OGL: Kobold Press 'Raising Our Flag' For New Open RPG

Kobold Press has announced its plans regarding the upcoming new OGL v1.1, which involves a new, open game codenamed Project Black Flag.

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Kobold Press has been and always will be committed to open gaming and the tabletop community. Our goal is to continue creating the best materials for players and game masters alike.

This means Kobold Press will release its current Kickstarter projects as planned, including Campaign Builder: Cities & Towns (already printed and on its way to backers this winter).

In particular, Deep Magic Volume 2 will remain fully compatible with the 5E rules. We are working with our VTT partners to maintain support for digital platforms.

As we look ahead, it becomes even more important for our actions to represent our values. While we wait to see what the future holds, we are moving forward with clear-eyed work on a new Core Fantasy tabletop ruleset: available, open, and subscription-free for those who love it—Code Name: Project Black Flag.

All Kobolds look forward to the continued evolution of tabletop gaming. We aim to play our part in making the game better for everyone. Rest assured, Kobold Press intends to maintain a strong presence in the tabletop RPG community. We are not going anywhere.

Raising Our Flag - Kobold Press

Kobold Press is committed to open gaming. We are moving forward with clear-eyed work on a new Core Fantasy tabletop ruleset: available, open, and subscription-free for those who love it—Code Name: Project Black Flag.

koboldpress.com

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Just get yourself players who love to play but are basically totally disconnected from what is going on the in the community/industry and then call any game you present them "D&D."

For example, I pitched Gamma World by calling it "post-apocalyptic D&D with mutated plants and animals."

I mean, you're not wrong.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

In my opinion I think PF made D&D better. Or at least in my preference it pushed the version of D&D I liked better, 5e.

The game design conversation that multiple different competing D&D-like systems create benefits everyone.

 

[Malmuria]

And you don't think you are an outlier?

In terms of trying so many games as one shots, probably. But in terms of scheduling, even Jeremy Crawford acknowledged that they are seeing people run shorter games and that they are designing more bite sized content for those folks (here's an OSR take on those same limitations of time). If people played just two game systems a year that would increase the viability of 3p game systems and products

 

[DEFCON 1]

what a silly, miserable post

"Ooh! That one hurt! So long, milkmaids!"

-Ernie Capadino, A League of Their Own

 

[MatthewJHanson]

I love Kobold Press. I' signed up for the emails to keep updated.

As a 3rd Party Publisher, I'm also interested in possibly supporting said new RPG should it come to pass.

I feel like WotC is like a character in an ancient Greek Tragedy, where by trying to prevent something from happening (more competition) they actually bring about exactly what they were trying to prevent.

 

[Obvious_Ninja]

Really brave of them. They could have bent the knee and let smaller companies eat it. Let's see who follows suit (or doesn't).

Buying some Kobold stuff today!

Ditto! Good on them and they will keep my support for this...

 

[Olaf the Stout]

WotC really, really, really ****ed up this time.

"Bulls make money, Bears make money, Pigs get slaughtered"

This disaster is what happens to corporations that turn into pigs, Hasbro won't be alone.

WotC have shot themselves in the foot on so many levels with this move.

They’ve pissed off a big chunk off their fan base and lost the goodwill they’ve built over the past decade.

They’ve tried to bully small- and medium-sized publishers into signing their new OGL.

They’ve eliminated a lot of 3rd-party support for D&D as many companies won’t want to risk WotC pulling the rug out from under them again at some point in the future.

Yes, it might gain them a few million dollars, which is a large amount of money to most, but not for WotC.

 

[humble minion]

We’ll see how it goes. I suspect that right now even KP has no real idea what this is going to look like in the long term.

I’m a bit ambivalent about it to be honest. If KP just intend to Pathfinder 5e with minimal changes then they’ve presumably got a legal strategy to deal with WotCs response or they risk bein crushed like bugs. But if they intend to spread their design wings wider and diverge from 5e honestly id be a little concerned. I love KPs setting material with a deep and abiding love, but I’ve frequently found significant mechanical holes or balance issues in their actual game mechanical material.

 

[Ibrandul]

WotC have shot themselves in the foot on so many levels with this move.
...
They’ve eliminated a lot of 3rd-party support for D&D as many companies won’t want to risk WotC pulling the rug out from under them again at some point in the future.

Yes, it might gain them a few million dollars, which is a large amount of money to most, but not for WotC.

Eliminating third-party support for D&D was the goal. Or presumably so. Drafting this document because you actually want anyone to sign onto it would require an almost implausible level of detachment from reality.

Having seen the leaked pages, I'm operating on the assumption that the conversation went:

Admin: "Revoke the OGL."

Lawyers: "We think you can't legally do that. 100% confidence."

Admin: "Our new e-commerce business model requires it. Find a way."

Excited Underling: "I know! Could we just replace it with a preposterously unpalatable 'update'? Would that be legal?"

Lawyers: "No. Wait... hmm... No. 85% confidence. So yes."

 

[Master Yogurt]

The odds I can get my group to agree on a game that isn't DnD are small. But because they won't try new games, but because we'd all have to agree on one game.....

I get this, but I told my group that we are not purchasing new 5e WotC content, and we are not migrating to 6e. They understand the situation and respect my principled stance.

I'm the DM. Ultimately my group will play what I run, or they won't play. I'll find the best compromise system for everyone, I'm not lording over them -- we adapted to 5e, and we'll adapt to the new system too, whether it's Kobold Press's or something else.