We got an official leak of One D&D OGL 1.1! Watch Our Discussion And Reactions!

[Ruin Explorer]

Sort of...
Where is the racists line or examples of such content where you feel WotC has not taken a stance (when they were legally allowed to) and should have?
Where have you seen WotC attack LGBTQ+ stuff disguised by claiming such content is to sexualized?

WotC?

I haven't. They've not been in a position to do so. I don't know if I've ever heard WotC officially comment on a specific 3PP product at all, have you?

But I'm talking about the behaviour of large, family-friendly US corporations. They tend to have a bit of a blind spot for racism unless it falls into very distinct shapes. WotC are a great example here with the Hadozee stuff slipping past dozens of eyes, many of whom had received training in how to spot racist stuff. They didn't spot it in their own product. If there are dozens or hundreds of 3PPs coming out, how likely do you think it is they'll spot it? I think it's unlikely. I think they're much more likely to spot stuff that might conceivably seen as "sexualized", which to a large fraction of the West (probably a minority but still plenty) is merely existing as an LGBTQ+ person, and I think any products which are LGBTQ+ friendly in an obvious way will be hyper-scrutinised by people looking for an excuse to say "this isn't sufficiently kid-friendly, why are you allowing this WotC?!". And knowing large corporations, they'll likely ask for it to be pulled without properly considering what they're doing.

 

[Scribe]

I buy fair trade coffee and sugar.

For toys and games, I'll take what amuses me.

Well within your rights, and as I noted, the VAST majority of D&D players will be of a similar mindset.

Unless a critical mass of the hyper online are impacted and vocal, Wizards won't care when they have millions already in their back pocket who just want a plushie.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

I think people are underestimating how much of a culture is built around the OGL and how that is going to shape peoples reactions. Also the OGL itself is something that earned WOTC so much good will from gamers, even to this day. If that Gizmodo article is correct, and if it's more dire predictions are true, I don't think you'd even need a boycott, it might just sour people to seeing the movie. No idea how this will play out though.

Souring is much more likely an issue than a boycott, yeah.

If a lot of people are kind of pissed off with WotC, even if mildly, when that comes out, they may decide not to go and see it, and may knock on to others who they would have invited along and so on.

There are people who will certainly not be discouraged, and many who will never hear about the issue, but souring could make an appreciable difference to the bottom line, especially if there are strong alternatives on at the same time.

 

[Cadence]

Pondering the old FAQ #42 and the requirement of being a mandated reporter to WotC of what is made. (And a dream world where the server crashes when someone makes an easy app to report every single email and social media post that might hit the OGL):


40. What if I'm writing an email message or using a very small amount of Open Game Content?

Technically, you are still required to include a copy of the License text. In the real world however, you are unlikely to be sued by someone over the use of Open Game Content in an email message or other trivial use if you fail to do so.

 

[darjr]

There currently is a lot going on behind the scenes. One example are 3pp lawyers engaging WotC lawyers as we speak on this topic.

Is that subtle confirmation? I dunno cause I can’t share sources!!!! Weeeeee clunk.

 

[Bedrockgames]

That's how the market works, basically. People buy stuff based on the appeal they see in front of them, not broad ideological points. Cool toys for my kids? Buy. Cool shirt? Buy.

I don't think that is always the case, especially in the gaming hobby. A lot of people factor in other things when they buy something. People will choose not to buy a shirt based on where it is manufactured for example, the conditions of the workers who manufacturer it, what political causes the company has taken positions on, etc. I am not saying you need to, or that everyone will, but it definitely appears to shape a lot of consumer decisions. And this is something that is going to impact a lot of people within the hobby itself (so it isn't just a vague ideological issue).

That said I also think people will sometimes say one thing, but then do something else. So you may have a lot of noise around a product but people still quietly buy it. I would imagine though, at least in arenas like this one and other online places, it is going to be a contentious issue that is discussed a lot.

 

[Cadence]

Souring

Combining threads and pivoting to the game instead of the movie - is DMs souring the thing that matters more than players souring?

 

[LordEntrails]

WotC?

I haven't. They've not been in a position to do so. I don't know if I've ever heard WotC officially comment on a specific 3PP product at all, have you?

Ah, my bad. Since the thread is about DD1 and the OGL I thought you were referring to WotC and how they would enforce the new? parts of the OGL 1.1.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

Presumably this one:

TSR - The Full & Glorious History of NuTSR

Because the Saga of TSR3 has been ongoing for a while, with many landmarks, I thought I'd do a quick timeline for those who haven't had the time (or, frankly, inclination) to keep up with the whole palaver. As multiple entities refer to themselves as TSR, I will use the nomenclature (1), (2)...

www.enworld.org

So ultimately they might actually win... by luring wotc into a restrictive OGL 1.1 which will have negative impact on wotc's good relatively good standing with the customers...

to clarify: the part about reporting the general content and denying on the base of certain content.

 

[Greg Benage]

Also the OGL itself is something that earned WOTC so much good will from gamers, even to this day.

I gotta say, that's something that's never been in evidence to me! People complained that they wanted all restaurants to be Taco Bell, people complained when they released 3.5 that it tanked all the d20 System products, the retroclone publishers (and fans) generally took a "haha suck it, WotC" attitude to the whole thing, people howled about the GSL, people cheered and mocked when Paizo used the OGL to release Pathfinder and eventually surpassed D&D in market share, people complained about the SRD 5's limited content...

In my experience, some people lionized Ryan Dancey et al, but the corporation never received any "goodwill" from the OGL. It became, if anything, a source of entitlement that generated an unending stream of PR headaches for twenty years.

And just to be clear, fork the corporation. But I wouldn't expect anyone wearing a suit at WotC or Hasbro to give two shirts about any supposed goodwill.