So, what disappears on January 1st?

[jdrakeh]

Does WotC have to abide by it's own GSL rules? Just wondering, as I don't even know where to find whatever version of it is open to the public.

Most WotC product was never released under the OGL (frex, the D&D 3.5 core rule books), so this is of little or no concern. That said, the GSL exists to hold publishers accountable to WotC, so even with regard to their property that was released under the OGL they don't have to adhere to those same rules because they already own the property

 

[dmccoy1693]

Hm, I should have asked for more specificity. I remember that Adamant is getting rid of their d20 Masterkit line, but the rest will still be sold, right?

What lines is Mongoose laying to rest?

Pretty much anything with a d20 logo on it.

 

[CharlesRyan]

The online d20 SRDis presumably going to either go away or be massively overhauled (including, I'd guess, a change of URL). Although it's not a PDF, it is an online resource that I've found truly invaluable.

You can buy and download the whole web site for $10. I've just done it. It may be available in some form after 1 Jan, but I didn't want to take the chance. $10 ain't that much for the amount of utility it provides, and now I can even use it offline!

 

[Psion]

The online d20 SRDis presumably going to either go away or be massively overhauled (including, I'd guess, a change of URL). Although it's not a PDF, it is an online resource that I've found truly invaluable.

As long as the proprietor is willing to continue to host it, I see no reason for it to go away. Unless WotC makes some claim against the domain name.

Unlike a PDF, it should be trivial to take away the d20 logo on the website.

 

[Plane Sailing]

Pretty much anything with a d20 logo on it.

Mongoose seemed to be the early champions of OGL, I wonder what of their things were d20 logo'd?

Mind you, a quick look at the website today (31st) shows no sign of the Lone Wolf RPG, although Conan is still going strong.

I guess with their plans to move FRP stuff to their new RQ system, and scifi stuff to their Traveller system, they may be feeling less need for d20/OGL etc stuff now.

Cheers

 

[timbannock]

Honestly, the pipe dreamer in me says that they should just start giving them away for free.

If they can't SELL anymore anyway, they should at least get eyeballs on them.

Probably not realistically feasible

Why isn't that feasible, especially for electronic products?

"We made product X. Product X sold well, was reviewed well, and basically shows off how talented we are. We can't sell product X any more, but we still have it sitting around. It would cost us ZERO money and time to make it freely available through the channels it's already sitting in (i.e. RPGNOW or something like that)."

Their name gets out there, the quality product remains available and people get to see how the company does business...all of this could certainly lead to people buying into new products from the company.

If I liked what I saw, I would buy new product from them. And for the "I won't change editions people," well...you're not getting their money any more anyway, so why not just make the stuff freely available?

 

[jmucchiello]

Honestly, the pipe dreamer in me says that they should just start giving them away for free.

If they can't SELL anymore anyway, they should at least get eyeballs on them.

They can't sell them any more because they do not have the right to reproduce the d20 logo owned by WotC. So they also can't give it away for free. Do you think you wouldn't get sued for trademark infringement if you were giving away free bottles of colored seltzer water with Coca-cola labels on it?

 

[Psion]

I just noticed Highmoon's Monkey God titles are $1 each, including the excellent Stone to Steel and Frost & Fur.

EN World PDF Store - RPG PDF downloads

 

[S'mon]

Re copyright and p2p - publishers can no longer legally sell, give away, or otherwise distribute their d20-logoed materials, so they no longer have an economic interest in preventing their distribution free online. They may feel it infringes their Lockean property rights though. But I'd be very surprised if any objected now that the works are valueless to them. They can't officially permit it either though without getting in trouble with WotC!

 

[DaveMage]

Well, d20, thanks for the ride!!!!