Is WotC playing 4d Chess with the 5.1 SRD CC?

[Umbran]

It was released as part of the Divine Sense paladin ability, in its description.

Huh. Learn something new every day.

 

[ValamirCleaver]

New Coke debacle

Here's a very interesting read in reference to that : New Coke didn't fail. It was murdered.

 

[Malmuria]

For pity's sake - it isn't like we gave them any TIME to think it through, now did we? We put them under time pressure, and then we complain that they didn't take time to think things through?

I guess there's no pleasing some people.

The whole situation was entirely of their own making. If it's the case that they accidentally put Strahd under CC because they were in a rush to make this change (even though no one expected to put the SRD under CC), that's a pretty huge blunder, and it speaks to some incompetence and lack of communication. I also find the idea that they were unjustly put under time pressure to be ironic, since they were initially going to give 3rd pp one week to accept the new OGL.

 

[Parmandur]

Here's a very interesting read in reference to that : New Coke didn't fail. It was murdered.

Wow, the parallels to D&D shenanigans seem pretty strong.

 

[Dausuul]

While there are undoubtedly multiple factions, I'm not sure any of them are doing particularly great. Even this move to the CC license seems ill thought through - I find it hard to believe they would have released Strahd into the wild if they'd thought it through properly.

What that suggests to me is that the pro-OGL faction cared more about locking in its gains than about protecting a handful of names.

That would be consistent with the idea that the pro-OGL faction is driven by people lower in the hierarchy. They do not normally have the opportunity to shape this kind of policy. When they got that opportunity, they seized it before it could slip away.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

IANAL, though I see two possible strategies that might be at work here:

First, they split the party. Most of the power in the recent revolt came from the number of 5e players that joined in. Releasing the 5.1 SRD in CC, may defuse this contingent, leaving only Pathfinder, OSR, indie RPGs, etc. and their fans.

Second, if 5e content creators move to the 5.1 SRD, the tapestry of open game content that hand from the OGL 1.0a starts to unravel. ORC and other licenses, as well-meaning as they are, maybe playing into this, helping to accelerate the unraveling. Look at an OGL statement in the back of your favorite TTRPG or product and see the long list of copyright holders and IP the work relies on, this is the tapestry of open game content that content creators and designers have been weaving for the last 20+ years, and is a huge part of what makes the OGL 1.0a so dear.

There may be more that our lawyer friends or those more experienced with the OGL may be able to point out.

The answer to all 4D chess questions not involving Spock is the same:

No.

There has literally never been a case where someone said "X is playing 4D chess" where they turned out to be right, and literally thousands, maybe millions of cases where they were wrong.

You're confusing "4D chess" with extremely basic and slightly desperate attempts to minimize damage.

 

[Vaalingrade]

4D Chess is when you screw up royal while having a fandom.

 

[darjr]

Wow, the parallels to D&D shenanigans seem pretty strong.

Eh. As some have noted elsewhere new Coke was also decidedly not liked by a ton of people. Me and my mom especially.

 

[billd91]

Here's a very interesting read in reference to that : New Coke didn't fail. It was murdered.

I can't say I'm convinced. Normally, I kind of like Mother Jones, but their thesis that it was murdered is kind of built on an anecdote that I think they're blowing out of proportion.

There was definitely an issue with brand strength and identification with that brand, which meant that Coke's marketing for New Coke ended up in competition with their old marketing successes. They somehow had to push this new formulation while still tying it to Coke's timelessness, nostalgia, and the mystique of its 'secret formula'. They'd even sold Coke syrup as a home remedy for nausea for decades before trying to switch to New Coke. So, yeah, they faced a backlash that may have started as a smaller, hard core, but it was the more persuasive sentiment in the end.

Lesson to take away: be careful with any identification with the brand you try to generate with your marketing - it may prove stronger than your ability to change it.

 

[Parmandur]

Eh. As some have noted elsewhere new Coke was also decidedly not liked by a ton of people. Me and my mom especially.

Never tasted the stuff, I spent the entire controversy in my mother's womb. But the parallels as described to the events around 4E and it's rollout sure are familiar (speaking as som5who did not care for 4E).