Fortune Cards: and randomized collectible cards come to D&D

[I'm A Banana]

Trying out a game is more like seeing in advance what life would be like with them in office before electing them.

You're right.

But, still, if you give me $3 and come to my house, I will totally run any game you might be interested in, and then you can either buy it from me, or not.

That applies to anyone reading this thread, by the way.

 

[Hussar]

/snip

It would be like the 3.5 splatbook arms race all over again.

What 3.5 splatbook arms race?

Nearly every new class in a 3.5 splatbook was weaker than core. It was only when you allowed core classes to use the extra material (read clerics and wizards) that the power creep happened. And, all that really happened was the strongest classes got stronger.

If you actually used the new classes, there was almost no power creep.

And, you're presuming that the power cards will make any sort of significant difference to the power level of the character, rather than having a group effect. Since we haven't actually seen the cards, that's just an assumption.

You're also presuming that this is a test bed for whatever comes next. While, yes, they did use SW Saga to test out 4e, there are also a barrel full of products that are just one off sorts of things and not linked to the next thing.

Now, if, in the future, 5e is released and requires collectable cards, then you are perfectly in your rights to complain. But, piddling all over a product that some people apparently are looking forward to is just so negative. Vote with your wallet, but, why piddle on other people's fun?

 

[MrMyth]

Politicians want my vote too, but they don't have the audacity to charge me for the fliers I get in the mail.

Maybe I've had a different experience than others, but typically whenever I've gone to a gameday or played a demo of a game, my goal was to have fun. If you really feel it is solely something you are suffering through in order to receive advertising, I think the problem goes a lot deeper than the price of a few boosters.

 

[ExploderWizard]

Maybe I've had a different experience than others, but typically whenever I've gone to a gameday or played a demo of a game, my goal was to have fun. If you really feel it is solely something you are suffering through in order to receive advertising, I think the problem goes a lot deeper than the price of a few boosters.

I do show up to have fun. When 4E launched I went to the game day event and played in two sessions and had a great time in each of them. A crowded store full of players trying out the new game in town is already a win for both the store and the game company. When I was ready to buy my books I went to the FLGS to get them instead of ordering online.

Selling supplemental product as a prerequisite to trying out a new game sends a poor message. It isn't that the amount of money is such a burden but rather the implication that the product itself is insufficient to provide so much as a single session of play without the need for supplemental product. That's a huge warning sign that just screams " Beware-money pit ahead."

 

[Scribble]

Also don't forget it's an incentive for the store to hold the event in the first place.

Sure, demoing product is always a good idea, but on the store side-

The store probably has to have extra manpower on duty to watch that many people and still mind the register. That's an added cost.

The store has to make space to hold the games. That's an added cost.

There are a lot of people who will show up for the event use the store and copies of the game, then go home and buy the game on line. Added cost with no benefit.

All this adds up to lack of incentive to hold a game day. Why spend all that extra time/money when it's not going to net you any profit?

Soooo... queue WoTC who has announced that they think FLGS and FLGS "culture" are important to the hobby. Lack of incentive for those FLGS to promote the "culture" is a problem.

How to fix that problem? Provide some sort of incentive for the FLGS to hold the events.

In this case, the incentive comes in the form of packs of cards the players buy before participating in the events.


So sure, if you're really upset that it costs 3 bux to play in a game have at ye.

But I'm giving credit to WoTC where I think it's due- Instead of just joining the "Oh Woe is me!" crowd bitching about the hobby dying, and FLGSs being a thing of the past lately they seem to have been doing a LOT to help promote FLGS and the hobby overall.

I think 3 bucks is worth investing in the growth/health of my hobby. If you don't that's cool- but saying it's just a money grab or something is kind of not really thinking things through in my opinion. WoTC clearly has a desire to promote the FLGS and health of the hobby, and not only that but a clear plan to do so.

 

[ExploderWizard]

But I'm giving credit to WoTC where I think it's due- Instead of just joining the "Oh Woe is me!" crowd bitching about the hobby dying, and FLGSs being a thing of the past lately they seem to have been doing a LOT to help promote FLGS and the hobby overall.

I'm not worried about the hobby, it will be just fine.

I think 3 bucks is worth investing in the growth/health of my hobby. If you don't that's cool- but saying it's just a money grab or something is kind of not really thinking things through in my opinion. WoTC clearly has a desire to promote the FLGS and health of the hobby, and not only that but a clear plan to do so.

The hobby itself is fine, and WOTC is concerned about the industry not the hobby.

The health of the hobby? Ha! Those truly concerned about the health of the hobby don't turn it into a collectible feeding frenzy just to get it to produce more revenue.

 

[Jeremy Ackerman-Yost]

Scribble, I'd love to give you xp, but I cannot yet.

Selling supplemental product as a prerequisite to trying out a new game sends a poor message. It isn't that the amount of money is such a burden but rather the implication that the product itself is insufficient to provide so much as a single session of play without the need for supplemental product. That's a huge warning sign that just screams " Beware-money pit ahead."

The sense of scale here is appalling. $6 bucks was a warning sign of a money pit... somewhere around 1950.

I know how this is going to sound, but I intend no offense to you personally. This is a broader problem that I see a lot. It's simply emblematic of how utterly spoiled PnP gamers are. There is no "hobbyist" in the world who can get away with spending less money than the PnP gamer. When I was a kid, I spent more money on comic books and baseball cards than I did on gaming, and that's when comic books were cheap. Heck, I spent more on model building, and I wasn't very good at that.

Many very mainstream hobbies cost far more per hour spent than PnP gaming, and the companies making those products are getting paid by 10x as many people, to boot.

I'm not worried about the hobby, it will be just fine.

If not the hobby as a whole, how about FLGS culture? The FLGS is not an example of a thriving business model right now, and could certainly do with getting people in the habit of both foot traffic and opening their wallet.

 

[Dausuul]

I think 3 bucks is worth investing in the growth/health of my hobby.

I don't view it that way. I buy based on what I like and dislike and am willing to shell out for. Trying to support WotC with my dollars, irrespective of what they're putting out, is self-defeating in the long run; good products will succeed without my charity, and bad products should fail as quickly and decisively as possible so that WotC can dump them and move on.

The hobby gets plenty of my disposable cash. I have over a thousand dollars sunk into DDM alone. Granted, most of those purchases were online singles, not direct from WotC, but feeding the secondary market drives demand for the primary. I'm already gearing up to drop a bunch more money on Lords of Madness and Essentials; I feel no obligation to pony up extra in order to be a good gaming citizen.

 

[Jor-El]

I can't help but feel if WoTC really cared about the FLGS, they'd offer them free boosters to use in the demos. Like they do the adventure packs and tokens. Although it used to be minis.

The danger in the current plan is for the poor FLGS that adds the extra staff and orders the extra product...only to have lackluster sales and turnout, which then makes them less likely to participate in the future.

The FLGS is doing the marketing and sales pitch for WoTC, and taking all the risk/gamble.

But, such a scenario might be such a corner case as to not matter in the grand scheme. I don't know...it just seems like there'd be a better way to do this if you're trying to get someone hooked in as a new customer.

Whatever happened to "try this sample and see if you like!"

 

[Twowolves]

Terrible analogy.

Trying out a game is more like seeing in advance what life would be like with them in office before electing them.

I don't use terrible analogies, just ones that others don't agree with.

But just for you, here's another one: when my satelite/cable provider wants me to subscribe to HBO, they give me a free weekend of HBO, they do NOT give me access to HBO then bill me for it, not even $6.