Ray Winninger comments on the OGL

[UngainlyTitan]

Yes and no.

I can keep running 5e in person with the material I already have in person forever, no changes.

But if WotC doesn’t change course, I highly doubt I’ll be able to run any edition of D&D on Roll20 or Fantasy Grounds once their current contracts with WotC expire.

Why? Do you mean you cannot run it at all or you cannot run it with current supplied vendor automation?

 

[Minigiant]

Exactly what I was going to say. Seen this too many times to count. Whichever of the new Microsoft MBAs came in and likely made this their "look at what good I can do for the company" initiative and now that it's all exploding they can't possibly let it fail. Alot of inertia to overcome internally then.

It's classic. People come in with a bad idea to stamp their name on it. Internally it's disliked. New folk ignore internal disgruntlement. Some of the old folk leave because of it. New ideas blows up in the new peoples faces. Attempt to salvage. New ideas is altered or ignored to not admit error or company takes huge hit.

 

[UngainlyTitan]

It's possible and a threat that they're positing. Technically, VTTs who don't sign 1.1 can't host rules sets, modules, etc., for any OGL content. That means if you're playing any edition of D&D, Pathfinder, etc., the VTT would be in violation and would be sent a C&D or sued. VTTs will have to pull that content - which is the lion's share of players (from what we've seen posted on Fantasy Grounds' and Roll20's reports. So losing something like 75% of their players (and paid customers) isn't going to bode well for these companies, right?
So, yes, they are planning on indirectly shutting down VTTs. Everything is going to the OneD&D VTT. And do you think they will allow other games to be played on that platform?
They are trying to monopolize and crush the entirety of the industry.

That is pretty much unpoliceable, and would probably fall afoul of EU privacy laws

 

[darjr]

Well that clears up the previous discussion over whether Ray was involved with this and pretty much also clears up any "why he suddenly left" discussion too.

That's interesting because it means this plan cannot be more than a few months old.

Literally every single piece of evidence we have supports it being only a few months old (perhaps as little as three), but it's interesting to see it effectively confirmed here.

The Kobold Press Twitter account for thier new rpg is from 2021.

 

[Alzrius]

So, has anybody asked Scott Rouse and Linae Foster what they think of this whole OGL fiasco?

 

[darjr]

So, has anybody asked Scott Rouse and Linae Foster what they think of this whole OGL fiasco?

This. I’ve been wondering.

 

[Nikosandros]

The Kobold Press Twitter account for thier new rpg is from 2021.

Couldn't it be a re-purposed account? Unless the Kobolds are skilled clairvoyants...

 

[payn]

It's classic. People come in with a bad idea to stamp their name on it. Internally it's disliked. New folk ignore internal disgruntlement. Some of the old folk leave because of it. New ideas blows up in the new peoples faces. Attempt to salvage. New ideas is altered or ignored to not admit error or company takes huge hit.

Person who implemented bad idea is praised and awarded for navigating the bad press and will of the customer and avoiding the crisis. Never minding that they created it in the first place.

 

[Ibrandul]

Why? Do you mean you cannot run it at all or you cannot run it with current supplied vendor automation?

At minimum the latter, but the former is also a distinct possibility. Here's how it would happen:

In a world where (for example) Roll20 loses its "custom arrangement" with WotC, the WotC content (5e PHB, etc.) most likely just disappears.

In that world, if OGL 1.0(a) stands, Roll20 can still offer the OGC from the SRDs as preprogrammed automation—and Roll20 can offer 3rd-party content that fills in the gaps. For many players and DMs it would be a hassle, but I think that a lot of groups would continue playing on Roll20 with this reduced functionality rather than switch to WotC's VTT.

In a world where OGL 1.0(a) falls, Roll20 marketplace probably can't offer anything that natively is automated specifically for 5e. ("But WotC doesn't own the mechanics" is a common counterargument that in my view seems very unlikely to prevail.) Roll20 would remain a robust VTT from a technical point of view, and you could code up whatever macros you want or use those coded by others, etc. But precious few of the groups currently playing 5e on Roll20 will be willing to do that.

Roll20 probably survives in those circumstances, primarily used as a platform for non-D&D games, with severely reduced profitability and a correspondingly reduced capacity to continue improving the platform by adding new features, etc. But with its revenue likely reduced by more than half, there's a nonzero chance it folds entirely.

 

[Desdichado]

Man you are so bitter.

I think people have a right to be. I'm not, but I get it, and I kind of would be amused of a whole ecosystem of "point and laugh" channels pop up to highlight every failure WotC has, just like has happened for nerd pop culture from Hollywood and the comics companies, etc.