WotC to Revise D&D 4th Edition GSL and SRD

[The Little Raven]

Boy, if only someone had thought that might be possible back when the OGL was first released, and asked Wizards if this would be acceptable or permissable.

He wasn't talking about WotC's view or response to it, he was talking about his own view, based on preferences. He, like me, is pissed off when he purchases a book to find that 75% of it's page count is dedicated to a system we already own or could download from the SRD site. Yes, it's permissible and acceptable, but it's a cheap and lazy way to artificially inflate the cover price by reprinting something verbatim to inflate the page count.

Mutants & Masterminds? Good, because most of the content is wholly original.

World of Warcraft RPG? Bad, because most of the content is just a verbatim reprint of the SRD.

 

[renau1g]

This is great. I can't wait for Paizo to pump out some 4e material (I hope they do), as I loved their AP's for 3.5e.

 

[racoffin]

I have hopes that this change will make at least some of the people/publishers happy and we can have an assortment of product for the various editions that will be the talk of the forums rather than the GSL.

That said, I find myself wondering about all the talk of sales and trying to prove that they are low, or lower than expected, or whatever is trying to be proved. What, exactly, is the point of all that? Is there the thought that, despite countless dollars in sales and R&D and advertising that WOTC will say "Oh well, that didn't work, shucks we will go back to 3.5?" The ship has sailed. 4E, for good or ill, is where D&D is going now. I, for one, don't wish poor sales for WOTC anymore than I wish them for any of the game publishers; we are all poorer when one of our own goes down, no matter how big or small.

Dislike the wording of the GSL or some of the changes for 4E, sure, but how about we put down the pitchforks and torches and stop this crusade?

 

[Henrix]

I just want to say thank you, to Linae, The Rouse and Orcus! (And anyone else who's worked on making this happen.)

 

[blargney the second]

Thanks for the continued communication, Scott and Linae. I hope the next iteration of the GSL is a win-win outcome.
-blarg

 

[ShadowDenizen]

My group and I are non-adapters of 4E; that said, I know other groups, some of whom have adapted, some of whom have not.

Of those who DIDN'T adapt, many of the players have attributed these to negative views of WotC. (Some are still sore over the Dungeon/Dragon situation, the lack of 3PP support, and more than a few over the failed launch of the DDI gametable, amopngst other issues.)

That said, I honestly think we all want to see D+D [as a brand] grow and prosper, even if we don't adapt. And so, I've been eagerly keeping up with news about 4E.

So, I'm pleased that WotC has seemingly listened to it's fans and supporters, and will be loosening the GSL. I also want to thank the ROuse and Linae for keeping us updated; it can't be easy beng in high-profile, highly-criticized postions, and to do so with such calm and candor is a credit to them and, by extension, to WotC.

 

[Orcus]

What? You have me all wrong. I don't think they're the heart of evil; far from it. They're more like the appendix or gall bladder of evil.

That explains why I am such a big Wizards supporter! (though not a paid shill as you now know) -- I had my gall bladder out some years back. It all makes sense ...

(Just teasing DD, that was funny, the gall bladder of evil)

 

[Orcus]

Q) Is Clark Peterson a payed shill or something?

A) No, but we value Clark's insight and opinion and want to see publishers like Necromancer make 4th edition compatible supplements.

Thanks for covering for me, Scott. [nudge, nudge, wink, wink; you're still sending that check, right? Right?]

 

[ShinHakkaider]

That said, I honestly think we all want to see D+D [as a brand] grow and prosper, even if we don't adapt. And so, I've been eagerly keeping up with news about 4E.

I havent adapted. I was a fairly regular supporter of WOTC and TSR before that.

At this point I really don't see how if WOTC stopped producing D&D material how it effects me in the least. My LGS may go away? I'll miss it but I'll get over it. I'll get what materials I need directly from the companies that I tend to support. There wont be any "official" D&D stuff anymore? As of right now there are alot of people out there who are playing RPG's who are NOT playing "Official" D&D. Even guys like me who are using 3.5 / Pathfinder Hybrids arent using "Official" D&D stuff.

I think 4E is a well designed game, there are things that I liked so much that I've adopted them for my 3.5 game. But if WOTC got wiped off the face of the earth I think that the world, the RPG world would keep moving. Nature abhors a vacuum.

 

[Urizen]

This is some pretty interesting news, to be sure.

I for one would like to see a more user friendly system reference document. It doesn't have to be as user friendly as the 3.0 SRD, but, dang there's alot of room for improvement.