Read the actual OGL document and take the survey when it comes out

[Haplo781]

Unfortunately, I think the time for rational discussion and feedback has passed. There are too many people now who want their pound of flesh from WotC. Some of them will be content with total surrender, and some won't be happy until WotC is Hasbro's liability, not its cash cow. The best option for WotC might be to accept they are now reviled like Activision or EA is, release less-odious OGL, and muscle through with brand recognition and nostalgia.

Its miserable at the top, but you eat well, I guess.

Oh, I'll accept a few scenarios. But they all involve WotC backing the heck off from the idea of deauthorizing the 1.0a, and firing the person(s) responsible for the idea.

 

[roger semerad]

It'll be ... revealing when we see what questions the survey asks. The playtesting surveys I find are of limited usefulness because they grade everything on a simplistic 'good' to 'bad' scale without letting you explain whether 'bad' means a playtest element is overpowered, underpowered, badly worded, or unthematic. It's an incredibly blunt instrument. And the questions they don't ask are just as revealing. The whole massive recent retcon to goblinoids giving them fey ancestry with sleep immunity and floating proficiencies was never put up for survey, for example.

I suspect that elements of the new OGL are just non-negotiable, by decree of our WotC overlords. If the draft OGL comes out and there's dubious elements that don't have any related questions in the survey, it may be because they're trying to slip one past us.

One thing I will say - fill out the survey, but ALSO be vocal on here, on social media, wherever. The survey is a walled garden, and WotC can ignore, curate, or lie about the results however they like. We need to have opinions being heard out in the wild, outside WotCs control.

Yeah, that's the important part to emphasize. Go ahead and fill out the survey if you want, but don't let that be the only engagement you have on the matter. It's very questionable whether Wizards actually care about the survey, so let them hear your dissatisfaction in as many different places as possible.

 

[Blue]

Unfortunately, I think the time for rational discussion and feedback has passed. There are too many people now who want their pound of flesh from WotC. Some of them will be content with total surrender, and some won't be happy until WotC is Hasbro's liability, not its cash cow. The best option for WotC might be to accept they are now reviled like Activision or EA is, release less-odious OGL, and muscle through with brand recognition and nostalgia.

Its miserable at the top, but you eat well, I guess.

Just to be clear, "total surrender" is "move back to where everyone in the world including Wotc though was how it goes have been for the past 20 years".

Everything authorized, OGL irrevocable. It may take a 1.0b to do that, but no other changes.

And then, if they want to come out with a new version of OGL, go for it. Every 3PP and OGL game is protected,a nd they have plenty of clout to bring people to their new OGL promising carrots like having it on their VTT and DnDBeyond.

Putting it as "total surrender" really is using emotional language to bias towards one side of this. Gamers aren't looking for a whit more than what has been the status quo for decades.

 

[Blue]

It'll be ... revealing when we see what questions the survey asks. The playtesting surveys I find are of limited usefulness because they grade everything on a simplistic 'good' to 'bad' scale without letting you explain whether 'bad' means a playtest element is overpowered, underpowered, badly worded, or unthematic. It's an incredibly blunt instrument. And the questions they don't ask are just as revealing. The whole massive recent retcon to goblinoids giving them fey ancestry with sleep immunity and floating proficiencies was never put up for survey, for example.

I suspect that elements of the new OGL are just non-negotiable, by decree of our WotC overlords. If the draft OGL comes out and there's dubious elements that don't have any related questions in the survey, it may be because they're trying to slip one past us.

One thing I will say - fill out the survey, but ALSO be vocal on here, on social media, wherever. The survey is a walled garden, and WotC can ignore, curate, or lie about the results however they like. We need to have opinions being heard out in the wild, outside WotCs control.

I am in complete agreement with you. If the questions of the survey don't address the real issues like OGL 1.0 & 1.0a staying in full force, no ability to change an existing version, and irrevocability, then we know this is more for show. And at that point the more they can say "80% of gamers approve of the new OGL" because they are only looking at numerical scores that they asked about that takes the wind out of any change. There are already a lot of gamers who only play D&D, no other OGL games, and don't use 3PP books, who are complaining this whole thing is making a mountain out of a molehill -- if they sway enough to not caring deeply they can move forward.

 

[Morrus]

I don't think you understand.

Everyone figures they can build a clone of 5e in about 6 months
e.g. literally an exact clone, just without the proprietary IP:
example:

<Cool Name Goes Here>: Community Input, Pro Designed

If you're a 5E player or designer, check out our project to create a new fantasy RPG system. We're working with some of the best designers in the business to help make this happen and looking to the community and small publishers to come to the table and share their ideas. No company will own...

www.enworld.org

The creator world has moved on, one D&D is dead, long live the hundred D&D.

Took us a couple of years, but we did it. It's doable.

Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition (A5E)

The standalone 'advanced 5E' backwards compatible tabletop RPG!

www.levelup5e.com

 

[Greggy C]

Took us a couple of years, but we did it. It's doable.

Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition (A5E)

The standalone 'advanced 5E' backwards compatible tabletop RPG!

www.levelup5e.com

I haven't read yours, I thought you had to buy 5e and levelup expanded on top of it, like adding spells, skills, classes.
Was it a rewrite that didn't use the OGL ?

 

[Morrus]

I haven't read yours, I thought you had to buy 5e and levelup expanded on top of it, like adding spells, skills, classes.
Was it a rewrite that didn't use the OGL ?

No, it's standalone. Yes, we used the OGL. We are now investigating the legality of de-OGL-ifying it.

 

[tetrasodium]

MCDM has posted two updates on their new ttrpg (day1, day2), ORC & Kobold Press are reportedly doing a humble bumble to aid with the legal costs involved on the 21st, Kobold press will start putting out project black flag was announced from a twitter account created december 2021 & is expecting to startplaytest stuff next month. Wotc has done "considerably more than nil" damage to their reputation... An OGL survey soon is going to have almost zero credibility worth swaying any of that with reports starting to reveal that wotc only uses the surveys to channel discussion away from public areas like reddit & into a black hole the designers can't even look at

 

[Greggy C]

No, it's standalone. Yes, we used the OGL. We are now investigating the legality of de-OGL-ifying it.

Oh neat, ima grab a hardback off of ebay.

 

[GreyLord]

No, it's standalone. Yes, we used the OGL. We are now investigating the legality of de-OGL-ifying it.

I would imagine that means you will be changing paragraphs 3 and 4 on your compatibility license in the future should you be successful.

Paragraphs 15 - 17 are interesting in light of some of the current comments regarding WotC.

Will this go under ORC if successful?

In any case, I wish you good luck and hope for your success.