Open Gaming License - Tumblr Posts
So, what is the OGL and why are DnD creators thoroughly screwed?
Tumblr has not been doing a great job at talking about this, but:
With OneDnD, Wizards of the Coast has decided to update the Open Game License (OGL). Said license is what allowed people to create homebrew DnD content and sell it, and even larger companies to use certain sorts of content. Pathfinder, for example, is built on said OGL. This also allows streamers and artists to exist and benefit from said content.
With OneDnD (sometimes called “dnd 6e”), WOTC wants to create a much more restrictive OGL, which will, amongst other things:
Make WOTC take a cut for any DnD-related work (according to Kickstarter, a whole 25% of the benefits)
Let WOTC cancel any project related to DnD up to their discretion
Let WOTC take ANY content made based on their system, and re-sell it without crediting you, or giving you a single cent
And most importantly, revoke the old OGL, which will harm any company or game system that used it as a base, such as Pathfinder. And it means they GET ownership over any homebrew content you may have done for 5e in the past!
It’s important to note that OGLs are supposedly irrevocable. They were planning to use it for OneDnD initially, but they want to apply it retroactively to 5e, somehow. Which is illegal, but lawyers have mentioned there’s a chance they may get away with it given the wording.
This means that anything you make based on DnD (A homebrew item? A character drawing? Even music, according to them?), can get taken and used as they deem appropiate.
These news come from a leak of the OGL, which have been confirmed by multiple reputable sources (including Kickstarter, which has confirmed that WOTC already talked with them about this), and was planned to be released next week.
So, what can we do?
Speak against it. Share the word. Reblog this post. Let people know. Tumblr hasn’t been talking much about this matter, but it’s VERY important to let people know about what is WOTC bringing.
Boycott them. Do not buy their products. Do not buy games with their IP. Do not watch their movie. CANCEL your DnD Beyond subscription. (Btw, they ARE planning to release more subscription services too!). They do not care about the community, but they care about the money. Make sure to speak through it.
And maybe consider other TTRPG systems for the time being, Pathfinder’s Paizo has been much nicer to the community, their workers are unionized and are far more healthy overall
Open Games
With everything going on I press pause on my SWADE work to create a new Open License game. I have released some in the past and I think now is the perfect time to do so again. For anyone interested there is a great starting point at https://fari.games/ . There will also be a Jam hosted at itch for open games I plan to participate in.https://itch.io/jam/open-gaming-jam
What happened to D6 Legend?
I have always wondered why the D6 Legend variant is less popular than D6. Counting successes instead of summing up dice is much more elegant and faster at the table. It uses the same OGL, so it could have spawned a lot of games, but it didn't. I only know of MythicD6, which uses a very similar system but is not open.
A distilled version of it, like MiniSix for classic D6, could be fun to make. Does that exist, and I have just not seen it? I am perplexed that it is not talked about anymore. I mean, it is the system that powered the Xena TTRPG! It should be a great fit for many TTRPG folk like me. ( I know shitty Hercules is on the cover too, but can we agree on focusing on the fabulous and not the fascist?)
https://ogc.rpglibrary.org/images/5/52/D6_Legend_And_Conversion_OGL.pdf
