I think they got what they wanted

[Steel_Wind]

unless it literally becomes illegal to do so, but I'll be making every effort to diversify away.

Small point, but terminology which annoys every lawyer in the history of ever...

illegal: an act which is contrary to the criminal law and for which you can be fined or imprisoned (or both);

unlawful: an act contrary to law, be it public or private (including a contract), that is NOT something you can be fined or imprisoned for.

Often people say "illegal" when what they actually mean is "unlawful". So now you know.

 

[mamba]

Early signs point to Project Black Flag being a 5E clone.

I know, I would like something close to that, so it is easy to port stuff over. Similar level of rule complexity, fewer options is just fine, I do not want 30 races and 500 spells anyway

 

[AdmundfortGeographer]

I believe the OGL update was intended to coincide with the future VTT and will make far more sense when viewed as a necessary part. That WotC management expected the future VTT will be attractive in its own right to draw designers to create material for the unreleased VTT, not so much about creating content for print or PDF.

 

[mamba]

I believe the OGL update was intended to coincide with the future VTT and will make far more sense when viewed as a necessary part. That WotC management expected the future VTT will be attractive in its own right to draw designers to create material for the unreleased VTT, not so much about creating content for print or PDF.

if it is attractive in its own right, then there was no need to change the OGL over it

 

[AdmundfortGeographer]

if it is attractive in its own right, then there was no need to change the OGL over it

Not if you are beholden to shareholders to build an IP fortress and want to lock in under-compensated creators. Then have a license that locks that created content in on your property.

 

[MarkB]

well, I will ignore the court case in my reply, but I’d much rather no one created anything for 5e any more than trying to make a living in the ruins of the OGL. Move on to Pathfinder, Shadow of the Demon Lord or literally anything else. Not sure how feasible that is from an earnings perspective, but right now clinging to 5e does not feel like such a great choice either in that regard

Move on and rebuild, no point living under the thumb of WotC

The feasibility depends a great deal upon what the product is. If you're making adventures, then sure, maybe you can learn a whole new system, re-tool your module and sell it into a smaller market of different players with whom your brand has no traction or recognition. But look at Level Up A5E - that's an entire product line built specifically upon the premise of enhancing and augmenting the existing 5e ruleset. Where else could you possibly take it?

 

[Ruin Explorer]

Third parties will not be making onednd compatible material, but instead developing their own games/heartbreakers for a fairly niche audience.

Nope.

They're going to make D&D-compatible stuff, slap "5E" on the cover in a huge logo and "Compatible with the world's most popular role-playing game" or even "Compatible with Dungeons & Dragons".

They're just going to do it outside the OGL, and when WotC comes for them, there is just good outcome for WotC, because it will come down to copyright and trademark law, and WotC has a ton to lose on that front. Even if they cause one company to shut down or whatever, the case will define the limits and show others how to avoid that in future.

Medium term, it's a viable plan (even if cynical and soulless.)

I don't think it is, not if they want to keep growing.

That's the problem here.

1D&D was always going to lose customers.

All editions changes do when you're doing well/popular. Not just for D&D, but for everyone. You lose some amount of customers, and you hope to pick them up again over time. Sometimes that's quick, sometimes that's slow.

By their actions, WotC have drastically increased in the number of people they're going to lose in the 5E - 1D&D transition. If the push the VTT any harder than they already are, they lose even more people, because for a lifestyle-type D&D fans, the VTT is not of interest.

So it's not a viable plan when you include 1D&D in the mix at all. It's just stupidity, trying read anything into it is basically a kind of reverse conspiracy theory. Let's call it "Catfall theory" after the way cats look at you like they meant to do it after they fall off something.

 

[Riley]

IMO, it doesn't make much sense to produce a "Black Flag Rulebook" until the existing 5e one becomes hard to find.

They might not even be planning to publish a Core Rulebook, at least at first.

Kobold’s business is in 5e adventures, splat books, and Midgard.

Even a web-only 5e clone SRD will allow them to continue publishing what they are already publishing.

An updated SRD and actual Core Rules will have more shelf life if it waits until after the next D&D edition is published, and they can adapt Black Flag to mirror that new edition.

 

[overgeeked]

They might not even be planning to publish a Core Rulebook, at least at first.

Kobold’s business is in 5e adventures, splat books, and Midgard.

Even a web-only 5e clone SRD will allow them to continue publishing what they are already publishing.

An updated SRD and actual Core Rules will have more shelf life if it waits until after the next D&D edition is published, and they can adapt Black Flag to mirror that new edition.

The other side of that coin is if they rush to publish even the SRD by itself they can later revise and reprint it without issue as it will be grandfathered in. Likely.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

One D&D. I remember thinking it was laughably meaningless marketing gobbledygook when it was announced. Little did I know how blatantly they spelled out their intentions with that name.

And in that moment the RPG smiths heard the words and knew they had been deceived ...

OneD&D to rule them all
OneD&D to fight them
OneD&D to bring them all
And in the darkness bind them.
In the land of WotC where the shadows lie.