New D&D Survey from WOTC

[EggKookoo]

Opinion surveys are so much pseudoscience. I mean, they're not without value, but it takes a lot of savvy to interpret the responses in any meaningful way.

[MaxWilson]

Just be civil. Also, thank Dan Dillon for adding Sunbeam to the Cleric list.

It's not on the cleric list. Tasha's merely has an optional, DM-gated Cleric 1 ability for a PC Cleric to add certain non-cleric spells to their spell list, but Divine Souls for example still can't cast Sunbeam without taking Cleric 1.

[Sigreid]

Stopped when they asked for my age. not their business.

[LudicSavant]

Opinion surveys are so much pseudoscience. I mean, they're not without value, but it takes a lot of savvy to interpret the responses in any meaningful way.

Yeah it's really, really easy for people to draw inaccurate conclusions from surveys. Especially in a format like the survey I just took...

[ProsecutorGodot]

Stopped when they asked for my age. not their business.

So just lie about it, children do it all the time online.

Awfully weird thing to be hung up about, companies want to know what their demographic is and if your age (that it does nothing to verify) is the most private information the survey asks for I'm not sure what the hang-up is.

Though, with the actual content on the survey, you're not missing much skipping out. The questions seem tailored to reinforce the current trends whichever way you answer.

[Imbalance]

How dare they assume that I'm less than 101 years old? Bunch of bs.
"How much did you spend on books?"
I dunno, bought the Candlekeep on Amazon, scored some used ones off eBay...fiddy?
"Please enter a whole number."
<sigh>50
"How much did you spend on fake virtual books?"
NOTHING, FOOLS!
"Please enter a whole number."
0
"How much did you spend on services?"
0.0
"..."
"How much did you spend on min....?"
MORE THAN THREE GRAND, OK? YES, I HAVE A PROBLEM!
"Please enter..."
Shut up!

[jaappleton]

Snip

This was an emotional rollercoaster.

[Sparky McDibben]

MORE THAN THREE GRAND, OK? YES, I HAVE A PROBLEM!
"Please enter..."
Shut up!

This is a safe space, bro. Safe space.

[Hael]

Yeah it's really, really easy for people to draw inaccurate conclusions from surveys. Especially in a format like the survey I just took...

A great way to ruin your data is to create a survey that antagonizes the writer. So lets
1) Give them a test to verify if their previous statements were correct.
2) Demand their private information.
3) Give them veiled threats of legal action, before making them sign an NDA and then include a statement that insults their intelligence about the obvious nonenforceability of said threat.
4) Give them questions that force a response and which halts the survey.. So one can’t even leave questions blank if they are unsure.
5) Make them watch three minutes of a video with no sound.
6) Make them correct a PR statement with crayon colors.
7) Offer very few boxes for feedback or general remarks.
8) Make people guess how much money they spend at different time intervals on a range of products.
9) Not include various definitions of abilities that we are grading, assuming of course that everyone remembers exactly what they are from memory.

One might expect this sort of work from a high school student... so it doesn’t really muster much confidence.

[PhantomSoul]

A great way to ruin your data is to create a survey that antagonizes the writer. So lets
1) Give them a test to verify if their previous statements were correct.
2) Demand their private information.
3) Give them veiled threats of legal action, before making them sign an NDA and then include a statement that insults their intelligence about the obvious nonenforceability of said threat.
4) Give them questions that force a response and which halts the survey.. So one can’t even leave questions blank if they are unsure.
5) Make them watch three minutes of a video with no sound.
6) Make them correct a PR statement with crayon colors.
7) Offer very few boxes for feedback or general remarks.
8) Make people guess how much money they spend at different time intervals on a range of products.
9) Not include various definitions of abilities that we are grading, assuming of course that everyone remembers exactly what they are from memory.

One might expect this sort of work from a high school student... so it doesn’t really muster much confidence.

I'd expect better from non-exceptional high school students. (And younger students, too.) When you hope it's just wildly incompetent instead of preparing for dishonesty and intentional misrepresentation to the point of insulting their audience.

[EggKookoo]

[Tanarii]

Ya know, I daresay that "Satisfied" is a weird metric to use to gauge people's feelings about game features, since there are many possible qualities to "dissatisfied."

For instance, I said I was dissatisfied with Half-Elves and Dragonborn, but for very different reasons; neither "buff Half-Elves" nor "nerf Dragonborn" is the correct response to please me.

No kidding. I'm dissatisfied with Halflings and Tieflings because of their presentation, Humans because they are UP, Half-elves because they're OP, and Tieflings and Dragonborn and Drow because because I don't feel they are appropriate in a PHB. (They should be splatbook races.)

The how many products have you bought recently question should probably be "did you buy anything since Tasha's was released".

You weren't the only one. I linked dissatisfied for all the darkvisions and then went mostly downhill from there.

Same for me for dark vision for all races. My dissatisfaction is I wish it wasn't a thing in D&D. (Despite it's long tradition and knowing it's probably not going away.)

[Dork_Forge]

Same for me for dark vision for all races. My dissatisfaction is I wish it wasn't a thing in D&D. (Despite it's long tradition and knowing it's probably not going away.)

It's hard to believe they don't see how heavily they messed it up, for something to be a benefit not a standard less than half the races should have it, ideally much much less than half...

I guess the bright side of the power of V. Humans is it's fairly likely someone won't have it

[Telwar]

It would have been nice if they had given more options to detail responses, like "do you think it's too/a little strong/weak, or just right," and some commentary, for each ability and then for the package as a whole.

I wonder if the race stuff was just padding for the DnDiscord...

[Imbalance]

This was an emotional rollercoaster.

This is a safe space, bro. Safe space.

S'cool, nothing a Charlotte Wessels playlist can't fix.

But yeah, freaking terrible survey.

[OldTrees1]

okay this has gone on long enough

What video?
What NDA?

I did not see either when I took the survey?

I did get a pop quiz, questions about spending, and a question about discord usage on other games (that was annoying).

[Dork_Forge]

okay this has gone on long enough

What video?
What NDA?

I did not see either when I took the survey?

I did get a pop quiz, questions about spending, and a question about discord usage on other games (that was annoying).

Not everyone gets it, the NDA is for the video which shows a digital platform that looks like DDB character sheets on the screens.

[OldTrees1]

Not everyone gets it, the NDA is for the video which shows a digital platform that looks like DDB character sheets on the screens.

Oh, so they are using the spending as a filter. That makes sense. I am not the target audience for that.

[Cheesegear]

Lots of questions I felt required a more in-depth answer than 'I am Satisfied or Dissatisfied.'
Because a lot of species' abilities have certain uses depending on the DM, and in some cases, can change an entire campaign. So even if I don't like an ability for one species, for a specific class, that ability might be really good, when used with a different class.

That species' ability might be garbage in a DM's campaign. But in another campaign it solves almost every encounter.

INVALID. PLEASE INDICATE THE AMOUNT YOU HAVE SPENT ON MINIATURES?

A lot. Please let me say 'a lot' and then just leave it. I don't have my receipts. I don't know. All's I know is that my missus is mad at me please leave me alone.

THE SURVEY DEMANDS A NUMBER.

Well lessee, there was Wave 12...Wave 13...Wave 14...Then there was some more minis I bought from other companies.
Look. I've lost count. There was a pandemic. Leave me alone.
I don't know.
I don't know.

Cries in the corner.

[Sandeman]

It isnt a good survey when after finishing answering it, you feel like you have just been abused.

[Warder]

I guess it's no loss that I missed it? The survey seems to have been taken down. That twitter thread though, wow. Many of the comments read like failed Intimidation checks.

[Millstone85]

That twitter thread though, wow. Many of the comments read like failed Intimidation checks.

There was a tweet?

[LudicSavant]

I guess it's no loss that I missed it? The survey seems to have been taken down. That twitter thread though, wow. Many of the comments read like failed Intimidation checks.

What twitter thread?

[Warder]

There was a tweet?

What twitter thread?

Oh sorry, the link was on the first page of this thread.

Here it is again: https://twitter.com/Wizards_DnD/stat...44179288555522

[EggKookoo]

Not everyone gets it, the NDA is for the video which shows a digital platform that looks like DDB character sheets on the screens.

I noticed that DnDB sheet too. I like DndBeyond, but it's woefully understaffed or underfunded or something. Might be nice if it got some real resources.

[Xervous]

Here’s expecting Bethesda quality digital product.

[Unoriginal]

Oh sorry, the link was on the first page of this thread.

Here it is again: https://twitter.com/Wizards_DnD/stat...44179288555522

Looks more like the survey was a failed CHA (Intimidation) check.

[jaappleton]

Regarding D&D Beyond: It was developed and owned by Curse, which owns Twitch. Or the other way around…. I forget. Sorry.

Later sold to Fandom.

Bradford and many of the original faces left near the beginning of 2021. And this may sound harsh but good riddance. Seriously. I try not to be too harsh on people but Bradford was terrible at the helm. At no point did they even try to attempt to implement the Class Feature Variant UA which was eventually in Tasha’s, then as Tasha’s came out they had to scramble, slap and glue together functionality to make most of it work. And during the update videos all we ever heard was “it’s complex, things are being worked on” with ZERO progress. MEANWHILE, Life Cleric bonus healing still hadn’t been implemented and Divine Souls couldn’t change their bonus spell they get based on Alignment.

The new management, led by Joe Starr (seriously), has been much better and also MUCH more transparent in what’s being worked on. They inherited a mess and they’re actually making headway.

So… rant over.

Anyways it’s not run by WOTC. They’re partnered with WOTC, just like Fantasy Grounds and Roll20.

But WOTC does not have their own digital toolset. However, WOTC is run by Chris C. Google his name, writing it is a legit rules violation. He was a head digital guy for Microsoft. He wants digital tools. Why keep farming it out when you can keep all the money and do it yourself? Makes sense, business wise, and the cost to develop it would be minimal when you consider how much their profits have soared.

Hopefully if it happens it goes much better than the 4E toolset made with Microsoft Silverlight…. I shudder just thinking by about that. And the story behind that, and the murder-suicide that led to the radical pivot in 4E’s design. Most don’t know about that one, and this isn’t the topic for it. Suffice to say 4E’s release and how it was played was… supposed to be a lot different.

…And one day maybe I’ll tell the story about the 5E toolset they tried BEFORE D&D Beyond was a thing, Codename: Morningstar. But that’s another topic.

[Imbalance]

…And one day maybe I’ll tell the story about the 5E toolset they tried BEFORE D&D Beyond was a thing, Codename: Morningstar. But that’s another topic.

This one?: https://www.codenamemorningstar.com/

I stumbled upon that a while back after Golem Arcana was almost a thing and was curious, but not too curious, since the last update mentioned iOS 8.

[jaappleton]

This one?: https://www.codenamemorningstar.com/

I stumbled upon that a while back after Golem Arcana was almost a thing and was curious, but not too curious, since the last update mentioned iOS 8.

Surprised that site is still up.

Yeah. That one.