D&D 5E So, 5e OGL

[Kramodlog]

Definitely more work for WotC.

That's the argument, at least from my point of view, of applying an OGL-like license to the Basic Rules rather than the PHB. If you create an SRD (a la 3e), you've now got 3 very similar documents to update and maintain - the Basic Rules, the PHB rules, and the SRD. They couldn't maintain the 3e SRD; I don't think they'll maintain a 5e SRD AND the Basic Rules AND the full rules.

It also explains why there isn't any SRD for 5e presently. With a such a small team working on D&D, diverting resources toward a product that will rake in literally zero dollars is not worth it. At least, if you do not consider that 3PP support helps your edition. The SRD is on the back burner or a side projet when someone (Trevor Kidd?) as the time to put some work in it. Thus the "we do not know th release date" line. Officially, jury duty delayed the release of the 6 page PDF that contained the Warforged. Imagine something with a lot more pages and hyperlinks.

Of course, things could have change at WotC/hasbro since Mearls' tweet and the OGL is not a seen as a good thing anymore.

 

[Nylanfs]

Monthly OGL check.

 

[delericho]

Monthly OGL check.

Monthly "no news" update.

 

[Wicht]

monthly sigh of disappointment.

 

[Mark CMG]

*Periodic rant about OGL neededness*


(*followed by sigh*)

 

[SkidAce]

disappointment because seeing the thread and not realizing it was a necro made me think it was the big reveal...

 

[CapnZapp]

This thread starts with "new thread to avoid necromancy".

There's irony in there somewhere...

 

[Mark CMG]

They couldn't maintain the 3e SRD; I don't think they'll maintain a 5e SRD AND the Basic Rules AND the full rules.

They did have a few updates to the SRD beyond the core rules (and very little OGC released via the OGL in their books) but they did revise the full core SRD for 3.5 and released it concurrent with the 3.5 core books. They added Epic stuff and Psionics, for instance, to the 3.5E SRD.

http://www.rpgnow.com/product/17705/Aid-SRD-35-Revised-Full-Bundle?it=1

However, those additions are a drop in the bucket compared to how many books they produced in that era. Still, I'm not so sure that every supplement and stat block from an adventure warrants inclusion in the SRD. I think the supplements and adventures make such low profit margins that it might be cost prohibitive to assign SRD strip-miners to them. That's where they should be using the OGL themselves and declaring OGC right in the release.

 

[Sacrosanct]

Well, last fall they did say we'd hear something about an OGL in the spring of 2015 (not that there would be an OGL, just that we'd hear something about it). So I suppose they got a few months left.

 

[delericho]

They did have a few updates to the SRD beyond the core rules (and very little OGC released via the OGL in their books) but they did revise the full core SRD for 3.5 and released it concurrent with the 3.5 core books. They added Epic stuff and Psionics, for instance, to the 3.5E SRD.

http://www.rpgnow.com/product/17705/Aid-SRD-35-Revised-Full-Bundle?it=1

However, those additions are a drop in the bucket compared to how many books they produced in that era. Still, I'm not so sure that every supplement and stat block from an adventure warrants inclusion in the SRD.

Indeed. I don't think it's accurate to say they couldn't keep it updated. Rather, they chose not to add all that extra material to it. Which is a valid choice to make, after all.