WotC WotC partners with Start Playing to connect players and DMs and form tables.

[darjr]

WotC partners with Start Playing as a place to connect gamers and find games. Wasn’t this supposed to be part of the 3D vtt? Is this another pivot or hedge kinda like Maps was?

Edit: I can't find a reference for any kind of proposed WotC match service. Also I think reaching out like this to third parties is a good idea.

Find Your Party: D&D Partners with StartPlaying for 50th Anniversary Play Events

D&D and StartPlaying are hosting a series of play events, kicking off with the free release of Descent into the Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth on March 2...

www.dndbeyond.com

 

[pete284]

Looks like they are edging their bets in case their 3d VTT doesn't work. Other pointers to this are the development on their maps feature on DND Beyond, partnering with FoundryVTT, they are not putting all their eggs in one basket.

 

[Azzy]

Looks like they are edging their bets in case their 3d VTT doesn't work. Other pointers to this are the development on their maps feature on DND Beyond, partnering with FoundryVTT, they are not putting all their eggs in one basket.

Which, I think is a wise decision. Within the D&D community, there are many different ways to play whether in person or online. Supporting different styles is a great thing.

 

[Distracted DM]

I'm a GM on Startplaying.Games- it's pretty big news. They've done events like this in the past with other games, including Paizo. Obviously doing it with DDB is a more significant bump for SPG visibility.

The SPG folks have shared data in the past with GMs: what times seem to be most popular, what areas of the site get the most visits, etc. I'm hoping they'll share the data on what kind of uptick etc. the site gets from this, I'm very curious about what it actually does.

@darjr when you say that this was supposed to be part of the 3dVTT, do you mean that they were supposed to use the Tsojcanth one-shot to premier WotC's 3dVTT? Or that the 3dVTT is supposed to match people up? Was there talk of it including pay-to-play?
SPG is largely a paid TTRPG thing.. there are free games but the main focus is paid, with SPG handling payment processing. So probably hedging bets

 

[darjr]

I'm a GM on Startplaying.Games- it's pretty big news. They've done events like this in the past with other games, including Paizo. Obviously doing it with DDB is a more significant bump for SPG visibility.

The SPG folks have shared data in the past with GMs: what times seem to be most popular, what areas of the site get the most visits, etc. I'm hoping they'll share the data on what kind of uptick etc. the site gets from this, I'm very curious about what it actually does.

@darjr when you say that this was supposed to be part of the 3dVTT, do you mean that they were supposed to use the Tsojcanth one-shot to premier WotC's 3dVTT? Or that the 3dVTT is supposed to match people up? Was there talk of it including pay-to-play?
SPG is largely a paid TTRPG thing.. there are free games but the main focus is paid, with SPG handling payment processing. So probably hedging bets

I thought the the 3D vtt was supposed to have a match service.

I suppose it could still.

 

[Reynard]

It seems weird to me that with so many people entering the hobby, folks still have trouble finding GMs.

 

[Burnside]

It seems weird to me that with so many people entering the hobby, folks still have trouble finding GMs.

I'm a pro DM. I can tell you that the influx is loads of people looking to play; far, far fewer are looking to DM.

 

[Meech17]

It seems weird to me that with so many people entering the hobby, folks still have trouble finding GMs.

Matt Colville mentioned once in a video he thought it was weird how hesitant people are to get into DMing. He said when he started out he and many of his other friends were really eager to get behind the screen.

I can relate to both sides.. After just a few sessions I wanted to try running a game. I started playing in the mid 2000's so we didn't really have D&D YouTube, or actual play podcasts. Acquisitions Inc. may have been running around that time but I wasn't aware of it. No one I played with was either. At the same time though my first time running a game went really poorly, and I was afraid to do it again.. So I can totally understand why people would be scared. Especially now that so many examples are available of people like Chris Perkins or Matt Mercer running games and setting this really high bar for quality. For me, I knew like three DMs, and they were all just normal people who made mistakes and forgot rules like everyone else.

Still, you'd think the desire to play would outweigh that fear. That's what happened to me any way. Some friends wanted to play, and I have been really wanting to play for years without being able to get a group together, so I jumped at the chance to run, even though I'd never done it successfully before.

 

[cranberry]

Apparently there is a cost per game for the service. That may limit interest in the long run. I saw "$10 off first game session", so that implies each session cost more than $10. After the initial interest, this may be a big impediment.

I wonder how much WoTC will get from this.

 

[darjr]

I'm a pro DM. I can tell you that the influx is loads of people looking to play; far, far fewer are looking to DM.

I can concur. Many many times more people want to play and not GM.

I see it. Being a GM is very much like being a performer. Public speaking and being entertaining while also being a mediator and judge and seemingly requiring a higher level of expertise in the game.

It can be intimidating.