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Message: <blockquote data-quote="I'm A Banana" data-source="post: 8898446" data-attributes="member: 2067">Maybe an example would help illustrate what WotC might be thinking about here in terms of Brand Shenanigans.Elves are pretty generic fantasy stuff. Elves be elves. Magic. Forests. Minstrels. Y'know, frickin' elf stuff. Lots of fantasy properties have elves. Elves are no one's brand.But, look at the elves of the Witcher universe and the miniseries that Netflix just produced. Specific cities, specific characters, specific events, a specific story involving particular elements of class struggle, colonialism, empire, etc. Some generic fantasy elf stuff (magic! pointy ears! a minstrel with a cute lil' bird name!), but also, some specific things that vibe with the Witcher's particular flavor of fantasy.And, look at the elves from Middle-Earth and the new Amazon series. Specific characters, specific events, specific lore, specific stories. Generic elf stuff, too (I mean, it's Tolkien), but specific things that viibe with Middle-Earth's particular kind of elves. Distinct from others.And now, look at the elves from, say the Forgotten Realms. Specific empires, specific lore, specific history, specific cities, specific characters. And then add the elves from Dark Sun. And the elves from Dragonlance. And the elves from Greyhawk. And even the elves from their Spelljammer book. Specific locations. Specific lore. Specific history. Specific characters. Generic stuff in abundance (FR and Dragonlance and Greyhawk aren't exactly known for reinventing their tropes, are they?), but also specific things that give these elves something a little distinction from others. I mean, the Loth stuff? You could totally sell a streaming service on the idea of a mythic tale of war among the elves.There's someone within WotC today who is looking at the Witcher and looking at Middle Earth and seeing those stories and saying: "Why can't we have a Netflix series about the fall of Netheril? About the War of the Lance? About the liberation of Tyr?About the conflict between Corellon and Loth?" Specific plots, specific characters, specific events, a specific vibe. D&D-Brand Content (tm).That brand, that potential, the money it could make, is worth more than the entire TTRPG industry put togther. It's generational money. It's what Marvel has, what Disney has, what Warner Bros thinks it has (hahaha, Space Jam 2), what every corporate owner of IP really wants deep down. I find it entirely plausible that WotC wants that. And it's evident to me that WotC considers the OGL and it not giving them quality control over products made with it to be a risk to that. It is something they've tried to address before, and will certainly try to address with this revision.I'm not going to assume they want to crush 3PP. I'm not going to assume they're lying and deceptive. I believe they absolutely could be doing either or both of those things, but that doesn't matter for the point I'm actually making, which is that their story about wanting to be good stewards of the brand does, indeed, hold together in my estimation, and it lines up with what I'd expect from them. It might not be true, but I'm also not an internet mind reader. I'm not here to reveal the TRUTH. I got no claim to it. I just think their story makes some sense.</blockquote>

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