Lone Wolf Prepping to bring D&D 5th Edition to HEROLAB!

Lone Wolf Development, the makers of the popular Hero Lab character generation software which already covers a wide range of games, has just announced that it is already preparing its software for D&D 5th Edition. While no license exists, their statement (below) indicates that they are fully expecting one and that they are confident enough that they have already started work.

[lq]Proceeding under the assumption that a license will allow us to support D&D 5th Edition, we’ve been making significant preparations within our products.[/lq]

Since the release of Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition this past summer, users have been asking if we will be supporting this new edition in our products. To clear up any speculation, we wanted to clarify our official position.

Supporting D&D 5th Edition will require a license of some sort from Wizards of the Coast. While we haven’t signed a license at this time, indications are that Wizards of the Coast will soon release an “open” (OGL or SRD) license for D&D 5th Edition, just like they did a decade ago for D&D 3rd edition. An open license like this would allow other publishers to use selected content from the new edition in their products. If that occurs, we will fully support D&D 5th Edition within both Hero Lab and Realm Works, to the extent that any license allows.

How likely is it that Wizards of the Coast will release an OGL or SRD license for D&D 5th Edition? No formal announcement has been made. However, multiple public statements from members of the D&D design team have indicated plans for portions of D&D 5th Edition to be made available under the OGL in some form.

Proceeding under the assumption that a license will allow us to support D&D 5th Edition, we’ve been making significant preparations within our products. If an OGL license is announced, we’ll be as ready as possible to get the OGL content to our users. Obviously, it will take some time after any formal announcement to finish up our work and make sure everything we have is in compliance with any license, but we’ll be working as quickly as possible to get everything into our users’ hands.

When we have more information about 5th Edition support, we’ll let you know!
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[Henrix]

I'll postpone celebration 'till the OGL, and what is in it, is disclosed.



If there are large chunks that are not allowed in Hero labs I cannot see much use for it. (Nor can I blame wizards if they do not want to put it all out for free.)

 

[Dausuul]

Previously only Morningstar had enough development done to support D&D 5e when WotC releases their new OGL. Now, with Lone Wolf throwing their hat in the ring, it gives 5e players another option to go to for electronic needs. It's one more reason for 5e players to hold onto their money right now, i.e. not donate to Trapdoor's Kickstarter, and instead wait for both to come to market, then pick the one that best suits their needs.

Of course, if no one donates to Trapdoor's Kickstarter, Morningstar might never come to market. Have they said anything about what their plans are in the event that 5E does go OGL?

Yeah I hope WotC takes note and throws their support behind them. I would even be okay with Lonewolf developing a stand alone application based off of Herolab but just for 5e, that way WotC could move the sale and licensing of the program to their website, I imagine that would be a more appealing set up from WotC's perspective.

My guess would be that WotC isn't going to throw their support behind anybody. They'll put out the OGL and let the world have at it. Let the best software package win.

Or maybe that's just wishful thinking on my part. If there's one thing WotC has demonstrated over the years, it's that they have no freakin' clue how to do digital right. Their in-house efforts have sucked and their outsourcing efforts have been fiascos. They should stop trying. Instead, provide an open license, get out of the way, and let the community build and refine electronic tools for D&D.

 

[Hollow Man]

Of course, if no one donates to Trapdoor's Kickstarter, Morningstar might never come to market. Have they said anything about what their plans are in the event that 5E does go OGL?

They've said they'll support it.

-HM

 

[Dausuul]

They've said they'll support it.

-HM

Well, yes, but is that conditional on their Kickstarter funding? Because barring a Christmas miracle, the Kickstarter will be lucky to hit a third of the funding target.

 

[Hollow Man]

Well, yes, but is that conditional on their Kickstarter funding? Because barring a Christmas miracle, the Kickstarter will be lucky to hit a third of the funding target.

Yes, correct. They've said if the Kickstarter fails that they'll simply go back to doing, er, whatever else it is they do do (i.e. that Story Machine thing).

-HM

 

[trancejeremy]

Is this any different than the Trap Door people saying they would support 5e in the event of a 5E srd release? I mean, it's great they plan to, but unless Hasbro actually releases it, it doesn't really matter.

I mean really, given how big D&D is, I imagine every multi-rpg software program will support 5e if the srd is released.

 

[Henrix]

Of course, if no one donates to Trapdoor's Kickstarter, Morningstar might never come to market.

Their chances seem very slim, to say the least, if nothing spectacular happens. Sidekick has a very good rate of predicting the success of kickstarters, and they judge it has no chance of succeeding.

 

[Dausuul]

Yes, correct. They've said if the Kickstarter fails that they'll simply go back to doing, er, whatever else it is they do do (i.e. that Story Machine thing).

Yeah, that's what I'd seen too.

But it does seem kind of a waste. If they're as far along as they claim, then they have a product basically ready to go for 5E. The Kickstarter was to fund conversion to Pathfinder. At this point it's pretty clear that Pathfinder fans--who already have quite good tools--aren't about to throw half a million at an unproven newcomer, so that's off the table, but surely they could just finish up what they've got and release it for the system it was designed for, and it wouldn't cost nearly so much money.

 

[iwarrior-poet]

This is nice, but I agree that Herolab's pricing can get expensive fast. Also--while OGL level stuff is always nice---I am a big time Forgotten Realms fan and WoTC rarely lets those type of datasets get produced by 3rd party digital game aides.

Would still prefer an officially licensed product.

Also---though Herolab is a pretty good Chargen, its interface can be clunky at times. Creating a magical item for your PC can be confusing and has a steep learning curve.

Has anyone tried their 'Realm Works' campaign manager? Never tried it, but it's entry price point ($50), is a bit steep---assuming it doesn't come preloaded with any campaign datasets.

We've waited too long for a great digital game aide---WoTC is just... ugh...

 

[Pauper]

Keep in mind as well that Lone Wolf has a history of actually licensing game content for the games they support -- so though an initial 5E HeroLab module might just support Open Content, I'd expect that eventually there will be more comprehensive content available.