D&D 5E (2014) Will you continue to give WotC D&D your $$$

[Jaeger]

My first poll; So exciting!

By all means continue to use the books you have, and enjoy what you and your group are doing. Nothing wrong with that.

That being said; Given the current OGL kerfuffle...

 

[Storyteller Hero]

I think an exception should be argued for DMsGuild Community Creator products, since not everything needs to be boycotted to achieve the objective of grabbing Hasbro's attention and focusing that attention on the WotC execs responsible for managing the DnD brand and related licenses.

To financially attack or harass small developers who might need the income to supplement their living in the current bad economy even though they have nothing to do with decisions regarding the OGL is like throwing the baby out with the bath water and potentially adds hypocrisy to the motivations behind the boycotting.

DMsGuild creators are contractually bound to keep their stuff on DMsGuild so they can't move themselves to a new store.

Many DMsGuild projects, especially setting books, can not be published under the OGL (A reminder that the OGL and DMsGuild are separate licenses).

Many DMsGuild projects in the works as such can not be transferred to other systems or licenses.

To boycott DND Beyond, toys, cards, and 1st party materials is already enough to make a noticeable change to WotC's bottom line without also attacking the community creators on DMsGuild.

Someone on Reddit suggested opening up a Patreon or the like, but building a following for that to compensate would take a lot of time, work, and luck as not everybody is on those sites nor would be willing to help out (at least not enough).

Starting over on another site likewise also takes a lot of time, work, and luck, which obviously can't be done overnight and may not work out at all.

The goal should not be to destroy WotC or DnD out of spite, because that's unrealistic and insane. The goal should be to pressure change in the culture at WotC, and it does not require hurting the small developers on DMsGuild.

Please don't step on the little guys while claiming it's for their own good.

 

[Jahydin]

No.

I think it's time for someone else to lead our hobby.

 

[Shiroiken]

While I fully oppose this move by WotC, it really has very little impact for me. I'm already not their target audience, buying at most 1 book a year (usually none). I will almost certainly buy the Revised PHB, and depending on the content, I might buy the DMG. The MM isn't going to significantly change, as it's going to be similar to the presentation in MPMM, so it's extremely unlikely I'll get it. After that, it's probably going to be =< 1 book per year once again.

 

[Jaeger]

think an exception should be argued for DMsGuild Community Creator products, since not everything needs to be boycotted to achieve the objective of grabbing Hasbro's attention and focusing that attention on the WotC execs responsible for managing the DnD brand and related licenses.

To financially attack or harass small developers who might need the income to supplement their living in the current bad economy even though they have nothing to do with decisions regarding the OGL is like throwing the baby out with the bath water and potentially adds hypocrisy to the motivations behind the boycotting.

DMsGuild creators are contractually bound to keep their stuff on DMsGuild so they can't move themselves to a new store.

I'm not unsympathetic.

But to WotC a sale is a sale.

WotC suits don't differentiate things they way you or I would. They see money hit the WotC accounts - they see support for them.

Lots of small fry are gonna get screwed over by WotC revoking the OGL that people used in good faith.

 

[Storyteller Hero]

I'm not unsympathetic.

But to WotC a sale is a sale.

WotC suits don't differentiate things they way you or I would. They see money hit the WotC accounts - they see support for them.

Lots of people are gonna get screwed over by WotC revoking the OGL that people used in good faith.

To Hasbro, less sales is less sales. No matter how shady a WotC exec could possibly be, they won't escape questions from their Hasbro overlords.

It's not about having "ANY" sales, it's about how many total sales are met for the quota that Hasbro has applied to WotC. If WotC has failed to deliver on their required profits, especially when DnD Beyond alone cost over $146.3 million to acquire, then that's when the top execs at WotC get into hot water and are most pressured to make OGL 1.0a into 1.0b with the term "irrevocable" added (or something similar).

There's not enough justification imo to hurt DMsGuild community creators when just the boycott against DnD Beyond alone had a discernable effect, and there are plenty of other avenues of attack (toys, cards, 1st party books, etc.) other than the DMsGuild community creators.

 

[Lichbeard]

Not another Dime, honestly no matter what they do from now on out we are not coming back. Too many other great games/companies out there to give companies like this our money. They picked the exact wrong time for a huge corporation to mimic Darth Vader and try to stomp down on the little guys.

 

[Clint_L]

I don't really draw much distinction between any of these companies - they are all trying to turn a profit and be competitive. I'm not interested in turning this into a pro wrestling situation of heels and babyfaces. If someone makes something I want at a reasonable price, I will buy it unless it was derived from criminal or otherwise unconscionable behaviour. The OGL situation doesn't come remotely close, in my books.

 

[Bupp]

No more money from me to WotC for D&D products. I've put in my support ticket to delete my Beyond account. Currently a free member, but I've paid in the past. I won't be downloading any more One playtest packets.

D&D has been part of my life, pretty much all of my life. I will still play RPGs, but not D&D.

D&D and Magic the Gathering have been my twin hyper fixations for most of my adult life. Hasbro is determined to wring every last dollar of joy out of both of them.

I'm done supporting D&D. Hypocritically, I will still buy Magic, but at a hugely reduced rate.

 

[delericho]

I was going to at least take a look at the upcoming Phandelver book, was almost certainly going to buy the 2024 books, and was strongly considering purchasing a bunch of classic PDFs from them.

I won't be doing any of those things. Nor will I be going to see the film, watching the just-announced TV show, reading the new Dragonlance trilogy, and buying anything from the Guild. And when my current campaign comes to an end, I won't be playing D&D again in any form - if I play anything at all, it will be some other game, and I'll obnoxiously correct anyone who refers to it as "D&D".

Unless and until they fix this, of course. (But I don't think just leaving 1.0a alone is enough - that just means they can try again in 6 months. They will need to issue a 1.0b that tightens the language to make it clear it's perpetual and irrevocable and that makes no other changes. Even the decency clause is a no-no, because I can't trust them not to abuse it.)

I really don't expect them to fix it. But stranger things have happened.

I also wouldn't go so far as to call this a boycott. I'm just a customer who has been becoming increasingly disenchanted for a few years who is now taking the final step.