WotC: We Are Not Making AI Dungeon Masters

Adding to the recent spate of YouTube-based claims about WotC's plans for Dungeons & Dragons were some additional claims -- (a) that D&D Beyond would have $30 subscription fee; (b) that homebrew content would not be permitted on lower tiers; and (c) that DDB was actively working on AI Dungeon Masters.

Some of this was based on a (long ago debunked) slide from a presentation last year.

WotC has made some clarifications:

Hey, everyone. We’ve seen misinformation popping up, and want to address it directly so we can dispel your concerns.

Rumors of a $30 subscription fee are false.

No one at Wizards is working on AI DMs. We love our human DMs too much. If you’re looking for a DM, we suggest heading to our Discord where DMs and parties are looking for players.

We have designers whose core job it is to compile, analyze, and then act upon your feedback. Your feedback has made the game better over the past decade, and your feedback is central to D&D’s future.

Homebrewing is core to D&D Beyond. It's not going away, and we're not going to charge you for it. Your homebrew is, and always will be, yours. We’ve always been excited to see your creations both on and off D&D Beyond!

There is still no clear statement regarding the Open Gaming License v1.0a, however.

 

[J.Quondam]

I'd LOVE an owlbear plushie. They don't need to kill the OGL to release those, though.

Right. But they might be thinking that they need to kill the OGL to prevent others from releasing "owlbear" plushies. They want to rein in the word "owlbear" and the imagery. Owlbears, and gelatinous cubes, and chuuls, and bulettes and probably anything else that could appear in a movie or cartoon, and that would make a good toy.
But especially owlbear.

 

[Yaarel]

I do have a sense that the employees at DnDBeyond are decent.

That really isnt the issue.

The issue is, what are the execs intending to do with it?



"We have designers whose core job is to compile, analyze, then act upon your feedback."

The doubt is: is this analysis only about the approval ratings? Does it ignore the written commentary?



Who is "we"? Are the DnDBeyond employs actually the designers for the future 5.5 game? Or, is this "we" personnel from elsewhere, who arent part of DnDBeyond, and are using DnDBeyond as a sockpuppet?

 

[The Stray]

Right. But they might be thinking that they need to kill the OGL to prevent others from releasing "owlbear" plushies. They want to rein in the word "owlbear" and the imagery. Owlbears, and gelatinous cubes, and chuuls, and bulettes and probably anything else that could appear in a movie or cartoon, and that would make a good toy.
But especially owlbear.

They already have that, though. They have the Product Identity. Do owlbears not appear on their PI list? I know Gelatinous Cubes don't, but no one was beating down the door to make a Gelatinous Cube Jello Mold or whatever. None of their competitors are really in the toy business like Hasbro is. This was never a threat.

 

[Haplo781]

 

[Remathilis]

I figured most of that tweeted list was bullpucky.

Focus on getting favorable OGL 1.x terms and forget all this "My uncle who works at Nintendo" stuff.

 

[Haplo781]

Buried under the basement at this point.

But thanks for posting.

In the bottom of a locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying "Beware of the Leopard."​

 

[Haplo781]

I figured most of that tweeted list was bullpucky.

Focus on getting favorable OGL 1.x terms and forget all this "My uncle who works at Nintendo" stuff.

I'm entirely certain that everything on that list was something some senior exec wanted to do, and I'm entirely certain that the denials are only true in the most technical sense.

"Aha! Nobody was ever going to charge 30 dollars! It was 29.95!"

 

[Remathilis]

I'm entirely certain that everything on that list was something some senior exec wanted to do, and I'm entirely certain that the denials are only true in the most technical sense.

"Aha! Nobody was ever going to charge 30 dollars! It was 29.95!"

Oh, come on! You really think that they would stoop to "technically true" denials and that it wouldn't blow up in their face the moment they did that? There is no way someone isn't running Crisis mode over there and pulling a "sike, its 29.95" like a smug 12-year-old isn't on their mind.

I get you desperately want to believe DM-Shots, but he whiffed on this one.

 

[Charlaquin]

just the other day when my fiancé asked how much I spent on the groceries I said "I kept it below $100" and she INSTANTLY shot back "That could be 99.99 from you tell me what you spent..."
(if it matters it was like $78)

Not gonna lie, that’s pretty impressive. Depending on how long you go between trips of course.

 

[Haplo781]

Oh, come on! You really think that they would stoop to "technically true" denials

They've already been caught doing that.