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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Sword of Spirit" data-source="post: 8907559" data-attributes="member: 6677017">Summary of relevant points:1) The OGL 1.0a is still going to be de-authorized for new products.2) There is a new license that only permits you to use the things that are already the most clearly not copyrightable.3) The new license specifically claims as D&D identity things that have been commonly used under the OGL for a long time, such as magic missile.4) If you use this new license, WotC can revoke your right to use it at any time for almost any reason related to or unrelated to the game content or RPG publishing (which is what imprecise morality clauses amount to in practice).5) Hasbro has not actually backed down on anything of import with this announcement.6) This announcement is another round of more refined obsfucation because they are unwilling to abandon their future plans, plans which require them to deauthorize the OGL 1.0a and be able to dynamically control who and how is permitted to use their new license.When I saw the title I thought, as far-fetched as it sounds, maybe they actually are completely changing their plans. But no, they still are attempting to pull a fast one on the entire role-playing and OGL dependent community.This strengthens my belief that they are so invested they will do just about anything to achieve their goals in point 6. Most likely there will be a third round after everyone catches on to these points in a couple of days. It will be refined in phrasing again, but still will insist on their two goals in point 6.After that third round demonstrates that they still can't fool everyone, and that those who were temporarily distracted are smart enough to actually communicate with the rest of the community so that the vast majority of people realize they aren't changing the essential points, they will attempt something completely different.My prediction ends there, because I can't think of any smart decisions they can make at that point. They've backed themselves into a corner by committing to goals that the market and other content creators will not accept before realizing that would be the case. Purely speculatively possibilities include: They might try to defend their right to deauthorize the OGL in court, and as a pretty good predictor (who is not a lawyer) I think they will fail spectacularly if they do. They might cut their losses and basically stop investing in the D&D brand, reducing their spending on producing products for it until it is either maintained by a skeleton crew, or just not maintained at all (a more dramatic version of what happened when 4e didn't go as planned).  They might sell D&D off to a third party (though as I  understand it, Hasbro is not known to do this). Or, to get really unlikely, WotC (including MtG) might just collapse. The most far-fetched possibility is that they will "surrender" and give up those two essential goals. (A little bit of hyperbole in that last sentence, but I do think it's rather unlikely.)</blockquote>

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