Project Sigil All the Deets on Project Sigil the D&D 3D Virtual Tabletop

• Danger in Dunbarrow is the adventure designed to introduced the 3D tabletop.
• Bring in any character from D&D Beyond.
• 'Mini Maker' lets you design digital miniatures.
• Assets designed to feel like buying a high-end mini or figure somewhere between painted and realistic.
• Plug in locations like graveyard, mine, town each with a premade story you can use or ignore.
• "Modding games more than making them whole cloth."
• The Level Builder is like 'the best miniatures set that you could have'. Snap together different kit pieces.
• Secret doors, traps, lifts that go up and down.
• Also use 2D tokens with artwork you have.
• Also use 2D maps.
• You can play other games with it, not just D&D.
• Have Drizzt fight Optimus Prime.
• Share content with others.
• Starting on PC, other platforms later including mobile and console.
• Will be available to try out for free.
• Closed beta coming this fall for those with a DDB account.
• Pre-order 2024 physical and digital core rulebook bundle to get a free digital gold dragon mini to 'kickstarter your Project Sigil collection'.

 

[Burnside]

That won't happen if WotC insists everyone make product that lines up with their version of 5e though, and I see no reason they wouldn't do just that.

They’re really not doing that, tbh. The 3rd party content already on there represents some takes on 5e that are quite diverse & stray considerably from typical WotC fare. Kobold Press & Humblewood have quite different vibes, and frankly Grimhollow’s Drakkenheim book is a stronger and more well-conceived campaign-length adventure book than any WotC have put out since (depending on your taste) Rime of the Frostmaiden or Witchlight.

 

[MonsterEnvy]

At a guess the pricing will be:

Free to Play - Basic units to play other peoples games
D&D Beyond subscription - 5e integration with VTT and potentially 3rd party
Modules - New map and block types with an associated mini-adventure
Micro-transations - Unit dyes, flashy swords, spell animations, etc.

I don’t think they will have you buy spell animations.

But we will see.

 

[Dire Bare]

I'd be okay with that too, but the significant difference is that Steam is a store that sells video games, not a company that makes video games.

Unless something has changed since last I checked, Steam is owned by Valve, a company that makes video games.

 

[Micah Sweet]

They’re really not doing that, tbh. The 3rd party content already on there represents some takes on 5e that are quite diverse & stray considerably from typical WotC fare. Kobold Press & Humblewood have quite different vibes, and frankly Grimhollow’s Drakkenheim book is a stronger and more well-conceived campaign-length adventure book than any WotC have put out since (depending on your taste) Rime of the Frostmaiden or Witchlight.

I really hope you're right.

 

[Dire Bare]

The only concern I see is that they may provide something worth purchasing.

Ah, but don't you see?!?! That's how they get you!

Provide something cool you want to purchase and then . . . the death of D&D and the entire TTRPG marketplace!

Slippery slopes, man!

 

[Mistwell]

I'd be okay with that too, but the significant difference is that Steam is a store that sells video games, not a company that makes video games.

The problem with DNDBeyond being the TTRPG storefront is that they're inherently incentivized to favor their in-house products over 3rd party products, and it will likely make it harder for 3rd party companies to make money at all without having a presence on DNDBeyond and sharing revenue with WotC.

Which is what WotC wanted with the ham-fisted OGL situation in the first place. This is just a less blatantly offensive way of getting to the same place.

Is there anything which WOTC can do in the future, concerning any kind of announcement of something new, which won't result in a reference to the OGL issue?

I just want to know where the arguments which I think can fairly be summarized as, "WOTC tried (and eventually didn't) to do something bad, so you shouldn't ever discuss in a positive fashion or consider purchasing anything from them every again" ends in terms of these discussions. It seems like a response that is generic and can be made to literally any thread on this site about new D&D stuff (rules, adventures, supplements, digital tools, anything), which doesn't need to relate to the topic except in the most tangential manner.

 

[Scribe]

Unless something has changed since last I checked, Steam is owned by Valve, a company that makes video games.

I mean they used to. I cannot remember the last full game they made that wasnt some version of Half Life or... Portal?

 

[Mistwell]

I'm sorry, what?

If there hadn't been massive pushback they would have let the status quo remain where everybody would have to spend god knows how long making all the spells, items etc homebrew one by one if they wanted to keep playing 2014.

This would have been a real pain and obviously their goal was to induce as much "friction", as my boy Carl von Clausewitz would say, as possible so you'd just bite the bullet and buy into 2024. Given that they turned around and said "Nevermind, you can pick between new and legacy content, lol, jk". They obviously could have just done that from the start.

They are not a good faith actor. And that's just the most recent example. There are many more to pick from.

First, it wasn't "spells, items, etc." it was spells, and two items, and no etc.. Second, the how long was almost no time at all because people were already adding them for free to homebrew. Third, 90% of spell changes were essentially errata. Tiny clarifications in language which most people were already doing. And they were GIVING YOU ALL THE NEW SPELLS FOR FREE.

The allegation it was in bad faith is completely unsupported. Now people need to pay for stuff they had been about to get for free, most of which is errata which is supposed to be free and now isn't because people threw a fit AND THEY IMMEDIATELY LISTENDED.

 

[Hussar]

I don’t think they will have you buy spell animations.

But we will see.

Probably not, but, it will likely be something along those lines. Funky dice, animations, various bling.

Y'know, just like every VTT does right now and has done for years without anyone complaining about "loot boxes" and whatnot?

It's fun watching people who quite obviously have little or no experience with VTT prognosticate about what WOtC's VTT will look like.

 

[Zaukrie]

How is this any different than minis or maps or whatever? And, we've had this discussion. Don't want to use it, don't?