D&D has a lot going on this year with its 50th anniversary, a new rulebook revision, and the Virtual Tabletop. The Virtual Tabletop (VTT) was introduced in a big way at Gen Con 2024, with Wizards of the Coast Vice President of Franchise Products Jess Lanzillo, veteran designer Christopher Perkins, lead rules designer Jeremy Crawford, and several other top executives took the stage.

The team explained the new rulebook and the intent of the upcoming VTT, now code-named Project Sigil. As journalist and participant Christian Hoffer reported on Twitter, the app is "restrictive" for free users, adding: "D&D Beyond subscribers have more access. They want to use the beta version to figure out what is most valuable to their players."

As part of the perks associated with Project Sigil, the cast of Baldur's Gate 3, currently part of Wizards of the Coast, will be available as digital minis. according to GamesRadar, these minis will have multiple poses are available, but are otherwise uniform, according to GamesRadar.

Some of these tools look pretty interesting. The screenshots (thanks, GamesRadar) showcase a powerful-looking editor that allows you to assemble battle maps, much like you would create custom maps in a video game.

Chris Cao, VTT's project director, boasts that the app is "a 3D sandbox that brings your favorite franchises to life in a quick, fun, and immersive way." But alas, this irritates my hackles.

The old geezer in me can't help but have an uneasy hunch when the phrase "bringing a franchise to life" is spoken of in a hobby I started with cheap kraft paper using miniature coins. I'm aware of the irony, but I don't play TTRPG to explore my favorite franchises; I play it to tell new stories with my friends.

On the other hand, it would be a good laugh to do a one-shot or short campaign about Karlach's adventures after "Baldur's Gate 3" ends. In the game's epilogue, if we advance certain storylines, she practically offers us the story and promises us a heist at Zariel's personal forge, which we will never see as long as Larian has no plans to make DLC. If Wizards of the Coast beats players to the punch and doesn't make an official adventure, this shiny mini will be a fun way to promote it.

"While it's nice to see Carrack in all its 3D-rendered glory, one of the greatest benefits of the TTRPG genre is that you can bring a city into existence through the power of your words and shared imagination.

WoTC's seeming insistence on creating a shared, hyper-monetized franchise out of a hobby that is, after all, supported by squiggly paper and duct tape is setting off a mental carbon monoxide alarm in my brain. It seems odd, albeit entirely expected, that the cast of Baldur's Gate 3, written, conceived, and produced by Larian, would be transformed into marketable miniatures to promote an app.

Especially since these new rulebooks already come with a pre-order bonus for "Project Sigil"; let's hope D&D's first proper VTT is a positive addition to the hobby rather than a take on all the bad habits of video game monetization. I sincerely hope to be proven wrong.

However, I am not a strict slob with pen and paper either. I have run games before for players with hallucinosis (a condition in which the "mind's eye" is unable to form mental images), and I think a service like Project Sigil would be great for them. Similarly, as someone who has difficulty with working memory due to ADHD, Foundry's automation and modules have been a godsend for tracking Pathfinder 2e's floating corrections as a DM.

Time will tell. My hope is that both D&D and the Baldur's Gate canon will not drown under the sound of dead horses being pounded into their graves along with the characters I love for a franchised and more easily monetized future.