The OGL Situation
Added 2023-01-19 18:47:12 +0000 UTCWizards of the Coast is basically planning to pull the rug out from third party creators. In case you've been living under a rock, here's a quick summation of what's going on:
- Wizards wants to update the Open Game License for Dungeons and Dragons. In doing so, they plan to revoke the current OGL and replace it with one that is far worse for fan content, requires you to sign up as a creator and give them a copy whenever you make things, and generally screw people who make money from the OGL.
- They have mishandled the situation to the point that the community has turned on them almost completely. There have been a few updates that have dodged the issues, portrayed an Us Vs. Them mentality on their part, and blatant corporate greed that threatens the integrity of the game.
With that out of the way, we can move on to the big issue. I brew in Dnd5e primarily. I use the OGL for a lot of my content and kind of rely on it currently. If the current changes go through as people expect them to... Well, I'm not gonna sugar coat it. I am kind of shit out luck with things as they are. That said I am thinking of looking into the ORC open gaming license that is currently being created by large publishers like Kobold Press.
I'm gonna work my hardest to get a major update for the kaijuborn and Worldspire out before the changes go through just in case so you guys can have a new version, but if they go through I am debating moving over to another system and converting my current brews to whatever new system I move to. I know people are pretty invested in 5e. I've spent my fair share of money on content for it, official and homebrew, so I understand wanting to continue with it.
So, if you have thoughts on the situation, what are they? Mine are pretty negative and overall angry with the direction of things, as you can tell.
Comments
Another option, at least for the kaijuborn right now, is that I can attempt to create my own system for them that doesn't use the OGL or fall under WotC's fan content policy. Would that be something anyone is interested in? It would take a pretty long time to do, but it's on the table.
Austin Ryan
2023-01-19 18:49:57 +0000 UTC