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#OpenDnD and the OGL Controversy
🕑 Added 2023-01-11 18:03:19 +0000 UTCSo today is the day that I have a moment to address the elephant in the room. Namely, what is happening with the massive changes in the OGL that Wizards of the Coast (WotC) is reportedly moving forward with and what that means for us here at The DM Tool Chest.
I won't go into all the details because the information is readily available elsewhere (https://www.opendnd.games), but suffice it to say I will not be signing away all of my rights to my content over to WotC and I stand in support of the #OpenDND movement.
What's Changing?
To put it as simply as possible: I honestly don't know where we go from here. We're still waiting for the official news from WotC to determine when our cutoff date is for their new N-OGL (NOT-Open Gaming License, as I call that atrocity) to go into effect and until that time I'm moving forward with business as usual.
I plan to continue making the same content moving forward and adjusting the text as needed to stay legal.
What Are Your Options?
I am working towards continuing to make "5E Compatible" work that would require as little changes as possible on your part to use. This could include:
- system agnostic language
- a new SRD created by DMDave
- a new SRD created by Kobold Press
- a new system created by myself
or any other system that enables the language of the adventures and content to remain as close as possible without needing much adaptation.
If anything, I would like to say it could simply be something as innocuous as changing the names of certain abilities to be obvious (eg: Constitution=Vitality, Dexterity=Agility, etc) and have the rest of the work remain the same. We will see.
THIS SUCKS!
I'm right there with you on how frustrating this can be and I would just like to point out one thing:
This the EXACT reason why WotC/Hasbro is doing this maneuvering: they want to drive customers away from 3rd party publishers and into their walled garden.
Please do not be discouraged and fall for their manipulations! We will get through this together and I will continue to support you in the way that you've all supported me these last 2 years. We may need to do a little rebranding and house cleaning, but we're going to be fine!
~ TJ Phoenix
Comments
TJ Phoenix
Yup, I'm signed up for them all at the moment and waiting to see what comes out. Until WotC drops the new deadline, I'll use 5E and then agnostic stuff until a new system comes out.
Douglas Rector
Kobold Press and Frog God are working together to to make a unified system, I believe Paizo is working with them, and Paizo has a sign up form on their site for creators that want to work together on it. I signed up - its better if we all pool our resources to create 1 system, than all work separately and create a bunch of competing systems and fracture the player base.
TJ Phoenix
Yeah, it all comes down to how the mechanics are presented and wotc has a unique style that makes their work have its own "voice". I'll have to "dumb it down" a little but I'm working out how to keep things going so it's not too much of a difference. It's not a long term plan, but it will make due for now
Douglas Rector
Having done a bit of research into copyright law as it pertains to gaming, Hasbro is limited in what they can copyright. Basic game rules, no. Descriptions of how those rules work, probably. Stat blocks probably not. The form the stat block is presented in (if unique) yes. Rats, dragons, giants no, descriptive text about them yes. Rust monster and beholder yes. Of course they have much deeper lawyer pockets than I do so hopefully Paizo takes them on first.
TJ Phoenix
Thank you! That really means the world to me right now. It's a tough situation when my very livelihood is at risk over this controversy. I love making content and am lucky to have been able to make enough off my writing to be independent, and this could very well end that. But I'm no stranger to tough battles and will be fighting this every step of the way that I can. Your support means everything!
Laura McCurry
WotC/Hasbro doesn't understand. They don't produce enough material to meet the demand. I use their material as framework for the story, but I am completely dependent on independent developers like you all to fill that story with actual adventures and concrete material. I don't have time to write my own adventures and flesh out subplots and all the things players want to keep the games fun and entertaining. And the new monsters and magic items you've created have in many cases been more challenging than what they provide. If I have to choose, I choose you and the indies.
