I get the feeling their system will just take all the worst parts of video gaming - micro transactions, walled content, and bugs - and make D&D worse. I’m betting it will be a corporate profit first, community second approach.
What would be awesome is something that makes the table top experience easier and blends the best elements of VTT with in-person gaming. I’d love to a hybrid system in which physical tokens can interact with a digital table top.
As a DM, I tinker with 2d maps for hours to get them “just right.” I can’t imagine the amount of extra effort it’ll require to get 3d maps perfect.
That’s been my biggest struggle as well. I can spend way too much time finding the right map for an encounter, only to never actually use it.
The other option is building the encounters around the map, but a lot of the maps I find don’t ‘inspire’ me a whole lot, or aren’t thematically relevant to what I want to run (this dwarf king’s tomb looks cool, but I’d want at least a few other rooms in this dungeon, with other encounters. And my players are on a quest to kill a dragon, not a dwarf king)
I almost prefer a minimalistic tool; just a basic map that I can draw up quickly, basic tokens for enemies, and just flesh out my descriptions more.
This is precisely why I love Owlbear Rodeo. Just what I need, no unnecessary fluff or mechanics, super easy importing, website with no installs. I’m interested in the new version, but I’m not DMing an online game right now so no subscription from me yet.
