Matt Colville weighs in.

[Bedrockgames]

I think he is right about their goal, but I also do think they expected they would be able to control the narrative around the OGL de-authorization, something they are still clumsily attempting to do, but I think most people aren't following for their PR efforts. But in the end, I do think this is about them controlling D&D as a brand they believe can make money in other mediums. I have my doubts about whether D&D has legs in those mediums. But then again, if they are just interested in selling D&D swag, they are probably going to be able to make money doing so.

I do think people should still fight them on the OGL because to me that was an egregious overstepping and extremely disrespectful to the hobby they have inserted themselves into as a corporation. I also think we should organize ourselves around other games that can replace D&D to be on the safe side. We don't need Hasbro or WOTC

 

[mamba]

I listened to all of that and did not come away with the idea they WotC was out of the book business and in to Loot Boxes. As long as they continue to publish books, which is what One D&D is currently playtesting,

yeah, they won’t stop with books this round I assume, but they are clearly no longer the focus

I'm not sure I can really get all that worked up about the potential for microtransactions in a VTT that I may not even use. And what are we even talking about here? Dice skins and digital minis? That doesn't spell the end of D&D.

we do not know yet, I’d say at a minimum that and some subscription model that involves players paying. I would not rule out loot boxes in the future, but I doubt they are in the first step

 

[eyeheartawk]

yeah, they won’t stop with books this round I assume, but they are clearly no longer the focus


we do not know yet, I’d say at a minimum that and some subscription model that involves players paying. I would not rule out loot boxes in the future, but I doubt they are in the first step

I would imagine it's micro-transactions first, before randomized loot box stuff. I can easily see them individual "models" or groups of "models" on that VTT of theirs.

 

[mamba]

I would imagine it's micro-transactions first, before randomized loot box stuff. I can easily see them individual "models" or groups of "models" on that VTT of theirs.

spell effects, armors, … basically look at how Path of Exile makes money

Here you can even add terrain types to use, etc.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

I mean, he's right that people turn 13 all the time, and that this whole shebang will pass in time.

That’s all he’s right about lol

5th Ed players: “D&D is being taken over by a new younger crowd with different values.”

5th ed players mad at the even younger crowd with different values taking over D&D

Hey look, things really do move in circles.

Eh, more like old man yells at clouds, in this instance.

But if it does, it will be a culture destroyer.

How?

For all those that are lamenting that he’s being a grognard about kids these days and the hobby.

He’s not talking about the hobby. He’s talking about Dungeons and Dragons.

He’s lamenting that D&D will just be another video game.

And he’s super wrong.

 

[eyeheartawk]

And he’s super wrong.

That remains to be seen. I'm sure if WOTC had their way it would look closer to what he described than the way it is now. Given, what we've seen in the past few weeks I think it's less likely than before, though, still not impossible.

Though, the books will never go away in any scenario.

 

[darjr]

And he’s super wrong.

I thought the same thing about folks saying WotC was trying to end all OGL 1.0(a).

I really did.

 

[lvl20dm]

Some of this hang-wringing is reminding me of the transition from 2e to 3e and 3.5e to 4e. People thought WotC was going to change D&D into a card game in the late 90's. Then they thought they were going to turn it into an MMO when 4e was in development. None of that was true. Now, you might not like those editions, but they were still Table-top RPG's.

On a related note, One D&D seems more like the transition from 3.0 to 3.5 or the "Essentials" line from 4e than a new edition. Actually, it seems less disruptive than the 3.0 to 3.5 transition, but then we've not seen the end result of the playtesting and development.

 

[mamba]

I feel like all of this was their plan with 4e all along, and that that edition would have been much better suited for it. Since they failed then, they are now trying again with 5e, despite it being much less suitable.

I guess we will see what 6e looks like (and that could be the edition after 1DD rather than 1DD itself, and show up 4-5 years down the line)

 

[overgeeked]

Putting aside the obvious of joke of "Have you been in a grocery store lately?". I think it could. There's been tons of examples of it in the past. You remember when you would pay once for a copy of Microsoft Office and you would use that software for like 7-10 years before buying a new version and having to pay again. Now, you pay that same price every year. Is the product better for that 7-10 fold increase in price?

Yes. Which is why I use older versions of those programs, free versions of similar programs, or…if I have to…a one-time paid program with similar functionality.

Just because corps are insane with greed doesn’t mean you have to feed them. There are workarounds. Especially for something like a VTT for a leisure activity like RPGs. Unless they literally own all means of communication they can’t stop you from playing outside their sandcastle.