D&D 5E I'll make my own Fifth Edition.

[Dungeonosophy]

Now, if you enjoy the "work" required to put it all together, so that it, too, is as important a part of your hobby as sessions of play, then you are golden*, and set for a great time.

If not... well, then you've bought into a false savings. It becomes like knitting your own socks, on principle of the thing.

*If you're really good at it, you can turn the thing on its head - rather than spend time creating game materials for you and one lone player, create them for sale to the public, and perhaps earn back some of the time. Use that money to buy things for your game, since the thing you create for sale may not be what you actually want to play at home. If you aren't good at it... Low-quality product at cost of time is better than (hopefully) higher quality product at cost of $$?

That's true. I agree with everything that Umbran says here. Division of labor is a good thing when making things that most human beings don't inherently enjoy making. (cars and widgets)

I'm excited about making my own Fifth Edition though.

 

[Morrus]

And I have conceived of an Open Source "version" of Middle-earth. So far, it's only a one-line sketch on my frontpage:

That's awfully generous of you. But rather than generously offering somebody else's life work up for free, why not spearhead your initiative and spend years of your own life and piles of your own money developing something and giving it away for free? Lead by example. It's easy to demand other people do it.

 

[variant]

I understand that if someone offers a new and different point of view, they will be personally scrutinized. That's understandable--we've experienced enough hypocrisy.

I don't claim to be the Walking Embodiment of Free Culture. Like anyone else, my realization and resolve unfold over time. I already owned The One Ring before I came to practice this resolve in regard to Hasbro. I'm practicing personal progress, not perfection.

And I have conceived of an Open Source "version" of Middle-earth. So far, it's only a one-line sketch on my frontpage:

"Middenyard: a pluri-system open-source fictional world inspired by Middle-earth. With Open Game Rules based on the latest iteration of D&D."

Isn't 'Free Culture' just a new name for communism?

 

[Dungeonosophy]

That's awfully generous of you. But rather than generously offering somebody else's life work up for free, why not spearhead your initiative and spend years of your own life and piles of your own money developing something and giving it away for free? Lead by example. It's easy to demand other people do it.

Tolkien worked from open-source material: the Norse myths, the Welsh and Finnish languages, and so forth. He didn't totally invent things out of the blue. He even copied some of the watercolor illustrations in The Hobbit directly from copyrighted illustrations, such as the Golden Eagle (from a book of bird drawings).

A TSR fan in the 1980s could say the same in regard to the idea of offering the Zeitgeist adventure path. "Morrus, that's awfully generous of you to offer Gygax Gygax's and Lorraine William's and Zeb Cook's life work as a game system embedded in your own Zeitgeist IP. Why not spearhead your initiative and develop your own game system from scratch instead of leaching off TSR's blood, sweat, and tears?"

I'm not demanding anyone do anything.

I am politely expressing my love for the game.

 

[Dungeonosophy]

Do you actually mean public domain? Ain't gonna happen. Or do you mean open license? Or are you actually asking for everything to be free?

It's not my role to self-censor myself based on what others might think "ain't gonna happen". One's thing for sure: it ain't gonna happen unless someone voices it.

Anyhow, you've got the 5E rules if you want to play them - its called Basic D&D. You could play D&D for the rest of your life with just that one (updating) PDF document. What more are you asking for?

A TSR fan from the 1980s could say the same thing to young Ryan Dancey. If he'd bowed to their mindset, then the Open Game movement wouldn't never come.

Also, you do realize that there is cost involved to produce games like 5E? Mearls & his Evil Corporate Cronies do need to feed their families.

I realize you didn't read my essay. I like Mike Mearls. And probably every person that works at Hasbro is a fine person.

I suggest that Hasbro free the previous D&D IP into the Public Domain to fuel the fire of sales of their 5E rulebooks, worldbooks, and novels.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

Want a free starting point? Pick up Mages & Monsters which is available as a free download right here on EN World. It's not 5E, but it has a lot of similar design choices, and many of the numbers are close enough so as to make them easily convertible. It even comes with two free adventures.

 

[Dungeonosophy]

With that limited library you are going to run out of options.

I mean, you've only got 40 years, tops. Probably 38. Maybe a little less.

Exactly. That's one of the reasons I'm resolved to skip over 5e for now.

 

[Morrus]

A TSR fan in the 1980s could say the same in regard to the idea of offering Zeitgeist adventure path. "Morrus, that's awfully generous of you to offer Gygax Gygax's and Lorraine William's and Zeb Cook's life work as a game system embedded in your own Zeitgeist IP. Why not spearhead your initiative and develop your own game system from scratch instead of leaching off TSR's blood, sweat, and tears?"

I don't think you understand what the open gaming license is, or why WotC chose to create it.

And I am creating my own game(s) which will be open. They're called N.E.W. and O.L.D.

 

[Dungeonosophy]

I got a little lost with this one. I agree, I want an open licensed game (but you're talking complete public domain, something else entirely). You won't buy a product unless its free?

I practice supporting those economic corporations who charge a true-and-fair price for their goods, and whose goods are made in such a way that is sustainable and regenerative (for example organic produce and fair-trade certified). The goal is for economic commodities and services to be transparently priced (neither overpriced, nor underpriced).

And I'm practicing supporting the nascent Free Culture movement. The goal is to make a whole sector which is composed of freely given and freely received cultural services and objects. Despite the commodified state of the art world and music scene, a Free Culture was historically a goal of a significant segment of artists and musicians. Amanda Palmer is one example of someone who is striving toward a Free Culture--the decommodification of art and cultural services.

I prefer that Hasbro go in the direction of either a transparent Associative Corporation or a Free Cultural Organization. Game design is potentially a cultural field. My essay is about going the direction of Free Culture.

And your reasoning is that you can't afford it?

That's only an example, brought from my own life (so as to make it more personable), as to why I suggest that the PDF D&D Classics be released into the public domain, and thereby fuel interest in the 5e worldbooks and novels.

Presumably this means that there is no point at which you will purchase D&D, unless I'm completely misunderstanding you? You're not a consideration as a customer, potential or otherwise?

I don't dislike Hasbro or the D&D team. And I love D&D, whether by that brand name, or under other names (Pathfinder, DCC, True20). I'm not swearing I'll never purchase a Hasbro product. I'm expressing that I have a resolve to hold off from economically investing in 5E until it's clear whether or not the game is really going to be opened, come springtime. And how Open it is. (Something can be called "open" but still be a hindrance.) I suggest that it doesn't get any more unequivocably open than Public Domain.

The thing is, if companies give you all their stuff for free, they have no money to make new stuff. If you want the new stuff from WotC, they need revenue stream. If you don't want WotC's new stuff, then the whole point is moot.

I don't want a slurry of stuff from WotC/Hasbro. I want maybe 3 big books a year, which are so good, and so well supported (by Open Game-fueld third party publishers and self-publishers) that all of those books stay in print for a decade.

I mean, phrases like "here’s why the existing monetization of the PDF downloads will be a hindrance to sales of 5E worldbooks: I don’t have the money to buy a bunch of PDFs" amount to "I think you should give me stuff for free because I can't afford to buy it". I'm sorry to hear of your financial woes,

A TSR fan from the 1980s could say the same thing about how EN World Publishing "got free stuff" to use as its game engine for its products.

but maybe you should try that tactic down at the local supermarket or somesuch? It's not a convincing argument for anything.

There isn't yet a distinction between economic commodities (goods and services) and cultural offerings (objects and services). And so it's understandable that you speak of everything as a commodity.

Why D&D in particular? Why not Batman? Or Doctor Who? [...] Or JK Rowling's next book? Or do you feel all those should be free, too? If so, what's the motivation to spend $2B making The Dark Knight?

I'd say the same to the film corporations. A healthy future would be to go in the direction of providing a living, abundant, but modest livelihood to actors and film crew, and having the films kickstarted, and accepting only freely-given gift monies to fund filmmaking. The quality of films would change.

Or your car?

A car is an economic commodity, instead of a cultural offering. It should be transparently priced.

I'm speaking of D&D because its one of my favorite cultural interests.

 

[pkt77242]

I practice supporting those economic corporations who charge a true-and-fair price for their goods, and whose goods are made in such a way that is sustainable and regenerative (for example organic produce and fair-trade certified). The goal is for economic commodities and services to be transparently priced (neither overpriced, nor underpriced).

And I'm practicing supporting the nascent Free Culture movement. The goal is to make a whole sector which is composed of freely given and freely received cultural services and objects. Despite the commodified state of the art world and music scene, a Free Culture was historically a goal of a significant segment of artists and musicians. Amanda Palmer is one example of someone who is striving toward a Free Culture--the decommodification of art and cultural services.

I prefer that Hasbro go in the direction of either a transparent Associative Corporation or a Free Cultural Organization. Game design is potentially a cultural field. My essay is about going the direction of Free Culture.



That's only an example, brought from my own life (so as to make it more personable), as to why I suggest that the PDF D&D Classics be released into the public domain, and thereby fuel interest in the 5e worldbooks and novels.



I don't dislike Hasbro or the D&D team. And I love D&D, whether by that brand name, or under other names (Pathfinder, DCC, True20). I'm not swearing I'll never purchase a Hasbro product. I'm expressing that I have a resolve to hold off from economically investing in 5E until it's clear whether or not the game is really going to be opened, come springtime. And how Open it is. (Something can be called "open" but still be a hindrance.) I suggest that it doesn't get any more unequivocably open than Public Domain.



I don't want a slurry of stuff from WotC/Hasbro. I want maybe 3 big books a year, which are so good, and so well supported (by Open Game-fueld third party publishers and self-publishers) that all of those books stay in print for a decade.



A TSR fan from the 1980s could say the same thing about how EN World Publishing "got free stuff" to use as its game engine for its products.



There isn't yet a distinction between economic commodities (goods and services) and cultural offerings (objects and services). And so it's understandable that you speak of everything as a commodity.



I'd say the same to the film corporations. A healthy future would be to go in the direction of providing a living, abundant, but modest livelihood to actors and film crew, and having the films kickstarted, and accepting only freely-given gift monies to fund filmmaking. The quality of films would change.



A car is an economic commodity, instead of a cultural offering. It should be transparently priced.

I'm speaking of D&D because its one of my favorite cultural interests.

Ignore me, I don't want to be a part of this conversation.