LeaderDesslok
First Post
Hi all,
This may have been discussed before, or not. It's not intended as an attack, just an observation. The title of the thread is a little silly, but apropos, as you will soon see....(wait for it)...
Is Wizards of the Coast/Hasbro trying to get out of paying any royalties to the Gygax Estate for Dungeons & Dragons?
I don't even know if they owed him anything in the first place, but this is my evidence/deluded ramblings:
* Advanced D&D (the 1st edition) was created to squeeze Dave Arneson out of the D&D money pie. It was argued that the rules and name were significantly different such that AD&D was not a derivative of Dungeons & Dragons.
* 4E comes out and contains a rules system that is radically different from from any edition that came before it. In other words, it could be argued that it is not a derivative work.
* 4E has completely eliminated any references to the world of Greyhawk. Not only is it not listed as an early campaign setting, but all IP that used to appear in the core rules (i.e., Mordenkainen, Bigby, etc.) has been eliminated. Gary Gygax is known as the creator of the world of Greyhawk.
* In the GSL, section 5.2 (Licensed Products Legal Text), no mention is made of any version of Dungeons & Dragons prior to 4E, nor does it attribute any portion of the rules to Gary Gygax (and Dave Arneson).
I've seen earlier threads that angrily point out that Greyhawk has been dissed by Wizards of the Coast. I think it's worse than that.
My argument: Wizards of the Coast (and by extension Hasbro) intends to cut the Gygax Estate out of any royalties they may have been entitled to for the Dungeons & Dragons brand.
Discuss.
This may have been discussed before, or not. It's not intended as an attack, just an observation. The title of the thread is a little silly, but apropos, as you will soon see....(wait for it)...
Is Wizards of the Coast/Hasbro trying to get out of paying any royalties to the Gygax Estate for Dungeons & Dragons?
I don't even know if they owed him anything in the first place, but this is my evidence/deluded ramblings:
* Advanced D&D (the 1st edition) was created to squeeze Dave Arneson out of the D&D money pie. It was argued that the rules and name were significantly different such that AD&D was not a derivative of Dungeons & Dragons.
* 4E comes out and contains a rules system that is radically different from from any edition that came before it. In other words, it could be argued that it is not a derivative work.
* 4E has completely eliminated any references to the world of Greyhawk. Not only is it not listed as an early campaign setting, but all IP that used to appear in the core rules (i.e., Mordenkainen, Bigby, etc.) has been eliminated. Gary Gygax is known as the creator of the world of Greyhawk.
* In the GSL, section 5.2 (Licensed Products Legal Text), no mention is made of any version of Dungeons & Dragons prior to 4E, nor does it attribute any portion of the rules to Gary Gygax (and Dave Arneson).
I've seen earlier threads that angrily point out that Greyhawk has been dissed by Wizards of the Coast. I think it's worse than that.
My argument: Wizards of the Coast (and by extension Hasbro) intends to cut the Gygax Estate out of any royalties they may have been entitled to for the Dungeons & Dragons brand.
Discuss.