Clint_L
Hero
I'm not sure how the Paizo situation relates? That was caused by WotC releasing a version of D&D that swerved sharply from the traditional game while simultaneously making it possible for Paizo to create a game that was more like traditional D&D than 4e was.
Here's what interests me: you seem willing to spend a ton on this hobby. That's cool; shout-out to a fellow miniatures and terrain enthusiast! Why does it bother you if Hasbro is trying to find ways to increase their share of that pie? You seem to feel that their actions would be exploitative, yet they aren't who you are currently giving most of your money to. How are they treating you like a "whale"? For that matter, in the discussion that spawned this and other threads, they already addressed the fact that they are too reliant on the most hardcore fans (DMs) and are primarily concerned with diversifying beyond their current base.
I'm also not sure why you seem annoyed by DnDBeyond. It is, and has always been, free to use. Most folks with accounts on it pay $0. I have a Master's Tier subscription, which costs me $7/month, and in addition to all the tools that save me hours of prep time every week, that allows me to share all of my resources with every player in all of my campaigns. I think that is an incredible bargain! And the micro-transactions are great - if a new book comes out and all you want from it is a new playable race, you can buy just that for a few bucks instead of having to pay for the whole book.
There is also no indication that Hasbro intends to make virtual play mandatory. How would they even do that? Offering a VTT is them arriving rather late at the party - millions of players already choose to use a VTT such as Roll20. As for 3rd party creators, WotC has been incredibly generous with allowing 3rd party creators to make products for its IP. Since you are a miniatures person like myself, consider Reaper. Half of their monsters are thinly disguised versions of WotC IP ("Floating Eye Beast," etc.) and WotC haven't said "boo" about it.
When I think of RPG vendors that treat me like a "whale," the first one that comes to mind is Wizkids, releasing highly coveted miniatures like the Tarrasque for upwards of $400! I can't think of one time that Hasbro/WotC has treated me like a "whale."
Here's my experience with WotC and DnDBeyond: they run a programme where, if you are using the game for educational purposes, they will gift you an entire set of every sourcebook and adventure and allow you to share them with your students. I applied for it because I run the D&D Club at my school. It was easy to do, they checked out my bona fides quickly with no fuss, no muss, and with a few days we received access to every single text on DnDBeyond. Well over $1000 worth of stuff (and they also kicked in a bunch of Magic bundles)!
From my perspective, these are not corporate villains.
Here's what interests me: you seem willing to spend a ton on this hobby. That's cool; shout-out to a fellow miniatures and terrain enthusiast! Why does it bother you if Hasbro is trying to find ways to increase their share of that pie? You seem to feel that their actions would be exploitative, yet they aren't who you are currently giving most of your money to. How are they treating you like a "whale"? For that matter, in the discussion that spawned this and other threads, they already addressed the fact that they are too reliant on the most hardcore fans (DMs) and are primarily concerned with diversifying beyond their current base.
I'm also not sure why you seem annoyed by DnDBeyond. It is, and has always been, free to use. Most folks with accounts on it pay $0. I have a Master's Tier subscription, which costs me $7/month, and in addition to all the tools that save me hours of prep time every week, that allows me to share all of my resources with every player in all of my campaigns. I think that is an incredible bargain! And the micro-transactions are great - if a new book comes out and all you want from it is a new playable race, you can buy just that for a few bucks instead of having to pay for the whole book.
There is also no indication that Hasbro intends to make virtual play mandatory. How would they even do that? Offering a VTT is them arriving rather late at the party - millions of players already choose to use a VTT such as Roll20. As for 3rd party creators, WotC has been incredibly generous with allowing 3rd party creators to make products for its IP. Since you are a miniatures person like myself, consider Reaper. Half of their monsters are thinly disguised versions of WotC IP ("Floating Eye Beast," etc.) and WotC haven't said "boo" about it.
When I think of RPG vendors that treat me like a "whale," the first one that comes to mind is Wizkids, releasing highly coveted miniatures like the Tarrasque for upwards of $400! I can't think of one time that Hasbro/WotC has treated me like a "whale."
Here's my experience with WotC and DnDBeyond: they run a programme where, if you are using the game for educational purposes, they will gift you an entire set of every sourcebook and adventure and allow you to share them with your students. I applied for it because I run the D&D Club at my school. It was easy to do, they checked out my bona fides quickly with no fuss, no muss, and with a few days we received access to every single text on DnDBeyond. Well over $1000 worth of stuff (and they also kicked in a bunch of Magic bundles)!
From my perspective, these are not corporate villains.
