Dragon 398: Rituals Index

[Ghost0]

I have an issue with this "article" behind the paywall, but not because I expect material and the work they put into it to be free—I expect new and important content to be to be DDI content, and this is not new or important content.

This list is accomplishing three things for wotc: 1/ bring up the issue of rituals so that "core" rules are touched upon and non-essentials fans believe they are still getting something out of DDI. 2/ filling up pages with content without writing new content and 3/ putting *something* in their content that defends why being a subscriber is important.

I won't go further into my disgust with the lack of new content in DDI; I'm a subscriber still (don't know why), but my waning hope is that there will be new content that is relevant to my games, which find the essentials turn (4.5e) to be stagnant, over simplified and boring. I am not looking for new rituals per se, but maybe some new ideas on how to use them—content or support for how they are used in the game. This article all but sums up what we've seen so far in all the content they've released with a little bow and re-gifts it to us. I feel disappointed and frankly a little insulted.

 

[Lalato]

I don't appreciate being called a whiner; and you've summarily ignored the essence of what I said. This specific instance concerning the index is not a big deal, but the attitude "quit whining and don't expect something for free" is an argument I see repeated all over the place - and it undermines the game for the reasons explained in the post you ignored.

I'm not ignoring the substance of your post. I simply don't agree. You're right to call me out for insinuating that you're a whiner. That was wrong of me, and I apologize.

I think that in this particular case some folks seem to have a sense of entitlement about this, and I'm not sure I understand why. Would it be nice for WotC to release everything in Dragon and Dungeon for free? Of course it would... I don't think anyone would argue against that. But if WotC is going to charge for some content, where do you draw the line? For me, this fits perfectly behind the paywall.

Heck, I would gladly pay $5 for this. I don't understand why someone else wouldn't as this is pretty darn awesometasticolicious.

--sam

 

[eamon]

I'm not ignoring the substance of your post. I simply don't agree. You're right to call me out for insinuating that you're a whiner. That was wrong of me, and I apologize.

Thanks, and I overreacted a bit as well (it's the internet after all!); moving on...

I think that in this particular case some folks seem to have a sense of entitlement about this, and I'm not sure I understand why. Would it be nice for WotC to release everything in Dragon and Dungeon for free? Of course it would... I don't think anyone would argue against that. But if WotC is going to charge for some content, where do you draw the line? For me, this fits perfectly behind the paywall.

Sure, some stuff will be for pay. It's definitely nice that they release anything for free. And while I believe they're nice people and all, if it's not in their best interests to do so - eventually it'll have to stop. So I think it's important that the nice free stuff stays aligned with their business priorities. If people buy stuff expecting continual service, i.e. with a sense of entitlement, it's simply good business to keep the brand safe by satisfying those expectation - if it's cheap to do so. If you don't expect em to do it, then after a while - why should they?

Sometimes it may be unrealistic to expect to get exactly what you want. But it's critical people don't take that truism to an extreme: if you expect to be milked for every cent and for your priorities not to matter to WotC, then that's the future you're supporting. Expectations matter.

With regards to the specifics at hand, namely the ritual index, Ghost0 has hit the nail on the head:

I have an issue with this "article" behind the paywall, but not because I expect material and the work they put into it to be free—I expect new and important content to be to be DDI content, and this is not new or important content.

It's not a big deal by itself, but it's reasonable to be disappointed.

 

[Ryujin]

I'm not ignoring the substance of your post. I simply don't agree. You're right to call me out for insinuating that you're a whiner. That was wrong of me, and I apologize.

I think that in this particular case some folks seem to have a sense of entitlement about this, and I'm not sure I understand why. Would it be nice for WotC to release everything in Dragon and Dungeon for free? Of course it would... I don't think anyone would argue against that. But if WotC is going to charge for some content, where do you draw the line? For me, this fits perfectly behind the paywall.

Heck, I would gladly pay $5 for this. I don't understand why someone else wouldn't as this is pretty darn awesometasticolicious.

--sam

Obviously (to me at least) it's perfectly reasonable to put all magazine content behind the wall, but it seems to me that doing so, with this, misses an opportunity. Seeing this list, and the sources for these rituals, might actually get someone to become interested in books that they don't already have.

 

[AbdulAlhazred]

Obviously (to me at least) it's perfectly reasonable to put all magazine content behind the wall, but it seems to me that doing so, with this, misses an opportunity. Seeing this list, and the sources for these rituals, might actually get someone to become interested in books that they don't already have.

I agree, it seemed like an odd choice to make this particular article subscriber-only. It isn't adding anything new to the game. It is a handy thing to have, but giving it to non-subscribers isn't going to for instance cause someone to not need to buy a book or something.

There have been a couple non-subscriber articles OTOH that I found odd that they weren't subscriber-only and wondered why they wanted to give some stuff away to everyone when it seemed worth paying for.

No doubt they've thought it through in both cases though. Being a subscriber myself it doesn't matter much, I'm pretty happy with what we're getting. Given that anyone can pay 10 bucks and grab all the non-free stuff it is all good!

 

[Lalato]

Ghost0 does not label this as new or important. And I guess if you see it that way, then this is just a throwaway item and it should be free. For me, this adds a NEW functionality that I didn't have before and it's something that I've definitely wanted because I don't own all the books for offline reference. So yeah... for me this is perfect DDI content. It's all in perspective.

I think Ryujin's point that a non-subscriber seeing this might be spurred to buy a book or to subscribe is the better argument to make if your aim to is to persuade WotC to make this freely available.

That said, I have serious doubts that someone would actually do so. I find it far more likely that a person getting something for free, will simply find another free way to get the thing they want. Once you feel entitled to something, it's hard to draw the line. I say this because I see this same behavior in myself.