WOTC Survey Predictions - Lazy RPG Talk Show

D&D and RPG news and commentary by Mike Shea of slyflourish.com
Video Contents
00:00 Show Start
00:59 D&D & RPG News: Jim Ward Passes Away
01:37 Commentary: Bob World Builder's Survey of D&D and WOTC Popularity
12:55 D&D & RPG News: Legos and Sneakers and Hawaiian Shirts
13:59 D&D & RPG News: Tome of Beasts 2023 on D&D Beyond
21:45 Patreon Spotlight: The SF Patreon Q&A Database
25:41 D&D & RPG News: Larian says No BG3 Expansions or BG4
29:27 DM Tip: Reach and Run Awesome Campaign Endings
45:36 Patreon Question: Too Much Comedy and Joking at our Serious D&D Game
49:15 Patreon Question: How Much is Gold Worth? Function Economies in our D&D Games
52:55 Patreon Question: Lazy Encounter Benchmark for Multiple Battles in a Day
Links
James Ward Wikipedia Page
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_M...
Bob World Builder WOTC Survey Video
• The Player Data WotC w...
Take the Survey Here
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FA...
Tome of Beasts 1 2023
koboldpress.com/kpstore/produ...
Larian Studios Won't Make Baldur's Gate 3 DLC, Expansions, or Baldur's Gate 4
www.ign.com/articles/larian-s...
Ending Campaigns
slyflourish.com/ending_campai...
The Lazy Encounter Benchmark
slyflourish.com/the_lazy_enco...
Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter
slyflourish.com/subscribe/
Support Sly Flourish on Patreon
/ slyflourish
Buy Sly Flourish Books:
shop.slyflourish.com/
#dnd #lazydm #dndtips #dmtips

[@RollForTuraco]

I think the Bob World Builder survey is getting more traction than the original

[@ScottBaker_]

He's willing to keep it up, so you're probably right. I keep thinking that Hasbro either got super good or super bad results so they cut it off. Bad, well never hear again. Good, they'll crow that 90+% think Hasbro walks on water.

[@VestigialLung]

Stay tuned for Bob the Worldbuilder’s video talking about SlyFlourish’s video talking about Bob Worldbuilder’s video talking about SlyFlourish’s video…

[@JKevinCarrier]

My prediction about the survey is that the responses will be mostly negative, especially on the questions about Wizards of the Coast. The folks who see this survey will be the ones who are "tuned in" to industry news and drama, and therefore have heard about all of WotC's nasty shenanigans over the past couple years. And people with an axe to grind are more likely to take the time to respond in the first place.

[@ken.droid-the-unique]

Bravo, fellow gamer. I wholeheartedly agree with you that those with an axe to grind will be more likely to take these surveys.

[@MavenofPinetree]

Your show is always a highlight of my week! Good things to consider, good resources, and I feel up to date with what is going on in the community! Thank you!

[@Cour-des-etoiles]

TV shows that ended badly... you can say ''Lost'', everybody was thinking it :) I like your tip saying to ask the players about the ending. Our DM does that every time and the ending is more satisfying that way!

[@StretchyShubit]

I’ve read the lazy dm and knew about sly flourish, but I wasnt subscribed until Bob name dropped you last week. Happy to be here!🎉

[@heycato-l4t]

I paused before the BWB survey segment, and then took the survey myself. FWIW: I answered, "Neutral", for how I feel about WotC, and "Less Popular", for how I think others feel about WotC - as you predicted.

[@garion046]

Interestingly, i was the reverse. I was negative because of... well all that's happened. But I think most people don't even know WotC exists, let along have a strong opinion. Now of the people taking the survey... that's a different matter, and I'd stick with negative tbh.

[@jacksprat232]

I want to thank you for posting up your experiences with Obsidian. I did try it and unfortunately, I couldn't access the program at work (I get a lot of downtime in between tasks at work...😉), but I tried the Notion...and I freakin love it! I never knew anything like this existed for use as prep tools, and my last couple games (I run 3 different campaigns throughout the month) were butter smooth and I was able to keep my thoughts straight.... Thanks dude.

[@sqoody7invegas625]

3:30, "we're not testing cancer drugs", laughing my butt off literally

[@Dorian_sapiens]

Sorry about your butt. Get well soon. 🎈

[@sqoody7invegas625]

@@Dorian_sapiens quote from Finding Nemo, "that's a big butt"

[@garion046]

I agree the survey doesnt matter to players. I think its useful to someone like Bob because it helps him gauge his own audience vibe and establish tone for his videos. Cynical take? Maybe.

[@bobbycrosby9765]

Baldur's Gate 3 took something like 6 years to make if you include early access. But they also made it using their "Divinity" engine, so it would take even longer for a fresh studio to release something of the quality of Baldur's Gate 3. Then you have all the experience they had with making great RPGs with Divinity - people are not simple cogs. At best, you're probably looking at 8 years for another company to do something to that quality.

[@kquixotic]

I'm happy they're stepping away from WotC and sticking to their beliefs to not make DLC or bend to big companies.

[@louisgarcia2415]

Good advice on ending campaigns. Thank you.

[@jasonhull8075]

Thanks Mike, excellent as always!

[@nathanaelthomas9243]

Thanks for the video, I really enjoyed it!

[@jacksprat232]

About Larian/WOTC -- my assumption is WOTC tried to squeeze blood out the D&D turnip for relicensing and Larian said naw, for that price, we'll do our own thing.

[@thrawncaedusl717]

The way Tome of Beasts is a candle is that it shows WotC is not withholding access to DND beyond from studios that are actively producing 5e competitors. That’s a good sign to me.

[@SlyFlourish]

What about Level Up Advanced 5e? It seems like they get to select who they promote and what gets promoted. Who makes those decisions? Is it a black box? Is that good for the hobby?

[@thrawncaedusl717]

@@SlyFlourish all of those platforms have blind spots or companies that don’t make deals (I personally really wish One Shot Wonders and their new map pack was on Roll20). If you are going to sell through someone else’s platform, deals have to be made, and it makes sense that some companies would not make those deals (heck, DrivethruRPG even has some weird blind spots). The fact that Kobold Press was not straight up blacklisted for their pretty strongly anti-WotC actions is a good sign to me. Edit: I just remembered that Level Up 5e is another one I was looking for on Roll20 that doesn’t seem to be there. I think that indicates that it might have more to do win En World than D&D Beyond.

[@tariqkhawaja2720]

Those databases are awesome Mike! As a fellow dnd enthusiast and junior developer would you be willing to do an episode discussing the tools you used to build this?

[@riplaekic]

I bought Tome of Beast the first time and passed on the updated version. The DnD Beyond version made sense for me but the pricepoint is very high compared to other books on DnD Beyond.

[@ivancarabano]

Great show!

[@johnsnyder4653]

Another great show!

[@thuglifegame7573]

Great content as always

[@lonic123]

Thanks

[@garion046]

I was actually the reverse for my feelings on WotC vs others. I said negative because of... well lots of scandals. But tbh my feeling is that most ppl dont even know WotC exists, or if they do have very little knowledge of good or bad things they've done. So neutral given some negativity from news reading players, and some positivity from new players who dont read news, BG3 and movie. BUT I think in our community it is negative, and I expect Bob's survey to reflect that.

[@robshift]

I absolutely love your attitude to DnD.

[@mazdnd]

How you feel about Hasbro would be interesting to compare against how we feel about wotc

[@synmad3638]

That Patreon Q&A database seems really cool but I must be missing something because I can't imagine how you could keep something that massive and detailed up to date

[@SlyFlourish]

Each month I parse the q&a page of the previous month and add the data. It takes about five minutes a month.

[@trickynickofficial]

Harking is bad for Science but great for Sales. IMO the survey was to set a baseline/benchmark to compare to next year after One D&D releases.

[@celebkiriedhel]

I think the thing about the survey is for me - is this going to be similiar to what WoTC survey results. And theorising what WoTC are going to do with that unrepresentative survey. I also like to analyse the data as it is. Not so much making hypotheses, but seeing the data for what it is. (I was a computer systems analyst before I retired)

[@williamatkins3465]

According to WoTC: So let’s generously assume a D&D gold piece contains approximately 1/4 ounce of gold (the coin itself might weigh more, depending on the purity of the coin, etc.). Taking a look at today’s prices, gold is currently trading at around $580 per ounce. That means a D&D gold piece might be considered the equivalent of roughly $145.

[@SlyFlourish]

That's very close to my own estimate.

[@1970joedub]

This tracks.

[@clawlesslawless]

@@SlyFlourish (if it ever comes up in a game) i run a gold coin being equal to €100, a silver €10, a copper €1. So a couple of silver for a meal in a tavern.

[@michaeljpastor]

Mike mentioned that it takes 2 gps a day to hire someone and that it was a day's wages. To some degree, that assumes you're hiring someone to work exclusively for you for that day. I don't know if WOTC intended that parameter to be part of the equation - if it's not an exclusive contract, then the rate/day for said hireling is actually much greater. Flavor to taste.

[@Lycaon1765]

For the bg3 stuff, from the beginning they said they wouldn't do expansions. That's one of the many reasons people loved it and supported it during early access and were willing to buy it during early access. I was someone who paid the full purchase price during early access and that's one of the things said to justify charging for their early access game. They wouldn't do DLC, there'd be no microtransactions, and people who paid would own the game when it was finished. The real news is that they won't do any future sequels.

[@CreeperSlayer365]

30:00 On Larian not working on another Baldur's Gate game. I think the main reason they're not doing another one is just that they're tired not some fallout between the companies. Working that long on someone else's franchise is going to burn anybody out.

[@mackemdale]

My question made the show!!!

[@SlyFlourish]

Yay!

[@nerdaccount]

How do you think magic would effect the economy? Spells books for sale, scrolls and potions and "creation" spells all might have a warping effect? In low wealth campaigns, some spells might be out of reach as I'm sure a small farming community might not have a 1k of diamond dust or 500 gp reliquaries for sale. Some economic stuff seems like great GM knowledge but maybe not important for players? I love your pod cast!

[@michaeljpastor]

Kobold Press on D&D Beyond is a Candle in the Wind - too strong of a wind and it's not good; just right and it's a pleasant flicker.

[@rufuslynks8175]

I keep the money simple. cp=1, sp=10,cp gp=100cp. So a copper is a penny and a gold is a dollar. BUT, there are places where gold is scarce and desired, so it might trade much higher. Players might trade "extra" gold for gems becuase in other places gold may be plentiful and comparitively less useful. To balance this these locations will have separation barriers to make large volume "money trading" unprofitable. This can help the character get a little extra at a difficult time, of affect their decisions on what treasure to carry away from encounters.

[@Shu_BLN]

Marker :)

[@johnmickey5017]

My theory: The more non-KZbin-audience respondents Bob gets, the more positive the survey responses will be. Pausing before Mike discusses any further to record my own predictions here: DnD sentiment will be moderately positive. DND recommendation split between month and year, WotC product will skew towards 1 year. Direction and WotC sentiment will be moderately negative. Moderately declining popularity.

[@LegioXDivum]

Buying a game on Steam is only renting it on their platform, but if they have tried to pull a game completely off it, it would open a legal pandoras box of challenges. DnD beyond is a smaller platform that would be less likely to be brought to court over such a senario, but it is still unlikely to test if it can pull a paid for product out of the customers hand. That's why Volo and Mordenkiens are still available if you have purchased them even if you can't buy them anymore

[@armorclasshero2103]

Gee, I guess Adam Smith was right: monopolies are bad

[@ohsohologramic]

what was the whole point about the candles? You have lit candles and unlit candles and lit candles are good things and unlit candles are bad things but sometimes a candle is lit or unlit (quantum candle)?

[@Warhamster55]

Does WOTC want to become a distribution channel for DnD? Like valve went from making games to Steam where they distribute games? That would mean WOTC would sell core books and distribute adventures and settings from other publishers. Hey it works for the Apple App Store, Google Play Store and Steam.

[@madjarov42]

Good job avoiding the mention of Lost, Mike.

[@michaeljpastor]

Isn't HARKing coming up with hypothesis after the fact and claiming that they were a priori? If you come up with an hypothesis after the fact, and then test that new hypothesis, then it's correct procedurally.

[@Nanenroe]

I appreciate that the LEGO set is not for you, but you missed the most exciting point of the announcement. WotC is releasing an adventure to go with it. That comes as a downloadable PDF. I do feel that this is the LEGO group flexing their corporate muscles by saying that they want it downloadable from their website, not just from WotC/D&D Beyond.

[@gchristopherklug]

It is REALLY annoying to me that you can’t get a WOTC book in PDF any more.

[@SlyFlourish]

You can. Just not 5e stuff.

[@gchristopherklug]

@@SlyFlourish Ok, correct. I’ll re-phrase. I think you should be able to get a Wotc book in PDF. Or, barring that, make D&D Beyond a delivery system not designed to make me tear out what little hair I have left. Useless!

[@RobertARohm]

I just don't care about the brand that is dnd.

[@TwinSteel]

I suspect people will say they love D&D but don’t like the company

[@kumithebear]

On the assumption that the business geniuses at Hasbro/WotC are to blame for Larian pulling away from D&D. I consider that Hasbro blowing out another candle. Or at least, the result of the breakup is a snuffed candle, no matter who is to blame.

[@wingedhussar2909]

I really think surveys for DnD should be separated for DMs and players. As a player, I love DnD. As a DM, I'm not liking DnD as much.

[@acu01136]

Yay Science! (and boo click bait KZbin / reddit haters). Yay Dorks talking about results!

[@ogreboy8843]

Hypothesis: There will be a strong bias towards the ends of each scale. Cynical reasoning: The people who respond will be primarily motivated by a desire for attention. Taking extreme stances will appeal to them as a strategy that feels more likely to achieve this end.

[@Ike_of_pyke]

I won't care about the brand of dnd until it's sold or put fully into public domain , WotC holding the D&D ip Makes me activately avoid d&d proper for third party stuff like DCC and even Tales of the Valiant as I know for sure my money isn't going toward that vaccum pit.