TTRPGS, Blockchains, and NFTs

When Kickstarter announced recently that it would be investing in blockchain-based infrastructure, there was widespread backlash. Blockchain technology is environmentally damaging and is of limited use. Creators such as Possum Creek Games (Wanderhome) announced their intentions to move off Kickstarter, while companies such as Chaosium and Wizards of the Coast continue to express interested in non-fungible tokens, digital items which exist on a blockchain.

While I'm writing this article, I do need to point out that I'm not a great person to do so; my understanding of blockchains, NFTs, cryptocurrencies, and related technologies is very, very limited and my attempts to get a handle on the subject have not been entirely successful. I'm sure more informed people will post in the comments.

What the heck is an NFT (& what does it mean for digital artists)

What is a non-fungible token (NFT)? In this graphic designer's guide to NFTs, we explore how Non-Fungible Tokens work in the context of digital art and how you can start turning your digital creations into sought-after NFTs.

dribbble.com

Kickstarter is not the only tabletop roleplaying game adjacent company delving into such technologies. Call of Cthulhu publisher Chaosium announced in July 2021 that it was working with an NFT company to bring their Mythos content to a digitally collectible market, with specific plans to sell two different models -- the Necromonicon and a bust of Cthulhu -- from the Cthulhu Mythos; and while things went quiet for a while, last week the company tweeted that 'We have more - lots more -- to drop... when the Stars are Right." A Facebook statement from Chaosium's CEO appeared on Twitter talking more about the decision.

D&D producer Wizards of the Coast said in April 2021 that it was considering NFTs for Magic: The Gathering. More recently, an email from WotC's legal representatives to a company planning to use NFT technology in conjunction with M:tG cards, alleging unlawful infringement of its IP, indicated that WotC was "currently evaluating its future plans regarding NFTs and the MAGIC: THE GATHERING cards" but that "no decision has been made at this time."

On Twitter, ErikTheBearik compiled Hasbro/WotC's involvement with NFTs so far.

Gripnr is a '5e based TTRPG NFT protocol' with Stephen Radney-MacFarland (D&D, Star Wars Saga Edition, Pathfinder) as its lead game designer. OK, so that's about as much of that as I understand!

Some company in the TTRPG sphere have taken a stand. DriveThruRPG stated that "In regard to NFTs – We see no use for this technology in our business ever." Itch.io was a bit more emphatic:

A few have asked about our stance on NFTs: NFTs are a scam. If you think they are legitimately useful for anything other than the exploitation of creators, financial scams, and the destruction of the planet the [sic] we ask that [you] please reevaluate your life choices. Peace. [an emoji of a hand making the “Peace” symbol]

Also [expletive deleted] any company that says they support creators and also endorses NFTs in any way. They only care about their own profit and the opportunity for wealth above anyone else. Especially given the now easily available discourse concerning the problems of NFTs.

How can you be so dense?

NFTs -- non-fungible tokens -- and blockchains have been dominating the news recently, and with individuals and companies taking strong stances against them, it's fair to ask why. The environmental impact of the technology has been widely documented - it's inefficient, and the need for blockchains -- a sort of decentralized ledger -- to have multiple users validate and record transactions makes it very energy intensive. In an era when climate change is having more and more devastating effects around the world, use of such technologies attracts considerable backlash.

Other ethical concerns regarding NFTs specifically is that the purchaser of an NFT is not actually purchasing anything, and the value for the digital 'token' they've purchased is speculative. When you buy the NFT of a piece of art (for example) you don't own the art itself; you only own a digital token associated with the art. The whole concept is likened to a 'house of cards' or a 'scam' by its critics.

 

[Rabulias]

Actually, they do. What a dollar will buy in Muleshoe in terms of gasoline (to keep it easy) is different that what it will buy in terms of gas in New York. The fact that in either place you can swap it for four quarters is meaningless.

But the price of gas in a location has nothing to do with the value of that dollar. Rather, it has to do with a particular region's economic factors (state/local taxes on gas, local wages, local inflation, local cost of living, local supply & demand).

If you wanted to buy the Player's Handbook from Amazon, it will cost you the same number of dollars whether you order it from New York City or Muleshoe. In fact, if Muleshoe had a FLGS you would pay the same number of dollars as you would in a FLGS in NYC (discounting loyalty discounts or limited sales, and again, local sales taxes might affect the final total slightly, but the price of the item is the same).

 

[Parmandur]

So, you live on a planet of some seven billion people. They all gotta eat, so they all need jobs. Even if they live in China.

Very true, and outsourcing manufacturing to China isn't something I hold against any of the Chinese workers: they are the ones being exploited. If they weren't being exploited, it wouldn't be cheaper.

 

[Staffan]

An additional downside of cryptocurrencies: "mining" them doesn't only take a lot of energy, but also processing power. You ever wonder why the price of graphics cards have gone through the roof lately? Part is because of pandemic-related supply chain issues, but the big one is that crypto miners buy them which drives up the prices.

 

[doctorhook]

I mean...not really? WotC not only isn't involved with any pyramid schemes, they print their products in the USA, which alone makes them the ethical leaders in the RPG industry.

Technically not true. WotC prints Magic cards in the USA, Belgium, Japan, and perhaps other places I’m forgetting now.

EDIT: I realize MTG isn’t in the RPG industry. My bad.

 

[Parmandur]

Technically not true. WotC prints Magic cards in the USA, Belgium, Japan, and perhaps other places I’m forgetting now.

EDIT: I realize MTG isn’t in the RPG industry. My bad.

And they do print some in China...for selling in China, to my understanding. Point ua, they make use of relatively local printers, which is an ethical step past so very many companies these days.

 

[eyeheartawk]

I've seen some version of the argument that "The regulated financial markets don't work for the little guy" posited as a problem with the stated solution being " A completely unregulated financial market does work better for the little guy" in this thread a number of times and that's absolutely mind boggling.

Too many people die even though their car had seat belts, thus the answer is to remove the laws saying cars should have seatbelts.

 

[eyeheartawk]

Then it is time to do some math.

A single crypto transaction currently eats up 1000Kwh of electricity, at a cost of roughly $104. At the moment, you don't see that cost, because it is distributed across the entire crypto network. But, scaled up to US credit card levels, that would become visible, because it becomes about $10 billion a day, eating up almost ten times the current total US electricity generation.

Is the issue more clear to you now?

And I think that's just running comparable numbers to Visa. The goal, presumably, would be to replace Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Discover, PayPal, Zelle, Cashapp, Venmo etc. Just all of it. I mean, once we build a Dyson Sphere around the sun that should work out fine.

 

[Jd Smith1]

An additional downside of cryptocurrencies: "mining" them doesn't only take a lot of energy, but also processing power. You ever wonder why the price of graphics cards have gone through the roof lately? Part is because of pandemic-related supply chain issues, but the big one is that crypto miners buy them which drives up the prices.

But is buying graphics cards illegal? No? Immoral? Again, no. Using electricity you purchased? In the USA, certainly not.

This entire thread seems to be hating crypto-currencies to such a degree that you also hate the brand of shoes they wear and the brand of periodical they're currently reading.

Myself, I'm not interested in any crypto-currency. They might be the next big thing, or not, but I'm not going to bother with them, except (after reading this thread) perhaps working them as background plot device into an upcoming campaign.

But so far, no one here seems to have nailed down whether they are a scam or the next innovation.

 

[Umbran]

But so far, no one here seems to have nailed down whether they are a scam or the next innovation.

I think we nailed down that they are a technology that does not scale upwards much at all, and that is a problem for anything that wants to be a currency.

Selling it on the basis that it will increase in value, when that value is dependent on perpetual growth of use it cannot have, probably counts as a scam.

 

[Jd Smith1]

Hmmm... I wonder, while I have read of reports of people that received a mystery NFT in their wallet, which when they try to sell they then find that all other NFTs in their wallet has walked off with it.
I suppose that this could be achieved by executing some code from the NFT being sold that scans the wallet and add all found NFT to the transaction. By the time the transaction is completed it is too late. Remember, "No take Backsies" is built into the system (it is append only).
I could see that as working,

On a side note: so the cyber-currency is a data packet, right?

Could said data packets be used as a virus delivery systems? I ask because I've got a thread about attacking the Net for a RPG campaign.