DnD Shorts final video

[Justice and Rule]

As an activist outside of this hobby, it's a more than a bit infuriating to see the struggle for human decency reduced to a PR fig leaf to hide behind (and ineffectually at that.)

There's enough to be mad about already so I'll just drop it and pick the more relevant battles... but it would really lower temperature if they stop doing this crap. It's actively undermining the credibility of the cause.

Oh, absolutely. Nothing more frustrating to actual progress than the rainbow-washing companies like to do as a token signal. And sadly they'll probably keep doing it because their most diehard fans need some kind of defense. You can already find it being used on this board.

But holy $#!+, this is one of the worst plans I've ever seen. Like, I know that younger players are coming into the hobby, but adding everpresent microtransactions may not hit with them: this is not Fortnite, simply adding such things in aren't going to necessarily get the same result. In fact, I feel like a lot of people get into this game to avoid that sort of stuff. Further, you're going to lose a huge portion of the older base for this because no one I know is going to go along with that sort of idea.

Like, this is some next-level stuff. Again, we need OGL 1.0a simply so D&D can survive at this point.

 

[kenada]

I think this issue speaks to divisions at WotC and Cao's apparently lack of understanding of D&D/TTRPGs. Clearly not everyone is with him given D&D Beyond was acquired against his advice. Might want to include that as it seems significant (buying Beyond against advice).

If I were a D&D Beyond user, I would be concerned that the rollout of the VTT will see it deprecated or retired (given WotC’s history with past services and Cao’s dislike of D&D Beyond on top of that). The VTT’s being a separate product/service would also make D&D Beyond’s recent statements technically true while also not meaning much of anything.

 

[Justice and Rule]

If I were a D&D Beyond user, I would be concerned that the rollout of the VTT will see it deprecated or retired (given WotC’s history with past services and Cao’s dislike of D&D Beyond on top of that). The VTT’s being a separate product/service would also make D&D Beyond’s recent statements technically true while also not meaning much of anything.

"Technically true" seems to be the way Wizards are going. Much like a killer DM, they will mold the rules to say what they want. Just look at them redefining "irrevocable" in OGL 1.2 for more of that.

Elon Musk: "Watch me ruin a company quicker than anyone."

Chris Cao & Cynthia Williams: <chugs fifth of whiskey> "LEEEEEEEEEROOOOOOOOY JEEEEEEEEENKIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINS!"

 

[Haplo781]

I mean, yeah, for obvious reasons. The blockchain is dead in the water. It's the 3D TV of "Web 3.0" (puke lol). A solution looking for a problem and totally failing to find one. And the hateful IP-threatening products have just not appeared, and they've had 20 years. WotC has done far more damage in both directions on that front than any 3PP, both by putting out products with inappropriate stuff which we won't discuss lest the poor mods have to step in, and by stepping on 3PP products on DM's Guild which definitely didn't need to be stepped on.

I mean, in a corporation, the buck stops with management, which in this case would appear to be Rawson (allegedly nice), Williams (allegedly hands-off, perhaps to WotC's detriment) and Cocks. I don't think Cao is the right person for his role, but I'm not saying "fire him!!!". Someone authorized him to hire hundreds of people and spend $10s of millions, and I'd guess that'd have to be Cocks.

Whoever hired him and gave him this much latitude is a big part of the problem - and Cao was there before Williams or Rawson by a long time.

As a corporate aside, if WotC does "fire" him, I don't expect them to literally fire him, because that'd be embarrassing. The usual path would be to put him on "gardening leave" (i.e. sit at home on company payroll, but don't do anything beyond maybe check your email 1/day) for several months until he can find a position at another company. It's all terribly lovely above a certain level in corporations lol.

Get rid of them both. And do it in a spectacular public fashion for Cao at least, as a warning to the next Harvard business school stuffed shirt who thinks this is good idea.

 

[Princessmaker]

So, apparently, this DnD VTT is just Neverwinter Nights with DLC modules? That's not actually innovative. Will they be mad if someone points it out?

 

[Justice and Rule]

So, apparently, this DnD VTT is just Neverwinter Nights with DLC modules? That's not actually innovative. Will they be mad if someone points it out?

No, you see, they've added a very important piece:

 

[Princessmaker]

No, you see, they've added a very important piece:

View attachment 273433

Oh yes, we're in the lootbox era of games.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

If I were a D&D Beyond user, I would be concerned that the rollout of the VTT will see it deprecated or retired (given WotC’s history with past services and Cao’s dislike of D&D Beyond on top of that). The VTT’s being a separate product/service would also make D&D Beyond’s recent statements technically true while also not meaning much of anything.

I think it's certainly possible, but I think it's a lot less likely with WotC having purchased Beyond.

One thing you need to account for is that Beyond has 13m registered users (maybe more). Many/most of them using Google or Apple email accounts - i.e. likely main email accounts. You don't throw away something like that. These people are registered. That's an achievement.

That's also probably why WotC bought it. It's kind of a steal for that alone.

You want to keep those people registered, and you want them to perceive any future offerings to have value.

So what you'd actually do would be to keep Beyond running, but "transition" it into being "OneDnD", without cancelling anyone's subs or ditching their products or deleting their PCs/campaigns or anything. Especially as you've claimed it's compatible. Then you add higher tiers of subs that give access to 3D VTT and so on. And when people come to look or whatever, oh, look, they're already registered, and oh here's a pop-up inviting me to customize my PC, and maybe in that process I see I could do an even better job if I spent $2.99 on microtransactions, etc. etc.

 

[Minigiant]

So, apparently, this DnD VTT is just Neverwinter Nights with DLC modules? That's not actually innovative. Will they be mad if someone points it out?

You forget.

Blonde hair, minute meteor, and rune knight will be micortransactions.

 

[Justice and Rule]

Oh yes, we're in the lootbox era of games.

I feel like it's going to be a very short era if that's the case.