D&D (2024) Would a OneDND closed/restricted license be good, actually?

[pemerton]

Now, unlike you, I really enjoy running that kind of game.

However, like you, I enjoy running a number of other games - I would say at least 50% of the folks at my 5e games automatically pass on any campaign that is not 5e. They pass for precisely the reasons you mention - even though, I am not sure all of them would articulate it in this way.

The closest I've come in recent years to running that sort of game is Torchbearer 2e, which uses GM-authored dungeons as a key element of play.

But I still suspect that Torchbearer, especially as my table approaches it, is more player-driven than many D&D players (and most D&D-only players) would prefer. The players made the main decisions that established PC backstory, and that set the overall agenda for our sessions (admittedly the game makes this pretty easy, by centring "get loot" as a key motivation for all characters).

So far I've had two sessions of play out of a 6-room dungeon that I wrote up in an afternoon, and expect to get at least another session out of it. I got two sessions out of the four-room house of one of the PCs' enemies, which again took an afternoon or an evening to write up. The system means that I don't need to do any prep for the PCs' time in town (it has its own framework for town events and in-town action resolution that drives downtime action).

It's about as low-prep as I can imagine a system getting that relies on the GM to provide D&D-style content, and if I was wanting to lower the barrier to entry for new D&D GMs, I'd be taking a look at some of the methods Torchbearer uses. Which I know is a bit off-topic, but to me seems more significant in thinking about how D&D sits in relation to other RPGs than speculating about the OGL.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

not sure about that, it was kicked to the curb faster than any other edition. It had a great first few months, then a steep drop off and a quick death with things getting cancelled (like Dragonlance 4e).

4e might have dropped of hard because the game stores (at least here in germany) did not stand behind that edition.
Maybe because the paper books were worthless after a few month. They had soo many errors in their first printing which were never corrected. Instead you needed online resources to keep up to date.
Actually that was the only time, I was a bit ashamed to like the current edition of D&D...

 

[UngeheuerLich]

Yeah, I don't know about that. I think they're making a consumer mistake, from my perspective.

Which might be a good choice for wotc, because your preferences might be diametral to the popular demand.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Which might be a good choice for wotc, because your preferences might be diametral to the popular demand.

Maybe, but that does nothing for me and mine. I'm not responsible for WotC's profits, and I don't care if they make even more money. What I want is to have WotC's overbearing influence on gaming be less overbearing. This whole thing seems hell-bent on doing the opposite.

 

[mamba]

Which might be a good choice for wotc, because your preferences might be diametral to the popular demand.

If we were talking about game design you might have a point. I do not see how this at all translates to the OGL terms / who possibly could perceive them as an improvement. Best case for WotC they won't care or even know about it, and there will be enough of those.

 

[mamba]

4e might have dropped of hard because the game stores (at least here in germany) did not stand behind that edition.

Pretty sure they would have carried it if there had been demand, anything else is irrational

 

[overgeeked]

Maybe, but that does nothing for me and mine. I'm not responsible for WotC's profits, and I don't care if they make even more money. What I want is to have WotC's overbearing influence on gaming be less overbearing. This whole thing seems hell-bent on doing the opposite.

I wonder how dominant they have to be before it's a monopoly. I guess they could argue anyone can just make a game at any time, but that's irrelevant. It's essentially already a monopoly.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

Maybe, but that does nothing for me and mine. I'm not responsible for WotC's profits, and I don't care if they make even more money. What I want is to have WotC's overbearing influence on gaming be less overbearing. This whole thing seems hell-bent on doing the opposite.

Ok. Never implied that.
Just said that regarding your estimation of what is a good or a bad decision by wotc.
I personall think it is a good idea for wotc to not do it as you like, because it would smaller their customer base.

That does not mean that I don't want your preferences to be supported in some way. I see nothing in the OGL 1.1 that prevents that.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

If we were talking about game design you might have a point. I do not see how this at all translates to the OGL terms / who possibly could perceive them as an improvement. Best case for WotC they won't care or even know about it, and there will be enough of those.

I did not specifically talked about that. But they hopefully have something planned that allows 3rd parties to do things that he likes.

 

[DEFCON 1]

Not sure that this is true. If it is, its sad. There is so much good 5e-compatible adventures and rules put out by third parties. I would like to think that the success of MCCM and Critical Role products, at least, so that the newer generation has an appetite for expanding their game with third-party content.

Of course it's true. And we know exactly how true it is EN World-wise by all the posters here who get all up in arms and argue and complain about the work WotC produces. Everything they make in books or in Unearthed Arcana playtest documents have people arrive here on the boards to go over all them with fine-toothed combs and complain about what they've made. Even people who admit they don't actually like or still play WotC-based 5E... still can't help but come here to rant and rave about what WotC does.

THAT tells us all we need to know about just how ubiquitous D&D 5E is. The very definition of "I wish I knew how to quit you." And why this hope of people that "the world of TTRPGs expands out beyond Wizards of the Coast" is I think a rather disingenuous complaint. All these people who want 3PPs or other RPGs to rise up out of the shadow that 5E is casting can't help themselves make the shadow even bigger by still keeping themselves handcuffed to 5E. They still keep involved in its development. They still want WotC to make D&D 5E rules changes in the style of games they want to play.

(General) you complain about WotC and their massive 5E game and how it crowds everybody else out... and yet rather than break ties with this game you feel is an anchor around the hobby... (general) you still care so much about how the game continues and what kinds of books and rules for it get released that you continually stayed involved and talk about it, thus perpetuating its influence. (General) you are as much responsible for WotC's 5E shadow as anyone.

You want me to believe you TRULY care about the larger TTRPG eco-system and want to bring other games and companies out from underneath the shadow of WotC? Break off from 5E once and for all. Stop giving them the press. Because every time you come here onto EN World to talk about it you are showing us all that you actually want to see WotC maintain its position.