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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ruin Explorer" data-source="post: 8886439" data-attributes="member: 18">I can't speak to individual bits of 3PP, but the tone of the comments and design of the OGL 1.1 to strongly suggests that they are actively frustrated that they might be seen as "copycats" or even sued if they published certain content. That they feel like 3PPs maybe "got in there first".Which is dumbest bloody self-regarding idiot sentiment possible, on their part, to be clear.Because they're the ones who decided to slow-walk 5E.They're the ones who decided to go with a minimal rather than maximal publishing schedule.Like, if I throw a brick through my window, I don't get to complain that it's cold!But that seems like what's going on here. They're mad because a lot of the "blanks" 5E left due to the slow-walk publishing schedule have now been filled in by 3PPs. Realistically 3PPs will reach like, 10% of the audience a WotC version of the same would reach. But WotC is mad nonetheless. They also might feel their marketing strategies are being "messed with" by 3PPs putting stuff out - largely accidentally, but still.And I think another thing they're mad about is how high-quality 3PPs often are now. That wasn't true in 3E so much. Even Paizo were not really at WotC levels of quality, in terms of editing, writing, art, layout, tone control and so on. Whereas now? 3PPs often surpass 5E in those regards. Not most of them, but certainly some of them.Griffon's Saddle for example I think they're steaming mad with because an item/magic item splatbook is absolutely low-hanging fruit for WotC. But because they were slow-walking, they chose not to do it. Now they have the eye of Sauron upon them (Hasbro), and they're asked to massively increase profits, low-hanging-fruit stuff they were fine with 3PPs publishing 2 years ago is absolutely stuff they want control of. And they also want to be sure that if they do Hippogriff's Saddlebags, they'll have even more legal armour than the OGC approach gave them.To be clear, it is in part about protecting them. That's a major part. But the reason that matters so much now is they're going to try and go into the spaces previously filled by 3PPs, so it's a bigger risk for them, and they want to kill or control any larger 3PPs to prevent them continuing to fill the gaps WotC leaves.</blockquote>

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