OGL: Kobold Press 'Raising Our Flag' For New Open RPG

Kobold Press has announced its plans regarding the upcoming new OGL v1.1, which involves a new, open game codenamed Project Black Flag.

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Kobold Press has been and always will be committed to open gaming and the tabletop community. Our goal is to continue creating the best materials for players and game masters alike.

This means Kobold Press will release its current Kickstarter projects as planned, including Campaign Builder: Cities & Towns (already printed and on its way to backers this winter).

In particular, Deep Magic Volume 2 will remain fully compatible with the 5E rules. We are working with our VTT partners to maintain support for digital platforms.

As we look ahead, it becomes even more important for our actions to represent our values. While we wait to see what the future holds, we are moving forward with clear-eyed work on a new Core Fantasy tabletop ruleset: available, open, and subscription-free for those who love it—Code Name: Project Black Flag.

All Kobolds look forward to the continued evolution of tabletop gaming. We aim to play our part in making the game better for everyone. Rest assured, Kobold Press intends to maintain a strong presence in the tabletop RPG community. We are not going anywhere.

Raising Our Flag - Kobold Press

Kobold Press is committed to open gaming. We are moving forward with clear-eyed work on a new Core Fantasy tabletop ruleset: available, open, and subscription-free for those who love it—Code Name: Project Black Flag.

koboldpress.com

 

[overgeeked]

Ah ha! You're the one!

It was a comment specifically about the Kobold Press fans looking to jump to Black Flag.

And I agree with you: For better or worse, a lot of players will be on board for 1D&D, sooner or later.

They'll need to find DMs. The DMs are the ones connected to the 3PP ecosystem.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

They'll need to find DMs. The DMs are the ones connected to the 3PP ecosystem.

Lord knows I am.

 

[occam]

My daughter and I designed a monster for KP's Monarch of the Monsters contest in 2015 (the gargoctopus), the terms for which clearly limited use of the material to the contest. After feedback provided via a couple of articles on KP's site, I submitted a revised version for inclusion in the Creature Codex in 2018; terms of submission included credit in the published book were it selected. I received no response to that submission.

You can imagine my surprise when, reading through my copy of the Creature Codex after it was published, I found the original MotM version of the gargoctopus in the book! I checked for credits and couldn't find any, which was disappointing. I know of at least one other MotM submission that showed up in the Creature Codex which also didn't list creator credit (the kryt, by Dave Breitmaier).

I've contacted KP and even Wolfgang directly since then, and have received no reply. I have all the time-stamped documents and emails to prove everything, but it hasn't really been worth any more time (or certainly money) to pursue further. So instead I'm just disappointed that my daughter didn't get to see her name in a published book.

All's well that ends well. I don't know how the grapevine worked, exactly, but I received a surprise email from Wolfgang this afternoon, and KP plans to update the next digital and print editions of Creature Codex with credits. To whomever passed this along, thanks! And thanks to Wolfgang and KP for owning up and fixing the omission!

 

[Ruin Explorer]

They'll need to find DMs. The DMs are the ones connected to the 3PP ecosystem.

That's what the AI they licence from ChatGPT or someone will be for, silly!

 

[Marc Radle]

All's well that ends well. I don't know how the grapevine worked, exactly, but I received a surprise email from Wolfgang this afternoon, and KP plans to update the next digital and print editions of Creature Codex with credits. To whomever passed this along, thanks! And thanks to Wolfgang and KP for owning up and fixing the omission!

Very happy this was resolved!!

 

[Marc Radle]

Deep Magic 2: Spellcaster's Emporium for 5th Edition Games​

Heed power's call! New spells and new styles of magic, plus entirely new classes, downtime activities, familiars, and much more for 5E!

Deep Magic Volume 2 is the next installment in Kobold Press’s popular series, presenting potent new options for game masters and players with a penchant for enchantment. . . . And fully compatible with the evolution of the world's first tabletop RPG!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/deepmagic/deep-magic-2-spellcasters-emporium-for-5th-edition-games

 

[Horacio]

Oooh, very interesting, in the Kickstarter FAQ they say:

How does Project Black Flag affect Deep Magic?

For those who don’t know, Kobold Press is creating a new core fantasy rule system codenamed “Project Black Flag.” Deep Magic (both volumes) will be forward-compatible with the Project Black Flag rule system.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/deepmagic/deep-magic-2-spellcasters-emporium-for-5th-edition-games/faqs

Does it mean that Project Black Flag is mostly 5e compatible?

 

[mamba]

Does it mean that Project Black Flag is mostly 5e compatible?

shouldn’t be too hard, spells are mostly fluff and WotC cannot very well copyright measuring things in feet or how many dice to roll.

I would be more interested in whether their Tome of Beasts are

 

[Horacio]

I agree it shouldn't be too difficult, but it's the first clue of what kind of product the Black Flag Project is going to be. For all we knew, it could be a new, custom made system, or an OSR-like or whatever.

 

[overgeeked]

I agree it shouldn't be too difficult, but it's the first clue of what kind of product the Black Flag Project is going to be. For all we knew, it could be a new, custom made system, or an OSR-like or whatever.

I think the name and the early version of the press release give it away.