM allows them but not refined by final game design and editing. They aren't officially part of the Dungeons & Dragons game and aren't permitted in D&D Adventurers League events". D&D Beyond. Archived from the original on June 10, 2024. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  102. ↑ How Powerful Is Vecna? Vecna's Dossier and Statblock in D&D (YouTube). Dungeons & Dragons. June 9, 2022. Archived from the original on June 9, 2022. Retrieved June 9, 2022.
  103. 1 2 "Dungeons & Dragons Announces Spelljammer: Adventures in Space Box Set". ComicBook.com . April 21, 2022. Archived from the original on April 21, 2022. Retrieved April 21, 2022.
  104. ↑ "Get Ready to Blast Off! Spelljammer: Adventures in Space Is Coming August 16". D&D Beyond. April 21, 2022. Archived from the original on April 21, 2022. Retrieved April 21, 2022.
  105. ↑ "What Is the Spelljammer Academy Adventure Series?". D&D Beyond. July 11, 2022. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
  106. ↑ "Dungeons & Dragons Releases New Monstrous Compendium for Dragonlance, Adds New Red Dragon and Walrusfolk". ComicBook.com. December 5, 2022. Archived from the original on December 5, 2022. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
  107. ↑ Radulovic, Petrana (March 7, 2023). "Hugh Grant's charisma is appropriately high in official stats for D&D movie". Polygon. Archived from the original on March 7, 2023. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
  108. ↑ "Dungeons & Dragons Movie Characters Have D&D Statblocks Now". ComicBook.com . March 6, 2023. Archived from the original on March 7, 2023. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
  109. ↑ Hall, Charlie (March 28, 2023). "D&D adds Minecraft monsters with free Monstrous Compendium DLC". Polygon. Archived from the original on March 28, 2023. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
  110. ↑ "Minecraft mobs now have official D&D stat blocks - and you can download them for free today". Dicebreaker. March 28, 2023. Archived from the original on March 28, 2023. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
  111. ↑ Jarvis, Jeremy; Perkins, Christopher (March 31, 2023). Legendary Magic Items (D&D Beyond). Wizards of the Coast . Retrieved March 31, 2023.
  112. ↑ "Get Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves' Magic Items for Free". ComicBook.com. April 2, 2023. Archived from the original on April 4, 2023. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
  113. ↑ "Misplaced Monsters: Volume One". D&D Beyond. May 2, 2023. Archived from the original on May 2, 2023. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  114. ↑ Hoffer, Christian (May 2, 2023). "Dungeons & Dragons Adds New Monsters Based on Kids' Drawings". ComicBook.com . Archived from the original on May 3, 2023. Retrieved May 3, 2023.
  115. ↑ Baldur's Gate; Unlock The Baldur's Gate Gazetteer; D&D (YouTube). Dungeons & Dragons. August 23, 2023. Archived from the original on August 23, 2023. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  116. ↑ "Dungeons & Dragons Releases Surprise Magic: The Gathering Crossover". ComicBook.com . September 21, 2023. Archived from the original on September 22, 2023. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  117. ↑ Bernier, Mike (September 26, 2023). "From Minecraft x Dungeons & Dragons to Tabletop: Introducing D&D to Kids". D&D Beyond. Archived from the original on October 10, 2023. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  118. ↑ "Claim Lightning Keep now!". D&D Beyond (Product page). Archived from the original on November 7, 2023. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  119. ↑ Galvis, Michael (October 17, 2023). "Let's Build a One-Shot With Adventure Atlas: The Mortuary!". D&D Beyond. Archived from the original on October 17, 2023. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  120. ↑ "Adventure Atlas: The Mortuary". D&D Beyond (Product page). Archived from the original on October 17, 2023. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  121. ↑ Bernier, Mike (November 24, 2023). "Heroes' Feast: The Joys of Running High-Level Adventures". D&D Beyond. Archived from the original on November 22, 2023. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
  122. ↑ Weatherbed, Jess (March 19, 2024). "Lego's 3,745-piece D&D set comes with its own playable adventure". The Verge. Archived from the original on April 2, 2024. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
  123. ↑ Fallon, Sean (April 3, 2024). "LEGO's First Dungeons & Dragons Set Returns Tonight". ComicBook.com . Archived from the original on April 3, 2024. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
  124. ↑ Brink, Kyle; Perkins, Christopher; et al. (The LEGO Group) (April 1, 2024). Dungeons & Dragons: Red Dragon's Tale (PDF). Wizards of the Coast. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 3, 2024. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
  125. ↑ Yonezawa, Bruno (February 17, 2024). "D&D - Vecna: Eve of Ruin Release Date, Preorders, Bundles, & Book Info". ScreenRant. Archived from the original on March 24, 2024. Retrieved March 5, 2024.
  126. ↑ Zambrano, J. R. (March 1, 2024). "D&D: 'Vecna - Nest of the Eldritch Eye' is a One-Shot Prelude To 'Eve of Ruin'". Bell of Lost Souls. Archived from the original on April 3, 2024. Retrieved March 5, 2024.
  127. ↑ Vecna: Nest of the Eldritch Eye | Vecna: Eve of Ruin Pre-order Adventure (YouTube). Dungeons & Dragons. March 1, 2024. Archived from the original on March 5, 2024. Retrieved March 5, 2024.
  128. 1 2 Codega, Linda (August 17, 2023). "D&D Beyond's First Third-Party Product for Sale Is a Critical Role Release". Gizmodo. Archived from the original on August 17, 2023. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
  129. ↑ "Dungeons & Dragons Adds Two Ghostfire Gaming Adventures to D&D Beyond". ComicBook.com . November 30, 2023. Archived from the original on December 1, 2023. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
  130. ↑ Stretch, Andrew (November 30, 2023). "Two Ghostfire Gaming Adventures Are Now Available To Purchase On D&D Beyond, Continues Third-Party Push". TechRaptor. Archived from the original on November 30, 2023. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
  131. ↑ Dohm-Sanchez, Jeffrey (August 28, 2024). "Wizards of the Coast Reveals More 'D&D' Third Party Creator Partners". ICv2 . Retrieved August 28, 2024.
  132. ↑ "D&D Beyond - Apps on Google Play". Google Play. Archived from the original on March 5, 2020. Retrieved December 23, 2018.
  133. ↑ "D&D Beyond on the Apps Store". Apple. Archived from the original on December 24, 2018. Retrieved December 23, 2018.
  134. 1 2 "Two Years Later, D&D Beyond Nearly Has The One Feature Fans Have Always Wanted". Kotaku Australia. May 15, 2019. Archived from the original on April 2, 2020. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  135. ↑ Bradford, Adam (October 31, 2019). D&D Beyond Dev Update - Character Sheet App News & More. D&D Beyond. Event occurs at 5m22s. Archived from the original on April 15, 2022. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
  136. ↑ D&D Beyond [@DnDBeyond] (March 12, 2020). "Are you a D&D Beyond subscriber? Would you like to be an alpha tester for our new player app? Then we would love your help! Please enroll by filling out this form and you might be selected to try out the alpha!" (Tweet). Retrieved May 28, 2020– via Twitter.
  137. ↑ daf_dafydd (April 8, 2020). "Mobile Player App Alpha Feedback". D&D Beyond. Retrieved May 28, 2020. We're happy to announce that we're starting to send invites to the alpha version of the Player app! The invites are going to be distributed among the subscribers who: [...] enrolled in the alpha programme before March, 25th[.]
  138. 1 2 Law, Eric (July 31, 2024). "Dungeons and Dragons Reveals Information About New Books, Virtual Tabletop, and More". Game Rant. Archived from the original on September 14, 2024. Retrieved August 28, 2024.
  139. ↑ Zambrano, J. R. (August 27, 2024). "D&D's Virtual Tabletop, 'Project Sigil', On Display at D&D Direct". Bell of Lost Souls. Archived from the original on September 19, 2024. Retrieved August 28, 2024.
  140. 1 2 Sheehan, Gavin (August 2, 2024). "Dungeons & Dragons Provide More Info About Project Sigil". Bleeding Cool . Archived from the original on September 19, 2024. Retrieved August 28, 2024.
  141. ↑ Abbott, Benjamin; Bishop, Rollin (August 9, 2024). "Project Sigil is "the Minecraft of D&D" according to developers". GamesRadar+ . Archived from the original on September 19, 2024. Retrieved August 28, 2024.
  142. ↑ "Project Sigil Closed Beta FAQ". D&D Beyond Support. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on August 28, 2024. Retrieved August 28, 2024.
  143. ↑ Benedetto, Antonio G. Di (April 13, 2022). "Hasbro acquires D&D Beyond to be part of Wizards of the Coast". The Verge. Archived from the original on April 14, 2022. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
  144. 1 2 3 Vehovec, Doug (August 9, 2017). "D&D Beyond Pricing Announced…and a Bunch of Other Stuff, Too". Nerdarchy. Archived from the original on March 5, 2021. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  145. ↑ "D&D Beyond Marketplace Redesign: See What's New Here!". D&D Beyond (Press release). April 30, 2024. Retrieved May 3, 2024. À la carte purchases are no longer supported
  146. 1 2 3 D'Amato, Lee (May 3, 2024). "New D&D Beyond Change Just Made Playing Dungeons & Dragons A Lot Worse". Screen Rant . Archived from the original on May 4, 2024. Retrieved May 3, 2024.
  147. 1 2 "D&D Beyond Reveals Smaller Bundles". GeekTyrant. May 10, 2019. Archived from the original on August 17, 2023. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  148. 1 2 3 Hall, Charlie (March 4, 2020). "Why the Dungeons & Dragons $637 digital collection costs that much". Polygon. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  149. ↑ "Legendary Bundle". D&D Beyond. Archived from the original on February 5, 2023. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
  150. 1 2 3 4 5 6 David, Ari (April 11, 2020). "D&D Beyond: Why the Character Creator Tool Is Worth Your Time (And Money)". CBR . Archived from the original on April 20, 2020. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  151. 1 2 "D&D Beyond: How DMs Can Share Paid Content". TheGamer. April 7, 2020. Archived from the original on March 13, 2023. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  152. ↑ D'Anastasio, Cecilia (July 18, 2017). "D&D's New Digital Toolset Is A Convincing Argument Against Pen And Paper Purists". Kotaku. Archived from the original on May 29, 2020. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  153. 1 2 Sheehan, Gavin (August 28, 2017). "Streamlining The Adventure: A Good Look At 'D&D Beyond'". Bleeding Cool. Archived from the original on April 15, 2022. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  154. ↑ Wezerek, Gus (October 12, 2017). "Is Your D&D Character Rare?". FiveThirtyEight. Archived from the original on March 19, 2020. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  155. 1 2 "Critical Role Major Cast Change! - D&D Beyond Money Grab Angers Fans - Fallout RPGs Sellout!". The Character Sheet (YouTube). ComicBook.com. May 3, 2024. Event occurs at 1:49. Archived from the original on May 3, 2024. Retrieved May 3, 2024.
  156. 1 2 3 4 Codega, Lin (August 26, 2024). "Edition Wars have made a battleground of D&D Beyond" . Rascal News. Archived from the original on August 26, 2024. Retrieved August 26, 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.