D&D 5E So, 5e OGL

[delericho]

And, you know, I'm okay with it.

Sure. Indeed, if they never release 5e under OGL then I'm okay with that, too. After all, it's their game, so it's their choice.

(Which doesn't mean I don't want, and indeed as soon as possible. A preference isn't a demand. )

This is business. Respect doesn't enter into it

Well, I recall Morrus indicating that he'd rather have permission rather than just going ahead. Though that was in the days before EN5IDER, so I guess he may have changed his mind.

But really, asking that question is equivalent to asking, "When should we expect the license?"

Not really, since the question of waiting out of respect isn't just WotC's decision. And it's one thing to ask people to wait six months as a courtesy; it's another to ask them to wait six years.

(Bearing in mind, that is, that anyone who is currently waiting could release now, under the 3e OGL. So it's not a question of waiting for it to be legal, it's a question of waiting as a courtesy.)

 

[delericho]

Someone could just ask, and they could say "ya, we are going to do it".

Or someone could tweet them - Mearls is pretty good at responding to stuff. (Not on Twitter myself, so...)

But I'm reasonably sure the answer would continue to be what we've already heard: it's coming, but with no timescale attached.

 

[TerraDave]

Or someone could tweet them - Mearls is pretty good at responding to stuff. (Not on Twitter myself, so...)

But I'm reasonably sure the answer would continue to be what we've already heard: it's coming, but with no timescale attached.

Yes, I am still looking forward to those conversion guides.

 

[Jester David]

Indeed. And, in fact, IIRC they have actually indicated the opposite - I can't now find the relevant tweet, but I thought I'd seen one from a WotC rep indicating that they'd rather people take time to understand the system as-is for the moment, with a view to being ready when WotC do eventually release it under OGL. But I might, of course, be misremembering.

I remember the same thing.

And, you know, I'm okay with it. It makes sense in the sense of really getting a feel for how the rules as written work. With their regular polling, it gives time to determine what the players want beyond the core rules, and so on. Anyone developing on it after such a period could be expected to have a much better grasp of the rules.

It also makes sense from a business standpoint. If they want to extend the lifetime of the game, make the edition treadmill run slower, delaying 3pp makes a lot of sense. Eventually, when they open it up, there will be a renewed interest in the game, and a sales boost of the core rules, right? So, of course, you don't do that until after the initial burst of sales has dropped off.

I believe that was Mike Mearls from the Reddit AMA. I could be wrong though.
I thought it was a good idea too and said that the Necromancer Games book Fifth Edition Foes would have been a lot better had they waited.

On the other hand, even at the time I also thought it was spin. The OGL was delayed, so they were trying to make it a positive.

Or someone could tweet them - Mearls is pretty good at responding to stuff. (Not on Twitter myself, so...)

But I'm reasonably sure the answer would continue to be what we've already heard: it's coming, but with no timescale attached.

In the last sixish months I'be asked no less than three times. Once a generic "any word on the OGL?". Another asking if the OGL delay was associated with the Jury Duty delay. And while Mearls was taking questions for his podcast appearance, I also asked about the OGL.
Never any response.

The subject really seems to be something they're unwilling to talk about. I imagine anyone asking during their business hours will get a simple "we're not really to discuss that" reply. They've stopped even saying that they're planning or working on an OGL...

 

[Mark CMG]

I think someone had mentioned that WOtC had not booked any time appropriate for announcements in this GenCon. So, your wait is likely in vain.

Thanks. I might need that reminder each day when I check in.

Someone could just ask, and they could say "ya, we are going to do it".

I've asked several people to see if they might get some sort of answer from those who are at Gen Con, so we'll see.

Or someone could tweet them - Mearls is pretty good at responding to stuff. (Not on Twitter myself, so...)

That sort of thing might be just the way they'd handle it during a convention with no WotC panels.

But I'm reasonably sure the answer would continue to be what we've already heard: it's coming, but with no timescale attached.

I suspect this is the most likely but I am hopeful.

 

[delericho]

I suspect this is the most likely but I am hopeful.

The thing is, if they were ready to give a timescale then they'd probably just go ahead and give a timescale. So they won't reply with "yeah, and it's coming next week!" (or similar). And I think they're unlikely to reply "yeah, we're not doing that", though I guess they might.

Which only really leaves "it's coming, but we can't say when" or "no new information" as possible answers, neither of which is really new info.

Sadly, I think we do just have to wait. Which I imagine sucks rather more for a publisher such as yourself than it does for a mere fan like me.

 

[Jester David]

That sort of thing might be just the way they'd handle it during a convention with no WotC panels.

I doubt very, very, very much that they'd make a major announcement via word of mouth. Or just stand up between convention games and announce "OGL!!"
They could have done that for the book, rigging up a slide show. As most of the fans in the play area would care. But the people who want the OGL are publishers, and likely in their booths or own panels and not lurking around the D&D play area at random times.

They're not going to announce anything at GenCon.
The one thing they could have announced, they revealed a week earlier.

 

[prosfilaes]

Not quite - before they even produced it there was discussion over whether it could be done at all and also why it included things like ads (when those were largely for products that were no longer available). At which point it was noted that several of the contracts weren't available. WotC believed, therefore, that they could do a digital reprint of the magazines but couldn't do any sort of an edit on them because then they'd fall afoul of IP ownership questions.

Long after the Dragon CDs were produced, there was a case with National Geographic Magazine, Greenberg v. National Geographic, where the courts in 2007 ruled that National Geographic's reprints, as whole magazines, were legal. Given that pre-1989 ads needed a separate copyright notice to be copyrighted, the early ads were probably fine anyway.

The issue with the comics, and the Kenzer settlement, came later, and is probably based on those contracts covering first printing only, or something of that sort.

I believe the KoDT settlement was based on them specifically limiting WotC from using them in any sort of electronic reprint.

 

[aramis erak]

I doubt very, very, very much that they'd make a major announcement via word of mouth. Or just stand up between convention games and announce "OGL!!"
They could have done that for the book, rigging up a slide show. As most of the fans in the play area would care. But the people who want the OGL are publishers, and likely in their booths or own panels and not lurking around the D&D play area at random times.

They're not going to announce anything at GenCon.
The one thing they could have announced, they revealed a week earlier.

That's how they leaked that the July UA was psionics. It's how they leaked that the underdark was the September reveal.

 

[Nellisir]

That's how they leaked that the July UA was psionics. It's how they leaked that the underdark was the September reveal.

That's...an entirely different scale.