One Book Shelf and Roll20 Announcement

[Easy E]

Greetings,

I came to share this announcement from One Book Shelf and Roll20 about them aligning. 

https://medium.com/oneblogshelf/roll20-onebookshelf-are-uniting-the-party-889ef8d4cb46

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!!

For those that do not know One Bookshelf does more than just D&D content.  They are a network of sites dedicated to all sorts of games, including Wargaming via The Wargame Vault. 

I wonder how this new "alliance" will impact content outside of the RPG space and it there is plans to bring the Roll20 engine to more game types?  The announcement does not really discuss this too much, but simply talking about aligning their visions. 

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.

Of course, for those who publish on these platforms, this opens up a lot of questions.  For the most part, they look like they will be staying separated and the FAQ was helpful. 

https://onebookshelfpublisherservice.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/7752903305235

So, your thoughts on this update and announcement?

[Elbows]

I'm not a fan of Roll20, but this good news - I think(?) considering someone just bought DnD Beyond...and there were fears that they would buy up Roll20 and massively limit third party assets, etc.

[boneio]

I use both platforms. The FAQ is reassuring as I feared changes to each that may make it worse! Of the two, the OneBookShelf sites are the ones I'd like to remain stable. There are lots of VTTs.

[robh]

As part of the One Book Shelf revised conditions there are also less welcome changes. They have given themselves the right to examine and vet the social media accounts of publishers/sellers and presumably VTT hosts.

[Elbows]

But of course...

[Daeothar]

I'm not heavily invested in either, but I can see both the concerns and advantages (concerns for the users, advantages for the companies, obviously  ).

My group made excessive use of Roll20 during lockdown, but now that we can meet face to face again, it's been moved aside. but who knows when we will be needing it again eh...