Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft

Hi all, I am thinking about DMing & hosting  Ravenloft  here when it comes out - Used to DM this back with  AD&D 2e , so I have a history with it, & very excited to see its return (ever hopeful they will reintroduce Lankhmar!). I'm a little confused about pricing though. On D&DBeyond it is $29.99; here it is $49.95. I would rather have the pack here as I DM here, but what do I get here that I wouldn't at DDB? $20 extra is quite a bit, so hoping for some extra content I can use, maps maybe, don't know. Any explanations would be appreciated!

The "extra" on here is that everything is SET UP in roll20 format. Maps are on PAGES and properly sized with grid settings. Tokens are on the Map Pages. The tokens have their HP set up! The tokens have their nameplates. NPC's have character sheets. Handouts are in the JOURNALS.  The picture is already on the handout.  The handout is already Titled with the name of that art. The GM reading is all in Journals too, with formatted text, categorized into folders, going in order of the module/product. That is a LOT of work & clicks that's saved for you, to get started running the game on VTT, compared to needing to implement all that from reading the module somewhere else. Now, if you just READ the module and then run your whole game with voice & theater of the mind on Roll20's webcam comms, not using VTT maps & tokens & handouts & character sheets, then okay I could see buying it somewhere else.

Well, we hope that everything will be set up in roll20 format, but I would not take bets. I think the point is more that Roll20's licensing forces them to take the same prices as your FLGS takes for the printed books.  

I purchased Curse of Strahd and ran it, everything was set up as I'd expect it to be.  I would never consider running that campaign on Roll20 by trying to DIY using a version I'd bought elsewhere.  $50 is a bargain, even when I'd already bought the hardcopy. I was under the impression Van Richten's Guide was more supplementary and had a lot of info about other planes of dread.  That book might be more helpful to have a hc or on D&DB than Roll20 (assuming it's more flavor/lore than encounters, monsters, and maps).

Good point, Scott. I'll have to have a look at what it's offering. 

For something like the new Ravenloft book coming out, that will be short on adventures (so very little map/dynamic lighting setup) there's absolutely no point in purchasing it on Roll20 for $20 extra. It's an outrageous markup. The longer adventure path books like Strahd however, you do get a lot of stuff setup that would be a chore to do on your own, like the lighting. Still not sure getting maps setup is worth $20 when something like the Beyond20 extension could take care of everything else for you.

Ravenloft is best of the Roll20 WoTC campaigns published so far.  Totally worth it.