D&D 5E D&D Next will succeed or die on the basis of its digital apps.

[iwarrior-poet]

I suspect I will take more than a little flak for this, but from my perspective D&D Next will live or die on the basis of its digital apps (particularly iOS and Android).
Why?

1. A good digital aide will smooth the transition for new players and those like me who are hanging on to previous editions.
2. D&D Next purports to offer a simple game with Core Rules, or rapid integration with more specialized rulesets, maybe even older rulesets. I digital aide would help players and DM's handle this integration from game to game or even within a single session.
3. The 3rd edition and 4th edition digital aides were lousy, particularly at launch time. It was discouraging for new and experienced players. If D&D Next's aide works well at the editions launch... Boo ya!!!
4. I loved the books--particularly the 3.0-3.5 Forgotten Realms books. But dear sweet beejeebies what a pain to bring them to a session! D+D Insider's lack of mobile platform support (iOS, Android, mobile web) meant a laptop with wifi was needed. I love laptops, but they detract from group interactions.
5. Slickness---just think how sweet it would be to have players using their smartphones, DM on a pad all connected (wifi or cell). DM keeping track of initiative, and pushing out conditions, bonuses, penalties to the players.

And that's the short list. I know that I should be more concerned with the rules, but to me this edition will sink or swim on its digital aide.

One last item---a great digital aide could crossover to PC/Console games. There is a reason I am playing Baldur's Gate on my iPad!

 

[Dice4Hire]

I am more the opposite. I do not really care for digital aids, other than pdfs. The edition definitely needs pdfs form the get go.

Apps and the like can be done 3rd party, but they should be allowed and the content released early to developers. I do not see WOTC needing to do this themselves. Let other companies do so, with WOTC reviewing hem befor they are published.

WOTC is in no way a digital company.

 

[iwarrior-poet]

I hear you Dice4Hire, and any digital aide should definitely be done by a 3rd party, because I doubt WoTC has in-house resources that could handle it. But I strongly disagree with your last point. WoTC is at least partially a digital company, and it needs to become much more so if D&D is to survive, expand and thrive.

 

[vegaserik01]

I'm with Dice, I could care less if there are any digital apps for Next. I don't want any of that stuff at the table while playing - it completely takes away from the game and the experience.

 

[Sunseeker]

If we're all at the same table, I'd rather the game take place on the table, rather than through digital devices.

But I agree to an extent. I think digital tools, from simple dice rollers, Compendium's readable on tablets or smartphones, character builders/sheets equally usable on such devices are all important offerings to a more and more digital age. More people will be willing to purchase products if they are easily transported and accessible through devices they already own.

I generally ask my players to put down their digital devices at the table though. I do not tolerate texting, web-surfing, or youtubing while people are playing. Distractions are bad, but the devices can be useful at the table and I'm not against that. It's pretty easy to tell when the activites of a player are distracting them or others from the game. But that doesn't mean that doing something besides the game amounts to a distraction, sometimes when people are more interested in their phones, it means the game is boring to them. People who are having fun won't desire to do much other than the game.

 

[Dannager]

WOTC is in no way a digital company.

That's simply not true. WotC is the publisher for a number of digital products unrelated to D&D, including the Duels of the Planeswalkers franchise - a product that has done extremely well by all accounts.

What's important isn't whether or not WotC is a digital company (they are, but whatever). What's important is that they cannot afford not to be.

 

[Dannager]

I'm with Dice, I could care less if there are any digital apps for Next. I don't want any of that stuff at the table while playing - it completely takes away from the game and the experience.

Well-crafted digital tools wouldn't take away from the "game and experience" any more than a pencil and paper would.

Unless your definition of "game and experience" literally requires a pencil and paper, that is. I think that there are more important things to focus on.

 

[JamesonCourage]

PDF's are about all I would want, but I wouldn't use them over physical books. I don't want phone usage, tablet usage, and the like when I'm running the game. I can accept laptop usage on a temporary basis, like if that's the only way someone has the book (and I'd likely go for this on a tablet, but it's never come up). But in no way am I depending on digital tools or support for any game I run.

Mind you, digital aids can be helpful, and I quite like the idea of online builders, and the like, since they're usually out-of-game-time resources. But, they are in no way necessary, and as far as in-game-time goes, I won't be using any digital tools. But hey, if they have a bunch of digital tools for people that want to use them, that's really awesome. But in the spirit of the thread topic, I just thought I'd voice that it won't affect my group at all. As always, play what you like

 

[Dannager]

A feature-complete character sheet mobile application for iOS/Windows 8/Android capable of tracking changes to your character over the course of gameplay would really be an excellent start.

 

[edemaitre]

I think that D&D Next needs to do the following things to be successful:

-Win back lapsed fans with flavorful materials and relatively easy conversions. PDFs releases of past editions are a step in the right direction.

-Bring new people into tabletop role-playing games. Easy-to-learn, modular rules should help with this.

-Transcend the edition wars among fans of old-school Renaissance retro-clones, D&D3.x/Pathfinder, and D&D4e. It would be also nice if D&D5e could incorporate some of the ideas from other systems developed in the past decade rather than just look back at past editions of D&D.

-Allow for simple, narrativist styles as well as crunchier, tactical ones. Complexity should be optional. A "basic" and "advanced" game may address this.

-Support the use of miniatures, virtual tabletops, mobile devices, and other software but not require them. I'm a fan of things like Obsidian Portal, and character generation and resource management should still be easy, especially for casual players.

I'd also like other genres and third-party publishers to be back in the mix as during the D20 OGL era of of the early 2000s.

In short, while Wizards of the Coast's playtests seem to be trying to be all things to all people, D&D Next has the unenviable position of trying to remain an industry leader, recruit and retain hobbyists, and present well-known information in a way that's competitive with past editions and other RPGs. I wish WotC luck!