VenerableBede
Adventurer
Kickstarter Day 3 comment by Matt M, made August 8th, snippet below:
(https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/brotherwise/the-stormlight-archive-rpg/comments)
TLDR:
Being licensed IP, I'm not surprised that there won't be an OGL that will allow fans to make and sell content in the Cosmere RPG (directly), but do consider it a bummer. Fans creating (and selling) content expands the horizons for a game system so much—and can be really good for maintaining or growing the community. That said, it makes sense that Dragonsteel would want to be exceptionally careful with their very valuable IP, although I'm no legal scholar and can't comment further there.
Only time will tell if the "Plotweaver™ System" itself will prove popular enough that people will want to create content for it that is non-Cosmere, but given that all foreseen, official, Brotherwise "Plotweaver™ System" content promises to be set within the Cosmere, I'm not holding my breath. That's not me saying I think this TTRPG will fail—I backed it because I grew to believe in it. (Despite being a Sanderson fan, I originally had negative interest in the Stormlight Archives RPG [as it was known then] because I didn't like that it was d20 and intentionally familiar to 5e players, but over time, and as I've learned more about what makes this system unique, I came around and even became enthusiastic.)
What I really wonder is whether or not a community will form around making "Cosmere with the serial number filed off" content using the "Plotweaver™ System" OGL—I think that more likely than any community forming around this system completely divorced from the Cosmere. The terms of the OGL will matter a lot, how friendly Brotherwise and Dragonsteel are with the community will matter more, how many fans backing this Kickstarter (or that eventually join the Cosmere RPG community) are the type who want to make and sell unique content matters almost as much, but whether or not any players would be interested in getting invested in such content matters most of all.
Is there any sort of precedent for this? For example, the AtlA RPG, similarly, was licensed from a very large and popular IP, it had an extremely successful Kickstarter, and it's still going today—current and potential future parallels there. Is there an OGL for that game's underlying system? (Assuming that it's a unique system—I am extremely unfamiliar with the AtlA RPG.) Is there any level of community content creation, free or otherwise?
Now, I will not be surprised if non-commercial fan content takes off. Sanderson fans are very passionate, and, at least in my experience, a good deal of them play TTRPGs and love to create, whether their own things or within Sanderson's Cosmere. So I bet there will be some sort of fan community that takes off with this, even if it ultimately is just a splinter of the larger Cosmere community.
Back to You
Do you have any thoughts on this? Do you have any interest in making adventures, heroic paths, or other content for the "Plotweaver™ System"? Do you think anyone else will? Or do you think the OGL will ultimately gather dust, whether or not non-commercial content goes anywhere? Is it possible for a unique TTRPG system created for a licensed game to have life breathed into it outside that licensed IP? (I wouldn't be surprised if other examples of success—or horrible failure—exist, I'm just not aware of them. And no, I'm not talking about licensed games that use existing systems or that adapt existing systems—too many examples of those—I'm talking about brand-new systems explicitly made for that licensed IP.)
(https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/brotherwise/the-stormlight-archive-rpg/comments)
TLDR:
- Brotherwise Games is calling the underlying game system of the Cosmere RPG the "Plotweaver™ System".
- Brotherwise and Dragonsteel intend to provide some policy allowing for some degree of non-commercial fan content.
- Brotherwise intends to share an OGL for the "Plotweaver™ System".
- No dates or other details (such as whether Brotherwise will create a unique OGL or utilize existing options, like ORC or CC) for the above.
Being licensed IP, I'm not surprised that there won't be an OGL that will allow fans to make and sell content in the Cosmere RPG (directly), but do consider it a bummer. Fans creating (and selling) content expands the horizons for a game system so much—and can be really good for maintaining or growing the community. That said, it makes sense that Dragonsteel would want to be exceptionally careful with their very valuable IP, although I'm no legal scholar and can't comment further there.
Only time will tell if the "Plotweaver™ System" itself will prove popular enough that people will want to create content for it that is non-Cosmere, but given that all foreseen, official, Brotherwise "Plotweaver™ System" content promises to be set within the Cosmere, I'm not holding my breath. That's not me saying I think this TTRPG will fail—I backed it because I grew to believe in it. (Despite being a Sanderson fan, I originally had negative interest in the Stormlight Archives RPG [as it was known then] because I didn't like that it was d20 and intentionally familiar to 5e players, but over time, and as I've learned more about what makes this system unique, I came around and even became enthusiastic.)
What I really wonder is whether or not a community will form around making "Cosmere with the serial number filed off" content using the "Plotweaver™ System" OGL—I think that more likely than any community forming around this system completely divorced from the Cosmere. The terms of the OGL will matter a lot, how friendly Brotherwise and Dragonsteel are with the community will matter more, how many fans backing this Kickstarter (or that eventually join the Cosmere RPG community) are the type who want to make and sell unique content matters almost as much, but whether or not any players would be interested in getting invested in such content matters most of all.
Is there any sort of precedent for this? For example, the AtlA RPG, similarly, was licensed from a very large and popular IP, it had an extremely successful Kickstarter, and it's still going today—current and potential future parallels there. Is there an OGL for that game's underlying system? (Assuming that it's a unique system—I am extremely unfamiliar with the AtlA RPG.) Is there any level of community content creation, free or otherwise?
Now, I will not be surprised if non-commercial fan content takes off. Sanderson fans are very passionate, and, at least in my experience, a good deal of them play TTRPGs and love to create, whether their own things or within Sanderson's Cosmere. So I bet there will be some sort of fan community that takes off with this, even if it ultimately is just a splinter of the larger Cosmere community.
Back to You
Do you have any thoughts on this? Do you have any interest in making adventures, heroic paths, or other content for the "Plotweaver™ System"? Do you think anyone else will? Or do you think the OGL will ultimately gather dust, whether or not non-commercial content goes anywhere? Is it possible for a unique TTRPG system created for a licensed game to have life breathed into it outside that licensed IP? (I wouldn't be surprised if other examples of success—or horrible failure—exist, I'm just not aware of them. And no, I'm not talking about licensed games that use existing systems or that adapt existing systems—too many examples of those—I'm talking about brand-new systems explicitly made for that licensed IP.)
