D&D 5E Rants Regarding the Corporate Castration of our Beloved Hobby

[Gardens & Goblins]

I personally never used orcpub, but wizards of the coast is seriously overstepping here. Money is very tight in the united states,a lot of people just can't afford to drop 50$ on a book. If the consumer doesn't want to pay for something, they won't and they never will. I only toss money at companies I reliably use and deeply enjoy, otherwise I just torrent all the D&D books because I am broke and paying for these books is overrated.

Some folks like to say, ''Well, its my money, I can spend it where I like, it doesn't effect you!'' ..and ya know? They're.. wrong. It does effect other folks. Spending money on a product is an endorsment of that product - a vote for that product, if you will, to be.

Say WoC runs the numbers - they reckon they can charge a chunk of change for their product, because % of the populace will cough up said change. The folks that aren't part of that %? They're going to, if they really want to, find other ways of acquiring that product.

We can dress it up as we wish but it all boils down to a power struggle, a fight/war over resources. WoC are free to enforce their control of their assets as they wish. And folks are free to acquire WoC assets likewise, until they can't.

...but hey, this isn't news. It's been going on since Ugg the Caveman threatened to beat to death anyone who dared hum the catchy tune he created whilst sitting by the fire.

All very interesting!

 

[Colorblind_cl]

I really understand that they shut down OrcPub and every character generator that uses Non-SRD content. I really hope that they don't shut down spell webpages. They are lifesavers.
My problem is with D&DBeyond. I refuse to buy again my books. I'm kind of poor and this things come to my country costing twice their price. Buying a rulebook requires months of savings.

 

[pming]

Hiya!

Yet again, *shrug*. I'm so apathetic to the whole RPG 'scene' as it's been going for the last decade or two (mostly amped up in the last 5 years or so). I'm old and just don't have time for all the, well, stuff.

WotC vs OrcPub. Never used OrcPub. Never used D&D Beyond. Why? I liken it to the same reasoning I don't have a cell phone. With a cell phone, I'll get one when I can add a flat $10/month fee to my home land line...and it basically acts as just an extension there of (and my internet). No "roaming" charges...no "contracts"... no "X minutes"... no, well, anything that my home phone/internet isn't limited to. A cell phone should be treated EXACTLY like a home land line or home internet package. Until that happens...i don't need a cell phone.

"Digital RPG Tools"? Same crap. Cell phones have limits on *everything about them*. You want X? Give us more money. You want Y? You have to sign up for 5 years. You want Z? Give us more money, and sign up for 5 years, and you pay us a $1000 if you decide to leave before the end of that 5 years...or if we don't like you or something".

When I can get, for example, a simple database in multiple formats that I can then use with OpenOffice, LibreOffice, MS Office, or whatever...where I can start up a text document, write an adventure, and have the ability to add an OLE link to a monster, spell, item, or whatever, and the text application just automatically adds in the stats? Then I'll pay money. But if I don't get CONTROL of what I pay money for...no. I'm out.

And yeah, I see the world passing me by in terms of 'tech goodies'. And you know what? I'm totally fine with that. I'm happier because of it. I'm debt free. (Yes, that's right...I have ZERO debts). Why? Because of a lot of reasons...not the least of which is that I've chosen to not get suckered into all the "social media" claptrap, and thusly, all of the ads telling me what latest digital/technical gizmo I need. I'm not on Facebook, not on Twitter, not on lots of things. I don't watch TV, generally speaking (I tape a few shows every now and then so that I can FF over the commercials)...and get my news by doing my own research online via multiple sources.

Digital D&D tools? *shrug* Wake me when you have something to SELL to me...not when you have something to RENT to me.

^_^

Paul L. Ming

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

We talk about the 1%, but we *are* the 1% worldwide. Well maybe not 1% as the population isn’t that big yet, but 5%. Acknowledging that is the least we can do, intellectually.

Last I checked (a couple months ago), earning the statutory US “poverty level” income of @$18k USD per year would put a person in the top 4% income in the world.

This isn’t to say you can’t find people affected by poverty in comparable ways as in underdeveloped nations. The difference is that, in the USA, the level of poverty you’d find in a whole village in Bangladesh might be found in only one household in a given city, county or state.

My goodness.

Sorry, Morris- posted before reading the rest of the posts in the thread.

 

[Parmandur]

Hiya!

Yet again, *shrug*. I'm so apathetic to the whole RPG 'scene' as it's been going for the last decade or two (mostly amped up in the last 5 years or so). I'm old and just don't have time for all the, well, stuff.

WotC vs OrcPub. Never used OrcPub. Never used D&D Beyond. Why? I liken it to the same reasoning I don't have a cell phone. With a cell phone, I'll get one when I can add a flat $10/month fee to my home land line...and it basically acts as just an extension there of (and my internet). No "roaming" charges...no "contracts"... no "X minutes"... no, well, anything that my home phone/internet isn't limited to. A cell phone should be treated EXACTLY like a home land line or home internet package. Until that happens...i don't need a cell phone.

"Digital RPG Tools"? Same crap. Cell phones have limits on *everything about them*. You want X? Give us more money. You want Y? You have to sign up for 5 years. You want Z? Give us more money, and sign up for 5 years, and you pay us a $1000 if you decide to leave before the end of that 5 years...or if we don't like you or something".

When I can get, for example, a simple database in multiple formats that I can then use with OpenOffice, LibreOffice, MS Office, or whatever...where I can start up a text document, write an adventure, and have the ability to add an OLE link to a monster, spell, item, or whatever, and the text application just automatically adds in the stats? Then I'll pay money. But if I don't get CONTROL of what I pay money for...no. I'm out.

And yeah, I see the world passing me by in terms of 'tech goodies'. And you know what? I'm totally fine with that. I'm happier because of it. I'm debt free. (Yes, that's right...I have ZERO debts). Why? Because of a lot of reasons...not the least of which is that I've chosen to not get suckered into all the "social media" claptrap, and thusly, all of the ads telling me what latest digital/technical gizmo I need. I'm not on Facebook, not on Twitter, not on lots of things. I don't watch TV, generally speaking (I tape a few shows every now and then so that I can FF over the commercials)...and get my news by doing my own research online via multiple sources.

Digital D&D tools? *shrug* Wake me when you have something to SELL to me...not when you have something to RENT to me.

^_^

Paul L. Ming

You are probably not part of Curse's primary audience...not that there's anything wrong with that.