Licensing, OGL and Getting D&D Compatible Publishers Involved

[darjr]

I've been torn on this issue, but I guess I've finally come to a conclusion. These two points, to me, are correct:

1) Releasing 5e under the OGL is useful PR for getting some lapsed fans back in the WOTC fold;
2) The existing OGL will essentially allow all the negatives of a new OGL for 5e regardless.

Given the old OGL allows anyone to basically replicate 5e right now, with some tweaks here and there and filing off serial numbers, I see no point in not going ahead with 5e being under the OGL for PR reasons.

If the old OGL did not exist, I'd think it would be a mistake to go ahead with an OGL for 5e. But that's not the world we live in. It does exist, so there is no real point to pretending 5e can be protected from third party use.

Interesting. I wasn't under the impression that 5e the game could be cloned with the OGL but that adventures and other things could be made for it using the OGL. But that wouldn't really be enough, and I think your right.

Can anyone say there are any big showstopper parts of the existing 5e that could not be cloned using the older OGL?

 

[Cyberen]

5e is wriiten so 3e material should be compatible, but the core of 5e is really distinct from the 3.x SRD.
Could WotC maintain DDI for 5e under an OGL ? I don't think so (there would be craploads of competing software). So I don't think an OGL is on their radar.

 

[darjr]

5e is wriiten so 3e material should be compatible, but the core of 5e is really distinct from the 3.x SRD.

Good point, which parts though, do you think?

Could WotC maintain DDI for 5e under an OGL ? I don't think so (there would be craploads of competing software). So I don't think an OGL is on their radar.

I think they could. Though I agree, it would have to compete with others.

 

[Cyberen]

Next take on Proficiencies, universal bonus, backgrounds, ability score increases, action economy, basic math for monsters, exploration, interaction, lack of WpL, magic items, ... is quite far from d20 OGC.
Compatibility is ensured by rebuilding PCs and monsters, but character sheet and monsters statblocks are not directly compatible. I would say the rulesets are no more compatible than 3e and 4e are.
The real key to openness is the status of the discrete abilities : 4e SRD was an empty shell, because it didn't contain Powers. For 5e, WotC could open (or not imo) specific build elements (specific backgrounds, races/ subraces , class groups / classes / subclasses, spells... ). I think they will go with a licence permitting to extend those elements, but not copypasting nor rewriting the RAW, ie modular design.
You can't compete in selling free rules in electronic form !

 

[Mistwell]

Nobody thought you could replicate 1e D&D with the OGL, until someone did it.
Nobody thought you could replicate 4e D&D with the OGL, until someone (sort of) did it.

I feel confident someone can do it with 5e as well. It's different, but not so different it cannot be done. In fact, it's closer to 3e than 4e was, and so even easier to do under the OGL than 4e was.

And of course the concept of proficiencies exists under the OGL, in the form of weapon proficiencies, armor proficiencies, even proficiencies granted by races, classes, and even backgrounds. Ability score increases were there, all the listed actions, almost all the magic items, etc..

Plus, I believe some of those concepts were already similar to other OGL games which included those concepts in their own OGL. The body of things to draw from for an OGL game is not just prior official editions of D&D, it's anything released under the OGL by any company.

I think there is plenty to replicate 5e with. It wouldn't be perfect, but I think it would be close enough.

 

[darjr]

You can't compete in selling free rules in electronic form !

You can. I agree it wouldn't be easy. You'd have to do it in a way that was better than the competition. Or provide better service or a better add on software.

 

[Morrus]

The OGL doesn't facilitate or not facilitate cloning a game. The OGL is just how you release your clone when you're done. You can clone 4E (i.e. rewrite every part of it in your own words), but the OGL doesn't assist you in that process.

 

[Nellisir]

Can I just ask, in simple terms, a question I've asked before, but this thread seems like a good place to do it again.

Let's say that, at Wizards Towers, there is a meeting on what kind of open licensing system they're going to put in place for DDN. It's going well, and lots of the pro's and cons mentioned in this thread are brought up, nodded over, discussed, argued, etc. Then, a couple of hours in, someone walks in with a Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook, slams it down on the table, and walks out.

Does the meeting go on after that point? Or does everyone nod ruefully, sigh at what their predecessors wrought, and go get a sandwich instead?

I'd say that person is a couple of hours late, and that book should've been on the table when the meeting began.

 

[Warbringer]

Nobody thought you could replicate 1e D&D with the OGL, until someone did it.

Nobody thought you could replicate 4e D&D with the OGL, until someone (sort of) did it..

I think the existence of 13th age shows how far you can push the OGL

 

[Morrus]

I think the existence of 13th age shows how far you can push the OGL

13th Age? The game is marvellous, but the OGL was pushed much, much further than that, long before that. Mutants & Masterminds, for example, is far more of a push than 13th Age. As was Spycraft. Or our own Four Colour to Fantasy or Elements of Magic. 13th Age is pretty tame compared to what some folks have done with the OGL.