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OPEN DND & GAME LICENSE LEAKS
🕑 Added 2023-01-11 22:06:55 +0000 UTC1.1 Open Gaming License Leaks
Hi everyone!
I imagine many of you have heard the news around the leaked 1.1 Open Game License. If not, you can read about it all in this Gizmodo article by Linda Codega (also linked above).
Suffice to say, this is bad news for all 3rd party creators and all fans of Dungeons & Dragons in general. It is important to note, this has not been officially commented on in any way by Wizards of the Coast themselves and may not come to pass, but the source has been deemed reputable by multiple large media outlets, and has at least in part been confirmed by Jon Ritter, Director of Games at Kickstarter.
If the linked articles are more words than you feel like reading (understandable) I have taken some words from DMDave:
What is the OGL, and why does this matter?
If you aren't familiar with what the open gaming license is, it's the document that third-party creators like myself, The Griffon's Saddlebag, etc. use to create third-party content.
Without it, we would have gone on to make other content. But it made things easy for us because there were very few barriers to entry. So we got to build content with the brand we love and help support them in change.
Now, for the first time in 22 years, they're saying that it's not valid, despite having a very clear clause (section 9) saying that what they're trying to do—erasing the original 1.0a—is impossible.
Why not sign the new OGL?
The new OGL 1.1 is, for lack of a better term, truly awful.
Here are some of the "highlights:"
- All creators earning over $50,000 per year have to report earnings to WOTC.
- Creators making over $750,000 have to pay a very high percentage of revenue (not profit, mind you) after $750,000. To put this in perspective, easily 90%+ of what comes in for a business like this often goes to contractors, cost of goods sold, taxes, platform fees, legal/accounting, etc.
- Wizards automatically has a claim to whatever content you create as a sublicense. This means that they can take my content, repackage it, share it, do whatever they want, and don't owe me a dime and are absolved of all liabilities attached to it.
- Any content that isn't a PDF or book is not allowed. This could severely harm or even lead to the destruction of many major third-party VTTs, such as FoundryVTT, FantasyGrounds, Alchemy, Roll20, etc. It also eliminates board games, video games, miniatures, etc.
- Any past version of the OGL is null and void. Despite the wording of the original document, which said it is perpetual, irrevocable, and could not be replaced by any new version of the OGL, the new one straight-up says they will no longer honor that agreement.
- They're only giving people until January 13th to sign. This might change since they haven't released an official agreement (it was supposed to come out days ago), but originally they hoped to put it out this week and give people a total of 9 days (or 7 business days) to agree or "suffer legal wrath."
- This is for every edition. This doesn't just affect OneDND. It affects 3.0/3.5 and its derivatives, including Pathfinder, as well as 5th edition.
Check out the rest of Dave's post here for more insight
What does this mean for Lost Acumen?
At the moment, very little. Until Wizards of the Coasts (WotC) and Hasbro make an official statement about this we won't know what the final terms of the license are going to be. The new OGL was supposed to be released on January 4th, but wasn't and WotC haven't said anything publicly about the leaks yet. Until they do I will move ahead as usual.
If the final version of the 1.1 OGL is along the same lines as the leaked draft it will have an impact on some of my content going forwards. I may need to refrain from certain locations, or names etc.
However, and most importantly, my maps and assets are completely system agnostic and not reliant in any way on the OGL, so there will be no change there.
DMDave is writing a free game system of his own with its own open license, and there are many other game systems available to players, GMs and creators like myself.
My ability to expand my maps with modules etc for other VTT platforms, like Foundry in the future may also be indirectly effected by this.
One of the issues with the OGL 1.1 document is their attempt to invalidate any VTT platform outside the one WotC are creating in house. Foundry have not put out an official statement yet, but losing the ability to have the 5e system on their platform (and potentially any others that use the OGL like Pathfinder) will likely hurt them.
How can we help? OpenDnD - An Open Letter to Wizards of the Coast
We are yet to hear anything official from Wizards of the Coast, however the community is being proactive in doing everything we can to keep this from coming to pass.
#OpenDnD is a rallying cry under which creators and fans have unified to demand that WotC revoke the draconian 1.1 OGL and pledge to support the existing 1.0 OGL into future editions of their games. This isn’t an opportunity to litigate and tinker with a new license, but to return to the values of open gaming. Our community deserves an open future if we want our favorite games to not only survive, but thrive!!
If you are a creator, #DontSign the new agreement. If you love roleplaying games, let WotC know we won't support them without an #OpenDnD!
WotC has shown they are willing to burn the village down if only to get a few more gold pieces. It’s time for us to band together as adventurers to defend our village from the terrible dragon.
Please go to https://www.opendnd.games/ to sign the open letter, along side thousand of other creators, GMs and players.
There is also an FAQ and articles to provide more information.
Even if you don't play D&D, this is likely to effect you. Many games are based on the OGL1.0a even if they don't use the 5e Systems Reference Document (SRD) and the whole industry is so interconnected that everyone will feel the ramifications of this.
I will get back to our regularly scheduled content soon, until then please know that your support means everything and we will do whatever we can to keep creating for the games you love, except signing the OGL 1.1.
