Wizards and Open Gaming in 2004

[JoeGKushner]

* ponders *

Nah. I still prefer OA be added to the SRD. As for the revised OA, I'll only buy it if they get rid of Rokugan. Let that be AEG's problem now, assuming they still want to continue that line (heard rumors to the contrary).

Well, adding it to the SRD would be good, but if he's talking about the 1st edition OA, that didn't have Rokugan. That had bits on Kara Tur. It'd be interesting if they offered it as an add on to Greyhawk and the Forgotten Realms as one point it was in Oerth before being slotted to FR. Rules for using it in Eberron and how Exalted, Psionics, and Vile worked there would sweeten the pot.

 

[Ranger REG]

Oh, AEG's no longer supporting the d20 System in Rokugan, and they're working on a Third Edition of their own roll-and-keep Legend of the Five Rings Roleplaying Game.

Oh, well. Too bad, but honestly not enough for me to shed a tear. I knew this was a bad business move from the start.

 

[Mokona]

Are there enough ideas out there for an Unearthed Arcana 2 and what would you want to see?

Has WotC added anything to the SRD or the MSRD since the beginning of 2005?

 

[Garnfellow]

Are there enough ideas out there for an Unearthed Arcana 2 and what would you want to see?

Has WotC added anything to the SRD or the MSRD since the beginning of 2005?

I think there are easily enough little crunchy pieces scattered over the various "Races of," "Complete XX," band Eberron books to fill a book.

As far as I know, the last time WotC updated the SRD was last summer.

 

[philreed]

I think if you compare WotC's 2005 additions to the SRD and OGC to 2004 you can tell that they've either decided to stop releasing new material for publisher use or something's going on behind the scenes regarding the SRD/OGC additions.

 

[Varianor Abroad]

I'm also not terribly impressed with cheering for Wizards when they put one volume of material into the SRD after years of neglected updates. (And yes I know this is an old thread.) I've seen publishers repeatedly castigated here on ENWorld for not Opening 122% of their content. Yet Wizards puts up one fantasy book out of a dozen and it's a good thing?

 

[Henry]

...I've seen publishers repeatedly castigated here on ENWorld for not Opening 122% of their content. Yet Wizards puts up one fantasy book out of a dozen and it's a good thing?

I think that you may be seeing two different groups arguing two different points. I don't think anyone EXPECTS Wizards to do a lot of SRD addition, and when they do a significant amount (as in Unearthed Arcana) people are pleasantly surprised rather than saying "It's about time."

On the other hand, publishers used to be known by and large for releasing prodigious amounts of material, 99% and up, as OG content. In the past two years, as the number of publishers have grown who are limiting their OGC releases, you hear people crying for lack of it for a while, and this eventually dies down because people come to expect the behavior.

Actually, I suspect it's to the point now where if a publisher like Malhavoc or Green Ronin were to release a huge baloon of OGC, they'd get the same kudoes that WotC does. It's a case study in human nature and expectations.

 

[Garnfellow]

I think if you compare WotC's 2005 additions to the SRD and OGC to 2004 you can tell that they've either decided to stop releasing new material for publisher use or something's going on behind the scenes regarding the SRD/OGC additions.

I'm really not into conspiracy theories, but I have to wonder if there has been a behind-the-scenes sea-change in attitude toward open gaming at Wizards, which would be too bad. I have heard some (unsubstantiated) rumblings that a change in philosophy within WotC may have affected the 3.5 Tome of Horrors.

And (pure speculation here) I wonder if such a change has anything to do with the rumors that WotC has been shopping the D&D brand around? I could see a prospective buyer unfamiliar with the concepts of open source being very wary about purchasing something that has been made freely available over the internet.

 

[philreed]

Actually, I suspect it's to the point now where if a publisher like Malhavoc or Green Ronin were to release a huge baloon of OGC, they'd get the same kudoes that WotC does. It's a case study in human nature and expectations.

Green Ronin's already known for releasing large chunks of their products as OGC, though.

 

[philreed]

I have heard some (unsubstantiated) rumblings that a change in philosophy within WotC may have affected the 3.5 Tome of Horrors.

I thought Necromancer was going to be releasing a 3.5 version of the Tome of Horrors. Is this no longer true?