Dragonlance Dragonlance Lawsuit Dismissed Without Prejudice

The recent lawsuit brought against D&D publishers Wizards of the Coast by Dragonlance authors Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman has been voluntarily dismissed without prejudice.

When a lawsuit is dismissed with prejudice, it means that the plaintiff cannot bring the issue back to court. When -- as in this case -- it is dismissed without prejudice, the plaintiff can try again.

In this case it was voluntarily dismissed by Weis & Hickman. We can only guess why; perhaps a settlement occurred? In any case, Margaret Weis tweeted, thanking people for their support, and hinting at exciting news to come.

"Pursuant to Rule 41(a)(1)(A)(i) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Plaintiff Margaret Weis, LLC and Tracy Hickman hereby gives notice that the above-captioned action is voluntarily dismissed as to Wizards of the Coast LLC, without prejudice. Defendant Wizards of the Coast LLC has not filed an answer or motion for summary judgment, no proceedings or discovery have been undertaken as to these claims, and this action is not subject to any federal statute which would preclude the dismissal of this action under Rule 41(a)(1)(A)(i)."

 

[bulletmeat]

A reboot that focuses on the non-offensive elements is about the best we can do.

A reboot of a pretty popular D&D setting is not necessarily going to bring in fans of the world. I think an evolution of the world to a new 'standard' is a better way to go. Maybe, after all the hullabaloo of the last few centuries the 'Gawds' have learned something. The restrictions they have laid upon certain stocks of beings could be lifted and those people can rise above what was laid upon them.

As for Goldmoon & Riverwind, the native american kid I played 1st & 2nd edition with loved those characters. He was happy to see his people with some representation in his favorite game. His family thought it was neat also. Not sure how they feel now, it's be 20+ years. I made a comment once about how I could see them (and the elves from Elfquest, his other favorite) as more proto-celtic and man did he get pissed.

Edit: Still want to Taladas done proper. It' so open to possibilities.

 

[embee]

You must be playing a different version of D&D... Every time we 'bury the hatchet', the hatchet winds up burried in the back of someone else's skull... ;-)

That's certainly a craven move.

Everyone knows...

If you're going to bury the hatchet, at least have the decency to bury it in their forehead.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

In my land "to bury the war axe" (and "to smoke the pipe of the peace") means gexture of peace and ending conflict, by the Indians, Redskins, Native Northamericans from the old Far West movies. "To unbury the hatchet" means to renew the hostilities.

Dragonlance hasn't got new titles from lot of time age. At least ten years. The metaplot has been totally frozen after the war of souls, hasn't it?

 

[QuentinGeorge]

In my land "to bury the war axe" (and "to smoke the pipe of the peace") means gexture of peace and ending conflict, by the Indians, Redskins, Native Northamericans from the old Far West movies. "To unbury the hatchet" means to renew the hostilities.

Dragonlance hasn't got new titles from lot of time age. At least ten years. The metaplot has been totally frozen after the war of souls, hasn't it?

Solamnia got a king was about the last metaplot development and that was in a novel released decades ago.

 

[jgsugden]

A reboot of a pretty popular D&D setting is not necessarily going to bring in fans of the world. I think an evolution of the world to a new 'standard' is a better way to go. Maybe, after all the hullabaloo of the last few centuries the 'Gawds' have learned something. The restrictions they have laid upon certain stocks of beings could be lifted and those people can rise above what was laid upon them.

Yeah - uhhh ... the advancing the timeline thing has not been well received for the Forgotten Realms. Also, they evolved Krynn so far that it does not resemble the most popular era, anymore. Restoring the most popular elements of it may be hard in a "go forward" approach.

As for Goldmoon & Riverwind, the native american kid I played 1st & 2nd edition with loved those characters. He was happy to see his people with some representation in his favorite game. His family thought it was neat also. Not sure how they feel now, it's be 20+ years. I made a comment once about how I could see them (and the elves from Elfquest, his other favorite) as more proto-celtic and man did he get pissed.

One person's opinion does not matter. What matters is what the Hasbro lawyers think will happen. That is where the decision making will start.

Edit: Still want to Taladas done proper. It' so open to possibilities.

And that would be something they could use more to distinguish a reboot from the original.

There are representations in Dragonlance that would be poorly received by too many people today.

The first series of books is written pretty poorly by modern standards, at least if you expect adults to tread it. They can do a lot better.

However, while a reboot may be the best option for them to have a WotC / D&D Dragonlance in 2021 ... it still may not be a great idea.

 

[MGibster]

I will speculate that Hasbro is a multibillion dollar global corporation with its own in-house counsel and this went through them before even being considered to get shipped out to Hale & Dorr and that this whole thing cost them precisely zero additional dollars.

That's true. On the flip side, multi-billion dollar global corporations sometimes mess up like everyone else does. Who knows, maybe in-house counsel advised them of the risks but whoever decided to make the business decision didn't heed their advice.

 

[embee]

That's true. On the flip side, multi-billion dollar global corporations sometimes mess up like everyone else does. Who knows, maybe in-house counsel advised them of the risks but whoever decided to make the business decision didn't heed their advice.

Doubtful.

Hasbro is, in many ways, like Disney. It has an extensive portfolio of IP and a well-staffed office of general counsel that actively manages it. They deal with IP day-in and day-out. They don't farm it out. And when they do farm it out, it goes to the biglaw law firm where their Chief Legal Officer came from (Hale & Door). Licensing is what they do and one look at the 3,982 different branded versions of Monopoly proves that.

I understand the love that folk have for Dragonlance. But it is a stale IP that hasn't had a new addition in over a decade. If there was $10 million to be made from Dragonlance books, there would have been Dragonlance books.

This lawsuit was filed two months ago. No Answer was filed. The lawsuit was just a kick in the ass to get something done. Weis & Hickman aren't getting any kind of big payday from this lawsuit. They were suing for advance payments and royalties. Nora Roberts gets $10 million per year in royalty payments. That's on 15 million books sold per year.

Weis and Hickman have around 23 million books sold over their lifetime.

If anything, they're getting a limited license to publish whatever book is in a somewhat final form, with Hasbro getting a cut of any profits. I'm possibly curious as to what the advance payments Weis & Hickman were paid but, frankly, I'm curious as to whether the books would even earn out. Their advance payments might be the only money they see from the books.

 

[Morrus]

Weisman & Hicks aren't getting any kind of big payday from this lawsuit. They were suing for advance payments and royalties. Nora Roberts gets $10 million per year in royalty payments. That's on 15 million books sold per year.

Weisman and Hicks have around 23 million books sold over their lifetime.

Weis & Hickman.

 

[embee]

Weis & Hickman.

Apologies

 

[bulletmeat]

Yeah - uhhh ... the advancing the timeline thing has not been well received for the Forgotten Realms. Also, they evolved Krynn so far that it does not resemble the most popular era, anymore. Restoring the most popular elements of it may be hard in a "go forward" approach.One person's opinion does not matter. What matters is what the Hasbro lawyers think will happen. That is where the decision making will start. And that would be something they could use more to distinguish a reboot from the original.

There are representations in Dragonlance that would be poorly received by too many people today.

The first series of books is written pretty poorly by modern standards, at least if you expect adults to tread it. They can do a lot better.

However, while a reboot may be the best option for them to have a WotC / D&D Dragonlance in 2021 ... it still may not be a great idea.

The advancing timeline did not work out for Forgotten Realms, that may not be true for Dragonlance. The world itself has been blown up, ripped out of time, etc. in the novels enough that it may be more accepted vs the Realms where the campaign was planned to change and the novels followed suit.
And I won't deny that the first books are not issues today, I just know what my exposure to those have been. But to reboot the whole set of stories is not necessarily a good thing. Admitting, "Hey, we didn't do our best here. We can do better" and writing something with greater contemporary values might be a better move. Not one that lawyers agree with necessarily but that's my opinion.
But I do agree with you that Taladas, or a new (maybe larger) continent on Krynn might be a better backdrop for rebooting future stories.