Ex-WotC Employees Weigh in on the No M:tG RPG Debate

[marketingman]

Huh?

That has nothing to do with the OGL.

Forgotten Realms and Eberron content, for example, has nothing to do with the OGL so why would you (mistakenly) assume a MtG RPG would have anything to to with the OGL?

Yes but is Forgotten Realms and Eberron the money makers that M:tG is and given any opportunity to profit on the mudding of card to role playing.
After all look what Hasbro just got hit for 74 million dollars and that was underpayment of a 2 percent royalty. Over a several year period

 

[darjr]

the other issue with an ogl taint theory is that at least one of those RPGs were not d&d d20

 

[Scrivener of Doom]

Yes but is Forgotten Realms and Eberron the money makers that M:tG is and given any opportunity to profit on the mudding of card to role playing.
After all look what Hasbro just got hit for 74 million dollars and that was underpayment of a 2 percent royalty. Over a several year period

Clearly we are not connecting.

I am pointing out that the OGL does not cover Wizards' own RPR products.

You're using OGL as a synonym for D&D or RPGs or something - it is difficult to parse your writing - whereas the OGL is a specific licence that WotC did not use for its own products.

Am I getting through to you?

And, yes, of course, RPGs are worth poop next to MtG. D&D doesn't even turnover USD50 million - USD25 million? right now, half that? - so any comparison with MtG would be a joke.

But, again, that wasn't the point of my reply which was to point out that you don't know what the OGL is.

 

[marketingman]

I'm sorry about the disconnect. I was just trying to express a new thought in to the conversation.. Wether or not it was allowed or legal or understood is the point. My point is that ANY US judge or Arbitrator might draw those conclusion and rule against WotC

OGL allows Third party use of the Main Rule books as reference but may not be reproduced. Correct? It allows ant individual to make a product . Correct? Cross the line with M:tG RPG could have been interesting. Just thinking.

I have this bad habit of writing in present tense throws lot of people for a loop..

The question I wonder now is someone trying to get a license for a M:tG RPG since the original patent end September of last year for M:tG. Would they license The M:tG to a group ike their former employees to make a product if a Kickstarter raised enough money.

 

[Morrus]

OGL allows Third party use of the Main Rule books as reference but may not be reproduced. Correct? It allows ant individual to make a product . Correct?

Have you read it? It's here, for reference.

 

[Wicht]

I'm sorry about the disconnect. I was just trying to express a new thought in to the conversation.. Wether or not it was allowed or legal or understood is the point. My point is that ANY US judge or Arbitrator might draw those conclusion and rule against WotC

OGL allows Third party use of the Main Rule books as reference but may not be reproduced. Correct? It allows ant individual to make a product . Correct? Cross the line with M:tG RPG could have been interesting. Just thinking.

I have this bad habit of writing in present tense throws lot of people for a loop..

The question I wonder now is someone trying to get a license for a M:tG RPG since the original patent end September of last year for M:tG. Would they license The M:tG to a group ike their former employees to make a product if a Kickstarter raised enough money.

I sort of doubt that a judge would apply the OGL to any product not explicitly using that license or under obligation to use the license. WotC has no obligation to use the license and most of their 3e material was not covered by the OGL. Making a Magic campaign setting or even a Monster Manual would not have in any way tainted the card game or put it in any legal danger. There are already plenty of Magic clones, you can't copyright a set of rules, and success breeds imitators in games.

As for the OGL, it allows you to copy, use, distribute, change, alter or otherwise incorporate any set of rules published under it. WotC released a portion of the core rules as Open, such rules as were detailed in the SRD. Any publisher is able to do anything they want with those rules, so long as they follow the license.

 

[Scrivener of Doom]

[MENTION=19249]marketingman[/MENTION], I don't think you know what the OGL is which is why there is some confusion here.

Anyway, Morrus has posted the link and Wicht has explained it. Hopefully it will make sense now.

 

[TGryph]

There was a M:TG roleplaying game produced, at least in playtesting form. My group was one of the playtesting group for Manastorm.

While it had interesting ideas, there was one part of it that rendered the game unplayable. We were in deep discussion to fix said issue when we got the cancellation notice.

and no, I can't post all my old playtest files and notes (which I still have). WOTC Non-Disclosure agreements are fierce!

TGryph

 

[marketingman]

[MENTION=19249]marketingman[/MENTION], I don't think you know what the OGL is which is why there is some confusion here.

Anyway, Morrus has posted the link and Wicht has explained it. Hopefully it will make sense now.

Thanks for the link but I'll just wait for the new one to come out to spend time on that.

 

[Wicht]

Thanks for the link but I'll just wait for the new one to come out to spend time on that.

What new one? You mean the 5e OGL? With any good sense, they'll just use the old one.

But its not a long document and once you understand it, it is a fairly short and simple license.