D&D (2024) Character Origins Playtest Poll

[HammerMan]

I doubt anyone has really tried it enough to have a reasonable sample-size of experiences with it to judge any better than a thorough reader of the materials who hasn't actually tried it.

WotC clearly isn't looking for the feedback of people who have actually tried it enough to learn much from the experience, or they would have had a longer survey turn around.

That doesn’t reassure me

 

[Parmandur]

That doesn’t reassure me

If it makes you feel better, for actual balance purposes WotC has a large private playtest network that does in-deph playtesting.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

Sorry for misunderstanding. I understood that when you multiplied out what was going on here out to much bigger numbers, you were using Enworld's posts as a sample size of the larger UA survey responder base. Please elucidate what you meant since I'm not sure what you were trying to get at if not using Enworld as a representative sample to project outwards from.

I am showing how it may not look like much but IF (key word if I used it in og post too) it is even close to what we can expect from this surveys will be more didn't even try then did try... I am using the number we have (the only number) and saying it is a sad number that scares me... not "Scientifically this proves that ______" I am saying "These numbers we have are sad and IF it is even close then it will mean bad things"

so again, I am NOTt saying that you can use an enworld poll to extrapolate scientificly how it WILL work, but as the only numbers why it makes me FEAR WHAT COULD BE...

especially with the naked backlash against anything 4e in next being made by people who didn't play 4e it is seeming to be a bit of history repeating

Whomever told that to you is wrong. If you're silent on something that means you're giving placid approval of it.

I agree and I said as much (but in less elegant words) in the thread about inspiration (that as of Saturday will be 4 session trial.

You MAY NOT GET WHAT YOU WANT. …BUT… if they only ever hear yes-person responses, the content won't be nearly as good in the end as it could have been. Outcry is just as important as enthusiastic support.

except (and not just here) I have already seen people both threatening to 'stuff the ballot boxes' and telling people NOT to put negative things about what that person disagrees with... between those people and now this showing 2-1 that here, the place I expect the MOST amount of hardcore gamers that spend time gaming, is not testing just going by gut.

This is their job. Their business is riding on making this content the best it can be. The way they're looking at the data they'll be able to piece apart what's necessary to piece apart. And most of the data won't be necessary to pull apart, anyway.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

If it makes you feel better, for actual balance purposes WotC has a large private playtest network that does in-deph playtesting.

there track record on balance doesn't make me feel so hot either...

 

[CleverNickName]

Heck, I'm still playtesting the "Giant Options" UA from last month. I haven't had time to finish reading this material, let alone try it out with my gaming group.

(Granted, it's not a huge priority for us. We're quite happy with 5E + Tasha's.)

 

[OB1]

Playtest survey is up! Interestingly, they asked about whether you playtested material for races, backgrounds, and feats, but NOT if you playtested material from the rules glossary.

 

[Parmandur]

there track record on balance doesn't make me feel so hot either...

Prepare for disappointment, I suppose.

 

[Parmandur]

Heck, I'm still playtesting the "Giant Options" UA from last month. I haven't had time to finish reading this material, let alone try it out with my gaming group.

(Granted, it's not a huge priority for us. We're quite happy with 5E + Tasha's.)

It's live yill 9/15, no rush.

 

[fluffybunbunkittens]

It's curious that there was no question about the tone of certain things (orc lore, human size, half-race things, etc).

 

[Marandahir]

I am showing how it may not look like much but IF (key word if I used it in og post too) it is even close to what we can expect from this surveys will be more didn't even try then did try... I am using the number we have (the only number) and saying it is a sad number that scares me... not "Scientifically this proves that ______" I am saying "These numbers we have are sad and IF it is even close then it will mean bad things"

so again, I am NOTt saying that you can use an enworld poll to extrapolate scientificly how it WILL work, but as the only numbers why it makes me FEAR WHAT COULD BE...

Ahh I see now what you mean. I'd suggest that that fear should be alleviated from the publication of past statistics of how many responses they've gotten, and that the vast majority of those people are just playing the game and enjoying what they get, not arguing about things online or getting influenced by posters or YTers saying "this sucks!" or "this is awesome!" - they heard about the playtest, downloaded it, played it, and now will respond to the survey.

especially with the naked backlash against anything 4e in next being made by people who didn't play 4e it is seeming to be a bit of history repeating

Despite that, a Balor-full of 4e materials made it through D&D Next and into 5e. It's not the same game, nor is it presented the same way, but there's almost as much of an influence from 4e as there is from 3e in the 2014 rules. I wouldn't worry too much about how some vocal minority are talking.

I agree and I said as much (but in less elegant words) in the thread about inspiration (that as of Saturday will be 4 session trial.

Glad we're on the same page. This isn't Democracy in action, but it IS a chance to impact and influence the direction of the 2024 rules, and making your voice heard by the Devs in the surveys is the biggest thing you can do to influence the state of the game towards something you want, or away from something you don't want.

except (and not just here) I have already seen people both threatening to 'stuff the ballot boxes' and telling people NOT to put negative things about what that person disagrees with... between those people and now this showing 2-1 that here, the place I expect the MOST amount of hardcore gamers that spend time gaming, is not testing just going by gut.

Those people threatening are being bad and inappropriate. I believe they're also threatening to break the TOS of the playtest. And if they're actively doing this to supress your voice on the issue, I'd suggest reporting them on whatever forums you're discussing, whether here or otherwise. But I'm not a MOD so don't take me word there as Enworld TOS gospel…

Regarding this 2-1 showing, that's quite representative of the make up of people who visit Enworld, actually. While almost certainly everyone registered on this forum have played a TTRPG at some point in their life, a lot of forum goers come here to talk shop because we lack suitable gaming outlets for whatever reason. We may be between gaming groups, or may have lost the time we once had to play as often, or some other reason. But we want a connection with other folks who love the game, so we come back and discuss it. Theorycrafters are not the Target Demographic of D&D, but they are a Peripheral Demographic (as people who buy the products to think about them) that sometimes overlaps with the Target audience (people who play or may be convinced to play). It's not just that we aren't a representative sample, we're the opposite of that. We're a SPECIFIC piece of the pie and any inference made from this 2-1 response (which itself is not representative of the people who post on Enworld about D&D) should not be extrapolated to all the other slices. Maybe to other forums, but not the player-base at large. The actual proportion of people who respond to the survey and people who have played it is likely to be quite different, and as others have said above, they're actually asking if you played with these options (but interestingly only specific ones presented; those are likely the only ones they actually care about whether you played or just theorycrafted or have an opinion to share about them).