https://medium.com/oneblogshelf/roll20-onebookshelf-are-uniting-the-party-889ef8d4cb46
>As the old adage goes at gaming tables the world over, you should never split the party. We’ve taken that wisdom a step further and decided to make our party quite a bit bigger: Roll20 and OneBookShelf (DriveThruRPG / DMsGuild) are joining forces.
>Let’s talk about what this change means to our teams and also what it means to users on both platforms.
>First, this is an integration inspired by passion for tabletop gaming between two successful companies with a shared vision for the future. Roll20 and OneBookShelf both see critical competencies in one another that we know will lead to even greater success. Roll20’s roadmap has included expanding and improving their Marketplace, and OneBookShelf’s goal has long been to expand into the virtual tabletop (VTT) space. Together, we are the best way to buy, organize, and play tabletop RPGs online.
>In the coming weeks, we will add PDF support to Roll20’s VTT, giving GMs and players the ability to upload, read, share, and immediately play using any PDF in the VTT. No need to link anywhere else for your players!!
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>See a preview below of the PDF on VTT experience we will soon be rolling out in beta.
[Pic related]
>Leveling Up Your Experience
>Access content anywhere. Millions of users maintain significant libraries of content they’ve purchased on OneBookShelf sites from over 20,000 publishers and 9,000 community creators. Older editions of beloved games, delightful indie projects, and some of your favorite crowdfunded titles — as we combine roadmaps, we are committed to linking to your libraries directly on Roll20. You’ll pull up PDFs of your favorite games you bought on DriveThruRPG and access them directly inside of your Roll20 game.
>Save storage. PDFs hosted in your DriveThruRPG library will be accessible on Roll20 without affecting your storage limits. This functionality will take development time to implement, but it is a high priority on our shared roadmap.
>Forging the Future
>Best-in-class marketplace. Combining Roll20 with DriveThruRPG’s new marketplace will offer users a high-quality experience while perusing a massive catalog of hundreds of thousands of TTRPG titles, more than 20 times the current number of offerings on the Roll20 Marketplace. Users on Roll20 can now look forward to new game content discovery connected seamlessly to the virtual tabletop.
>Seamless adventuring experience. OneBookShelf and Roll20 want to provide innovative digital tools for every GM and player. As the newly designed DriveThruRPG marketplace (preview here) and the Roll20 platform become more closely integrated, we will be able to offer users all of the advantages of the biggest and most accessible virtual tabletop platform, plus the quality-of-life benefits that a new store design, industry-veteran staff, and our huge catalog of content can provide.
>Improved store functionality embedded seamlessly into the Roll20 VTT means publishers and content creators will gain access to a wider audience of GMs and players, right in the game space where they play those games.
>Empowering Content Creator Wizardry
>Maximizing reach. Whether you are a large publisher or an indie innovator, we want to amplify your audience with a best-in-class platform and access to over 10 million users who play TTRPGs. Improved OneBookShelf store functionality embedded into Roll20 means your content will gain greater exposure to a wider audience.
>Hybrid PDF conversion. With PDF libraries coming to the VTT, creators will drastically reduce the friction of bringing their content to life in the virtual gaming space. Adding direct PDF access means that publishers can shave hundreds of hours from their conversion process, bringing their content to market in a fraction of the time previously required. Supplement those PDF offerings with map packs, character art, and other enhancements to the VTT for hybrid bundles for users.
>The Greatest Force for Gaming
>The industry-leading marketplace with eleven distinct storefronts joining the world’s foremost VTT is just the beginning. Having a combined team now 80 strong, including roughly 50 developers, designers, content experts, and product managers, we are poised to create a host of improvements and new tools. We aim to be the best place to find, buy, create, sell, collect, organize, and play your tabletop roleplaying games, whether virtual or in-person.
>We’ve only begun to imagine what we can do together.
>See a full list of Frequently Asked Questions for publishers and creators. [https://onebookshelfpublisherservice.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/7752903305235]
>If you are a OneBookShelf (DriveThruRPG, Dungeon Masters Guild, etc.) creator or publisher with more questions, please contact [email protected].
>If you are a Roll20 creator or publisher with more questions, please contact [email protected].
>If you are a publication with media inquiries, please contact [email protected].
https://onebookshelfpublisherservice.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/7752903305235
>Is the Roll20 Marketplace or any OneBookShelf Marketplace going to shut down?
>No. Both Roll20 and OneBookShelf were doing great prior to this, and now we’re even stronger. There is no risk of anything shutting down.
>Do we need to sign a new contract?
>At some point in the coming months, when you log into your OneBookShelf site publisher account, you’ll be prompted with an update to your publisher agreement. There’s no material change to any terms of business; it’s just an update to account for legal formalities of the agreement. Similarly, there will be no change to the Roll20 Marketplace Creator agreement.
>Will there be any changes to my fees or royalties?
Your fees and costs associated with either organization will stay the same.
>Will there be any changes to any OneBookShelf sites?
>All OneBookShelf marketplaces (including DMsGuild, Wargame Vault, DriveThruComics, etc.) will continue to operate without change as part of this amalgamation.
>Will we be dealing with new representatives now?
>No one previously with Roll20 or OneBookShelf is leaving as a result of these changes. Your contacts remain the same as before. In the longer term, the publisher-facing teams from both sides will gradually be working more closely together to serve you better.
>How does this move help publishers?
>This consolidation is a good strategic move for both parties that’s been years in the making, and it puts us all collectively closer to the user experience we want to deliver.
>This move should bring you better sales because it provides a superior opportunity to meet current customer demands: You will be able to sell content to people where they are actually playing games online. With Roll20 launching PDF support on the virtual tabletop, there’s new value to PDF content for tabletop RPG players, with minimal conversion investment.
>The overlap of Roll20 customers and OneBookShelf customers is surprisingly small, which means this is a large cross-selling opportunity, bringing content from each platform to the other platform’s audience – thus bringing more customers and driving more sales for you.
>You will also be able to present and sell your content in all available formats, and in whatever combinations and pricing schemes you prefer (while we provide data on what we find to be best practices for maximizing revenue).
>Will we need to manage two separate accounts now?
>For the moment, yes, but in the longer term, we expect you may have a single publisher account that allows you to manage titles across all marketplaces.
>Are the marketplaces going to be joining together too?
>As far as we know at this juncture, they will remain separate.
>What do the changes look like in the shorter term?
>First, content accessibility. Millions of users maintain significant libraries of content they’ve purchased on OneBookShelf sites; with a little teamwork, we’ll be able to link those libraries directly into user accounts on the Roll20 platform. That means a customer will be able to pull up PDFs they bought on DriveThruRPG and access them directly inside of their Roll20 game.
>Next, file size and storage limits. We believe users should be able to access files hosted in a DriveThruRPG library without affecting their storage limits on Roll20.
>And what is the long-term plan?
>As the new DriveThruRPG marketplace (now being previewed) and the Roll20 platform become more closely integrated, we will be able to offer users all of the advantages of the biggest VTT platform out there, which is improving constantly, plus all the quality-of-life benefits that a new marketplace design, industry-veteran staff, and our huge collective catalog of content can provide.
>These integrated features should appeal to publishers and content creators, since improved store functionality embedded seamlessly into the Roll20 VTT environment means their content will gain better exposure to a wider audience of potential customers, right in the game space where they are already playing those games.
>Beyond those things, we will need time for our teams to work more closely together and develop a roadmap based on our current and expected capabilities.
>Can we sell PDFs on the Roll20 store?
>Soon, yes. We will make it possible, pending technical teams reviewing and assessing that implementation.
>Increasing your ability to make sales via the Roll20 platform is a high priority.
>Will we be able to sell print-on-demand titles via the Roll20 store?
>No. For now, nothing changes regarding POD books or cards on OneBookShelf sites. You’ll still set them up and sell them, as ever, via the OneBookShelf/DriveThru interface.
>What if we are working on VTT content now or we already sell VTT assets?
>That’s great. If you already sell on both Roll20 and on DriveThruRPG, then not much changes for you. If anything, more people will see your content, buy it, and be able to use it right away.
>Eventually, your single account may connect you to both platforms, so it should simplify some things in your process.
>Will there be an opportunity for “Hybrid PDF” packaged content?
>Hybrid PDF content refers to maps and tokens semi-converted to VTT content (as opposed to a full compendium conversion), to be used on Roll20 together in conjunction with PDF content.
>This is still a viable option that would allow us to take advantage of both DTRPG’s and Roll20’s respective strengths in the short term, yes. As PDF integration is unlocked on the Roll20 Marketplace, that content can be complemented by Addons, Modules, or Compendiums that pull out some of the PDF titles’ most VTT-friendly features, making for a fast conversion project with immediate added value for customers.
>What if we don’t care about VTTs or other digital platforms?
>That’s fine too! But if you are open to it, then this new arrangement might help you move into a space where a lot of people play games, giving your content much greater exposure.
>However, you can keep on making and selling PDFs just as you do now.
>Is DriveThruRPG still working with other VTTs like Fantasy Grounds?
>SmiteWorks, the folks behind Fantasy Grounds, have confirmed that they will continue to support and sell Fantasy Grounds-compatible products on both DMsGuild and DriveThruRPG. Nothing will change for users there.
>We aren’t planning any changes to how Foundry or other VTT content is sold currently on the DriveThruRPG marketplace. We believe we can maintain friendly relationships with other VTT platforms, as we feel that there is ample room for us and our industry to grow together.
>In short, if other VTT platforms are still willing to work with us, then we feel the same way.
>What about Astral: Will we shut it down?
>Yes, we will be closing the Astral VTT platform in August. We will be making an announcement regarding this within the next week, and we’ll offer some new options to users there.
>OneBookShelf community programs: Do they all need to be renegotiated?
>We have already spoken with some of our biggest licensors, and we plan to speak with other publishers who have community programs with us in the coming days.
>It is our hope and our intent that we’ll eventually be able to open up all of our existing and future community programs to Roll20 content.
>How does this change affect my exclusivity?
>Any exclusivity you had selling on OneBookShelf sites (with the exception of DMsGuild and Storytellers Vault content) or on Roll20 now opens to selling across both marketplaces.
>you will be able to sell content to people where they are actually playing games online
Imagine thinking there actually a market for this.
I think there might be, actually.
I literally saw an article that said Roll 20 has over 10 million users.
Gamergate all over again
How?
social integration should never be included with marketplaces.
Steam did it ok... Though I don't really give a frick about most of the social stuff.
>lose whole steam library because you called someone a word that arbitrarily was banned like an increasing amount of them are
great digital marketplace
>Using Steam to talk to people while gaming
Any other service is better.
>company trying to set itself up as a steam-esque centrepiece of online TTRPGs
>it feels like using a website from 2005 and slower to boot
Why are they all fricking like this?
I've used roll20 a fair amount and it's ok, but yeah the site is absolutely dated as frick. I now use Foundry and like it a hell of a lot more.
>the online store that bans your product if it offends their particular social/political opinions is teaming up with VTT service that heavily shills DMs who only hold particular social/political opinions
I can only see good things coming from this marriage. And by “good things” I mean the acceleration towards industry ruin. Godspeed, Roll20.
Since when has tg been a place for shill threads this blatant
Yeah I gotta say why I find the idea interesting... Homeboy just straight up is copying a fricking press release.
Will this mean WOTC will release official 5e PDFs on DriveThru again?
More likely, it means WOTC will take off all the 5e products off of Roll 20 and make them exclusive to DnDBeyond.
I’m confused, so are they officially merging, in like a corporate sense?
Ok goody I can use all those books I bought off drivethru..... can I go to my private collection of pdf and upload those? I have tons of books I wanna run and I dont have them linked/tied to some store. will I be denied my stack of books cuz its not drivethru/roll20 bought? Will my collection of pdf some bought some downloaded be treated like it doesnt exist? or will I be able to uploaded my non drivethru pdf to use?
I have a whole car wars campaign I would play online roll20 if so
from the gifs posted it seems you'll be able to drag and drop any pdf from your pc but it'll probably count against your file size limit
hmm interesting. I'll be running car wars and spelljammer if thats the case
Yeah, that'll probably be removed once companies complain.
English is not my first language so sometimes technical speak makes me confused: does this mean if I own PDF of say Scion 2E on DriveThruRPG, I own licenses for it on Roll20 to use functionality like sheets, rolling and pregen stuff?
No, you can just view the PDF in roll20