D&D General Interview with D&D VP Jess Lanzillo on Comicbook.com

[Scribe]

I gotta admit - randomized packs = Loot Crates is a definition I'm not sure I buy into. That means that the old D&D miniatures game was 100% loot crates. And Magic the Gathering, which predates MMO's by several years, has always been "loot crates".

This is very much correct. The only difference is MTG cards can be traded, but if it was digital only? Yes. Its essentially loot crates.

 

[Clint_L]

Dungeons & Dragons - Nolzur's Marvelous Miniatures Mystery Box

The Nolzur's Marvelous Miniatures Mystery Box features a full value box of surprise miniatures, waiting to be painted. This mystery box contains: Four 'single' pack unpainted minis Four 'double' pack unpainted minis Three 'tall' pack unpainted minis One Chimera (with included paint brushes)

shop.wizkids.com

Yes, loot boxes are unpossible in D&D!

Pointing out that Wizkids =/= WotC, but also that there are quite a few miniatures collectors who are just that: miniatures collectors, not D&D players. Though most are both, to some degree (or Pathfinder, Heroclix, etc.).

In fact, over on the Minisgallery forum, which I frequent, there is quite a notable divide between those, like me, who see miniatures as game aids, and those for whom collecting miniatures is the whole point.

Edit: to the larger point of whether "mystery boxes" of some sort could happen in D&D...sure. Why not? They wouldn't offer a competitive advantage - you can't really, in a game that is ultimately arbitrated independently at each table - but if people want to pay for a random assortment of stuff, whether analogue or virtual, that seems to me like that's their business. Dwarven Forge have offered a random sampler terrain pack for years, and they're not the Antichrist or something.

The larger issue seems to be whether the VTT will jack up prices on the game. I think it'll drastically lower them for the young Clints of the D&D world. I have spent a small fortune over many years on physical miniatures and terrain, and I will bet you anything you like that the prices for the VTT will be exponentially lower.

Will I switch? Ooooh, that would be painful. I love painting my stuff and building my sets, and like I stated, my sunk costs are hideous. But I'll try it out and if it is easy to use for a grognard like me, I'll probably wind up using the VTT when I'm not playing at home, just as I currently use the 2d map tool.

 

[mamba]

I am not literally saying you personally are the reason they pulled the microtransactions - just that people making that argument, which is something you've also done, probably didn't help with their view on whether they should do them.

given that they still sell skinned dice, I am pretty comfortable saying any complaints had nothing at all to do with this decision

 

[mamba]

I gotta admit - randomized packs = Loot Crates is a definition I'm not sure I buy into.

you buying something with random content that may or may not be valuable to you, that is pretty much the definition of one. It’s just that MtG sold them in physical form before they made it into digital games

 

[TiQuinn]

Pointing out that Wizkids =/= WotC, but also that there are quite a few miniatures collectors who are just that: miniatures collectors, not D&D players. Though most are both, to some degree (or Pathfinder, Heroclix, etc.).

In fact, over on the Minisgallery forum, which I frequent, there is quite a notable divide between those, like me, who see miniatures as game aids, and those for whom collecting miniatures is the whole point.

WizKids is a partner of WotC and have a license to create D&D miniatures - it is not a heck of a leap to envision WotC themselves participating in the same model elsewhere, and as for collecting miniatures, there is a distinct difference between knowing what miniature you are buying and purchasing a blind pack in which you are not sure what you will be getting.

 

[Dire Bare]

Wow! I didn't know you could skin dice! Ew.

 

[Hussar]

you buying something with random content that may or may not be valuable to you, that us pretty much the definition of one. It’s just that MtG sold them in physical form before they made it into digital games

But, and I am more than willing to admit my ignorance here, aren't the point of loot crates to get that "more powerful" option?

The reason we had randomized minis for D&D Miniatures was to keep the costs of the minis down. That having randomized packs meant that the packs are cheaper for the consumer. Yes, it meant you had rares/commons, but, overall, it was cheaper to the consumer to do it this way.

Yes, you buy booster packs for Magic, but, once you have a deck, you don't actually have to keep buying cards. You are encouraged to do so, but, it's not like you MUST HAVE rares to win.

 

[mamba]

But, and I am more than willing to admit my ignorance here, aren't the point of loot crates to get that "more powerful" option?

more powerful = more valuable, generally speaking, so yes. You can translate that to a rare MtG card just as well however. Rarity is its own value

The reason we had randomized minis for D&D Miniatures was to keep the costs of the minis down. That having randomized packs meant that the packs are cheaper for the consumer. Yes, it meant you had rares/commons, but, overall, it was cheaper to the consumer to do it this way.

yeah, they were totally altruistic with that, I am sure they did not make more money from it

Yes, you buy booster packs for Magic, but, once you have a deck, you don't actually have to keep buying cards. You are encouraged to do so, but, it's not like you MUST HAVE rares to win.

but it’s also not like they are not helping I assume…

I would not expect powerful items for the VTT, but fancy effects or miniatures that are rarer than the others would be an option

 

[mamba]

double post

 

[LordEntrails]

Dude, he's not the one who brought that up, so that's rank hypocrisy. Just say you'd prefer not to discuss that.

Dude, I'm not the one who brought it up either, so why the personal insult?