D&D 5E OAR #8

[Parmandur]

Also Goodman Games might not want to talk about it? Also it might not be a forgone conclusion yet? Could be negotiations are ongoing? Or stalled but not entirely done?

Could be a few things.

Could be WotC asked that the details of the license not be disclosed? Which would included sunsetting it? I’d think.

Could be any number of things. Being silent seems prudent for Goodman Games.

 

[Echohawk]

OAR 8 will be Grimstooth’s traps. Has there been an official confirmation that Goodman lost the license or contract with WoTC? Seems like there would be a lot of better options for number 8 if they could still do official classics.

Grimtooth’s Traps On YouTube!|Goodman Games

goodman-games.com

This seems like an odd choice given that they already released a 460-page reprint compilation of the Grimtooth's series in 2015. It's still available as a PDF on the Goodman Games website. It's basically an early entry in the OAR line before there was an OAR line.​

 

[Mannahnin]

Lost City is very nice and has more support for the mega-dungeon game it was always supposed to be, but which was under-detailed in the original.

This is the same reason the Castle Amber OAR is so good. The original module had far too little space to properly flesh out all the material covered, especially in the Averoigne quest second half. There's a ton of content in there fleshing out all the hastily-sketched bits from the original. And even some additional details in the castle part, like a second floor with servants' quarters and other goodies.

 

[Ibrandul]

Could be WotC asked that the details of the license not be disclosed? Which would included sunsetting it? I’d think.

I would guess that WotC includes a blanket "You can never publicly discuss anything about this deal for all eternity" clause in all their contracts. For example, their lincensing arrangement with Gale Force Nine ended at some point in the past year or so—quietly, with absolutely no comment from GF9. Granted, in the case of GF9 the muzzling may have been instituted as part of their lawsuit settlement wit WotC. But I suspect it's simply S.O.P. for WotC, given what we all know about how the company seeks to use the legal system to create a cover of secrecy under which to conceal their shady business practices.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I would guess that WotC includes a blanket "You can never publicly discuss anything about this deal for all eternity" clause in all their contracts. For example, their lincensing arrangement with Gale Force Nine ended at some point in the past year or so—quietly, with absolutely no comment from GF9. Granted, in the case of GF9 the muzzling may have been instituted as part of their lawsuit settlement wit WotC. But I suspect it's simply S.O.P. for WotC, given what we all know about how the company seeks to use the legal system to create a cover of secrecy under which to conceal their shady business practices.

I feel better about clicking "licensed spell cards" and "licensed monster cards" in the products I used on the most recent WotC survey, in that case. These licensees are producing valuable work that WotC itself isn't doing.

 

[Ibrandul]

Oh don’t worry—WotC is already itself distributing the card sets that GF9 designed.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Oh don’t worry—WotC is already itself distributing the card sets that GF9 designed.

Well, that's gross.

 

[Parmandur]

I feel better about clicking "licensed spell cards" and "licensed monster cards" in the products I used on the most recent WotC survey, in that case. These licensees are producing valuable work that WotC itself isn't doing.

WotC has been distributing those themselves for a while, same as DM screens.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

WotC has been distributing those themselves for a while, same as DM screens.

Irrelevant to it being gross.

 

[Parmandur]

Irrelevant to it being gross.

I'm not sure how it is gross...? The art and rules content is 100% theirs, and it's not like a 3rd party is owed continued access to that. GF9 lost out with WotC by how they mishandled translating the game into languages around the world, IIRC.