The Dungeons & Dragons Virtual Table

[renau1g]

Hmm...it might be good, but D&D is a bit more complex than finding some pubs to go game with in Left 4 Dead (or any other online game) and I kinda worry about the quality of some people (My PC is Chaotic Neutral, I slit your throat while I'm on watch and take all your stuff). I really do like that there's something there... just wonder how effective it'll be (i.e. how many DM's will be sitting around waiting for PC's)

 

[Hussar]

Yeah, other than perhaps requiring at least (and possibly more) one user to be subscribed, I can't see why this would cost money. Totally understand if they want all users to be subscribed (it would suck, but, I can see why they might go this way) but, I doubt this is going to jack up the price of a DDI sub.

I could see them selling stuff to use on the DDI though. Image packs for minis, virtual monster manuals, images for PC's, that sort of thing. Got no problem with that, so long as it's not a requirement to use the table.

 

[Scribble]

Hmm...it might be good, but D&D is a bit more complex than finding some pubs to go game with in Left 4 Dead (or any other online game) and I kinda worry about the quality of some people (My PC is Chaotic Neutral, I slit your throat while I'm on watch and take all your stuff). I really do like that there's something there... just wonder how effective it'll be (i.e. how many DM's will be sitting around waiting for PC's)

Same sort of risk you might run when going to a convention though. Just the biggest convention of all.

 

[IronWolf]

Coolest things I see about this so far is that it has a lobby feature, combines with the fact that it will be on the D&D homepage... Which means it will more then likely be filled with people looking to game, without having to go through various means to find them and set it all up.

Log on- find a game- game.

Hmm...it might be good, but D&D is a bit more complex than finding some pubs to go game with in Left 4 Dead (or any other online game) and I kinda worry about the quality of some people (My PC is Chaotic Neutral, I slit your throat while I'm on watch and take all your stuff). I really do like that there's something there... just wonder how effective it'll be (i.e. how many DM's will be sitting around waiting for PC's)

Yeah, I'm with renau1g on this. Pick-up games done in a virtual lobby on the Internet sounds a whole lot like PUG'ing in the popular MMOs. I doubt I would find a quality gaming experience from a virtual lobby.

There are several good spots to find an online game - either longer term or among a community of folks who run organized play games online.

Lots of cool things about a VTT, but not sure a virtual lobby is something I would be excited about. But who knows! Maybe it will work out!

 

[IronWolf]

Same sort of risk you might run when going to a convention though. Just the biggest convention of all.

True - but people tend to act better face-to-face as opposed to when they have the anonymity of the Internet going for them.

 

[renau1g]

Same sort of risk you might run when going to a convention though. Just the biggest convention of all.

Very true... that's probably why I've never gone to a convention...well that and money.

Yeah, I'm with renau1g on this. Pick-up games done in a virtual lobby on the Internet sounds a whole lot like PUG'ing in the popular MMOs. I doubt I would find a quality gaming experience from a virtual lobby.

There are several good spots to find an online game - either longer term or among a community of folks who run organized play games online.

Lots of cool things about a VTT, but not sure a virtual lobby is something I would be excited about. But who knows! Maybe it will work out!

I do like that there's at least the options though. More options are always useful.

 

[Hussar]

Hmm...it might be good, but D&D is a bit more complex than finding some pubs to go game with in Left 4 Dead (or any other online game) and I kinda worry about the quality of some people (My PC is Chaotic Neutral, I slit your throat while I'm on watch and take all your stuff). I really do like that there's something there... just wonder how effective it'll be (i.e. how many DM's will be sitting around waiting for PC's)

I've been playing online for a long time. I've found it's pretty much the same as face to face. You get good players and bad players and it's just a matter of sifting through until you build the group you like.

As far as DM's sitting around looking for players, if you check out the various VTT sites, you'll see that there's a new DM or experienced DM looking for a player or five for pretty much any system, pretty much for any time slot. I know we could probably use another warm body in my group right now. The dreaded fifth seat at my table, for some reason, comes with a build in time release death capsule. Anyone who sits into the fifth player position invariably quits after a few months.

Sigh.

The other five of us (including the DM obviously) have been playing together for some time - the newest player has been in the group for more than a year and three of us have been gaming together for five years now, but, for some reason, that fifth seat is death.

I remember Erik Mona talking about a sort of "critical mass" for living campaigns where you get enough players and DM's so that any given convention will have Living events being run. I think the same applies to VTT games. As soon as you have a critical mass of users, there will be at least one game being run in any give time slot that will be in need of players.

Honestly, I think about a thousand users is going to be critical mass. That's about 150-200 groups (presuming weekly play), which means a game being run every hour of every day. In reality that will bunch up on North American time zones, but, then again, most of the users are North American anyway. Hopefully they can get that many users.

 

[I'm A Banana]

I could see them selling stuff to use on the DDI though. Image packs for minis, virtual monster manuals, images for PC's, that sort of thing. Got no problem with that, so long as it's not a requirement to use the table.

They gotta be careful. Right now, I can find 90% of the stuff I'd need with a quick google search. If they charge for stuff I can google for, it's not going to be worth it.

However, microtransactions might work. It's just gotta be done in such a way as though I get everything that makes the thing competitive with MapTool or even d20Pro for gratis, and then something extra-special on top of that can be charged for.

Given that MapTool has a totally free library of about 2 gigs including all the art and room features you could ever need, I don't think "art packs" qualify as something that would work.

Not sure what would, honestly. I could see them making their own tokens/monsters with unique powers and then charging for them, perhaps, but that would aggravate my "NO COLLECTIBLES" bones, and I'd be out of the VTT faster than you can say "Expansion Pack."

Still, this is all my personal limits. It's entirely possible for WotC to cash in on a few customers who wouldn't mind doing this, theoretically.

 

[IronWolf]

I do like that there's at least the options though. More options are always useful.

Options can be good. I am sure there are people that will enjoy it and I am sure there will be horror stories that come from various pick-up groups just as there are horror stories from PUG'ing in an MMO.

 

[Hussar]

KM - yeah, I can agree with that. Although, to be fair, you do get what you pay for. The art in the map pack in Maptools is great, but, sometimes a bit too much memory, or the images are the wrong size, things like that.

I'd pay a couple of bucks for a bunch of trees, or swamps or whatever. Heck, there are already all sorts of sites that sell this sort of thing - 3D Models, 3D Modeling Textures and Plugins at TurboSquid for example, although, that's more 3d models as well as straight up art. But, you get the idea.

Or premade monster tokens sold in packs would be cool - kinda like the Fiery Dragon token packs that Claudio Posas has.

Of course, virtual modules would be FANTASTIC. If everything was already coded in - all the tokens laid, maps prepped, sound, line of sight set and all that. That would be worth ten bucks to me, for sure.

Can you get all this online already? Yup. Basically you're paying for time. The time it would take to hunt up just the right image/map/sound for the adventure you're running.

I'm really hoping you can just drag and drop from the Character Builder and Monster Builder into the VTT. You can't yet, but, hopefully that will come.