D&D 5E Why I Think D&DN is In Trouble

[Halivar]

And so, to answer the original OP: D&DN is in trouble commensurate with the number of people who do not villainously buy themselves the core rulebooks.

See what I did there? Huh? Huh?

 

[GMforPowergamers]

Plus, you run into the issue of whether or not ideas incorporated into your own after-hours RPG received any development on company time. For creative output-type jobs, that's a commonly held concern.

This is nothing new for the owners of D&D. TSR put the kibosh on Gygax's Dangerous Journeys based on pretty much the same idea - that ideas incorporated into Dangerous Journeys were developed when he worked for TSR and thus were really theirs.

so sounds OK to me, just because not EVERY company does something doesn't mean it isn't a business as usale thing...

 

[Lwaxy]

Haha yeah I wish the D&D stuff was real LEGO but unfortunately, that would never happen. So we keep painting LEGO figures to match

But am not a dude last I checked.

 

[Mistwell]

Yes, conflict of interest clauses are common in employment contracts. I know all about that.

Attempts to claim ownership of what you do in your off-work hours, on the other hand, is a an order of magnitude more onerous than telling employees not to engage in conflict of interest material, or risk losing their employment.

I'd be interested in knowing if there's any legal precedent that such a clause could stand up to a challenge in court or not.

Regardless, talk about tone-deaf management. It shouldn't be surprising that folks showed themselves to the door in that environment. Especially since in the early days of d20 it seems like most of the successful d20 start-ups were side projects of WotC employees.

Yes, absolutely there is precedent, and it's not an unusual clause at all. Most large companies that employ any creative types, anyone who could invent anything for the company, has such a clause. And it's not even a new clause - Marvel and DC both had that clause before either of us were born.

My uncle used to work for Budweiser, as a chemist (I used to blame him for the beer tasting crappy). Even he had that clause in his contract, and had to wait until he retired before he invented anything.

 

[tangleknot]

Monte's Numenera is a conflict of interest with D&D? Really?! *Laugh *Cough *Laugh

If your a Walmart employee and your running your son's lemonade stand would they also see it as a conflict of interest?!

I understand the point of these conflict of interest contracts, but there is nothing a single employee is going to do to harm the D&D brand. It survived the demon-worshiping and sewer death controversies of the 80's, the OGL of 3.0 (Although I'm starting to think Hasbro's issue with the OGL is self induced) and the jumping-the shark that was 4th.

If Monte left so he could work on Numenera it's D&D's loss.

 

[Mistwell]

Monte's Numenera is a conflict of interest with D&D? Really?! *Laugh *Cough *Laugh

Yes, it is a conflict of interest. It's a game in the same industry. That's the conflict. It's not even a close call. I run a graduation cap & gown company. If one of my employees sold, for example, gimmick tie-dye caps for graduations on the side, it would be an obvious conflict of interest, even though it's not a specific product we sell.

...there is nothing a single employee is going to do to harm the D&D brand.

I present Lorraine Williams as exhibit A.

I present The Book of Erotic Fantasy as Exhibit B, not that Kestrel was an employee.

I present as Exhibit C: Lisa Stevens

I present as Exhibit D: Erik Mona

If Monte left so he could work on Numenera it's D&D's loss.

Well, I am a big fan of Monte, but I also am glad he's not working on 5e. I don't think his vision, at this point in his life, is for a D&D I'd enjoy as much as I am enjoying with the playtest documents. And though I disagree with the tone of the letter RPG Pundit sent regarding Monte's column, I agree with the substance. That, and he clearly had no clue what 4e had done with the game, and was calling things "new inventions" that had been the standard rule in 4e. All together, I don't think D&D and Monte were a good match anymore.

I am looking forward to playing Numenera.

 

[Halivar]

Monte's Numenera is a conflict of interest with D&D? Really?! *Laugh *Cough *Laugh

Most gamers I know have time in their life for one game at a time. So yeah, games do compete for marketshare.

 

[Dausuul]

Monte's Numenera is a conflict of interest with D&D? Really?! *Laugh *Cough *Laugh

If your a Walmart employee and your running your son's lemonade stand would they also see it as a conflict of interest?!

Yeah, it's not like another fantasy RPG could ever pose a threat to Dungeons and Dragons. I remember when Paizo started their own fantasy RPG just so they wouldn't have to convert their APs to 4th Edition. Craziest business decision ever. Whatever happened to that game, anyway? Probably sank like a stone and was never heard from again.

 

[Mistwell]

Yeah, it's not like another fantasy RPG could ever pose a threat to Dungeons and Dragons. I remember when Paizo started their own fantasy RPG just so they wouldn't have to convert their APs to 4th Edition. Craziest business decision ever. Whatever happened to that game, anyway? Probably sank like a stone and was never heard from again.

Didn't some of those guys used to work for WOTC?

 

[Cybit]

Well, that's the beauty of a free market, isn't it? WotC is the bigger company, but working there seems to bring its problems, of which I'm sure this is only one. Paizo seems to be a more attractive place to work, so there's been a steady movement of talent there for years. Now Paizo has the #1 rpg and the best collection of talent in the industry behind it. And for that gain, they may have given up profits that could have been made by owning various employees' side projects. Seems like a fair dynamic to me.

To be fair, Paizo has freelancers on pretty much everything. You would be surprised at the number of even hardcover book authors who are freelancers. I remember meeting people who I thought were Paizo employees (Paizo shirts and all), and finding out they were all freelancers who just worked with Paizo a lot. So a lot of them can work on "other things" because they don't actually work for Paizo.

I mean, it sucks, but it seems like Cook wanted to keep making RPGs on the side, and WotC didn't like the idea that one of its' lead designers would make directly competing projects while working on D&D Next. Both sides had validity to their arguments, and it was probably best for both that they each did what they wanted to do.