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'.

 

[MonsterEnvy]

I don’t think they will do mini blind boxes given that there is going to be a mini creator, and unlike real life duplicates of minis are useless.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Old? The current D&D mini line, produced by WizKids, uses the same model. Randomized blind boxes. Which are different from "loot boxes" in video games. Most pre-painted, collectible miniature lines use this sales model, and have for decades. It's not predatory. Neither is the randomized, blind nature of a pack of Magic cards.

If you don't care to purchase collectible products in randomized, blind packaging . . . that's cool, but it doesn't make the practice predatory.

I would be surprised if the digital minis and other assets for Sigil end up in random, blind bundles. If they do . . . it won't bother me one bit, I just probably won't purchase any of them.

Just because has been practiced for decades doesn't mean it's not predatory.

 

[Zaukrie]

From a DnD staffer on DnDbeyond:

I can confirm it is only PC for now. We wanna get it to Macs eventually!

 

[OB1]

From a DnD staffer on DnDbeyond:

I can confirm it is only PC for now. We wanna get it to Macs eventually!

I've asked for clarification because, again, PC can mean Windows, Mac and even Linux.

 

[Zaukrie]

I've asked for clarification because, again, PC can mean Windows, Mac and even Linux.

She said Macs eventually....I'm not sure how that could be more clear?

 

[OB1]

She said Macs eventually....I'm not sure how that could be more clear?

Because she also said it's releasing for PCs, which does not mean Windows only. If she had said the beta was Windows only, and they will get to Macs eventually, I wouldn't have asked for clarification.

 

[Hussar]

When talking about some level of AI integration, I hope that they add something like Dungeon Alchemist to the mix where you tell the computer what kind of room you want, and the computer fills in a bunch of the fiddly details.

So you want a dining room, and the computer puts food on the tables, sets up the lighting and whatnot.

Saves a bunch of time.

 

[Scribe]

Because she also said it's releasing for PCs, which does not mean Windows only. If she had said the beta was Windows only, and they will get to Macs eventually, I wouldn't have asked for clarification.

How many people are honestly gaming on a Linux.

 

[Clint_L]

I just need the VTT to be intuitive to use. It's all about the user interface and tutorials, for me.

I was thinking more about "predatory" pricing and, given the examples of MtG cards and blind boxes, what that could mean.

I'll start by declining the analogy of MtG cards, or other collectible card games. Those are pay to win: if you get the right cards, you have better chances. Miniatures and terrain don't offer any mechanical advantages in D&D; they're just for fun.

The blind boxes are a more interesting comparison. I don't see these as predatory. The price per miniature is typically reasonable: about $20-25 for four pre-painted miniatures, one of which is large or huge-sized. If you compare to the price of unpainted miniatures, say from the Nolzur's line or by Reaper, that's reasonable. A little pricey if it's a large miniature, kind of cheap if it's a huge one. And that's comparing to unpainted miniatures. So I don't think this is price gouging.

As for it being random: buying blind boxes is a way of paying less. You can buy a collector's set if you just want to get one of each, or get what you need off the secondary market, but those options are much more expensive in terms of price per miniature. Buying blind boxes is good if you can use a lot of extras, though, so if it's a set that has a lot of appealing miniatures they can be a great option (I bought lots of the Boneyard blind boxes, for example, and have zero regrets). But this just seems like an individual call. Though if there's one particular miniature that you want, then it can be expensive if it is highly coveted.

I have sometimes considered Wizkids pricing on high end miniatures like Tiamat ($300!) to be sketchy, as to me they do potentially prey on the collector's "gotta have 'em all" mentality, and Wizkids is a subsidiary of NECA, after all (NECA specializes in collectibles). But the converse of that is it creates a market so that we get miniatures for a lot of characters and monsters that seldom, if ever, got made in the past.

FOMO can also be an issue with something like Dwarven Forge kickstarter, where the prices are still quite high but they have traditionally kept so little in their shop, especially of non-standard pieces, that you are incentivized to pay more to guarantee access.

However, I don't see any of those things happening with the VTT. It's not like physical terrain, which requires very expensive molds so that there is a high cost up front that needs to be covered. They could manipulate rarity to raise prices, but there's nothing like the incentive to do that as there is with a game like MtG, so I think it's unlikely.

Ultimately, I trust people to make their own decisions with their own money. I think for the VTT to be a success, it will have to offer good design and good value. You don't need it to play the game, so if WotC drops the ball it will be easy enough for consumers to say, "nah."

 

[Hermes_Alexandria]

I don't mind digital blind box systems where you can trade back duplicates as internal currency. I know it encourages whale behaivour and is harder for parents to manage their kids spending, but I personally don't overspend on those systems.