Arthaus reverts rights to Ravenloft and Gamma World back to Wotc

[DreadPirateMurphy]

On the other hand, "abominable" is a perfectly suitable word to describe the sloppy mechanical design of the new Gamma World or the lack of even half-decent mutation rules in a game that has always been, first and foremost, about mutants.

I knew about the lack of mutant plants long before I purchased my copy-- and I both understood and accepted the reason they were left out. However, I was not informed that the section on mutant animals would be a paragraph at the end of the races chapter telling me to use the Moreau rules from d20 Modern, nor was I informed that this version of Gamma World was going to have the most anemic set of mutation rules in any edition.

The tragedy isn't that Gamma World didn't sell well; the tragedy is that it wasn't made well.

Korimyr,

It is fine to say that you had specific expectations for Gamma World, and you found what you considered a core part of the setting to be missing. While the rules support may be lacking for what you wanted, I thought the authors did a good job rationalizing the type of "anything goes" attitude that was typical of Gamma World mutations and powers. Maybe you didn't get the mechanics, but I got a more logical mindset that I find appealing.

So Gamma World D20 wasn't well made for what you wanted. It didn't suit your tastes. Honestly, if you said that about my work, I would accept that. I don't feel that this justifies the term "abominable." I also don't think you can assume that your tastes translate into the entire target market. I, for one, value a logical backstory as much as yet another set of mechanics that I can find in another book.

 

[TiQuinn]

Because people without hundreds of game books -- even people who have just started playing -- also deserve a chance to experience Ravenloft.

All of those books are still available though. Maybe Ravenloft won't be updated as new editions of d20 come out, but there's still a goldmine of material to last DMs for a long, long time already out there.

 

[Kesh]

I'm glad I can now go and pick up all those Ravenloft 3.5e books at a discount... but it saddens me that it's gone. I loved the 2e RL, especially in the heyday of the Kargatane website... but, I never had much opportunity to get into the 3e version. Sad to see it go.

And, as an aside, I'm also one of the folks who thought Gamma World d20 wasn't half-bad.

 

[Geoffrey]

I'd like to see Jim Ward acquire the rights to Gamma World.

 

[Buttercup]

I'm glad I can now go and pick up all those Ravenloft 3.5e books at a discount.

I never bought them, but if they are discounted deeply enough, I probably will buy at least the core book, and probably everything.

 

[Angel Tarragon]

Ahem, still unsure of what this means. Is Ravenloft D20 at an end?

 

[Ranger REG]

I'd like to see Jim Ward acquire the rights to Gamma World.

Jim Ward of Fast Forward Games?

 

[Buttercup]

Ahem, still unsure of what this means. Is Ravenloft D20 at an end?

Most likely, yes.

In most cases when IP is licensed, it is for a finite period of time, and further the owner always leaves an escape clause in the contract. I'm not sure if the time period on this license is nearing an end and it isn't being renewed, or if the license is being terminated early.

The thing is, WotC has said, through the mouths of a number of employees over the past five years, that they were not interested in fragmenting their market by supporting very many product lines. And they're right to feel that way, since that very thing was among the causes of the money hemorrhage that killed TSR. Thus, I think it is highly unlikely that either of these IP lines will ever see the light of day again. Same as Planescape, Birthright, etc.

Let me rephrase. As long as Hasbro owns WotC and further as long as WotC owns the D&D brand, and finally as long as the D&D brand is owned by some person or entity who is not interested in going broke, none of these properties will ever see print again.

(Naturally all of this is IMO, but I do know a bit about the publishing industry, so my opinion is perhaps slightly more informed that that of, say, Foghorn Leghorn.)

 

[Buttercup]

Jim Ward of Fast Forward Games?

Yeah, I think he must mean that Jim Ward.

 

[Buttercup]

The OGL only covers mechanics, not properties such as Ravenloft, Gamma World, Dragonlance, etc.

Correct. I was responding to the idea that the reversion of these rights was evidence of WotC trying to rein in all their IP before selling the brand. I'm not sure whether the existence of the OGL adds or subtracts value from the D&D brand, but it can't help but impact it in some way.