D&D General NFTs Are Here To Ruin Dungeons & Dragons

[Oofta]

Think of it like a digital certificate of authenticity, for a digital resource, with a fair amount of tech complexity behind it to try to ensure that other people can't forge a copy of your certificate.

Except there's no guarantee of authenticity. Up to 80% of all artwork being sold is copied. Frequently people will sell exactly the same thing as "unique" multiple times. Yes, supposedly the certificate itself can't be forged but you aren't buying anything "real" in any sense that couldn't be replicated with less power-hungry options.

If anyone is interested, there's a more in-depth article here.

 

[Fanaelialae]

Since it is their baby I cannot see the need for blockchain nor do I see the value of digital "uniqueness"

Nor do I. Like I said, I think it's a bad idea.

 

[Grendel_Khan]

A quick Google search brings back plenty of results.

Are you honestly saying you don't think it can be done with renewables? Do you honestly think there is any difference in the nature of electricity generated by burning coal vs that generated by a solar panel? There isn't.

Can it be done? Absolutely. Will they? Unfortunately, I doubt it. But that doesn't mean that they couldn't. In fact there are people speculating that Bitcoin mining et al could potentially fuel a revolution in renewables (not unlike how the porn industry helped fuel the development and adoption of internet technologies). Will that actually happen? Who knows? I'm hopeful on one hand but skeptical on the other.

A quick Google search brings back plenty of results about minor cryptocurrencies that use proof of stake to reduce energy use, but given that nearly all crypto assets (NFTs included) are layered on either Bitcoin or the Ethereum network, both of which are proof of work and environmental disasters, there's no evidence that it's actually feasible--economically or technologically--to reach major scales using PoS.

Until the entire field shifts to vastly less energy consumption (which they have no real reason to do, ultimately) the only role renewables will have is when companies rope them into discussions of carbon offsets. But offsets don't reduce anything. They're just a fine, basically, for further wrecking the planet.

 

[Fanaelialae]

Except there's no guarantee of authenticity. Up to 80% of all artwork being sold is copied. Frequently people will sell exactly the same thing as "unique" multiple times. Yes, supposedly the certificate itself can't be forged but you aren't buying anything "real" in any sense that couldn't be replicated with less power-hungry options.

If anyone is interested, there's a more in-depth article here.

Yeah, it's kind of ironic that while the certificate can't easily be forged, the item it's supposed to certify certainly can. Although even there it depends. Presumably, the characters would be stored on this company's servers, meaning that you would need to breach those servers in order to forge a character (or whatever). Or create fake servers and redirect potential customers to your fake servers.

 

[Remathilis]

From my perspective, it seems that NFTs are just the flavor of the week of bad, akin to the satanic panic that vilified D&D back in the day. I think that they're a bad idea without a lot of redeeming value, and I'm instantly wary of any project that uses them. Despite that, I disagree that they are inherently bad. NFTs simply are new. It's what you do with them that is good, bad, or neutral. Based on the evidence presented so far, I think that this business plan seems more inherently neutral than bad (my opinion that it's a bad idea notwithstanding).

To me, they're a solution in search of a problem. So far, every promised advantage that crypto has made is either fringe, handled by current tech, or outright dubious. Most coins are too volatile to use for regular sales (such as the pizza bought with Bitcoin that now costs $372 million), NFTs promise of art ownership rights has mostly been used as virtual baseball cards, and Blockchain gaming is basically hyper dlc-loot boxes. The only consistent element to Blockchain has been the promise of a big payout if you have bet on the "right" project.

 

[Remathilis]

That said, here's a free spell for players of this game. I get 15% of all crypto earned by PCs using this spell.

Diamond Hands
1st-level evocation
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Self
Components: V, S, M (a potato)
Duration: Concentration, see below.
As you hold your hands, a ball of Ethereum appears. The ball does 3d12 force damage, plus an additional 1d12 for every round spent concentrating on the spell. Your cannot end the concentration manually nor lose concentration from damage or distraction. When someone else casts a spell, as a reaction you can release the ball to the caster. The ball then appears in their hands as if they had cast the spell. Any spells that they were concentrating on end.

After one minute, the ball explodes dealing its damage to whoever was last left holding the ball.

 

[Grendel_Khan]

Even if you set aside the blockchain of it all, I think we need to address the 800-pound kobold in the room--these NFT images:

I like the art style itself. But imagine thinking your NFT character on the left is oh so unique, when he's just...the same dwarf as the one on the right, with a different hairstyle, weapon, and a pauldron. Behold the power of immutable ledgers!

Also, this may have been raised before and I just missed it, but this, from the website for the Glimmering (first campaign/setting/etc.), really sucks:

"These collectibles will be randomly generated to produce playable characters with a unique combination of varying classes, ancestry, backgrounds, and weapons, with some having attributes that are rarer than others."

Love to roll up a character who just comes with cooler stuff than the next person's character, and now that NFT is minted, no going back...oh well!

 

[darjr]

Pay to play, built in. Buy a better score than the next person.

 

[UngainlyTitan]

snip:

"These collectibles will be randomly generated to produce playable characters with a unique combination of varying classes, ancestry, backgrounds, and weapons, with some having attributes that are rarer than others."

Love to roll up a character who just comes with cooler stuff than the next person's character, and now that NFT is minted, no going back...oh well!

Does not this sound a bit like real life?

 

[Grendel_Khan]

Does not this sound a bit like real life?

Yes, which can be depressing. I'm all for depressing character generation mechanics in some games. But in a game where I essentially make one character that's persistent for years? And where the randomness is really just about turning character creation into the crypto equivalent of tearing through a box of MTG boosters?

No thanks!