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I for one am delighted by the new features of the new ENworld. I know that this site has had its financial ups and downs in the past, and I would like to make a donation to the site to show my appreciation for all of the hard work that Morrus, Michael and the whole team have put into making...

I'd be prepared to wager that few decisions would get you acquainted with WOTC legal counsel as fast as sticking the words "Dungeons and Dragons" on your trade dress in any way not expressly detailed in the GSL.

I suppose my word choice between posts could have been more clear. QUESTION: What, in reality, does Wizards fear from third parties... ANSWER: Anything that compromises sales of core rule books? To me it is as simple as that. Using 4e design elements that complement the core rule books is...

But it's WOTC starting the fire? IF I was WOTC management and IF I was secretly infuriated by the OGL, I would not even mess with the GSL. I would contact a half-dozen reputatl third parties and offer them exclusive licences and invite other interested publishers apply for one-off licences...

You're right I apologize. I'm not a lawyer. I am a marketing guy who has spent far-too much time sitting around boardroom tables with IP and copyright lawyers. Butting heads with them has led me to trivialize the legally significant differences in the terms they use.

We'll leave the obvious and (and still unanswered) question of "why would WOTC ever bother/consider doing such a thing?" as it's certainly your right to assume the absolute worst about their motives. Even if you assume the worse (and I do not) -- my understanding of the game industry (which I...

I read it differenty. It's not a question of competing. It's a question of ensuring that 4e concepts do not become completely unregulaged OGL-style open-content. Standard IP law will dictate what concepts White Wolf and Wizards can or cannot use in common -- that's the way it's always been...

The GSL itself features "Dungeons and Dragons" in a rather bold font. I'm a little bummed about the licence relegating the words to the back cover (thank you Valar Project) but it still is a powerful asset.

Why would that surprise? You don't think people want to make money by hopping on the gravy chain of the world's most marketable RPG brand?

Well said. Compared to anything *OTHER* than the OGL, this is quite permissive. Wizards wants third parties to use 4e rules to SUPPORT D&D, they don't want 3rd parties to COMPETE with D&D. They are letting you use the D&D logo for goodness sake! They're giving 3pp their toys on the...

Very good point, actually.

Obviously WOTC believes that there is value in that IP -- and the case law is pretty explicit that IP has to be vigorously defended in order to remain protected. Whether or not this IP actually originated from within TSR/WOTC is the more debatable point.

Calling something "Dungeons and Dragons" compatible doesn't do anything for you?

And, I would reckon many designers say "thank god for that.". There are things that the 'suits' actually do much better. I like many of Darrin;s points The timing of that move was terrible. "We've sold off the minivan but we promise we'll replaced it with a BMW...oops! the BMW ain't ready...

I don't agree with everyting Dannyalcatraz is saying, but I commend him for pushing some hard ideas out there/ I see two mainstream celebities (Diesel and Colbert) on that list and three more niche celebrities (Posehn, Oswalt and Wheaton) on that list. I wonder, if the psychographic profile...

That is very, very true. They made a big splash about all of the different pillars on which D&D would rest (Gleemax, Insider, Virtual Dragon and Dungeon etc). Yet, the only pillar that is functioning are the actualy physical books themselves. Overpromising is a textbook case of bad marketing.

What's the crossover audience between Colbert and DND. I can see the sense trying to lure Colbert himserlf into providing some free promo on his show, but that's just a one off. A marketing strategy that is not.

It should be. It's hard to quantify brand value in dollar figures but I would happily argue that the three words "Dungeons and Dragons" hold more value than every other word ever published for every other TTRPG combined.

This vexes me too. Sure, monsters are supposed to get tougher as you level but you always have the 'option' of throwing in a lower level encounter to let the players revel in how far they've advanced. The scaling DC's are arbitrary... ourtunning Gugmush the Orc Warlord in a chase is simpleat...

I commend you for your remarkably specific percentile projections (8% moderate failure vs 2% moderate success...why not 7%/3%?). And I actually agree with you that the 90% tactical combat / 10% everything else split in 4e is a serious drawback in an otherwise fine ruleset. But outside of...