Yair
Community Supporter
I'm sure the Fourth Edition would be great. I doubt I'll purchase it, though. I plan on continuing playing 3.5 till the end of my current campaign, which should end at about the time Fourth Edition would be released. Then I'll be playing other games, not D&D, for a while. I expect to return to D&D only after Fourth Edition would be more developed, which I'm sure will be a great game.
Who knows, though. Maybe they'll convince me to switch earlier than I think.
Support for 3rd-party OGL games like Conan or True20 (or the forthcoming Traveller system) will remain just as it is. Support for the 3.x Edition will dwindle; some will remain, but probably little. It will no longer bear the d20 System logo. New 3rd party support for Fourth Edition will appear towards the end of 2008, from a handful of select companies (probably Green Ronin, Mongoose Publishing, Goodman Games, Paizo, and a few others), but will not use the OGL. New amateurs will need to break into the market by publishing their works on Gleemax, whereupon they would either be approached by Wizards to allow the publishing of "Fan-work Collections" (probably online), or by any publisher intending to hire them (probably in answer to a their submission to said publisher). Only a rare few would be able to muster the resolve, money, and resources to acquire a license to become a publisher from Wizards. In other words, the prospects of another Expeditious Retreat Press or Phil Reeds appearing are slim.
Someone will try using the OGL to make a system compatible with Fourth Edition. Wizards will either ignore it or note its displeasure with some aspects of it, and possibly issue a cease and desist. Either way the product will not provide a high-volume outlet for Fourth Edition compatible materials, the bulk of consumers looking for Fourth Edition material won't even be aware of it.
In time, the OGL will see less and less use. It won't entirely disappear, but it will be limited to an old guard sticking true to house-rules versions of 3.5 Edition and to specific games (like True20, Conan, Traveller, Mutants & Masterminds...). Most of the new products will be for Fourth Edition, released under the auspices of a Wizards Licensed Publisher or Wizards themselves - and won't use the OGL.
Who knows, though. Maybe they'll convince me to switch earlier than I think.
Edit: New information reveals that the OGL will be maintained. So the answer is - not very muchArashi Ravenblade said:
Someone will try using the OGL to make a system compatible with Fourth Edition. Wizards will either ignore it or note its displeasure with some aspects of it, and possibly issue a cease and desist. Either way the product will not provide a high-volume outlet for Fourth Edition compatible materials, the bulk of consumers looking for Fourth Edition material won't even be aware of it.
In time, the OGL will see less and less use. It won't entirely disappear, but it will be limited to an old guard sticking true to house-rules versions of 3.5 Edition and to specific games (like True20, Conan, Traveller, Mutants & Masterminds...). Most of the new products will be for Fourth Edition, released under the auspices of a Wizards Licensed Publisher or Wizards themselves - and won't use the OGL.
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