D&D (2024) D&D Player's Handbook Video Redactions & Takedowns

There's a lot of YouTube videos looking at the brand new Player's Handbook right now, and some of them include the YouTuber in question flipping through the new book on screen. A couple of those video creators have been asked by WotC to redact some of the content of their videos, with one finding that their video had been taken down entirely due to copyright claims from the company. It appears to be the folks who are flipping through the whole book on-screen who are running into this issue which, it seems, is based on piracy concerns.

Jorphdan posted on Twitter that "Despite fulfilling [WotC's] requests for the flip through video I was issues a copyright strike on my channel. Three strikes TERMINATES your channel. I don't think going over the 2024 PHB is worth losing my channel I've been working on since 2017. I'm pretty upset as none of this was said up front and when notified I did comply with their requirements. And I see other creators still have their videos up. Videos that are not unlike mine. Covering WotC is not worth losing my channel... Meanwhile please subscribe to my D&D free channel the Jocular Junction, where I'll most likely be making the majority of my TTRPG videos."

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Mike Shea, aka Sly Flourish, also posted a walkthrough of the Player's Handbook. While he didn't receive a copyright takedown action, after an email from WotC he has blurred out all the page images. "Note, I blurred out pictures of the book after Hasbro sent me an email saying they worried people would take screenshots of the book and build their own. Yes, it's complete b******t, but we must all do our part to ensure four billion dollar companies maximize shareholder value."

Popular YouTuber DnD Shorts had a video entitled 100% Walkthrough of the New Player's Handbook in D&D. That video is no longer available. However, his full spoilers review is still online.

 

[KYRON45]

Actions like this make me wish that people pirate the sh#t out of these books so wotc can have the worst fiscal year ever.

Their public relations must be run by AI, no human can be this incompetent.

We know some very different corporate employees.

 

[mamba]

I watched the entire video. The screenshot you have there is him pulling the book away from his second camera to flip a page to a specific section so he could read it, and then he puts the book back and you see that happen. If you actually watched the full video, you will see that, and you can just go to that 6:45 section and watch him put the book back after he reads the section to position the book for a closeup. You're not seeing a blurred page there, you're seeing a tabletop with no book on it. He doesn't blur anything I saw.

yeah, came back after that, was like that for like 15 seconds, so I figured this is blurred. Interesting that nothing happened to him when they went after Sly for less than this

 

[Cergorach]

Their public relations must be run by AI, no human can be this incompetent.

Sufficiently advanced incompetence is indistinguishable from malice...

 

[Cergorach]

yeah, came back after that, was like that for like 15 seconds, so I figured this is blurred. Interesting that nothing happened to him when they went after Sly for less then

Maybe because a pdf for the whole PHB 2024 showed up online stamped across each spread with:
(c) Wizards of The Coast
FOR USE ONLY BY DnDShorts

 

[Mistwell]

yeah, came back after that, was like that for like 15 seconds, so I figured this is blurred. Interesting that nothing happened to him when they went after Sly for less then

So here is the SlyFlourish video that is blurred:


And the problem for my trying to measure the percentage is with the blurring, I can't really tell how many pages he had shown initially. From a brief fast forward I can say it's a lot of pages. But I don't know how many it was. Seemed like more than half the book but I can't even confirm that.

I think he made a good video full of worthwhile content though, for what that is worth.

I wonder if the distinction here is all three videos which we know WOTC had issues with them showed the full screen full pages. However guys like Alphastream had it in a small side window, where you never had a page take up 75% of the screen?

 

[mamba]

Maybe because a pdf for the whole PHB 2024 showed up online stamped across each spread with:
(c) Wizards of The Coast
FOR USE ONLY BY DnDShorts

according to Sly they contacted Teos too

 

[mamba]

I can't really tell how many pages he had shown initially. From a brief fast forward I can say it's a lot of pages. But I don't know how many it was. Seemed like more than half the book but I can't even confirm that.

did not really pay attention to how many it were, but it did not feel like all that much. Did not go into subclass detail or spells for example, so that is most of the book right there. He might have shown some of those just from leafing through, but I’d be surprised if he showed even a fifth of the book

I wonder if the distinction here is all three videos which we know WOTC had issues with them showed the full screen full pages. However guys like Alphastream had it in a small side window, where you never had a page take up 75% of the screen?

no idea, but Teos was contacted too and asked to blur according to Sly

 

[gban007]

And if you do, don't post a video of you flipping though their pages.

But when I look at reviews of some of their products, like WFRP, or One Ring, I do see videos of people flipping through their pages and showing off some - certainly they don't show every page, but I don't see how it is much different to what Slyflourish did, and apparently those companies have no issues?

 

[Retreater]

But when I look at reviews of some of their products, like WFRP, or One Ring, I do see videos of people flipping through their pages and showing off some - certainly they don't show every page, but I don't see how it is much different to what Slyflourish did, and apparently those companies have no issues?

Can't speak for every publisher, but I know of some designers (including some ENnie Award winners) who actually join the paid Patreons of YouTubers to talk to the fans and discuss game design and will participate in the discussions of their games in the YouTube flip-throughs.

It's just that we're focused on a billion dollar corporation that views their fans so negatively. Honestly, WotC doesn't deserve our attention anymore. Look at folks like Tomas Harenstam of Free League (Dragonbane), Emanuele Galletto of Need Games (Fabula Ultima), or Kelsey Dionne of Arcane Library (Shadowdark). Any of them seem to treat their communities better than WotC and are IMO more deserving of our attention (and financial support).

 

[tetrasodium]

epic video on the 2024 PHB from the alexandrian after picking one up at gencon