So, what will be in the SRD?

[Chris_Nightwing]

Pondering the OGL announcement further, particularly:

The 4th edition SRD will be much more of a reference document than the 3e SRD. The current edition contains almost all of the rules and allows “copy and paste” publishing. WotC would prefer to see 3rd party publishers to use their creativity and talent instead of reformatting or slightly changing pre-existing rules. As such, the 4e SRD will contain more guidelines and pointers, and less straightforward rules repetition.

..and glancing at the current Hypertext d20 SRD, here's my guess as to what gets in:

Basics (Core mechanic, abilities)
Generic Class (Assuming most progress identically like SWSE)
Generic use of powers/talent trees/whatever is in
Skills (Complete list, how to use, base DCs)
Feats (Limited selection of generic feats, certainly no fluffy ones)
Magic Items (Generic rules, pricing, no complete list)
Equipment (Weapons, armour and basics)
Combat (Complete rules including situations like grapple etc.)
Conditions (However they work in 4e)
Magic (Basic and generic rules, might be included with powers)
Monsters (Monster roles and mechanical effects)
Carrying, movement, lighting rules, weather rules
Generic trap rules
Reward rules (XP, treasure mechanics)

I envisage a completely stripped down ruleset. No classes, races or monsters you can actually play with, just a set of mechanics that publishers can use to work off of, referencing the three core books if they use that material. Perhaps an example race, class, power, feat, magic item to demonstrate. You can see why this makes more sense too - publishers don't feel tied down to the SRD class/race/monster content of 3.x, but can use it if they reference. WotC don't lose sales because it's all online.

EDIT: I thought a bit more and monsters might be in, as constant referencing in a 3rd party adventure requiring to you flip through the MM would get tedious.

 

[GMSkarka]

From the call, my impression was that the SRD was going to function more like an index, directing back to the core rulebooks (which is why advance copies of the core rulebooks are included in the Designers Kit).

 

[EricNoah]

Maybe this is what will make it possible for WotC to keep up with adding their own open material to the game -- by simply adding to this "master index" of what is open.

 

[Oldtimer]

Scott Rouse just posted on the Gleemax forums in response to a similar question.

 

[TerraDave]

And this is what Le Rouse said:

To elaborate on what Andy said:

The 4e SRD will be a "reference document" for publishers working under the 4e OGL to know what content can be used in their own products. It will reference sections and passages from 4e D&D books and will also contain table/formating guidelines like the monster stat block to allow for consistency among products.

It will not be a stripped down core rulebook (PHB) that largely allows you to play D&D.

I hope this answers the question

Its disapointing in some ways even as it makes perfect sense.

 

[Khairn]

I agree it makes complete sense. I also agree that there will be a lot of angry gamers who were counting on using the SRD to play 4E.

 

[Transit]

The 3.0/3.5 SRD was never meant to be a "free set of the rules" for players who didn't want to buy the books, but a lot of players used it that way. Obviously in 4E, they're going to fix that problem.

 

[I'm A Banana]

Which, really, makes it even LESS useful for publishers who are interested in dramatic diversions from the PHB to bother with.

Which might mean that we do get a lot of oblique references for those that want to abandon the PHB -- different settings, genres, etc. won't need to reference the SRD, because the SRD doesn't contain anything of use itself. Instead, they'll go the AE/IH route of "wink-wink-nudge-nudge" near-compatibility. Because if I can't take, say, a Pegasus from the SRD and reprint it in my book without paying WotC, my incentive to use a Pegasus is greatly diminished. Now I'll call it a "winged horse," make up similar stats (maybe divergent in one or two ways), and say "enjoy!"

This really, REALLY encourages 3rd party publishers to start putting their stuff up for free in as many places as possible, because we won't have the common ground of the SRD to pull from. The ToH4e monsters really have potential to be the first monsters that we see in 3rd party adventures and the like.

Really, what this does is turn 3rd party publishers into D&D-supplement publishers. That is what a lot of them were to begin with, but companies like Mongoose moved quite far afield of that, and I think WotC limiting the market in this is just going to lead to a lot of the nudge-wink kind of compatibility reference when something falls outside of their tight limits.

I think 4e will see a lot of game systems that are closely similar to D&D but that call things by subtly different names, or change minor mechanics elements...a lot of house rules for systems that are called COMPLETELY different things.

And I wonder if the 4e OGL, like the d20STL that it resembles, will survive to the next edition.

 

[SteveC]

The 3.0/3.5 SRD was never meant to be a "free set of the rules" for players who didn't want to buy the books, but a lot of players used it that way. Obviously in 4E, they're going to fix that problem.

Of course one wonders if they would have sold any more PHBs if the previous edition didn't have this "free set of rules." Many gamers in my group got back into D&D precisely because of the free SRD. And they bought a lot of other products.

--Steve

 

[withak]

I won't begrudge WotC for this decision, but it makes me a sad panda. It will be harder to convince my group to move to 4e rather than to 3.5e.