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

 

[tetrasodium]

Given there is so much interest in the books I figured I'd throw in some project Guttenberg links for them

Spoiler: reading order

1. Princess of Mars
2. Gods of Mars
3. Warlord of Mars
4. Maid of Mars
5. Chessmen of Mars
6. Mastermind of Mars
7. From chessmen of mars was published 1930 & needs a couple more years for public domain & so on as later books were published

 

[Riley]

I do get the logic with copyright outlasting the author's life. If copyright ceases immediately on author's death, or even shortly after, then it guts the creator's ability to have their kids and/or other heirs benefit from their work...

Having copyright cease upon a creator's death would also create other, rather perverse incentives.

 

[Vaalingrade]

Some people are so used to wearing WotC's yoke that even when they will soon be free of their yoke, they go around begging others to build a new yoke for them to wear.

People like having a standard base instead of reinventing the wheel every time they make a new game? Perish the thought.

The OGL was not a yoke. Trying to remove it is the yoke.

People have always been able to use it or not, and get a weird as they wanted with it if they did. That's part of why this is a problem right now.

 

[Vaalingrade]

Having copyright cease upon a creator's death would also create other, rather perverse incentives.

Dealing with my fellow creators on the daily, this incentive is already there.

 

[overgeeked]

Given there is so much interest in the books I figured I'd throw in some project Guttenberg links for them

Spoiler: reading order

1. Princess of Mars
2. Gods of Mars
3. Warlord of Mars
4. Maid of Mars
5. Chessmen of Mars
6. Mastermind of Mars
7. From chessmen of mars was published 1930 & needs a couple more years for public domain & so on as later books were published

If you happen to be Australian, Project Gutenberg Australia has many/most/all of them.

 

[mamba]

I do get the logic with copyright outlasting the author's life. If copyright ceases immediately on author's death, or even shortly after, then it guts the creator's ability to have their kids and/or other heirs benefit from their work, and it also guts the ability of authors to benefit from their work

you mean apart from potentially inheriting quite a bit already, no license needed for that…

 

[grimslade]

I am happy to see KP and MCDM looking to a world without needing OGL 1.1. Even if their discussions lead to keeping OGL 1.0a, the conversation and brainstorming could lead down interesting paths. I will be watching with great interest and signed up for notification about Black Flag. Also, thank you for posting the H.L. Mencken quote, Robert F., because I had a paraphrase stuck in my head and you helped correct it.

 

[JEB]

Just bought $264 of Kobold Press stuff to go with the two Midgard books I have (Southlands and City of Cats, both purchased at a local game store for 50% off at a Black Friday sale)

I don't know if Kobold Press are the "good guys" but I do know who the bad guys are.

Just made a trip with my brother to my FLGS to specifically buy OGL stuff, and they happened to have some Kobold Press stuff we didn't yet have. So buying that was an easy decision...

What I didn't buy? The Dragonlance book, which I had planned to do on my next trip. Or any official D&D minis, which I buy on almost every trip...

 

[GreyOne]

 

[Composer99]

Given we have strong and unambiguous statements of the OGL's intent from its authors, Doctorow's take on the history of the OGL is frankly a garbage take, say what you will of what's going on now.

Dancey even said one of the goals was to make sure D&D would survive whatever its owners did (or whatever became of them).

(Based on remarks from plenty of lawyers on these boards, his certainty regarding the legalities of the situation is also unwarranted.)