D&D General Dan Rawson Named New Head Of D&D

Hasbro has announced a former Microsoft digital commerce is the new senior vice president in charge of Dungeons & Dragons. Dan Rawson was the COO of Microsoft Dynamics 365.

Hasbro also hired Cynthia Williams earlier this year; she too, came from Microsoft. Of Rawson, she said "We couldn’t be bringing on Dan at a better time. With the acquisition of D&D Beyond earlier this year, the digital capabilities and opportunities for Dungeons & Dragons are accelerating faster than ever. I am excited to partner with Dan to explore the global potential of the brand while maintaining Hasbro’s core value as a player-first company.”

Rawson himself says that "Leading D&D is the realization of a childhood dream. I’m excited to work with Cynthia once again, and I’m thrilled to work with a talented team to expand the global reach of D&D, a game I grew up with and now play with my own kids.”

Interestingly, Ray Wininger -- who has been running D&D for the last couple of years -- has removed mention of WotC and Hasbro from his Twitter bio.

 

[Jahydin]

Well here's hoping Mike and Ray form a new company and make the greatest RPG EVAR!

 

[Vincent55]

Digital is ok, but I fear that it will try a dominate D&D and we will lose what's left of what made the game what it was. As a DM i do use some digital tools to help with running a game, unlike the old days when i handwrite everything now I type it up and use other websites to keep track and create stuff for my game. But i have seen a trend for a 3d vtt and creating things within this environment this on the surface seems to be good but actually, it will cause this to become a digital money scheme much like many MMOs that charge microtransactions and such. There was a woman who is a DM who talks about this online and i feel the same way as her about this, one D&D is not the direction to go.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

We may agree Hasbro's strategy about D&D is this to become a multimedia franchise, focused to sell branded merchandising, and I don't say this was wrong.

Digital market allows more changes, for example texts being edited to be more politically correct, or updating rules for a better power balance. The TTRPGs in the digital market don't need a lot of infomatic technics working for the net updated patch.

Sometimes I suspect Forgoten Realms is the most famous D&D setting thanks Baldur's Gate and Newerwinter Nights videogames. We shouldn't be surprised if Hasbro wants more D&D videogames, even titles not linked with the dungeon crawling, but farming simulation, or managing a tavern, for example.

Other of the possible marketing stategies for D&D is the intercompany crossover. Hasbro is very used to sell licenced merchandising but D&D needs a good reason to explain because characters from modern tech civilitations appear in a fantasy medieval setting (with Ravenloft the things are different).

 

[Zaukrie]

Digital is ok, but I fear that it will try a dominate D&D and we will lose what's left of what made the game what it was. As a DM i do use some digital tools to help with running a game, unlike the old days when i handwrite everything now I type it up and use other websites to keep track and create stuff for my game. But i have seen a trend for a 3d vtt and creating things within this environment this on the surface seems to be good but actually, it will cause this to become a digital money scheme much like many MMOs that charge microtransactions and such. There was a woman who is a DM who talks about this online and i feel the same way as her about this, one D&D is not the direction to go.

I just don't understand why everyone is so afraid? Is it just change?

All of DnD is a money scheme. It's a business.

 

[DarkCrisis]

Player: “Guys I spent $20 to make my virtual mini look awesome!”

Players character dies during the session

DM: laughs ass off

 

[Sabathius42]

Player: “Guys I spent $20 to make my virtual mini look awesome!”

Players character dies during the session

DM: laughs ass off

Sub in $20 and 2 hours to paint a mini and that has been with us for a LONG time.

 

[Mind of tempest]

Sub in $20 and 2 hours to paint a mini and that has been with us for a LONG time.

you guys buy minis?
just use a generic piece for all characters like poor people.

 

[Vincent55]

I just don't understand why everyone is so afraid? Is it just change?

All of DnD is a money scheme. It's a business.

Yes, but buying a physical copy of something vs a digital online sub to something that unless you paid up or buy some added options you really don't own anything. I have digital PDF books on a laptop and physical books, but this is keeping everything to itself while selling you the option to take a look and rent the ability to use it.

 

[DarkCrisis]

Sub in $20 and 2 hours to paint a mini and that has been with us for a LONG time.

What unpainted PC minis have you been buying that costs $20 each?

 

[Parmandur]

What unpainted PC minis have you been buying that costs $20 each?

Plus paint, plus time spent...? Especially time spent?

 

[DarkCrisis]

Plus paint, plus time spent...? Especially time spent?

Over my many years I’ve somehow stretched out my paint pots and brushes to more than one mini.

Anywho, If someone wants to justify spending $20+ on a virtual mini then more power to them.

 

[Zaukrie]

Yes, but buying a physical copy of something vs a digital online sub to something that unless you paid up or buy some added options you really don't own anything. I have digital PDF books on a laptop and physical books, but this is keeping everything to itself while selling you the option to take a look and rent the ability to use it.

Why does anyone think this goes away? They are literally top sellers on Amazon. Why the fear?

 

[DarkCrisis]

Why does anyone think this goes away? They are literally top sellers on Amazon. Why the fear?

Look at video games. Tons of games are lost to time. Heck you can’t even access the majority of PlayStations library on their latest console.

I own digital movies on Vudu and audio books on Audible. Vudu has changed hands several times. I don’t actually own any of those items. I own a license that allows me to watch them/listen to them. They could turn their servers off tomorrow and there is nothing I can do about it.

Same with Steam.

Sony could ban my account tomorrow. Would I still have access to my games?

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve embraced digital in a lot of things but don’t think you own any of it. Not unless you have a way to download and keep the stuff, but I doubt WotC is going to give away PDFs with Beyond purchases.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Why does anyone think this goes away? They are literally top sellers on Amazon. Why the fear?

Because you are paying for something of which you don't have control. It could go away, and you would have absolutely no say in the matter. The internet could go down, and you would have nothing.

 

[Zaukrie]

Because you are paying for something of which you don't have control. It could go away, and you would have absolutely no say in the matter. The internet could go down, and you would have nothing.

Why are people afraid there won't be books? That's the question. If you don't want to play online?

 

[Micah Sweet]

Why are people afraid there won't be books? That's the question. If you don't want to play online?

Online is a better deal for WotC. More money, less overhead. It won't happen right away, but I'm confident their corporate overlords would like nothing better.

 

[J.Quondam]

Why are people afraid there won't be books? That's the question. If you don't want to play online?

I don't think people are afraid books are going away anytime soon, but just that leaning hard on the electronic offerings normalizes those as the default mode of play among the newest gamers. That potentially makes it harder for hardcopy-only tables to replenish themselves. It also arguably makes it easier to transition future editions further away from "classical" or offline/low-bandwidth play modes.
I also suspect some fear that a online-only, subscription-based, microtransaction-sustained model risks saddling newer gamers with a lot of warts associated with videogames and online games (eg, microtransactions, tech limitations, homebrew implementation, etc). If that were to evolve into the default TTRPG experience, I suspect many gamers would consider that a stain on the hobby, not a boon.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

I don't think people are afraid books are going away anytime soon, but just that leaning hard on the electronic offerings normalizes those as the default mode of play among the newest gamers. That potentially makes it harder for hardcopy-only tables to replenish themselves. It also arguably makes it easier to transition future editions further away from "classical" or offline/low-bandwidth play modes.
I also suspect some fear that a online-only, subscription-based, microtransaction-sustained model risks saddling newer gamers with a lot of warts associated with videogames and online games (eg, microtransactions, tech limitations, homebrew implementation, etc). If that were to evolve into the default TTRPG experience, I suspect many gamers would consider that a stain on the hobby, not a boon.

We have dndbeyomd woth microtransactions for 7 or 8 years now? We still have books.
I really can't understand why anyone thinks books are going away. WotC won't kill the golden goose. They are not dumb.
They were very considerate the last 8 years and were really effective.
If the D&D movie is a success, which is absolutely possible, then achieving the financial goals are possible. Same with baldur's gate 3 when it is finally done. I could see that they are actually not rushing it on purpose, because they could finally release it with 1D&D rules.

So the tabletop game does not have to grow too much, it just has to make many people happy. And if books are essential for many people, there will be books.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

I know this may sound like other of my crazy ideas, but we should rebember the tech companies are working in a flexlibe and ultrathin screen. This can alter totally the use of tablets. Lots of fanboys will use these "tablets" with double-page size to read webcomics. Others will use these for solo-player boardgames, something like a mixture of Hero Quest(virtual tabletop), interactive novels and the gamebook "choose your own adventure"/"Endless Quest" (the version where you had to throw dices).

This technology can change the role-playing games and wargames because these ultra-light tablets will allow to play with complexer rules.

And 3PPs will can survive selling PDFs of their sourcebooks saving the cost of printing and sending.

 

[DarkCrisis]

We have dndbeyomd woth microtransactions for 7 or 8 years now? We still have books.
I really can't understand why anyone thinks books are going away. WotC won't kill the golden goose. They are not dumb.
They were very considerate the last 8 years and were really effective.
If the D&D movie is a success, which is absolutely possible, then achieving the financial goals are possible. Same with baldur's gate 3 when it is finally done. I could see that they are actually not rushing it on purpose, because they could finally release it with 1D&D rules.

So the tabletop game does not have to grow too much, it just has to make many people happy. And if books are essential for many people, there will be books.

WotC has already said they want people to use their phones more easily. Why have a physical book when the Beyond version is right there in your phone? Everyone has a phon now.

WotC/Hasbro will do what makes the most financial sense. And not having to print and ship physical books might be a mighty big plus for them.