New GSL Announcement

[SSquirrel]

Consider if you will, three examples:

Dreamscarred Press, Mongoose, Malhavoc Press were my guesses for companies. technically Monte had retreated from the whole industry instead of just fantasy, but it was pretty close

I think I'm going to sit this thread out and wait for more clarifications of what is and isn't permissible. No sense getting worked up about anything that turns out to not be precisely what it seems to be. Not saying the GSL won't be restrictive, just there may be more ways around things than it looks. If the answer would be for a publisher like Malhavoc (if Monte came out of semi-retirement) would be to form Ptolus Press and have it be his 3.x wing and then continue support for Arcana Evolved and such with Malhavoc.

This would be 2 companies owned by the same companies, not just a sub-company, which from our current vague descriptions sounds like that could be workable. A hassle to pick up the 2nd biz license and what not, but if the end result would be the ability to handle both markets, isn't that worth a smidge of hassle? If one person owning both companies wouldn't be a workable situation, then you could see business situations like Clark having Necromancer and doing 4E and Bill having the license for a new corporation that produces the 3.x. Or Monte having the license for Malhavoc and Sue having the Ptolus Press name from the prior example.

No idea what is legal as I don't have access to the final version, heck does anyone really? I just post here

 

[wickederror]

Let me say I understand this is probably a good decision for you.

Let me also say as a lifelong fan of gaming I think this SUCKS!

 

[Psion]

Dreamscarred Press, Mongoose, Malhavoc Press were my guesses for companies.

Well, part of my reason for being vague was seeing if any other companies fit the model.

Thanks for confirming it.

 

[SSquirrel]

Well, part of my reason for being vague was seeing if any other companies fit the model.

Thanks for confirming it.

Heh, that's just from a gamer looking at products on shelves at least. Seemed like pretty reasonable analogies of some maybe similar situations.

 

[Nyarlathotep]

Having not seen the license, I'm curious how this is enforcable.

Lizard (I think (and others)) posted something about just splitting/creating a new company to make GSL stuff and the "original" company to do 3E stuff. To be able to enforce this seems to imply that someone is going to be reviewing created material to say Allowed/Not Allowed under the GSL. Is this the case?

 

[Psion]

Another issue:
What does this mean for PDF product catalogs of companies that intend to support 4e? Those are also OGL. Even if they are sanitized of the D20 branding, unless there is some "grandfathering" clause, it seems like those will be removed as well if your company intends to publish under the GSL.

 

[Ourph]

Heh. You got us on that one. We don't intend to alter the either/or nature of the GSL. I mean, if we open up that point again for internal debate it'll take another six months to get everyone in agreement on the best approach.

Linae, is there a possibility that 3PPs like Green Ronin, who have their own OGL-based gaming lines to support, could produce specific 4e products with a separate, private license which didn't include the no-OGL publishing clause on a case-by-case basis? I realize that anything is possible, but what I'm trying to get at is, would the decision-makers in WotC's licensing department even consider something like that?

 

[Orcus]

Yeah, I've been thinking about that too. Its one thing to say "take off the d20 logo" its another thing to say "no more selling OGL products." That one is up in the air. It will depend on how that restriction reads.

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

Another issue:
What does this mean for PDF product catalogs of companies that intend to support 4e? Those are also OGL. Even if they are sanitized of the D20 branding, unless there is some "grandfathering" clause, it seems like those will be removed as well.

Wholesale annihilation of the vast majority of the back catalog of quality 3e materials falls under "Feature," not "Bug."

 

[Urizen]

Another issue:
What does this mean for PDF product catalogs of companies that intend to support 4e? Those are also OGL. Even if they are sanitized of the D20 branding, unless there is some "grandfathering" clause, it seems like those will be removed as well if your company intends to publish under the GSL.

Unless I'm reading this thread wrong, I'm pretty sure that (AND I HOPE I"M WRONG), if you accept the terms of the GSL, you'll have to dump all your OGL stock.