D&D 5E Gamehole Con Live Tweeting Perkins Panel

[Celtavian]

Wow this topic really jumped the rails. I think I am partially to blame for it, so apologies if I got a bit out of hand.

As for Chris Perkins and OGL, I think Chris is an awesome module designer and hopefully the OGL does get approved. If it does get approved, does that also mean designers can use WoTC worlds too in their designs?

Scott

I believe worlds are protected content. Along with a few other parts that WotC wants exclusive access to. They base the majority of their novels in Forgotten Realms. So I doubt they would let anyone touch that. Too much quality content that has yet to be fully mined. I still don't understand why they haven't done a Drizz't movie. I think that would sell if done well.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

Wow this topic really jumped the rails. I think I am partially to blame for it, so apologies if I got a bit out of hand.

not your fault... it's just that any discussion of the OGL where anyone (often me) says "hey there where pro and cons and I don't want it back" turns into this... I should know better then to express my unpopular opionon...

As for Chris Perkins and OGL, I think Chris is an awesome module designer and hopefully the OGL does get approved. If it does get approved, does that also mean designers can use WoTC worlds too in their designs?

that would be my hope for a more limited licence...

WotC licensed out ravenloft to White wolf back during 3e, and I would love to see any setting they don't plan on using being sent to popular and well established creative teams

 

[GMforPowergamers]

I still don't understand why they haven't done a Drizz't movie. I think that would sell if done well.

there was an april fools joke one year about Will Smith sighning to play Drizz't... it is still a dream I have. SInce he likes to give his son work, maybe they could cast both for flashbacks

 

[Dausuul]

As for Chris Perkins and OGL, I think Chris is an awesome module designer and hopefully the OGL does get approved. If it does get approved, does that also mean designers can use WoTC worlds too in their designs?

Highly unlikely. The original OGL did not extend to D&D worlds; they even went so far as to strip the names of specific wizards off spells, so the spell that's listed in the 3E Player's Handbook as Mordenkainen's magnificent mansion must be referred to as mage's magnificent mansion in non-Wizards products.

Now, that's not to say you couldn't write an adventure set in the Forgotten Realms. With careful lawyering, I believe you could even put "For use with the Forgotten Realms campaign setting" on the cover. But you couldn't include any reference to specific characters, places, or events from the Realms; at which point, why bother?

 

[I'm A Banana]

I imagine keeping the worlds as WotC IP is part of how they're going to leverage the "story first!" philosophy here. Anyone can make The Complete Book of Elf Twink Options, but only WotC can do a new Dragonlance module. Keep it specific, and rely on the 3rd party to supply options that you're ignoring.

 

[Umbran]

As for Chris Perkins and OGL, I think Chris is an awesome module designer and hopefully the OGL does get approved. If it does get approved, does that also mean designers can use WoTC worlds too in their designs?

That depends. When you release under the OGL, you have to be clear which material, specifically, is covered - so far, this has usually been by a System Reference Document. Only that which is *specifically* released under the license is covered. Putting the core rules under OGL does not put the entirety of all WotC game worlds under the OGL by extension, or anything like that.

For 3.xE, they released mechanics under the OGL, but not settings. I would expect them to continue in that line. You'll be able to put out something mechanically consistent with the Forgotten Realms, but not be able to mention Waterdeep, specifically.

 

[Mistwell]

5e under OGL would certainly make me happy both as a customer and to potentially dust off the writing skills (I haven't been this excited about RPG writing since back in 3.5).

But also an "Alice in Wonderland like story"?? I will try not to get my hopes up, but with "normal" D&D locations already being wondrous, what would be a Wonderland in comparison to, say, the Forgotten Realms? Even if it isn't "Alice in GreatWheelLand", I'm a big fan of really exotic magical locations, and am quite excited about that storyline from even that slight hint.

I agree the Alice in Wonderland news was very interesting to me, along with the news that they want some lighter elements to D&D again. AD&D 1e had some fanciful elements to it that were great (including Dungeonland and Land Beyond the Looking Glass). I am tired of D&D always being "Very Serious Business", and welcome some more official support for lighter fair along with the serious stuff.

 

[Umbran]

But also an "Alice in Wonderland like story"?? I will try not to get my hopes up, but with "normal" D&D locations already being wondrous, what would be a Wonderland in comparison to, say, the Forgotten Realms?

The Forgotten Realms has lots of magic in it, sure. But it is not... surreal, or trippy. It doesn't suggest that you need to be on some recreational pharmaceutical to really get the point.

 

[Jester David]

I believe worlds are protected content. Along with a few other parts that WotC wants exclusive access to. They base the majority of their novels in Forgotten Realms. So I doubt they would let anyone touch that. Too much quality content that has yet to be fully mined. I still don't understand why they haven't done a Drizz't movie. I think that would sell if done well.

But, of course, they also need to take into consideration fan sites. WotC is unlikely to release content for, say, Hollow World or Birthright, and fans of those settings will of course write conversions or update rules.
This wasn't taken into consideration with 4e, which released a fan site kit that was pretty much just images. And while it was handled during 3e with the designation of "official fan sites" - which allowed the Dark Sun community to do a full conversion book - it was not handled by the OGL and only really existed for a short time.

 

[Mistwell]

I'm sorry, man. But if a game ruined your friendships with people (multiple people? really?), that's on you and your friends, not the game. A game does not have that power. It's just a game.

This community was fractured by the Edition Wars. A full half of the community relocated to paizo.com in a fairly short period. I don't blame Pathfinder; I blame myself for letting it happen. It has been a long 5 years rebuilding.

If it's not going to drag this topic off too much, what is it you think you should have done differently at the time?