A new "Character Player" type Subscription Option

The Plus and Pro Subscriptions are both set up with features that are DM-focused, placing all the cost burden on DMs (the gift option notwithstanding). I suggest a new type of subscriber option, focused on users who only play characters (hence the name, "Character Player Subscription"). Features: Character Vault: Store character sheets and maybe associated tokens, allowing you to transfer your characters from game to game. This could speed up character generation, protect beloved characters from deletion or accidents, and allow for better use of character sheets. Users would love this. Automatic DM Gifting: Half the cost of a "Character Player Subscription" is automatically designated as a gift amount for DMs of your choosing. Each month, you'll be prompted to identify your gift DMs, and the gift is automatically applied. Especially if gifts can ultimately be applied to marketplace items, this could be very powerful for enhancing games. The core idea is to set up a way for players to support Roll20 who don't want to DM at all, while building in a mechanic that contributes to cost-sharing with DMs. This approach incentivizes users via the the Character Vault, while contributing additional value to their games through the DM's subscription enhancements. Even if the rate for this subscription level is $1.99 or $2.99, it would make a significant difference. I've heard several people say "I am not a DM, so why would I subscribe?" Already, DMs contribute time and creative energy, and since the subscriber models target DMs, the DMs have to pony up the most money too. While the gift option is cool, we should set up a way for non-DM users to enhance their accounts and drive the growth of Roll20, rather than rely completely on DM contributors.

This is a pretty good idea, I'd give you an upvote, but I'm maxed out!

Thanks. I am curious to know what subscriber features would interest people who only play characters, and whether it's a common perception among players that only the GM needs to be a subscriber.

This is a good idea, question is what beneftis could the player gain from a subscription..They could have (just suggestions) Ability to Apply for a game, for future inclusion *ie if game is full Ability to import thier own images for their characters (instead of relying on dm to do so) as already explained, the ability to store character information Ability to view all games that are visable.. (just posted a suggestion for this) Votes (given a number of votes like others) Their are a few possibilities that would support the player rather than the DM

I too support this option, but am out of votes at the moment. Furthermore I agree with Keith's suggestions and would support all of them being included in the final package. In specific I would like to refine one of Keith's suggestions: the votes item. I think the 'Player Account' subscription option should get as many votes as a subscriber, and cost about a comparable amount, but gift half that amount to one of their DMs as stated in the initial proposal. This allows the players to have a signifigant voice in the development of Roll20 but also gives them incentive to try their hand at GMing and upgrade to a Mentor Account. I also have a further enhancement to this suggestion: If we can implement this automatic gifting function I would suggest that we also create a "Mentor +" account option which costs slightly more but instead of gaining any new options gifts the extra amount to users of their choice to pay for their own accounts, so that if a person has a 'player' account and decides to upgrade to 'mentor' they can continue to provide the payment for another user that is GMing for them.

Withdrew a vote from another idea that was overlapped with one I already had a vote for and relocated it here: this is a good idea and is worth supporting.

I also withdrew a vote from another idea to vote up this suggestion. ANYTHING that takes the load off of DMs and increases player investment in the games is a worthwhile thing. I think it can only help roll20 with the serious asymmetric problem of heavily invested DMs chasing after lightly-invested players.

Well said, @Dan. I would like to see a broader discussion about what features can be added for character focused players. There is an echo chamber created when mentors are mostly DMs & they have to choose between features that enhance the dm experience they are paying for, vs. those that get players excited and contributing.

I have also noticed that the players on the site are not committed to the games they join, and would like to see less of that, which I think being able to screen for people who are willing to "put their money where their mouth is" would help with a lot.

I like it. I love it. I want some more of it.

You got my vote, anything to help out the GM's sounds good to me.

I also support a player focused subscription type, though I feel giving a portion of the fee to a DM could be abused for the wrong reasons. I think instead that any resources the player has purchased(such as tokens) could be avaible to the DMs in the games that they play. Edit: course it the player left the DM would still be able to use any resources already in use, or something along those lines to stop players from holding their assets over the GM.

I like the character vault idea for a player account. I would treat supporting DMs with money as a separate suggestion, but since it is tied together in the original post... It's probably best handled by buying/spending/transferring of tokens. I would not want automatic payment for monthly accounts unless I chose to do so. It's a currency for gifting to others, and used to buy things in the marketplace. As a DM, myself, I think I would be more likely than most other players to throw a few tokens around in appreciation of other DMs. Therefore, if I already have a supporter or mentor account, I might still want to hand out a few tokens myself to others; that means I don't want gifting money to be tied to a particular account, but I would like an easier way to gift rather than entering in my payment info each time. I like the idea of having a tip jar..and it means more money for Roll20 to continue growing.

I like the idea of player accounts. I've considered paying a few times, but decided not to because most of the features didn't seem particularly relevant.  An interesting alternative might be to make it so the highest level of support of any player or the GM is what applies to the game. That way, I can by myself pro and gain the benifits of dynamic lighting and the like without actually having to GM the game myself. keith a. said: This is a good idea, question is what beneftis could the player gain from a subscription..They could have (just suggestions) Ability to Apply for a game, for future inclusion *ie if game is full Ability to import thier own images for their characters (instead of relying on dm to do so) as already explained, the ability to store character information Ability to view all games that are visable.. (just posted a suggestion for this) Votes (given a number of votes like others) Their are a few possibilities that would support the player rather than the DM I think some of these are a bad idea. The waitlist either presents and unwanted annoyance to the GMs (no, I don't want a notification that someone has paid to hold a place in line and I'm just going to post a proper listing if I need replacement players) or it does effectively nothing (I still have the posts from players who applied and am perfectly capable of contacting them myself. Players being able to import their own images (and generally manage their sheet/token themselves) is a good idea, in and of it self, but gating it to paying players effectively punishes GMs for having non-paying players and creates a weird effort imbalance in mixed groups. As for the seeing all active games... I'm not sure how I feel about that one, but I think it's main use might wind up being pestering people, which isn't a good thing.

I've only GM'd one game so far, and it was a private one for buddies I usually see in person anyway, but they liked the experience of Roll20 and a couple of them mentioned how they'd like to be able to contribute more as players. I could see this being a really big incentive to make more invested players while also netting Roll20 a bit more capital to further enhance the experience. Upvoted.

+1

How about a player level subscription gets access to the Vault, and can create a character directly in the vault (i.e. not attached to a specific game)?  So players can create characters (including tokens and portraits), ready to be imported into the next game they play. You could also allow players to buy supplements (like PHB) that are unlocked for character creation within the vault (and so import into a game whether the GM has purchased the supplement or not).  If you level up, you'd have to level up within the vault and re-export into the game to have the charactermancer reference the material.

I am a player only kind of guy. I purchased a PLUS membership just for Character creation. I did this as it was the only way I could find to play with character creation. I had to start a test game and play around until I figured it out. I will most likely not use any of the other resources available to me as my RL is pretty hectic and I barely have time to play as it is.I would gladly have purchased a Player subscription that had access to the vault and character creation. As for the automatic gifting, this I am not sure of, just seems like way to easy to manipulate. An easier way to gift would be better. Say a wallet you could put $ into and then distribute as you saw fit. Still like the basic concept and think it could be worked out to the benefit of all. Has my vote.

There is something to this suggestion. I'll try to see if I can move an upvote from somewhere else to this one.

This is an excellent idea and one that I had not even considered! You have my vote!

I like the idea of a player subscription where they can divert a portion of the $ to the GM(s) that they game with / appreciate.  The receiving GM can then use those dollars to offset their own subscription costs or purchase items in the marketplace.  It would be nice to have a credit to be able to spend on resources or modules to make the games we run even better.  This is an incentive for GMs to run more games on Roll 20,  and it is a nice way to improve the quality delivered/experienced and the economy of Roll 20 for all.  

Good Idea!! I too support this option

Could this be expanded into letting users activate compendium-sharing for games they join? Either for a player-level subscription or for the plus/pro. It would be nice for groups of friends to be able to join and benefit from this if one of them is a subscriber.